Doctrine, pastoral office, abortion among topics of new CTCR documents

The 2023 convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) gave the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) a record number of assignments. Alongside its church relations responsibilities and its work with the Synod president, the CTCR has whittled away at those assignments ever since the Synod gathered in Milwaukee three years ago. As the end of this triennium approaches, many of those assignments are coming to completion and being made publicly available as CTCR documents.

One document that did not originate with the 2023 convention is Unity in Doctrine, Uniformity and Variety in Practice: A Study Document. The 2019 convention had requested a study of this topic, and the CTCR unanimously approved a response at its October 2025 meeting. The study document intends to stimulate discussion on this important and controversial matter. It discusses six different controversies over worship-related matters in the life of the church, spread out over three distinct historical periods: the Early Church, the Reformation-era church and Missouri Synod history.

“Debates over worship style, ceremonies, liturgy and the like have been divisive and heated in the Synod for decades, but they aren’t peculiar to us,” said the Rev. Dr. Joel D. Lehenbauer, executive director of the CTCR. “The church has always faced these tensions, but through patient study and discussion of God’s Word, and through wisdom and mutual trust, has found productive ways to navigate them. While acknowledging the gravity of these issues, the CTCR hopes this study document will be conducive to proposing a healthy path forward.”

Find the report here.

At its December 2025 meeting, the CTCR unanimously approved two reports that stem from the 2023 convention. One is Proper Administration of the Lord’s Supper, which responds to concerns over the use of pre-packaged elements; grape juice or elements other than wine; and non-wheat hosts. The report includes a succinct introduction to the biblical and confessional understanding of the Lord’s Supper that may be helpful for instruction. Given the practical nature of this topic, the CTCR has asked Concordia Publishing House to print and distribute copies to all active ordained ministers in the hope they might study these matters and discuss them with their congregations.

Another report emerging from that December meeting is Deacons, Evangelists, and the Office of the Holy Ministry in the New Testament. It provides a study of the New Testament nomenclature for the pastoral office, along with a discussion of how those terms have been used in the Synod historically and how they are used today.

The final document the CTCR intends to publish before the end of the triennium deals with one of the more pivotal issues in our culture: abortion. The 2023 convention asked the CTCR to update the guidance from its 1984 report, Abortion in Perspective, in light of recent medical and legal changes. The new report strongly affirms the Synod’s clear and longstanding opposition to abortion, while also addressing these legal and medical changes. In addition, it provides a theologically rigorous defense of life grounded in Luther’s own catechisms and adds specific practical direction for action by clergy, congregations and individual Christians.

Of Abortion in Perspective, Lehenbauer said: “Frankly, this report is quite sobering. Since 1973, around 83 million unborn children have died because of abortion. Even with the many changes resulting from the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the battle in defense of life has no end in sight. We have to persuade people that abortion is wrong. We pray the Spirit convicts them and changes hearts and minds on this issue through the Gospel. That starts in the church itself.”

These four publications add to the number of the CTCR’s completed assignments for the 2023–2026 triennium. Other documents have addressed theological principles for mission and ministry, ecumenical conversations between the International Lutheran Council and the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church of Australia’s proposal for accepting women’s ordination, uses of online technology in the church, and the theology and philosophy of Lutheran education.

The CTCR also has Bylaw-mandated church relations responsibilities, including considering official requests for the recognition of church fellowship. It has considered many such requests this triennium and has hosted a variety of church bodies for further conversations, including the Evangelical Christian Lutheran Church of Bolivia (ICEL), South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (SELVD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), and Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM – A), among others. Specific recommendations regarding fellowship recognition have been submitted as overtures to the upcoming Synod convention by the CTCR.

Unity in Doctrine, Uniformity and Variety in Practice is available now. The other documents will be made available, when final, in the CTCR online library.

Posted March 30, 2026