To Affirm Exclusive Use of Synod Seminaries to Prepare Men for Office of Holy Ministry

WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to faithfulness in the things of God (John 8:31), which is sustained in the Church by the faithful transmission of the faith to and through the future pastors of the Church; and

WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to love toward one another (John 13:35), which is exercised by the creation of agreed-upon modes of undertaking corporate action; and

WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to a unity of faith that is identical with and tantamount to continuing steadfast in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42), all the teachings of Holy Scripture and their expression in the Book of Concord, that is, “the Gospel in all its articles” (LCMS, A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles, [adopted 1973], Article IV; see also John 17:20–21; Eph. 4:4–6; FC SD X 31); and

WHEREAS, Constitution Article III 1 reflects our Lord’s will by stating that The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) shall “conserve and promote the unity of the true faith(Eph.4:3–6;1 Cor. 1:10), work through its official structure toward fellowship with other Christian church bodies, and provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism (Rom. 16:17), and heresy”; and

WHEREAS, In Const. Art. III 3, in pursuance of the aforementioned objective and in love, the Synod names and reserves for itself, on behalf of the members (that is, the roster ed workers and congregations) of the Synod, the recruitment and training of pastors; and

WHEREAS, Likewise in pursuit of the objectives of the Synod, bylaws reserve for the two seminaries, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), the duty, to the exclusion of other seminaries, to educate, form, and train future pastors of the Synod (Bylaw sections 2.7–8) (notwithstanding that bylaws countenance the possibility of a pastor from another church body later in life emerging from the darkness of a false confession, recognizing his agreement in doctrine and practice with the Synod, and wishing therefore to serve in the ministerium of the Synod by providing such men with the possibility of entering membership in the Synod via the colloquy program, Bylaw 3.10.2); and

WHEREAS, Through the exclusive use of its two seminaries and by His grace alone the Lord has for nearly 180 years preserved in the Synod the true confession of His name and practice that accords with it; and

WHEREAS, The education, formation, and training of pastors are best accomplished in a face-to-face, live, and residential setting, as the history of our two seminaries demonstrates; and

WHEREAS, The dangers of educating, forming, and training men for the ministry of the Synod in seminaries outside the oversight of the Synod and associated with heterodox groups are patent; and

WHEREAS, The Center for Missional and Pastoral Leadership (CMPL, the center.info/cmpl), an online seminary under the umbrella of the Institute for Lutheran Theology (Brookings, SD, ilt.edu) and affiliated with the heterodox North American Lutheran Church, offers coursework to students from LCMS congregations leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Religion, the Master of Ministry (M.Min.), and the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), the latter two of which are widely recognized as requisite education and formation for the pastorate (in other words, one would not seek the M.Min. or the M.Div. if he did not wish to become a pastor); and

WHEREAS, Unite Leadership Collective (ULC, unite leadership.org) directs and facilitates the enrollment of students from LCMS congregations in the M.A. and M.Div. programs of another online seminary, namely, Luther House of Study (LHOS, luther house of study.org); and

WHEREAS, A congregation of the LCMS has commissioned and installed a female M.Div. graduate of LHOS as a church worker in that congregation and has ordained and installed a male M.Div. graduate of LHOS as a site pastor in one of its satellites; and

WHEREAS, The plea from leaders of ULCandthe CMPLto enroll students in their programs pivots on the pastor shortage in the LCMS, indicating that both entities wish to use their respective seminary programs to educate, form, and train pastors for the LCMS; and

WHEREAS, The conditions of membership (Const. Art. VI) for all members of the Synod, both roster ed workers and congregations, require the “renunciation of unionism and syncretism of every description” and the “regular call of pastors” (which is defined in Bylaw sections 2.7–8); therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod gathered in convention rise and sing the Te Deum in thankfulness to the Lord for His gracious preservation of CTSFW and CSL, and for the faithful ministry of the nine generations of graduates in the congregations of the Synod, through whom as “fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3:9) the Lord has preserved the faith among us; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod gathered in convention affirm the residential M.Div. education, formation, and training of the future pastorate of the Synod as the standard within the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and roster ed workers pray with heartfelt fervor and regularity to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest (Matt. 9:38); and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and roster ed workers turn with renewed vigor to the recruitment of able and apt men for the pastorate of the Synod (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) and encourage and support them in completing the residential M.Div. program at CTSFW or CSL; and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and their members generously support the work of CTSFW and CSL in providing a theologically rich residential M.Div. program for the education, formation, and training of future pastors of the Synod; and be it further

Resolved, That no man be encouraged by pastors or congregations in the Synod to seek theological education, formation, and training for the pastoral office except at CTSFW or CSL; and be it further

Resolved, That the district presidents with ecclesiastical oversight over the congregations and roster ed workers advocating for, recruiting for, and teaching in LHOS and CMPL, and using their graduates in church work offices admonish those congregations and roster ed workers for placing at risk their own and the Synod’s faithfulness in the things of God; for breaking love by intentionally working against the Synod’s objective to recruit and train pastors and the agreed-upon means of achieving that objective, which harms love by militating against doing all things decently and in order (1 Cor. 14:40); and for inviting false doctrine from and ecclesial association with heterodox church bodies, which militates against the Lord’s will that the church be kept in unity of faith and confession (Rom. 16:17); and be it further

Resolved, That unless the congregations and roster ed workers advocating for, recruiting for, teaching in, and receiving church workers from LHOS and CMPL heed the admonition of the district president under whose ecclesiastical supervision they stand, such roster ed workers be placed on restricted status (Bylaw 2.13.2) as having violated the conditions of membership (Const. Art. VI); and be it further

Resolved, That district presidents follow to their end the processes surrounding restricted status; and be it finally

Resolved, That if the district presidents fail to fulfill their duty to the Bylaws on behalf of the Synod toward those who persist in advocating for, recruiting for, teaching in, and employing as church workers graduates from LHOS and the CMPL, the President of Synod exercise his duty under Const. Art. XIII and Bylaw section 2.15.