LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 258

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258
258

VII.
OPINIONS
FAQS ON
OFTASK
COMMISSION
FORCE ON
REPORT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL
RECOMMENDATIONS
MATTERS

the Sacraments to competent men on behalf of everyone. So
men are prepared, called, and confirmed by the church as a
whole as “called and ordained servants of the Word” who
serve in the public ministry, even as every individual Christian also serves Christ in sharing the Christian faith with
their family, friends, co-workers, and others. The priesthood
of believers and public ministry complement each other;
they do not compete.
Q9. Do we need to give more emphasis to the roles of laywomen
in the Lord’s mission?
A.
The task force Recommendations 7 and 8 are designed to
encourage the role of all laity in sharing the promises of the
Gospel with the world. If adopted, encouragement of the
work of outreach from within our various vocations—husband or wife, son or daughter, employer or employee, etc.—
would certainly emphasize particular ways in which both lay
women and lay men have opportunities to share the Gospel.
Q10. What questions does our task force raise about mission and
the role of evangelists?
A.
A basic question about the Church’s mission is raised and
answered: Is mission the work of ordained servants of
the Word alone? The answer is that all of God’s baptized
children have a role to fill in the Church’s mission, since
every member of the universal priesthood can and should
“proclaim the excellencies” of Him who called us “out of
darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). By “evangelism” and “evangelist,” the report is talking about outreach
or proclamation to unbelieving or unchurched individuals.
Evangelism does have a more general meaning—proclaiming the Good News. The task force chose to emphasize evangelism as a “role” rather than an office, as a reminder that
it is a responsibility for all believers. An “office of evangelist” could, and perhaps should, be established, especially
as one considers the way in which it has been utilized in
fast-growing Lutheran churches in the global South. But “the
work of the evangelist” certainly has a place in every pastor’s ministry whether or not there is a particular office of
evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5).
Q11. Are we creating an office of evangelist and will this result
in confusion about the use of evangelists just as we currently have with LLDs? What does the report mean by the
“role” of evangelist?
A.
The task force is not recommending the creation of an office of evangelist. As noted earlier, the task force chose to
emphasize evangelism as a “role” rather than an office, as a
reminder that it is a responsibility for all believers. It would
be an entirely different question whether the Synod would
wish to create an auxiliary “office of evangelist.” Such a
question would deserve thorough study on its own, and one
matter worthy of consideration would be potential areas of
confusion through the creation of such an office.
Q12. Does the report place restrictions on mission or open the
path for more mission outreach?
A.
The report strongly encourages the recognition that the
“path” for mission—sharing Christ with the world—is open
to every believer. It is legitimate to say that the Office of
the Public Ministry is restricted since men, not women, are
called to it, and so also adults, not boys, and those able to
teach, not those without the ability to teach publicly. But the
priesthood of the baptized (or priesthood of all believers) is
the way in which the whole church exercises the office of the
keys in daily life as ordinary Christians speak of Christ, pro2016 Convention Workbook

claim His forgiveness, and guide their families, loved ones,
co-workers, and others into the truth of Christ.
Q13. Does the report hamstring the mission of the church
through human structures?
A.
The church on earth is a human structure. Structure prevents
chaos. The task force report suggests some structural improvements that, we pray, will diminish discord and division
in the Synod over how to address ministries challenged by
financial need, geographical isolation, or a lack of pastors
from certain ethnic or demographic groups. It seeks to do
nothing that would hamstring mission or outreach to those
who do not know Christ. Rather, its recommendations are
intended to urge greater clarity about and encouragement
of the work of outreach by every member of the church. In
all discussions, it should also be remembered that there are
offices with specific duties that are established by divine
right. Thus, the pastoral office, as the office to which the
public preaching and the administration of the Sacraments
is given, exists by divine right. It is by divine right, not mere
human arrangement, that a congregation is to call a pastor
(see C. F. W. Walther, The Form of Christian Congregation,
§ 20).
Q14. How can the emphasis on new mission and ministry become more of a focus for the report and proposed plan?
Does the report take into consideration the needs of the
changing post-church or post-Christian mission fields of
the United States?
A.
The report emphasizes the need for outreach and mission.
The “post-church and post-Christian mission fields” of today
are an environment that necessitates such an emphasis, since
the number of professing Christians in North America is
shrinking. Recommendations 7 and 8, in particular, encourage the ongoing use of various district programs that assist
pastors and churches in training laity for service to Christ in
their daily vocations and in the activities of their congregations. The role that the laity can and do play in Christian outreach is inestimable. The church grows when Christian men
and women “are prepared to make a defense to anyone who
asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter
3:15). The need is not for turning the laity into “little pastors”—as if one shares the Christian faith only on Sundays
from the pulpit—but for every Christian to be a strong, vibrant witness in daily life. Walther is helpful:
Thus, my dear ones, you see: the office of Preacher or
Caretaker of souls has not been instituted so that no one
else is responsible for teaching or the care of souls. No,
the whole congregation is to be a holy people, a royal
priesthood. Each Christian should bear the needs of the
soul of his neighbor in his heart and assist in the advance
of the salvific Gospel (in the lives) of men so that the
kingdom of Satan in the world is destroyed and the Kingdom of God expanded. Oh, how differently things would
look; how much greater and more wonderful would be the
blessing of the Word of God, if each Christian recognized
his holy calling and administered his royal priesthood.
With that in mind the Apostle cries to the Corinthians,
‘Strive to love. Be zealous for the spiritual gifts, but primarily for the gift of prophesying Christ’s message of salvation.’ (The German imperative is plural, denoting all of
the people). (C. F. W. Walther, 1842 sermon, “Holy Desire and Duty of All Christians to Lead Souls to Christ”)