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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 354

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

354

IX. 2016 RESOLUTION 13-01A TASK FORCE REPORT
19) What about emergencies? How do we define emergency? Does the contemporary challenge of an increasingly
non-Christian North America, coupled with the missionary mandate, constitute an emergency? Is this the sort
of emergency for having lay leaders help congregations
in need or serve in place of a pastor? Is this the kind of
setting for circuit-riding pastors? That is, are these the
circumstances in which the assumptions and rules of
past practice are no longer applicable?
20) How should congregations respond when they face
prolonged vacancies and no ordained pastor from our
fellowship is available to serve them? When a congregation is being led by a layman, how is the congregation to
be assured that they are receiving solid, biblical teaching?
21) In light of the rapidly increasing cultural and ethnic diversity of 21st century America, how should the LCMS
and its congregations prioritize mission efforts and how
may it utilize both the royal priesthood and the Office of
Public Ministry in those efforts?
22) Given the importance of personal relationships in the
life of the church and in its mission, what can the LCMS
and its congregations do to encourage both royal priests
and pastors to be intentional about developing the kinds
of relationships that enhance the church’s outreach?
23) Given the opportunities of an increasingly multicultural
North America, how can our congregations prepare to
serve, support, and welcome people from other cultures
into our congregations and community?
24) How should our congregations move from simply being
a collection of individuals to a stronger community of
faith in Jesus Christ with accountability to one another?
This is reflected in the New Testament and among
many immigrant communities today. Might it minimize
the confusion of roles between the offices of the royal
priesthood and the Public Ministry?
25) Mission movements past and present involve both
clergy and laity. How can the Synod meaningfully
incorporate both, given the sometimes unhealthy tension
between the royal priesthood and the Office of Public
Ministry? What roles do both laity and clergy play in
today’s context?
26) What should a congregation do when it is unable to
receive the Lord’s Supper for a prolonged period of time
because no ordained pastor is available?
27) How should the LCMS respond to what appears to be
a gap between the beliefs of many of our laity and the
teachings of Scripture and the Confessions?
28) How should the Synod respond to the declining number
of available pastors?
29) How should congregations and Synod respond to the
increasing numbers of congregations that will have difficulty supporting a pastor financially?

Change of any kind often leads to misunderstandings or anxiety in relationships. This is true also of the blessed partnership between the royal priesthood and the Office of Public Ministry. The
2019 Convention Workbook

kinds of changes and challenges we have identified frequently undermine trust and foster suspicion and animosity. The Word of God
alone has power to forgive and heal where there is sin, misunderstanding, and conflict. In addition, a fresh look and in-depth study
of the Word is vital in a time of change, for with change comes an
opportunity to reflect once more about our life together in Christ as
we share in His mission to the world.

II. The Royal Priesthood in the “Blessed Partnership”
Church of God, elect and glorious, Holy nation, chosen
race;
Called as God’s own special people, Royal priests and heirs
of grace:
Know the purpose of your calling, Show to all His mighty
deeds;
Tell of love that knows no limits, Grace that meets all human needs. (LSB 646, v. 1)
In light of the challenges identified above, this task force has
been asked to consider “the Royal Priesthood and the Office of the
Public Ministry in the New Testament.”41 We will take them in turn.
On the matter of the royal priesthood, we encourage the reader to
supplement the following material with the excellent recent report
of the CTCR, The Royal Priesthood: Identity and Mission.42
a)

The royal priesthood in Scripture

To consider the royal priesthood biblically, we must note that
the priestly character of the entire people of God is affirmed first
in the Old Testament (OT), even though the OT gives great attention to the particular Levitical priestly office of Aaron and his descendants. Prior to the establishment of the Levitical priesthood the
Lord says already in Exodus 19:5–6: “Now therefore, if you will
indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and
you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These
are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” The
response of the entire children of Israel is then recorded: “All the
people answered together and said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken
we will do’” (v. 8, emphasis added). This characterization of Israel
as “a kingdom of priests” is notwithstanding the establishment of
a particular priesthood among them—as one sees, for example, in
Exodus 28.
Thus, a “blessed complementarity” between the whole priestly
people of God and those from among the people set aside for particular service is not a New Testament (NT) innovation. Despite
this OT precedent, however, it is true that in the NT there is “a new
and different kind of priesthood,”43 because the NT speaks only of
the priesthood of the whole people of God and connects its entire
importance to Christ, the great High Priest. Hebrews 3:1–2 says,
“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling,
consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who
was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was
faithful in all God’s house.” In Christ, “the high priest of our confession,” we “share in a heavenly calling” with Him to the priesthood conferred in Baptism.
Note well: although God’s people failed in the priestly duty
to obey the Lord’s voice and keep His command (Ex. 19:5), Christ
our High Priest perfectly fulfilled the Law on our behalf (Matt.
5:17–20; 2 Cor. 5:21) and gave His own blood at the cross as the
sin offering for all and for all time (Heb. 9–10). Therefore, by His
sacrificial death and resurrection, we are cleansed for priestly ser-