Only Twelve?

For those who might not know, clergymen of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, have two documents circulated to congregations considering the sending of a Divine Call to a pastor. One is a Self-Evaluation Tool (SET). In the SET a pastor answers a series of doctrinal questions, well not really doctrinal mostly comments about pastoral practice and reactions to various synodical resolutions. This is done so that calling congregations and district presidents can ascertain, for example, if the pastor will break out his acoustic guitar as worship leader, say the black/do the red, or go cruciform on Good Friday.

The second is the Pastor's Information Form (PIF). The PIF gives the pastor's birthday, educational background, pastoral experience as well as the district president's evaluation of the pastor's conduct of the ministry.

The PIF also gives marital status of the pastor; his wife's name and birthday, their anniversary and the names and birthdays of his children. And how many numbered blank lines are there for the pastor to list his children???

TWELVE - 12 - !!!

Now this is good stuff I say. The Synod is anticipating that her pastors will be having large families. Too bad there is no room on the form if you get Duggersized. Still, I think this is great and I thought Missouri deserves a big attagirl! Attagirl Missouri! Encourage those preachers to have a dozen then maybe this whole decline in membership will be take care of itself as the old beloved synod desires (expects???) her pastors to follow the Word..."Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth...Suffer the little children to come to me...".

See brothers, those PIFs are not so bad.