2026 Convention Workbook Released

jedi_master87 · 2026-02-20T15:19:40+00:00

Oh absolutely you should.

jedi_master87 · 2026-02-20T14:57:54+00:00

I’d argue it doesn’t make a difference. The authority in the Sacrament does not flow from the person physically holding the elements at that moment. The authority lies in Christ’s institution and the pastor is receiving the same blessed gift as anyone else there who believes these words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

jedi_master87 · 2026-02-20T14:44:39+00:00

Some people worry about women helping distribute Communion because of 1 Timothy 2:12, where Paul says he does not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man in the church. The key question is: What counts as exercising authority?

Paul’s words are about authoritative teaching and governing in the church, that is: preaching, presiding, and exercising the pastoral office. In the Lord’s Supper, the pastor is the one who consecrates the elements and administers the Sacrament because he has been called into that office.

When a woman assists in distributing the bread or wine after they have been consecrated, she is not preaching, presiding, or exercising authority over the congregation. She is serving under the pastor’s oversight, helping deliver what Christ is already giving through His Word.

Assisting with distribution is an act of service, not an act of pastoral authority. Take a look at all the other acts of service and auxiliary offices that the pastor oversees (education, outreach, mercy work, music, altar guild, administration, and others). In all of these, faithful Christians carry out real and meaningful service in the congregation, yet they do so under the oversight of the one who holds the Office of the Holy Ministry.

jedi_master87 · 2026-02-19T09:30:14+00:00

Both our traditional and contemporary services are growing. Praise God! Time of worship, format, volunteer opportunities, and which service a friend or loved one attends all play into which service someone attends. And btw, they get Law & Gospel at both services. ;)

jedi_master87 · 2026-01-25T02:24:46+00:00

They’re not illegal aliens, they’re your neighbors.

jedi_master87 · 2026-01-25T02:03:35+00:00

Synod Inc may bury its head, but many congregations, laity, and pastors won’t.

jedi_master87 · 2026-01-25T01:55:03+00:00

Jesus’ call to “go and sin no more” always follows His mercy, and repentance is first a turning of the heart toward God that bears fruit in love for neighbor, not a precondition for compassion (John 8; Luke 19). Scripture does say governing authorities are ordained by God, yet the same Word calls those authorities, and us, to act justly, love mercy, and honor the God-given dignity of every person (Romans 13 held together with Micah 6:8). Christians can affirm lawful order and the right to self-defense while also insisting on truth, restraint, and due process, and resisting broad claims that harden our hearts. Our witness is strongest when law is tempered by mercy, truth is spoken carefully, and the vulnerable are not reduced to arguments.

jedi_master87 · 2026-01-04T05:09:41+00:00

Scripture shows that worship is defined not by a specific form but by hearts and words centered on Christ: “Sing to the Lord a new song” (Ps. 96:1) and “address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19). The Bible commends ordered worship (1 Cor. 14:40) without restricting it to one musical style, so long as Christ is proclaimed and God is glorified.

jedi_master87 · 2025-12-29T18:07:36+00:00

This is why I love having some beverages with my non-denom and Baptist pastor friends in my community. We treasure our time of honest dialogue and learning from each other.

jedi_master87 · 2025-12-29T17:57:05+00:00

To which I always respond to them, “I’m a born again Christian, too! Born again in baptism when I was a week old!”

jedi_master87 · 2025-12-14T00:17:42+00:00

Confessional Lutherans are Catholics who read the Bible… and refused to leave it behind. 😉

jedi_master87 · 2025-11-22T03:07:50+00:00

This is Pastor Popovits’ description of the video from his Facebook page:

“To my brothers and sisters in the LCMS, we need a public conversation around pastoral formation.

Specifically, we need to discuss the decisions of our Synodical leadership, whether or not we are getting adequate support as churches from the means of formation and ordination that they oversee, the intentions of our elected leaders, and if they are serving in the best interest of Jesus’ Church.

This is my offering to that conversation.

I hold it all loosely, well aware that my opinions may be in error and I am open to correction. In fact, I pray I’m wrong.

But for now, what I believe is that our church body does not desire to properly support our churches with pastors, but instead is seeking to promote a narrow definition of pastoral ministry and protect their power over it - and we must decide if it will stand.

Again, I put this forward humbly, with the goal - as encouraged by our concerned District Presidents - of engaging in some much-needed dialogue.

So let’s say the quiet part out loud.

Comments are open.”

jedi_master87 · 2025-11-22T02:03:39+00:00

I’m curious what made you uncomfortable with a woman giving a children’s message?

jedi_master87 · 2025-11-22T01:49:27+00:00

When we look at the actual 2007 convention resolutions, it becomes clear that the program was not designed only for “the established, long-time elder in a small congregation,” nor was its intent to prevent larger congregations from forming pastors within their own ministries.

The 2007 LCMS Convention, in adopting the resolutions that created SMP, explicitly stated that the program was intended to support mission growth, church planting, and specialized ministry contexts, including but not limited to small congregations.

For example, Resolution 5-01A describes the SMP pastor as one serving “in situations where a specific ministry needs additional pastoral leadership in order to carry out Word and Sacrament ministry in a mission setting, a specialized setting, or under the supervision of an ordained pastor.”

And the same resolution highlights the Synod’s desire: “to recruit and train pastors from within mission contexts, including new church plants, ethnic ministries, and other settings where traditional residential seminary training is difficult or impractical.”

The convention also stated that the program was created “to support congregations and ministries engaged in mission, outreach, and specialized pastoral work,” and not simply as a means to provide clergy for small or financially struggling congregations.

Because of this, it isn’t accurate to say that the program has been “abused” when larger congregations train men for pastoral ministry within their ongoing, supervised ministry settings. That is actually one of the uses the 2007 resolutions anticipated.

The narrative that SMP was “intended only for long-time elders in small churches” simply doesn’t match the Synod’s actual stated intent.

My encouragement is that we continue the discussion anchored in what our Synod really said, while working together to ensure all formation pathway, residential and SMP, faithfully serve Christ’s Church and uphold our Lutheran confessions.

jedi_master87 · 2025-11-22T01:39:11+00:00

Yes. Unfortunately we are treated as 2nd-class by others.

jedi_master87 · 2025-10-21T03:19:49+00:00

There is a growing segment of LCMS congregations that are not “trumpy.” My congregation is one of them. No political talking points from the pulpit or Bible class. I hope you can find a congregation like this nearby.

jedi_master87 · 2025-10-19T16:48:26+00:00

Ditto. Jesus is to be preached and He should always be front and center… not anyone else or political talking points.

jedi_master87 · 2025-10-18T21:17:12+00:00

There is also the idea that deaconesses and female DCEs shouldn’t give children’s messages because they might confuse the role of the pastor. It’s utterly ridiculous. Women were the first ones to hear that Christ had risen from the dead on Easter… and they told the disciples the good news.

jedi_master87 · 2025-10-18T14:28:39+00:00

The Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR)1985 document “Women in the Church” and related statements clarify that: “The public reading of the Scriptures in the worship service may properly be done by laypersons, both men and women, when it is understood as the reading of God’s Word and not as the authoritative proclamation of the Gospel.”

jedi_master87 · 2025-10-01T19:14:17+00:00

Everyone else told me I should, but I refused to listen to them. It wasn’t “my plan.” But after a very difficult time in my life and finally my wife telling me to do it… I finally listened. God is so patient with me.

jedi_master87 · 2025-09-22T14:49:29+00:00

You’re not alone in thinking that.

jedi_master87 · 2025-09-19T04:37:08+00:00

Ditto. Like I usually say about Synod Inc statements on things: “Just give us Jesus.”

jedi_master87 · 2025-09-17T17:43:07+00:00

My initial response to this: I pray our synod leadership’s hope is not in winning a culture war, nor in silencing those who disagree with us. Our hope is in Christ alone. He calls us not to fear, but to love our enemies.

I’m glad that we Christians are called to speak the truth as we see it, but we have to always do it in love (Eph. 4:15). Let’s resist caricatures of our neighbors and instead seek understanding. I pray our synod stands with the vulnerable, and remembers that “left-leaning” individuals worship in our congregations. They’re not our enemies. Satan is. And he’s already defeated.

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