LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 454

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454 ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” ({ Tim.
2:2).

Our pastors must understand themselves to be teachers of the
Faith. We recall Luther’s complaint that pastors were woefully un-
prepared and unable to teach. In the preface to his Small Cate-
chism, Luther wrote,

The deplorable conditions which J recently encountered when | was
a visitor constrained me to prepare this brief and simple catechism or
statement of Christian teaching. Good God, what wretchedness | be-
held! The common people, especially those who live in the country,
have no knowledge whatever of Christian teaching, and unfortunately
many pastors are quite incompetent and unfitted for teaching (SC Pr
1-2; Tappert, 338).

In the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, the confes-
sors state, “We do not propose to look on tdly or stand silently
while something contrary to the Augsburg Confession ts imported
into our churches and schools in which the almighty God and Fa-
ther of our Lord Jesus Christ has appointed us teachers and shep-
herds” (FC SD XII. 6; Tappert, p. 633).

Coupled to this, the pastor is also concerned to guard against
false teaching in his parish. Thts too is an important duty of the
pastor. Acts 20:28 puts it this way: “Keep watch over yourselves
and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own
blood.” St. Paul told Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine
closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both
yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16).

Our confessions comment on the pastor’s duty to guard the
flock and drive off the wolves:

In order to preserve the pure doctrine and to maintain a thoroughly
lasting and God-pleasing concord within the church, it is essential not
only to present the true and wholesome doctrine correctly, but also to
accuse the adversaries who teach otherwise (1 Tim. 3:9; Titus 1:9;
2 Tim. 2:24; 3:16). ‘Faithful shepherds,’ as Luther states, ‘must both
pasture or feed the lambs and guard against wolves so that they will flee
from strange voices and separate the precious from the vile’ (John
10:12-16, 27; Jer. 15:19) (FC SD RN, 14; Tappert, p. 506).

Warning is still another duty of the pastor in his congregation.
He must be able, in love, to warn those who are going astray and to
exhort them and encourage them in their faith. As St. Paul ex-
plained to Timothy, “I urged you when I went to Macedonia, stay
there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to
teach false doctrines any longer” (1 Tim. 1:3).

Our confessions comment on this important duty of the minis-
ters of the church, “The responsibility devolves upon the theolo-
gians and ministers duly to remind even those who err ingenuously
and ignorantly of the danger to their souls and to warn them against
it, lest one blind person let himself be misled by another” (BC Pr.
par. 22; Tappert, P. 12). In fact it is precisely this concern that mo-
tivated the confessors also to note:

We desire particularly that the young men who are being trained for
service in the church and for the holy ministry be faithfully and diligently
instructed therein, so that the pure teaching and confession of the faith
may be preserved and perpetuated among our posterity through the help
and assistance of the Holy Spirit until the glorious advent of our only
Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ (BC Pr. par. 23; Tappert, p. 12).

The pastor’s wisdom and discretion

A pastor may be a gifted speaker and teacher. He may have
much knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. He may be an insightful
writer and very knowledgeable about doctrine and our church’s
confession. But al] these qualities will be to no avail if the pastor
does not have a strong pastoral heart for his people, a heart like
unto that of the Master. All the gifts we have mentioned above will
be of little benefit if the pastor does not truly have the loving heart
of a shepherd, a man who loves and cares for Christ’s sheep. The
Scriptures here too remind us of this essential aspect of the shep-
herd’s relationship to his sheep.

2001 Convention Workbook

St. Paul reminded Titus of the wisdom and discretion necessary
in relating to people: “In everything set them an example by doing
what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and
soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who
oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say
about us” (Titus 2:7-8). Brethren, the pastor may be tempted at
times to lose his pastoral heart and instead become a tyrant and dic-
tator of God’s people. Pride may get the better of a pastor and he
will be tempted to lose sight of the people-centeredness of the pas-
toral ministry. Good old common horse-sense may be lacking tn
some cases. It is for this reason that St. Paul explains how we are to
relate to different people in our congregations: “Do not rebuke an
older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat
younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger
women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Tim. 5:1-2 ). Luther
decried those pastors who failed to live in accord with the standards
of the ministry.

Some because of their great and lofty learning, others because of
sheer laziness and gluttony, behave tn this manner as if they were pas-
tors or preachers for their bellies’ sake and had nothing to do but live off
the fat of the land all their days, as they used to do under the papacy. . .
. such shameful gluttons and servants of their bellies would make better
swineherds or dogkeepers than spiritual guides and pastors. . . . They
remember no more of the Gospel than this rotten, pernicious shameful
carnal liberty... . A shameful and insidious plague of security and bore-
dom has overtaken us” (LC Pr 1-5; Tappert, p. 358-359).

Pastoral wisdom and discretion is a blessing from God by which
the man of God will use his God-given common sense and sancti-
fied judgment to avoid situations that are questionable, or could
open the door to accusations against him.

A pastor must be extremely careful how he treats the women of
the parish. The pastor will treat the younger women like sisters and
the older women as mothers, with that respect for women befitting
their dignity and womanly honor. Here, brethren, our pastors must
be on their guard lest the old tempter work his way into their rela-
tionships with the women of his congregation and lead them to
thoughts and actions that are destructive to their ministry.

As he relates to the men of the parish, the pastor will not try
simply to be “one of the boys,” but will respect the men of the
parish as brothers and fathers in Christ. He wil] regard them as col-
leagues in the work of the congregation, paying special honor to
the older men of the congregation.

Now as a pastor carries out all of these responsibilities, he must
be comfortable with himself and his own abilities and not feel it
necessary to be an expert on every subject in the parish. For exam-
ple, there is little reason why a pastor should be closely involved in
decisions in the parish that have little to do with the work of the
pastoral office, for example, what color to paint the fellowship hall
or what contractor should be hired to install the new heating system
or what the color of the carpet should be in the church or how best
to structure the accounting process, and so forth. The pastor has no
divine responsibility to determine the answers to these and other
similar matters. On the other hand, it is not good for the pastor to
give the impression that he does not care about the physical: needs
of the congregation. He should assume the attitude of the apostles,
and turn these matters over to people “filled with the Spirit and wis-
dom.” The pastor should not micro-manage every detail in the con-
gregation, nor should he create the impression that he is uncon-
cerned about the physical needs of the congregation. I recognize
that this is a fine balance, but it is one we are required to maintain.

There are those situations in which the pastor gives his congre-
gation the impression that he and he alone is the one who is able to
reach a valid judgment in every matter. This spirit of haughtiness
and superiority on the part of a pastor is so very devastating for a
congregation. When a pastor conducts his ministry in this fashion,
it is not surprising that there will be little interest in the work of the
congregation by the royal priesthood. St. Peter’s words need to be