# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1896_S16
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

16 Proceedings of the sixteenth convention

known. In that case it must be left to free discretion whether one will not first send a good friend to the sinning brother; the norm that it must be done so does not extend to these cases, but there the word applies: "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear," and: "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person." One who is already known and recognized as wicked is to be punished publicly and, where he remains wicked, put out. — Thus we have our practice of church discipline set forth in the divine Word clearly and definitely in every respect.

That we call preachers and set up and maintain the preaching office in the midst of the congregation is a piece of church practice. There are so-called churches which do not have this, for example the Quakers and others, who in a perverse way insist on their universal priesthood and say: "We are all preachers, and everyone is to speak as the Spirit gives him utterance." Then they wait to see whether someone gets the Spirit, perhaps several get the Spirit (and he is then also in keeping with it!); or nobody gets it, and there is no sermon; they rise from their benches, go home and imagine marvels, what great spiritual persons they are — and it is a wholly perverse, self-chosen, ungodly thing. For the Lord has made an order with regard to public preaching, according to which we are to make our arrangements and perform and establish what is to be performed and established with regard to it according to this norm. We are to call preachers and to hear these preachers as preachers, to regard them as those who are to be nourished by the Gospel, and to hold them worthy of double honor, as those who labor in the Word and in doctrine; if God takes from us a preacher whom He has given us, we are not to wait for Him to let another fall from heaven, but are to look about for another, and if we notice that he is hard to get, we are to think anew that in order to have preachers and teachers we must also see to it and take care that such are trained. It is not a free matter, left to us, whether we wish to work toward there being faithful, godly and capable teachers and preachers in the Church. This is connected with the divine norm which Christ, the Lord, Himself has established for all times with regard to the public proclamation of His Word.

Governed in God's Word is the practice as it is exercised among us also with regard to the estate of marriage, the contracting of marriage, the conduct of marriage and divorce. Marriage is indeed a civil estate and as such belongs not to churchly but to civil life. But marriage is contracted in our Church by the congregation, through the function of its pastor and often through the assembly of a large part of the congregation at the wedding, under the eyes of the congregation and with the cooperation of the congregation, and so this estate enters