LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 254

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254

VII. 2013 RES. 4-06A TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE SYNOD

29. References are largely from Church and Office, 168.
30. Online at http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=410;
abbreviated as Divine Call.
31. Ibid., 5.
32. Ibid., 10.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid., 12. Note well: the rationale is for Lutherans to ordain, not to
dispense with ordination, something they insisted they did not want. See Ap
XIV and the section that follows.
35. Ibid., 13.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid., 14. It should be noted, then, that the term call is being used in
a twofold manner. In AC XIV, “called” is used to refer to an entire, threefold
process of placing a man into the Public Office of the Ministry. The reference to a “right of calling” is a more narrow designation of the specific
congregational call to an eligible candidate who is or will be ordained. On
this understanding of the term call that can apply both to an individual congregation’s decision and also to the call process of the wider church, see also
CTCR, The Ministry: Offices, Procedures, Nomenclature (1981), which
says on page 30: “The term ‘call’ should be used for those who have specifically been equipped to perform certain ecclesiastical functions and have
made a commitment to dedicate their lives to that service unless or until
God directs them to other callings. The term ‘call’ should not be used where
such commitment is lacking, and those who serve the church other than
under a call should be referred to simply as ‘lay workers.’ Furthermore, in
a synodical form of church fellowship and congregational interdependence,
those who are ‘called’ must be under the supervision of the whole church.”
38. The Ministry: Offices, Procedures, Nomenclature (1981), 30. Emphasis added.
39. LSB Agenda, Rite of Ordination, 167.
40. Apology XIV 1 in the Book of Concord makes it evident that ordination was an aspect of rite vocatus. Every English version refers to “canonical
ordination” as something the reformers fully support, even as they condemn
the Roman church for preventing them from maintaining ordination in the
usual manner. See KW, 222–23; also the Tappert translation: “With the proviso that we employ canonical ordination, they [the authors of the Roman
Confutation] accept Article XIV, where we say that no one should be allowed to administer the Word and the sacraments in the church unless he is
duly called.” Furthermore, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, second
edition (Paul McCain et al., eds.; St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
2006), comments in its introduction to Art. XIV: “Here Melanchthon affirms Lutheranism’s desire to maintain whatever best contributes to good
order, peace and harmony in the Church. Therefore, Lutherans have insisted
on a rightly ordered call and ordination for those who will serve the Church
as ministers of Word and Sacrament.”
41. AE 36:113.
42. Church and Office, Thesis VI, 209.
43. See 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9; see also 2 Timothy 2:15.
44. See AC XV and Ap XV.
45. It is certainly true that if the wider church does not make it possible
to provide pastors, then a congregation has every right to act on its own
to appoint a minister from among themselves. Because Rome would not
ordain pastors for Reformation churches, this became a central point in the
Treatise and in Luther.
46. See an excellent essay by Joel P. Okamoto, “The Office of the Holy
Ministry,” in Concordia Theological Quarterly 70 (2006): 97–111. This paper was presented at two joint meetings of the systematics departments of
both LCMS seminaries and represents a consensus of these departments on
the subject. It also appeared in Concordia Journal, published by the faculty
of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. A significant point in the essay is that
the ministry requires and receives its necessary authority only from Jesus.

2016 Convention Workbook

47. “Catholicity” here refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but
“catholic” in the sense of the universal Church, found wherever the Gospel
is proclaimed and the Sacraments administered.
48. Other Scriptures cited regarding ordination include 1 Timothy 4:14
(“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when
the council of elders laid their hands on you”) and 2 Timothy 1:6 (“Fan into
flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands”).
What is the gift imparted by the apostolic custom of the laying on of hands?
Is it the Spirit, with gifts for pastoral work? Is it the office itself? Our church
has been reticent to say more than the text, but it is clear that something is
given. Perhaps the best understanding is that through the whole process of
examination, call, and ordination, the office of pastor is entrusted to an individual not to lift him above the people but to charge him humbly to serve in
the stead of Christ. The risen Lord has given “the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).
49. At that point, it was estimated that approximately 135 “lay ministers” were “serving in the Synod in an ongoing Word and Sacrament ministry without the benefit of synodical guidelines for their service” (1989 Res.
3-05B, 1989 Convention Proceedings, 111).
50. Okamoto, 110f.
51. Those who serve on Synod’s Colloquy Committee report that when
they ask licensed lay deacons what the people of the congregation they serve
call them, the response is often “They call me pastor.” This indicates that
laity recognize the Office of the Ministry, even when an individual has not
been placed into it in a public manner.
52. Policy Manual of the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry,
p. 6; see www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=1106.
53. Quoted in Moving Frontiers, Carl S. Meyer, ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1964), 152.
54. The 1854 constitution lists the requirements for the examinations:
“The examinations shall be both oral and written. Written work is to be: a
sermon on an assigned text; an essay on a dogmatical and church-historical
topic; and finally a brief biography and a trustworthy character testimonial. The oral examination is conducted in the following subjects: Bible
knowledge and Scripture interpretation; Christian doctrine; knowledge of
the Symbolical Books and of the teachings of erring church bodies; church
history, especially Reformation history; and practical care of souls; likewise
the candidate has to deliver the sermon he handed in, and a catechization.
All this, as previously noted, is done publicly. Above all, the examiners are
to inquire whether the candidate has a thorough understanding of the right
distinction between Law and Gospel (2 Timothy 2:15), also whether he is
apt to teach, [and] also if he is sound and firm in the true confession.” Ibid,
155.
55. 2013 Convention Proceedings, 132.
56. In this document, the terms certify and examine are used synonymously.
57. The Synod will also do well to recognize those things called for by
1989 Res. 3-05B it did not do; for example, conferences for leaders involved
in training deacons, a clear distinction between locally trained workers and
Certified Church Workers—Lay, deacons were considered a temporary solution in special circumstances, and clear bylaws were to be written to cover
(and perhaps roster) licensed lay deacons.
58. It should be noted that, according to the distinction between the Office of the Public Ministry and auxiliary offices, no commissioned ministry
office includes the work of public preaching and sacramental administration, even though every commissioned minister is a minister of the Word.
59. This does not address or restrict the training or the work of congregational deacons who assist their churches and pastors in other roles such as
human care, liturgy, evangelism, assimilation, and catechesis and Christian
education.
60. See LCMS 2013 Handbook Bylaw 2.13.1.
61. LCMS 2013 Handbook Bylaw 2.13.1.