# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1876_S43
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 43 —

to counsel them to neglect their office and to become, say, doctors or horse-dealers. That is an abomination. God could indeed give his preachers their bread directly, as once the ravens had to bring bread to Elijah; but he does not will it; rather we are to give the preachers their bread. For he who preaches the Gospel shall also live of the Gospel.

To the question: How is it to be justified when a mission preacher, since he is to work only within the district of his synod, seeks out and serves congregations that stand outside it? it was answered: That may very well happen. Such a man is lent by his congregation, on the ground of his call, to other congregations, as, for example, Bugenhagen was lent by the congregation at Wittenberg for years to Pomerania and Denmark. For such mission service one takes only preachers who have a congregation. If one sent out mere candidates, their acts would have no churchly validity.

Further it was asked whether it is right to approve that a Lutheran pastor perform official acts among the Methodists when requested by them? Answer: Since among the Methodists the preachers are given only a temporary call, one cannot really intrude upon their office at all, for they have none, but are only spiritual peddlers. This spiritual dissoluteness is something altogether new. A Zwingli or Calvin would never have tolerated such a thing in the Church. Even if we already had a right to perform official acts among them, there are nevertheless other grounds which keep us from it. They would say that we believe the same as they. A Methodist does not think he is intruding upon a Lutheran preacher's office when he tries to snatch the souls from him, for he pretends he wants only to save souls. Therefore we do not want to do to them what they do to us. In itself, then, it would be no intrusion upon a foreign office, although one may also sin on such occasions. The Methodist preachers are just like huntsmen who are sent now here, now there.

Something else it is with the Catholic priests, who have to preach in various places, for these are installed with the declared intention that they be and remain servants of the Church, wherefore, when they are sent by the bishop from one post to another, they are still recognized as servants of the Church. They depend on the arbitrary will of the bishop, indeed, he is actually the only pastor in his diocese, while the priests are only his assistant preachers. The bishop is actually also only an assistant preacher; the Pope alone is with them the actual bishop. As unlawful as such a call may be, it nevertheless does not overturn its essence; whereas the temporarily called so-called Protestant preacher enters in advance into the contract to give up the service of the Church after a definite time and again to choose a civil calling; he therefore makes no claim to a divine call.