# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1876_S40
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 40 —

publicly teach or preach, or administer the sacrament without a regular call."

To the preaching office belong the following parts: First, the essence of the call consists in this, that the one to be called is declared to be a servant of Christ and an ambassador in Christ's stead. Second, he must have the necessary competence. Third, the call must be a regular one, to administer the office which Christ has instituted alongside the general Christian calling. A preacher must be set apart so that he now may pursue no other calling alongside his own, but occupy himself solely with these things of the sanctuary. A congregation that has no preacher may well ask an upright Christian from its midst to serve it so long until it has again a regular preacher. In doing so it commits no sin, but it does not thereby set up the office among itself which Christ has instituted. For it is not in accord with this office that a person preach only here and there; rather, for such an office one has to take people who are thoroughly prepared for its exercise and who are then to remain in it, to go on studying ever further, to gather ever more experience and so to become ever more competent in the exercise of their office. But he who is called only temporarily does nothing more than any spiritual priest [any believer] can do.

Thereupon it was asked whether, by such a time limit found in the call, the whole call becomes invalid. Such a congregation wants to have the office, but the devil has led it to take this time limit into the call. How and why it came about, let that be left undiscussed here. It is now once for all in it. If now the congregation afterwards came to the knowledge that this clause is ungodly, could it not then say: The time limit is false and must be removed from the call, the rest in it is right and must stay?

It was stated: There are interim calls which are indeed divine. Thus a vacancy preacher [*Vacanzprediger*] has the right to regard himself as a lawful preacher, but only because he already has a congregation by which he is called. Why does one not call a student as vacancy preacher and let him baptize and give the sacrament? Because one wants a called man. The essence of the office does not consist in the administration of the means of grace, for baptizing, preaching and administering the Holy Supper can under circumstances also be done by any Christian, but the essence of the office consists in this, that a definite person, in a quite definite order, makes it his life's calling, on the call of a congregation, to serve the LORD through the administration of the means of grace. Such a one cannot now say: Now it no longer pleases me, now it is over, I will be a preacher no more, but he shall remain it always, as long as he lives.

It was replied that it should also not be thereby said, if someone