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, Const. Art. III, in pursuance of the aforementioned objective and in love, names and reserves for itself, on behalf of the members of the Synod, 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 the 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 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/), offers coursework to students from congregations of the Synod leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Religion, the Master of Ministry(M.Min.),andthe Masterof Divinity(M.Div.),the latter two of which are widely recognized as requisite education and formation for the pastorate; and

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

WHEREAS, The Council of Presidents (COP) has unanimously stated: 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. (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 final resolved of 2023 Resolution 6-02A states, “That districts and members of the Synod honor, use, and promote Synod-approved programs and not create independent programs of pastoral preparation or direct men to pastoral preparation programs outside of our Synod’s seminaries as such efforts are not in accord with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod (Const. Art. III 3; Bylaw 3.10.4)” (Proceedings, 161); and

WHEREAS, Members of the Synod are engaged in teaching for CMPL and LHOS; therefore be it

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

Resolved, That 2023 Res. 6-02A be hereby reaffirmed and emphasized; and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod gathered in convention affirm that the Synod alone will develop and operate other alternate routes to ordination, including the Specific Ministry Pastor program, the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, the Center for Hispanic Studies, the Cross-cultural Ministry Center, etc.; and be it further

Resolved, That Synod congregations and roster ed workers 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 a pastor or congregation in the Synod to seek theological education, formation, and training for the pastoral office except at CTSFW or CSL; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod in convention hereby fraternally admonish and beseech all members of the Synod who are engaged in the process of granting M.Div. and M.Min. degrees at CMPL or LHOS to reconsider and desist from this course of action that is contrary to the objectives of the Synod, the unanimous statement of the COP, and 2023 Res. 6-02A.