LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 393

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 393

refused to accept instruction, etc. Proper causes simply make it
clear that God has already deposed the man as a hireling or “wolf.”

Removal from Office

The church has traditionally laid down two grounds for depos-
ing pastors and other servants of the Word: persistent teaching of
false doctrine, and leading a scandalous and offensive life. Persis-
tent teaching of false doctrine undermines the foundation of the
faith. A scandalous life leads people to blaspheme God’s name.
These causes not only provide the grounds for removing a man
from service in the congregation, but they also render him ineligi-
ble for receiving any subsequent call to another congregation or
place of service. He is no longer in the office of the public min-
istry. These reasons presume that the pastor has undermined the
ministry of the Word, and in biblical terms is no longer “apt to
teach” and “above reproach.”

A third reason has often been cited within the Lutheran tradi-
tion, namely, the inability or refusal to perform the duties of the of-
fice. Inability has reference to physical disabilities or diminished
mental capacities that involuntarily prevent one from carrying out
the responsibilities of the office. The refusal to carry out the duties
of the office, in the words of Walther, is deliberate unfaithfulness in
the office. This cause for removal may include behavior such as
laziness, carelessness in carrying out official acts, drunkenness, ob-
Stinacy, and laxity about visiting the sick.

Walther adds two other causes, which may be regarded either
as further elaborations of the two above-mentioned causes, or as
separate reasons. The first of these is that a pastor may be guilty of
overstepping the authority of the Word and becoming “domineer-
ing” in the office (as when he imposes his will upon a congregation
in matters where the congregation has the proper authority). Fi-
nally, removal might become necessary in a situation where the
pastor is not “a totally wicked person,” but may, for example, have
the problem of an inadequately—or perhaps even overly—sensi-
tive conscience.

As we have already noted, the removal of a man from the of-
fice of the public ministry is a very serious matter and should not
be carried out capriciously or arbitrarily. It is of utmost importance
that the church act corporately—hearers and teachers, laity and
clergy together. Thus too, a congregation needs to involve the Cir-
cuit Counselor and District President. Working cooperatively, they
will follow due process and so seek the best possible result for all
parties involved. The congregation should also be prepared to heed
the advice of.the District President regarding biblical reasons for
removing a man, and this in spite of a pastor’s popularity in the
congregation. When a man has been removed from the office for
reasons that come under the third cause listed above, it is possible
that following a period of repentance, counsel, and rehabilitation,
he could once again become eligible for a call.

Relocation

We in the Lutheran tradition hold that God concludes a person’s
period of service at a particular location through a call from an-
other congregation (just as Paul was summoned from one location
to another). Ordinarily this occurs smoothly and without incident,
though there have been times in the past when problems that a pas-
tor has encountered at one congregation follow him to the next con-
gregation. In some cases these difficulties may be due to a lack of
necessary gifts or skills for a particular task or context. This does
not necessarily disqualify him from serving in the office of the min-
istry. Minor failings or weaknesses often need to be tolerated. In
such situations, however, it is extremely important that District
Presidents openly communicate with their fellow District Presi-
dents and with the congregations. Such a way of proceeding will
greatly benefit congregations and help to identify a field of service
where the man’s particular gifts may be best utilized.

There are also instances when a man needs a break from the
work of ministry due to extreme fatigue, lack of necessary skills, or
personal problems. Ideally, he may be given a leave of absence
(sabbbatical) for personal renewal, possible counseling, and reha-
bilitation. In more extreme situations when a pastor refuses to ac-
cept a need recognized by all, he may have to be relieved of certain
duties or even relieved of his cal} altogether. In such instances, he
would be placed on candidate status (hopefully without a stigma
attached to it). The church should do everything possible to pro-
vide some type of a “safety net” as he prepares to resume the duties
of his office and receives another call. Every effort should be made
to assist the man in receiving another call suitable to his talents and
gifts.

Performance Evaluations

Christ entrusts the office of the ministry to the church for its ad-
ministration. The church therefore has a responsibility to care for
the office, paying close attention not only to candidates called into
the office, but also to the occupants and their activities. Accord-
ingly, the church ought to review and evaluate what takes place
within the office so that a man is in fact faithfully administering
Christ’s Word. But once again, we must be careful about uncriti-
cally adopting business models for the church.

We must be continually mindful of the two dimensions of the
office. On the one hand, the church must be fed with the pure Word
of God. Congregations call a pastor to feed them with the Gospel.
This entails a responsibility to evaluate the pastor in light of scrip-
tural models (remembering, of course, that the greatest of God’s
servants were frequently in tension with the majority view and cur-
rent theological fashion). For this reason, Walther wanted people
to know The Book of Concord so that they could test their preach-
ers. The church certifies a man on the basis of doctrine when he
enters the office, but that obligation does not cease once he enters
it. A congregation should seek continuing theological education for
its pastor. A pastor’s refusal or persistent failure to devote himself
to growth in the Word of God not only says something about the
importance he places on doctrine, but it could also constitute
grounds for removing him from a congregation—and perhaps even
from the office of the ministry itself. Indeed, it is incumbent upon
a congregation (and the church at large) to evaluate its pastor re-
garding his doctrine, his life, and his faithfulness in carrying out
the God-given tasks of the office.

On the other hand, we also recognize that the church asks a pas-
tor to carry out a number of “First Article” tasks that support the
preaching of the Gospel (e.g., administrative tasks, stewardship
programs, etc.). These, too, may be subject to evaluation. But we
need to keep the following considerations in mind. It is possible
that a man is faithfully preaching the Gospel, administering the
sacraments, and extending pastoral care to the members of his con-
gregation. However, he may lack specific gifts (e.g., administra-
tive skills, an ability to motivate young people to participate in a
youth group, or the aptitude willingly to receive counsel from the
congregation). The lack of such skills does not constitute a basis
for removing a man either from the ministry or from a congrega-
tion, since they do not constitute the essential tasks of the office.
Nevertheless, when gifts or skills needed for a particular location or
task are lacking, the congregation and pastor by mutual agreement
may decide that it would be best for the pastor to labor in another
field more suited to his special gifts (such as the pastor of a small
congregation, or an associate, rather than an administrative pas-
torate).

Great caution should be exercised lest a pastor’s faithfulness or
effectiveness be evaluated primarily on the basis of factors such as
balancing the budget or increasing the membership of the church
by a set percentage every year. Such a way of proceeding would
represent a significant and unbiblical shift away from the divinely

2004 Convention Workbook