# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S407
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

INTERSYNODICAL AND DOCTRINAL MATTERS 407

God and involves separation to the Lord. Christ Himself
: Apostles and thereby established and instituted the office
ostleship as a divine office (Matt. 10: 2-8; John 20: 21-23).
nostles recognized and acknowledged all those officially
the churches to be their fellow ministers (1 Peter 5:1;
Phil. 2:25; 1 Cor.4:1). The Holy Ghost.expressly com-
the congregation at Antioch to separate Paul and Bar-
their mission work (Acts 13:2,3), and thus they were
-God through the congregation.
tells us that all who have been rightly called by the
‘to be ministers of the Gospel, and thus to labor in Word
ine, have been called to such an office by God Himself
28; Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28; Jer. 3:15; Is. 41:27; Rom.
We may say, then, that all who have been called by the
lJabor in Word and doctrine have a divine call.

lifetime service have any bearing on the divinity of the call?

Church has consistently held that in calling a pastor or
her the congregation should not arbitrarily and in advance
e tenure of the individual. The temporary call often affects
ly. the relations between a congregation and its pastor
r.

are, however, circumstances under which temporary
ay be extended without reflecting at all upon the divinity
. In some cases a congregation may consider it advisable
tid a call for a limited period of service. In the case of
s, high school faculty members, instructors in colleges and
, etc., a permanent call may be inadvisable. Under these
tances the limited period of service has nothing to do with
ity of the call. When pastors or teachers, including min-
didates or teacher graduates, accept such limited tenure
their status in the Church is not affected. Since their
olves the proclaiming of the Word of God, their positions
ed by the Church as a divine calling.

the status of the installed male teacher?

Church has consistently held that the installed male

“a servant of the Word, that he participates in the public
of : the congregation, and that he has a divine call. The
teacher is not a layman; although he is not a pastor, he
),the clergy. The Lutheran teacher is an assistant of the
this duties are specified in the call. The “call” of the con-
emphasizes that the teacher, like the pastor, is doing his
response to God’s command.

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