It also urged the same restraint on leaders who are already on the official rosters and in committed same-sex relationships.
Regarding Saturday's passed resolution, ELCA's presiding bishop, the Rev Mark S Hanson, highlighted the words "prays, urges, and encourages" as "words of counsel" for synods and bishops considering what actions to take when confronted with non-celibate gay clergy.
"They are not words that change the standards of the Church ... or the guidelines for discipline," he said. "But they reflect the mind of this assembly as it seeks to give counsel to the leaders of this Church."
Still, conservatives say the vote contradicts Church policy and allows gay clergy to ignore the standards of the Church.
"Any time you start ignoring God's word on matters, you better watch out because you're in dangerous territory," said the Rev Mark Chavez, director of the conservative Word Alone Network, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Jaynan Clark Egland, president of Word Alone Network, called it a double standard for discipline.
"I don't know as a Christian, as a pastor and as a parent, what really would be worse - a church with no biblical standards to govern our ministry or standards we don't intend to enforce," said Egland. "To refrain from discipline in the home is bad parenting, but we're about to do so in the Christ's church."
The assembly decided to postpone a more concrete decision on gay clergy until 2009, when the Task Force on Studies of Sexuality is expected to propose a social statement on human sexuality based on responses from congregants across the denomination collected in a comprehensive study.
Still, Schmeling praised the latest decision by the assembly, calling it a "crack in the dam", according to The Associated Press.
Schmeling will continue to pastor St John's although he will stay off the clergy roster. Since he plans to remain with St John's, he said his removal from the clergy roster will have no effect unless he tries to move to another congregation.
