wfn.org | LCMS Convention commends fellowship report

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

61st Regular Convention St. Louis, Mo. July 14-20, 2001

July 18, 2001 #32

Contact: Bruce Kueck (314) 342-5715

Convention commends fellowship report, comments on interim ministry, 
various statements

ST. LOUIS A report on church fellowship, "intentional interim ministry," 
and thanks to those who issued various statements on issues facing 
Lutherans worldwide were the subjects of theology and church-relations 
resolutions adopted Wednesday, July 18, by delegates to the 61st Regular 
Convention of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

By a vote of 782-343, delegates commended a study on church fellowship 
prepared by the Synod s Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) 
and the office of the Synod president, as well as their response to 
reactions to the study. The study, titled "The Lutheran Understanding of 
Church Fellowship," was requested by the 1998 convention and studied at 
last year s conventions of the church body s 35 districts.

When the resolution was first introduced to the convention a day earlier, 
on Tuesday, CTCR Executive Director Samuel H. Nafzger said that 4,300 
reactions to the study were reviewed. He said a majority of members of the 
Synod are in agreement with the Synod s position on church fellowship as 
outlined in the document, and called it a "matter of concern" that some 
still have questions about it.

The convention defeated a substitute resolution that would have sent the 
report back to the CTCR for more study.

Delegates provided encouragement to those working in "intentional interim 
ministry." Intentional interim ministers serve congregations that not only 
are between pastors, but in transition -- and, often, in need of healing. 
Examples would include vacancies created by the death of a pastor, 
pastor-congregation conflict or the removal of a pastor for misconduct.

The convention voted 994-108 to commend the LCMS Intentional Interim 
Ministry Conference "for setting and maintaining high standards pastorally, 
confessionally and professionally for this specialized ministry." It 
encouraged the conference to continue working with the Synod s Council of 
Presidents, which includes the church body s 35 district presidents, "in 
developing and maintaining this specialized ministry."

The resolution acknowledged that questions have been raised over matter of 
"temporary calls" in relationship to intentional interim ministry. Dr. 
C.F.W. Walther, the founding president of the Missouri Synod, had warned 
against permitting such calls. The convention asked that the issue be 
addressed by the CTCR.

By a vote of 936-156, with very little discussion, the convention expressed 
appreciation to the late Synod president, Dr. A.L. Barry; the Synod s two 
seminaries; and the CTCR for statements and work related to certain 
ecumenical documents adopted by other Lutheran church bodies.

One of the ecumenical documents is "A Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of 
Justification," adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World 
Federation, which the LCMS convention said has "caused confusion" about 
differences between Lutheran and Roman Catholic teaching. The other is "A 
Formula of Agreement," adopted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
America and three Reformed church bodies.

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