To Rejoice in Proclamation of God’s Word by His Called and Ordained Servants

Official Workbook overture source text

5-26 
To Rejoice in Proclamation of God’s Word  
by His Called and Ordained Servants 
WHEREAS, We come to the Divine Service not to serve, but to be 
served by God through His called and ordained servants, as we 
confess our sins, hear His words of Absolution spoken by the pastor 
in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, hear Law 
and Gospel rightly divided, and receive the Sacrament of Christ’s 
body and blood; and 
WHEREAS, When we hear the words of forgiveness of our sins 
spoken by the pastor at Christ’s command, we are to rejoice and to 
believe them as surely and certainly as if spoken by Christ Himself; 
and 
W
HEREAS, In the orientation of the service the words spoken 
from the altar, pulpit, and lectern are the words of God spoken for 
our benefit, whereas the congregation faces the altar and speaks 
back the words God has said to us; and 
WHEREAS, It is a great blessing for all those in the congregation 
to hear the Word of God spoken by our pastors, who are our servants 
(Mark 9:35), and it is meet, right, and salutary that we should accept 
their service to us; and 
WHEREAS, Faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17), and the use of 
lay readers for Scripture lessons denies those persons the comfort 
and benefit of hearing the Word of God spoken directly to and for 
them by their pastors; and 
W
HEREAS, No one should publicly preach and teach in the 
church without a rightly ordered call (AC XIV); there can be no 
clearer public teaching of the Word of God than reading it in the 
Divine Service; and thus the use of lay readers can confuse the 
vocations of the called and ordained pastor as servant of the Word, 
and of the congregation as hearers of the Word; and 
WHEREAS, The use of lay readers can be understood wrongly as 
an individual “participating” in the conduct of the service, as though 
greater meaning, benefit, or stature is thereby obtained (and by 
implication, that those who do not read are taking a lesser role), and 
we ought not burden mistrained consciences in such manner, in 
contrast to the right understanding that the whole congregation 
benefits on an equal basis as it is served by the pastor; and 
W
HEREAS, As a practical matter the pastor is best suited to read 
the text without disruption or delay to the flow of the service, and 
with due emphasis on the pronunciation and salient points of the 
text, particularly if it forms a portion of and context for the sermon; 
therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention give thanks and rejoice 
in the proclamation of the Word by God’s called and ordained 
servants; and be it further 
Resolved, That the President of the Synod disseminate 
appropriate resources to assist pastors in catechizing their 
congregations to understand the great blessing of the role of the 
pastor in the Divine Service, so that rather than giving offense, laity 
who have been accustomed to reading Scripture lessons may rather 
understand and appreciate the service of the pastor for their benefit, 
and hear with great joy God’s Word as it is read for them; and be it 
finally 
Resolved
, That the circuit visitors give emphasis in their 
visitations of all congregations in the next triennium toward 
following the practice of having Holy Scripture read by the pastor 
in worship. 
St. Paul 
Brookfield, IL 
Ov.