LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 188

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188 THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

office in your midst till our dear Lord Himself would dissolve
the bond between pastor and congregation through some other
compelling circumstances. (Selected Letters, ed. Aug. R.
Suelflow [CPH, 1981], p. 58)

The main thing, as I see it, is only that you recognize that
the establishment of the office of the ministry is not a human
arrangement but is of divine institution and may not be sus-
pended by human whim. (Ibid., p. 59)

We will not permit any of our preachers to be made into ser-
vants of men, and therefore we do not permit them to be hired
for a year, or several years, but only on an indefinite basis, for as
long as the Lord wills it and as long as the respective pastor re-
mains true to his office, or till he be called to another ministry,
or till the Lord calls him through death (ibid., p. 68), and

WHEREAS, Francis Pieper wrote that the essence of a temporary
call consists in this, that human beings “want to determine how
long a pastor is to be active at a certain place. This is indeed con-
trary to the divinity of the call to the ministry. The ministry is di-
vine not only in the sense that God has ordained it for all time, but
also in this sense that unto the end of time God places the persons,
who are to serve Him in the ministry, at the various places and de-
termines the time during which they are to be active at a place”
(Lehre und Wehre 1898, pp. 339-42; quoted by P. F. Koehneke,
“The Call into the Holy Ministry,” The Abiding Word, vol. 1, p.
381); and

WHEREAS, P. F. Koehneke also shows that ‘This has been the
consistent practice of our Synod since [the beginning] and has been
stated again and again in official papers presented at conventions
and in our periodicals. Pastor Beyer presents the following thesis:
‘Those whom a congregation has called, God has called through
that congregation, and a congregation has no right to remove them
from office except in cases in which God Himself commands such
removal.’ He concludes the paragraph with the statement: ‘A con-
gregation has no right to call a pastor or teacher or to dismiss him
on the basis of a contract.” (op. cit., p. 380); therefore be it

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod affirm
the usefulness of pastors with special gifts, skills, and training to
serve in congregations with special needs (for times of healing,
self-examination, etc.), and that congregations with such needs be
encouraged (not forced or coerced) to extend a regular call to a man
with such qualifications; and be it further

Resolved, That such calls never be extended on the basis of a
human contract for a predetermined duration of time, but that the
length of the “interim” be determined by God alone, who by His
divine wisdom knows best when to move a pastor from one place
to another; and be it further

Resolved, That all “contracts” limiting the duration of divine
calls currently in effect in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
be recognized as null and void, and congregations using this
arrangement be required either to extend a regular (not temporary)
call to their “interim” pastor or to begin the process of extending a
regular call to another pastor; and be it further

Resolved, That The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod urge the
Council of Presidents to reflect this position as the practice of the
Synod in their policy and guidelines for intentional interim min-
istry; and be it finally

Resolved, That the 2004 Synod convention reject all calls in
which man, rather than God, determines the duration.

Circuit 26 Forum
South Wisconsin District

3-81

To Not Act in Violation of Doctrine of Divine Call

WHEREAS, Accountability of pastors and congregations to the
divine call throughout the history of The Lutheran Church—Mis-
souri Synod has been clearly understood: The role and relationship
of the pastor to the congregation has been for the purpose of min-
istering the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament to God’s
people to whom the pastor is called; and

WHEREAS, As a result of a decline in the understanding of the
doctrine of the divine call many congregations throughout Synod
have voted to remove their pastor without just cause, which is, in
essence, the firing of a pastor from his divine call; and

WHEREAS, For the purpose of clarity the LCMS defines the
valid reasons for rescinding the divine call of a pastor to be:

1. Persistent adherence to false doctrine.

2. Scandalous lifestyle. Scandalous life has historically been de-
fined as an immoral lifestyle, drunkenness, theft, assault, or any
other activity which detracts from the witness of Jesus Christ.

3. The unwillingness or the inability to fulfill the duties assigned
to the Office of the Holy Ministry which relate directly to the
means of grace; therefore be it

Resolved, That we uphold and support any congregation which
because of the above mentioned reasons rescinds the divine call of
their pastor and encourage the District President to seek the re-
mova! of the offending pastor from the roster of Synod; and be it
further

Resolved, That at the same time, when a congregation violates
Synod’s doctrinal positions as drawn from Scripture, by acting in
violation of the divine call and removes its pastor without just
cause, such action is contrary to the Word of God; and be it finally

Resolved, That in the event a congregation rescinds the call of
its pastor, the District President shall investigate such removal. If,
after such investigation, it is determined the pastor was removed
without just cause, the District President shall encourage both the
congregation and the pastor to follow the dispute resolution
process. If the dispute resolution process fails to accomplish a God-
pleasing resolution, the District President shall admonish the con-
gregation to reverse its action. If all admonishment is ignored, the
District President shall, in accordance with the Bylaws of the
Synod, remove the congregation from the roster of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod.

Circuits 17 and 19
Texas District

3-82

To Call Lutheran Hour Speakers
and Other Preachers of Auxiliaries

WHEREAS, St. Paul wrote that after Christ “ascended far above
all the heavens” (Eph. 4:10) “He gave some as apostles, and some
as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers” (Eph. 4:11; see also John 20:21; Rev. 1:20; 3:1); and

WHEREAS, Jesus promised to those who teach His Word, “He
who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he
who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16); and

WHEREAS, “The Holy Spirit” makes men “overseers, to care for
the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood” (Acts
20:28) and chooses men to be missionaries (Act 13:14); and

WHEREAS, Those who proclaim and teach God’s Word are to be
called to their ministries and appointed through the church and live
up to God’s expectations (Acts 1:21—-26; 14:23; Titus 1:5~9; 1 Tim.
3:1-13; 4:6-16; 1 Peter 5:14); and

Wuereas, Augsburg Confession XXIV states: “Of Ecclesiasti-
cal Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the
Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called”;
and

WHEREAS, The process of issuing a divine call to those who pro-
claim God’s Word is intended to assure the church of the
preacher’s qualifications as well as to protect the preacher from
being removed from his office for unscriptural reasons (1 Tim.
5:17-20); and

WHEREAS, The position of Lutheran Hour Speaker is one in
which a minister is required to teach publicly in the church in ac-
cordance with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions; and

WHEREAS, To date Lutheran Hour speakers have not been given
divine calls but are only given a contract for employment, in viola-