LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 388

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388 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Confessions, such a set of criteria should include at least the fol-
lowing considerations.

The Gospel. The Lutheran confession of justification by faith
alone on the basis of Christ’s radical self-giving to us in his suffi-
cient sacrificial death transformed the office of the ministry. No
longer was it seen as a sacrificial office through which the priest
offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people or acted as a judge
for rendering verdicts on people who could make recompense for
their sins. Rather, it became an office whereby the pastor was re-
sponsible for delivering the gifts of Christ in Word and sacrament
to those brought to faith by the Holy Spirit. The Reformation re-
sulted in a preaching revival because it placed a new emphasis on
the importance of the oral proclamation of the Gospel in its purity
and the administration of the sacraments in accord with the Gospel.
The emphasis thus shifted from a focus on the person of the priest
to the publication of the promise. The practice of the call reflects
this emphasis. In all of its facets the theology and practice of the
call must be directed toward the clear, pure, and unhindered procla-
mation of a Gospel-bearing Christology.

The Scriptures. It is vital to observe that the Scriptures do-not
lay down one single procedure for the calling of a pastor. They sup-
ply few direct answers to the types of questions that are being
asked today. Most of the biblical data consist of examples given in
narrative sections of the text rather than in explicit prescriptions or
mandates. This does not mean that we are unable to derive princi-
ples and guidance from these examples that are congruent with the
scriptural text. But we must be clear as to when we are speaking
on the basis of a specific directive, and when we are deriving prin-
ciples and practices from the narratives. Still, the data provided by
Scripture— whether prescriptive or descriptive—should receive
preferential consideration. This is why the church utilizes prayer
and the laying on of hands when ordaining a man into the office of
pastor. The church today does not cast lots, though it might well
consider a process like this: the candidate list is narrowed to three
men (any of whom would be acceptable), the three names are
placed into a hat, and one is drawn out in the confidence that God
will bless the congregation through this selection.

The Historic Practice of the Church. In places where the
Lutheran Confessions provide glimpses of the actual practices of
congregations, we learn that they were cautious or conservative in
their practices. This is true also of human traditions (Ap XV), pub-
lic calls (Ap XIV), and the liturgy of the Mass (Ap XX VI) among
other things. The Confessors respected the practices that they had
inherited as catholic, and as having been proven to be tried and
true. The same can be said regarding subsequent Lutheran tradition
and its practices (especially within our own Missouri Synod). The
practices that we have inherited should be given preferential con-
sideration and adjusted only after the rationale behind them has
been thoroughly evaluated and only when there is a compelling rea-
son or need within the church to do so. As in the case of the Re-
formers, the historic practices of the church need not dictate how
we today develop appropriate calling procedures and practices, but
they should shape and guide us as we go about finding appropriate
procedures for the divine call in the present and future.

The Consensus of the Church. In a culture and society that
prizes individuality and autonomy, it becomes increasingly impor-
tant that congregations and Districts of the Synod not become a law
unto themselves by acting in isolation and without consideration
for their commitments to the wider church. Congregations and Dis-
tricts need to guard against doing what they regard as expedient for
their situation without concern for following through with their
commitment to synodically agreed upon practices. The diversity of
call procedures in the present situation is bewildering to many and
in some cases has prompted ethical concerns. When responses are

2004 Convention Workbook

given to this confusion, and the effort is made to forestall it further,
there is a tendency to assert as “divine” particular procedures that
have always belonged in the realm of polity. And, as attempts are
made to prescribe a particular procedure or to handle a specific sit-
uation, there is an equal and opposite tendency to assert the auton-
omy of the congregation and thus to imply that it may do whatever
it wants.

Reason and Common Sense. When it becomes necessary to de-
vise human procedures or policies for administering the divine call,
an emphasis on human reason is appropriate. Human beings utilize
all of their creaturely gifts to analyze, evaluate, and determine the
how, the when, and the whom of the call. One ought not too
blithely identify such a process with the working of the Holy Spirit.
Neither should one dismiss its importance. An appropriate use of
ministerial reason is needed to devise policies, procedures, and rites
that can best express and carry out the theology of the divine call
into the pastoral office. Because these are rooted in reason, they
ought to be vigorously debated, thoroughly tested, and critically
evaluated.

Administering a Call

Throughout its history the church has consistently derived cer-
tain features of the call process from Scripture and therefore has
regarded them as non-negotiable. These include the following: (1)
the preparation of an individual that certifies him as competent and
fit for the office; (2) the selection of an individual by the church;
and (3) the ordination and installation of an individual into the of-
fice (see the section on Lutheran Confessions). The way in which
these three elements are implemented, however, may vary from
time to time and place to place depending on the structures and pro-
cedures established by human beings within the church.

Determination of Candidates for a Call

The Scriptures affirm that a man who aspires to the pastoral of-
fice desires a good thing (1 Tim 3:1). The so-called “inner call”
should be interpreted in light of this principle and should not be
confused with personal ambition. One who thinks that he has an
“inner call” to serve God as a pastor seeks to have that call affirmed
and confirmed by the church. Clearly, his call is a public activity
that is carried out in behalf of and for the benefit of the church. The
church’s affirmation and confirmation take place through the pro-
cedures that it adopts for ascertaining a man’s fitness for the office.
A man who is called must be qualified to serve in the office to
which he is called. These qualifications relate to a person’s doc-
trine and life, for both have a vital impact upon the ministry of the
Gospel. The need for certain qualifications is evident from the
church’s consideration of whom to call. Acts 6, as well as Paul’s
lists in Titus 1:5—9 and 1 Tim 3:18, include such things as being
apt to teach and above reproach. To identify qualified men, the
church has developed certain procedures for training and examin-
ing those who aspire to the office of the public ministry. These pro-
cedures have been, and can continue to be, adapted to meet the ex-
igencies of each age.

Formation-Preparation-Education

A ministry of the Word that engages in the teaching and preach-
ing of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments requires
a thorough knowledge of the entire counsel of God as the theolog-
ical framework within which the Gospel is conveyed as Gospel.
Not every mention of Christ necessarily conveys the Gospel. It is
not any Christ that bears the Gospel, but a particular Christ. The
Gospel includes an incarnational Christology within a Trinitarian
framework. Preaching the Gospel requires knowledge of the vari-
ous Lutheran distinctions that are designed to preserve the exclu-
sivity of salvation in the Christ revealed in the Holy Scriptures.