LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 253

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VII. 2013 RES. 4-06A TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE SYNOD
Notes
1. Though Ephesians 4 uses the aorist tense, it is not merely referring
to what Christ did in the past. He who ascended continues to give ministers
to His church.
2. In this report the term “Office of Preaching” is used with the same
meaning as “Office of the Holy Ministry” or “Office of the Public Ministry.”
3. John N. Collins argues that the men of Acts 6 received apostolic appointment to minister at the tables and not to wait on tables. That is, Collins
argues that the “deacons” of Acts 6 were the next generation of ministers
for evangelizing among the Greeks. See Are All Christians Ministers (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992), 36–40. While remaining neutral
about this particular point, what is evident is that both Stephen and Philip
were adjudged to be “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5) and, by
means of the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6), receive apostolic affirmation for
ministry that includes evangelism (see Acts 21:8).
4. ESV, v. 22. The participle of ἐπιστηρίζω means “to strengthen or establish”; while παρακαλέω refers to “exhorting,” “urging,” or “encouraging” here. Both terms identify an effect of the preaching of the Word in Acts
(see also 15:32; 15:41; 16:39; 18:23; 19:31).
5. While the details of method of the appointment are not explicitly provided, it is worth noting that the verb implies some sort of vote or raising of
the hands whereby in church after church the men appointed as elders received not only the endorsement of Paul and Barnabas, but of the churches.
(BDAG defines the verb χειρoτoνέω as “choose (or elect) by raising hands”
and “appoint.”)
6. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds., The Book of Concord : The
Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2000), 40. (KW)
7. KW, 42.
8. Such ways have included individual instruction according to an “apprenticeship” model and streamlined programs such as those Löhe designed
for Nothelfer. Various levels of schooling exist for training pastors in international Lutheranism, including seminary-level training and countless less
ambitious programs.
9. There may be circumstances where very small congregations may
need to consider merging with a nearby church or sharing a pastor with
another congregation (see Recommendation 4), but that does not diminish
the reality that many small congregations are struggling to provide pastoral
care. Given overall LCMS demographics, it seems certain that such circumstances will only increase in the future.
10. Although the term “ministry” (diakonia) is occasionally used in a
general sense as service, in this context the word is used in the narrow sense
to refer to the office of the called and ordained servant of the Word and its
responsibility to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments.
11. Two English editions of Walther’s Kirche und Amt are now widely
used in the LCMS. The first is Church and Ministry (Kirche und Amt): Witnesses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church on the Question of the Church
and the Ministry, trans. J. T. Mueller (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1987), cf. Part Two: Thesis I, 161–76 for Walther’s discussion of
the distinction between the priesthood of believers and the pastoral office.
Second, there is the recent revision of J. T. Mueller’s translation newly edited and annotated by Matthew C. Harrison, The Church and the Office of
the Ministry: Kirche und Amt: The Voice of Our Church on the Question of
Church and Office (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2012), which
has Part Two: Thesis I on 151–66. Later theses focus on the divine institution of the ministry, its necessity, character, authority, and responsibilities.
12. KW, 46.
13. Letter of appointment to the study committee from President Ralph
Bohlmann. Quoted in unpublished CTCR Staff report, “1989 Resolution
3-05B” (February 16, 2006), 2.
14. Ibid.
15. LCMS Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures (1989), 69.

253

16. Ibid., 70. The explicit rationale for restricting deacons from “the
personal pronouncement of the absolution as it pertains to church discipline
and possible excommunication” stems from the resolution’s perspective that
deacons “do not hold the office of public ministry” and that this function
could always be provided by “those who hold the office of public ministry”
(Res. 3-05B; 1989 Convention Proceedings, 113),
17. The 1992 Convention resolved to establish a committee to study
questions such as this, but an amendment to address the specific matter of
an office of permanent deacon was defeated (see 1992 Res. 3-07A, 1992
Convention Proceedings, 115).
18. 2001 Res. 3-08B, “To Address Needs and Opportunities for Pastoral
Ministry in Specialized Situations,” in LCMS 2001 Convention Proceedings, 138–39.
19. LCMS 2004 Convention Proceedings, 143.
20. Not all those who have completed district diaconal training programs are deacons or licensed to preach. Some assist congregations in other
ways and, often, are referred to as parish assistants or other titles. The Atlantic District refers to all its graduates as deacons, but in almost every case,
the deacons do not preach or administer the Sacraments (only one man does
so at present).
21. It is certainly the case that the Bible refers to deacons; however,
there is no indication within the texts regarding the service that deacons provide. They are associated with bishops (“overseers” or ἐπίσκοποι), respectable and reputable, and clear about the faith, but beyond that there is nothing
about what the “office” implies or involves. For that reason, it is not surprising that deacons are not a constant in church history and that their role varies
dramatically in different times and places. John Collins simply says “it is
unlikely that this section of 1 Timothy can provide any more precise idea of
the diaconate” (Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources [New York:
Oxford University Press, 1990], 238). None of this denies that the church is
free to have or not have an office of deacon, but the definition of that office
would be a matter of human authority, not divine authority, and it should not
create confusion about the necessity of the one Office of Preaching.
22. Without questioning this assertion, it should be noted that the task
force is unaware of any data that indicates how many men have gone on to
be ordained under the auspices of seminary training or colloquy.
23. The task force has no basis to judge how widespread are the practices identified in this paragraph. It has no authority or responsibility for
ecclesiastical supervision and has not discovered these examples via any
“investigation.” In every case, the practices have been reported by deacons
or mentors.
24. Some have suggested that references to the office of deacon in the
history of the broader Church and in Lutheran churches (e.g., AC XXIII
10; XXIV 37) are evidence of such a practice. In fact, however, deacons
during the Reformation-era Lutheran churches—and at many other points
in Church tradition—were often part of the ordained clergy, though of a
lesser rank (comparable to an assistant pastor today). Such deacons were
not considered laymen. However, in other Reformation settings, “deacon”
referred to unpaid laymen who took care of the poor and supervised the
common chest. See Martin Krarup, Ordination in Wittenberg (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2007), 97–100.
25. KW 46–47. Cp. BKS 69. The Tappert edition reads, for the German,
“without a regular call” and, for the Latin, “unless he is regularly called.”
See Theodore G. Tappert, ed., The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 36. The
Bente English translation from The Concordia Triglotta (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921), reads “unless he be regularly called.” Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis, Concordia Publishing House,
2005), while based on Bente, translates the phrase as “a rightly ordered
call” (65).
26. AE 39:310.
27. C. F. W. Walther, Church and Office, Thesis I on the Office, 152.
28. The Greek verb τίθημι, used in verse 28, means “to establish something” or “to appoint someone.”

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