To More Fully Reflect Augsburg Confession XIV in Our Practice
Way to go home district! Four and Twenty+ Blackbirds: To More Fully Reflect Augsburg Confession XIV in Our Practice
The following passed at our District Convention yesterday. I forgot to write down the vote numbers.Resolution 1-01 - To More Fully Reflect Augsburg Confession XIV in Our Practice 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 ministry (this position is expressed in 1989 Resolution 3-05B, “. . . when 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 individualsâ€); and Whereas, the Augsburg Confession's fourteenth article reads, “Concerning church government it is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without a proper [public] call†(KW p. 46), which includes both call and ordination; and Whereas, the systematic theology faculties of both seminaries, acting jointly, have published a detailed statement on “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. . . . [T]he 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. . . “'[C]all 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 that 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 Board for Pastoral Education and the two seminaries are now implementing the Specific Ministry Pastor Program mandated by the 2007 Synodical Convention; and Whereas, the Board for Pastoral Education and the Council of Presidents are due to report to the 2010 Synodical Convention concerning “situations currently served by licensed lay deacons†(2007 Res. 5-02); therefore be it Resolved, that the Northern Illinois District in convention express its concern about the current situation in the Synod at large concerning men who are conducting Word and Sacrament ministry without being publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry; and be it further Resolved, that the Northern Illinois District in convention memorialize the 2010 Synodical convention to direct the Board for Pastoral Education and the Council of Presidents to develop a plan and lay out procedures A) for how all men who are currently engaged in the public ministry of Word and Sacrament without being publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry may either be enrolled in a regular seminary program or the Specific Ministry Pastor Program, or cease from all forms of public Word and Sacrament ministry by the end of 2016, and B) for how all current Synod and District tracks, programs, and licensing procedures which train men for pubic Word and Sacrament ministry without benefit of being publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry can be phased out in favor of the Specific Ministry Pastor Program or a regular seminary program by the end of 2016; and be it further Resolved, that the Board for Pastoral Education report on this plan to the 2013 Synod in Convention for approval, emendation, and adoption, and be it finally Resolved, that the Northern Illinois District memorialize the 2010 Synodical convention to reconsider 1989 Resolution 3-05B in light of the Scriptures, the Confessions, the report mandated by 2007 Resolution 5-02, and the Specific Ministry Pastor Program.
