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

WHEREAS, The pastors’ conference of the Mid-South District, in regular session, desires that the Synod and its districts, circuits, and congregations reaffirm all the teachings of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions as expressed in the Book of Concord, and practices that agree with these symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; and

WHEREAS, The district pastors’ conference wishes to memorialize the 2026 Synod convention to affirm the exclusive use of the Synod’s seminaries to prepare men for the Office of the Holy Ministry; and

WHEREAS,The Synod has created certain means to train,prepare, and assign men into ministries of the Synod in an orderly and agreed-upon process; and

WHEREAS, The Lord Christ has called His Church to a unity of faith in what is taught, preached, and confessed, by which it fully embraces the call of continuing steadfast in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42), that is, in all the teachings of Holy Scripture and the Evangelical Lutheran standards expressed in the Book of Concord (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, The Bylaws provide for the two seminaries of the Synod, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL); and

WHEREAS, The two recognized seminaries of the Synod, to the exclusion of other seminaries, were established to educate, form, and train the pastors of the Synod (Bylaw sections 2.7–8); and

WHEREAS, The Bylaws provide for the possibility of a pastor from another unrelated church body to emerge from another confession and provide a means by which a pastor may join, by examination and by his agreement in doctrine and practice, with the Synod (Bylaws 2.7.2; 3.10.2–3.10.2.5); and

WHEREAS, A man from another church body, wishing to serve in the ministerium of the Synod, may do so, providing such a man is certified and received into the ordained membership of 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 Word and practice in accord with Holy Scripture; and

WHEREAS, The education, formation, and training of pastors are best accomplished through an in-person, face-to-face, live, and residential setting, as the history of our two seminaries and the Synod demonstrate; and

WHEREAS, Educating, forming, and training men for the possible ministry of the Synod in seminaries that are outside the approval, oversight, and support of the Synod and that are associated with heterodox groups risks confusion and unnecessary and difficult division; and

WHEREAS, The Center for Missional and Pastoral Leadership (CMPL, the center.info/cmpl/), an unauthorized online seminary under the umbrella of the Institute for Lutheran Theology (Brookings, SD, ilt.edu/) and affiliated with the heterodox North American Lutheran Church, has offered coursework to students from LCMS congregations leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Religion, the Master of Ministry (M.Min.), or a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), the latter two of which are widely recognized as requisite education and formation for the pastorate; and

WHEREAS, Unite Leadership Collective (ULC, unite leadership.org) (in partnership with Kairos University, an interdenominational university affiliated with the North American Baptist Conference) directs and facilitates the enrollment of students from LCMS congregations in M.A. and M.Div. programs of another online seminary, namely, Luther Houseof Study (LHOS, luther house of study.org/); and

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

WHEREAS, The Council of Presidents at its April 29, 2025, meeting issued a clear statement on non-Synod seminaries, stating, Our Synod needs pastors for all our congregations and mission outreach. We implore the Lord of the Church to send them. We commit ourselves to direct potential students for the pastoral office only to the routes to ordination approved by and accountable to Synod. The Council will not place graduates from other programs. The Council members agree not to ordain graduates from other programs. We commit ourselves to engage the Church, our Synod’s seminaries, and Pastoral Formation Committee to strengthen the routes to ordination and address the challenges and opportunities for providing the Church well- formed candidates for the pastoral ministry. (Roy S. Askins, “LCMS Addresses Unauthorized, Non-LCMS Pastoral Formation Programs,” Reporter Online, May 8, 2025, reporter.lcms.org/2025/lcms-addresses-unauthorized-non- lcms-pastoral-formation-programs/) 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 2.7–2.8); and

WHEREAS, The faculties of the Synod seminaries have the responsibility to certify graduates for eligibility for placement and ordination and would have no provision for certifying non-Synod seminary graduates (Bylaw 2.8.1 [a, c]; 3.10.5.7.10 [h]); and

WHEREAS, The Synod colloquy program is not permitted to certify for ministry in the Synod any Synod laymen or commissioned ministers who complete a program of study leading to ordination or its equivalent at a non-LCMS seminary (Bylaw 3.10.2.4); therefore be it

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

Resolved, That the non-residential tracks toward ordination be utilized to the extent that is consistent with their design, purpose, and consistency with the doctrines, confession, and unity provided by the faculty from the authorized seminaries of 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 vigorously pursue recruitment of able and apt men for the pastorate of the Synod (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) under the Synod’s Set Apart to Serve initiative, and encourage and support prospective students to apply for 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 pastors, congregations, and officials ofthe Synod encourage men interested in ministry to seek theological education, formation, and training in one of the recognized ministry tracks for the pastoral office 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, or teaching in LHOS and the CMPL admonish those congregations and roster ed workers for placing at risk their own and the Synod’sfaithfulnessto Holy Scripture,the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the holy things of God; for breaking unity and fraternity by intentionally working against the Synod and its seminaries to recruit and train pastors, which harms unity by militating against all things being done 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 recruiting for, teaching in, and receiving church workers from LHOS and the CMPL heed the admonition of the district president under whose ecclesiastical supervision they stand, such roster ed workers be subject to application of Bylaw 2.13.4, as having violated the conditions of membership (Const. Art. VI); and be it further

Resolved, That district presidents follow through on their ecclesiastical responsibility in the processes surrounding Bylaw 2.13.2; 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 receiving church workers from LHOS and the CMPL or recruiting students for the same with the prospects of such reception, the President of the Synod exercise his duty under Const. Art. XIII and Bylaw section 2.15.