LCMS National Convention

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The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) annual convention has been underway since Friday. General information can be found here: lcms.org/convention

A live-stream is also available from that site. It is fascinating to watch how the general convention functions. Generally, the air is calm, the discussion is not hostile, and the business moves along pleasantly. This can be sharply contrasted to other mainline bodies.

Several resolutions are being considered, and two have already been adopted.
 
Many on this board will be pleased to know that today’s featured address came from a Roman Catholic, Ryan T. Anderson on the topic of Religious Freedom, particularly as it relates to Marriage and Free Practice.

livestream.com/thelcms/convention-july11

Toward the end of his speech, he quoted Pope Benedict about how Christians must live out their lives. He received a standing ovation. My, how times change. A Pope’s words received 30 seconds of standing ovation from a Lutheran audience. A blessing of secular oppression.
 
Ryan Anderson’s speech begins in the Afternoon Session at 1:09 and 30 seconds. Start the Afternoon Session and move the slider to 1:09 and the introduction should soon follow.

I follow steido01, in that I’m absolutely happy that this broken world is driving Lutherans and Catholics together around the Cross.
 
steido01 said:
Many on this board will be pleased to know that today’s featured address came from a Roman Catholic, Ryan T. Anderson on the topic of Religious Freedom, particularly as it relates to Marriage and Free Practice.

livestream.com/thelcms/convention-july11

Toward the end of his speech, he quoted Pope Benedict about how Christians must live out their lives. He received a standing ovation. My, how times change. A Pope’s words received 30 seconds of standing ovation from a Lutheran audience. A blessing of secular oppression.
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This is amazing considering the LCMS has never changed their doctrine on the Papacy being the Anti-christ. That’s not me getting a dig in, you can find it at their own website.
 
total_Catholic said:
This is amazing considering the LCMS has never changed their doctrine on the Papacy being the Anti-christ. That’s not me getting a dig in, you can find it at their own website.
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The LCMS is a fairly doctrinally stable church body that will never change doctrine.Doctrine can’t be changed at the whim of a PC society, despite what our cousins among the ELCA might think lcms.org/doctrine/doctrinalposition#antichrist. As the world gets more secular, we’re going to be challenged to hold more tightly to those truths of the Christian faith that we hold most precious and although some might think those positions stern or outdated, they must be maintained or we get swept away in the same secular flood of worldliness and compromise that has engulfed our kindred in the Faith.
 
total_Catholic said:
This is amazing considering the LCMS has never changed their doctrine on the Papacy being the Anti-christ. That’s not me getting a dig in, you can find it at their own website.
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Neither has Rome declared Lutheranism to not be a heresy. But we find unity where we can, as we must.

I think it’s important to note a few things: 1) That the LCMS (and other Confessional Lutherans) have never meant what, say, premillennial dispensationalists mean when they use the term. Lutherans simply think that some of the powers claimed by the office of the papacy are anti-to-Christ’s institution of the ministry. 2) That the Lutheran charges against the office of the papacy are conditional, not some eternal condemnation. 3) That Lutherans still recognize him as a rightly-called and ordained servant of the Word, if heterodox. 4) That the LCMS has never, ever said that the men who hold the office are necessarily not Christian, only that the office they hold overreaches.

That’s why we’ve seen LCMS officials meet with Papal representatives, be greeted specifically by popes - and why LCMS and Catholic clergy have stood together on Capitol Hill against an overreaching Federal Government. The LCMS current president has a close relationship with the Archbishop in St. Louis, to boot.
 
The Resolutions I (and others on these boards) have had our eyes on passed with overwhelming majorities. There are no longer “extreme or emergency” situations where a layperson could ever administer the Sacraments as if he were a called and ordained pastor.

13-01
To Address Licensed Lay Administration of Word and Sacrament

Whereas, Article XIV of the Augsburg Confession states, “Our churches teach that no one should publicly teach in the church or administer the Sacraments, without a rightly ordered call”; and Whereas, In 1989, our Synod at Wichita adopted Res. 3-05B, regularizing under particular circumstances that the following be done by men who do not hold the Office of the Public Ministry: composing and delivering sermons, leading public worship services, and administering Holy Baptism and Holy Communion (1989 Proceedings, pp.111−113); and

Whereas, There has been tension over this issue for the past 25 years; and

Whereas, In 2007, the Synod established the “Specific Ministry Pastor Program” in which men are trained, examined, certified, called, and ordained in order to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments (Res. 5-01B, 2007 Proceedings, pp. 133ff); and

Whereas, This program was designed to meet the objective, among others, of providing pastoral ministry where full-time ministry cannot be maintained and doing so without conflicting with Article XIV of the Augsburg Confession; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Northern Illinois District respectfully request the Synod to discontinue the new licensing of laymen to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments (1989 Res. 3-05B); and be it further

Resolved, That those who are currently licensed be encouraged to enroll in the regular or SMP track leading to ordination; and be it further

Resolved, That those who are currently licensed but not enrolled in the regular (i.e., residential seminary) or SMP track discontinue publicly preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments within three years of the adoption of this resolution by the Synod in convention; and be it further

Resolved, That an extension of the above deadline for those currently licensed can be granted by the appropriate district president in extreme circumstance, and this upon consultation with and the agreement of the President of the Synod; and be it finally
Resolved, That the Northern Illinois District in convention submit this resolution as an overture to the Synod for consideration by its 2016 convention.

Continued…
 
Continued…

Resolution 13-02
To Assure That All Men Who Serveas Pastors Are Pastors

Whereas, In certain situations today, the Synod approves of preaching and administration of the Sacraments by men who have not been publicly called to and placed in the Office of the Holy Ministry. This position is expressed in 1989 Res. 3-05B: “[W]hen no pastor is available, and in the absence of any specific scriptural directives to the contrary, congregations may arrange for the performance of these distinctive functions [preaching and administering the Sacraments] by qualified individuals”; and

Whereas, The Augsburg Confession’s Article XIV reads: “Concerning church government it is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without a proper [public] call”; and

Whereas, The systematic theology faculties of both seminaries, acting jointly, have published the detailed statement “The Office of the Holy Ministry” (Concordia Journal 33.3 [July 2007]: 242–255), which states in part, “The Confessions never use the truth that the whole church possesses the power of the keys to make the office of the holy ministry unnecessary or merely useful. On the contrary, this truth serves as the basis for the church’s right to call, choose, and ordain ministers. … The point is that the Treatise [on the Power and Primacy of the Pope] does not imagine churches without ordained ministers of some kind even in emergency situations or when no one else will call and ordain men for the office. As confessors of the same doctrine, neither should we. … Call and ordination are essential for conduct of the ministry. … What is the sign of authority for ministers today? It is their call and ordination, which assure they act by divine right and on the authority of Christ. This truth makes such ideas as lay ministers’ invitations for difficulties and troubles to ministers whose authority is doubtful and to laypersons whose assurance of God’s grace may be questioned” (pp. 253–254, 255); and

Whereas, The Synod has established a specific ministry pastor (SMP) status to enable ministry of called and ordained pastors in a variety of ministry settings, and the Synod through its seminaries has established SMP programs of study to allow a nonresidential path to ordination into the Office of the Holy Ministry; and

Whereas, The Synod has a Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry to determine qualifications and suitability of applicants for pastoral service in the Synod, and this committee has the responsibility to “establish and monitor academic, theological, and personal standards for admission to the office of the pastoral ministry by colloquy” (Bylaw 3.10.2.2); therefore be it

Resolved, That the 2016 LCMS convention direct the Council of Presidents to develop and implement a plan to ensure that all men who are currently engaged in Word and Sacrament ministry without being publicly called to and placed in the Office of the Holy Ministry be enrolled in the SMP program to fulfill the standards necessary for call and ordination or if applicable apply for colloquy, or cease from all forms of Word and sacrament ministry by the end of 2017; and be it further

Resolved, That all current Synod and district tracks, programs, licensing procedures, etc. that train men for Word and Sacrament ministry without the benefit of being publicly called, ordained, and placed into the Office of the Holy Ministry be phased out in favor of the SMP program or colloquy by the end of 2017.
 
Both seem very common sense resolutions. I mean you do want to make sure your priest/pastor is actually a priest/pastor with the faculties to confect the sacrament(s).
 
Padres1969 said:
Both seem very common sense resolutions. I mean you do want to make sure your priest/pastor is actually a priest/pastor with the faculties to confect the sacrament(s).
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Exactly. The leniency was originally granted with the good intention of accommodating a few select and isolated congregations. It goes without saying that the practice was against the tradition of the church catholic and entirely un-Lutheran. It was no surprise, really, that the accommodation was increasingly abused by liberal and anti-clerical factions, to great frustration within the Synod. It is good to see the LCMS return itself (rather, those certain few unruly fringes of itself) to the Confessions.
 
steido01 said:
Toward the end of his speech, he quoted Pope Benedict about how Christians must live out their lives. He received a standing ovation. My, how times change. A Pope’s words received 30 seconds of standing ovation from a Lutheran audience. A blessing of secular oppression.
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steido01 said:
…we find unity where we can, as we must.
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I’d rather be without secular oppression, myself; but I agree - we must find unity and stand together. Otherwise our differences won’t matter at all because we’ll be irrelevant in the eyes of the world around us.
steido01 said:
That’s why we’ve seen LCMS officials meet with Papal representatives, be greeted specifically by popes - and why LCMS and Catholic clergy have stood together on Capitol Hill against an overreaching Federal Government. The LCMS current president has a close relationship with the Archbishop in St. Louis, to boot.
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🙂
 
steido01 said:
Neither has Rome declared Lutheranism to not be a heresy. But we find unity where we can, as we must.

I think it’s important to note a few things: 1) That the LCMS (and other Confessional Lutherans) have never meant what, say, premillennial dispensationalists mean when they use the term. Lutherans simply think that some of the powers claimed by the office of the papacy are anti-to-Christ’s institution of the ministry. 2) That the Lutheran charges against the office of the papacy are conditional, not some eternal condemnation. 3) That Lutherans still recognize him as a rightly-called and ordained servant of the Word, if heterodox. 4) That the LCMS has never, ever said that the men who hold the office are necessarily not Christian, only that the office they hold overreaches.

That’s why we’ve seen LCMS officials meet with Papal representatives, be greeted specifically by popes - and why LCMS and Catholic clergy have stood together on Capitol Hill against an overreaching Federal Government. The LCMS current president has a close relationship with the Archbishop in St. Louis, to boot.
Click to expand...
Well said.
 
steido01 said:
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) annual convention has been underway since Friday. General information can be found here: lcms.org/convention

A live-stream is also available from that site. It is fascinating to watch how the general convention functions. Generally, the air is calm, the discussion is not hostile, and the business moves along pleasantly. This can be sharply contrasted to other mainline bodies.

Several resolutions are being considered, and two have already been adopted.
Click to expand...
👍

Christians will all hang together, or we will all hang separately.
 
There were a few other interesting developments at the Synod meeting too.

Resolution 3-04 was passed which asks the Synod President to assign a task force to study procreation, fertility, care for the unborn and IVF. While children are considered a gift of God, the LCMS has been mostly silent on allowing married couples to arrange the timing of their children, seeing it as a matter of conscience. They have offered some recommendations concerning contraception, particularly hormonal types but again, have stopped short of condemning the practice. With the increased number of methods that have gained acceptance, it is past time to consider this issue and issue guidance consistent with God’s Word.

Resolution 12-07A, which deals with limiting doctrinal dissent to peer groups (example: no more championing of women’s ordination in public venues - including blogs, social media, etc). Pastors can still debate NON-DOCTRINAL topics as they wish but if they want to push for LCMS recognition of same-sex marriage they will have to confine themselves to debating with their peers and not the public. My initial reaction was discomfort with throttling our pastor’s ability to discuss issues (what would happen should the Synod ever lean liberal in the future?) But, this only applies to issues that are doctrine - and they can still discuss at many levels, just not advocate non-doctrinal positions to the laity and public.

What was remarkable was the fact that Koinonia (Walking Together) seems to be working!
 
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