To Celebrate and Encourage Lay Service

Official Workbook overture source text

6-86 
To Celebrate and Encourage Lay Service 
WHEREAS, “It is to this true church of believers and saints that 
Christ gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and it is the proper 
and only possessor and bearer of the spiritual, divine, and heavenly 
gifts, rights, powers, offices, and the like that Christ has pr ocured 
and are found in His church” (C.F.W. Walther, Church and 
Ministry, Thesis IV, J.T. Mueller, tr. [CPH, 1987], 49); and 
W
HEREAS, “All Christians, that is, all who have come to faith in 
Christ, are spiritual priests and thus have the call to preach the 
Gospel” (Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics , Vol. III [CPH, 
1953], 440); and 
WHEREAS, “But after we have become Christians through this 
Priest [i.e., Christ] and His priestly office, incorporated in Him by 
Baptism through faith, then each one, according to his calling and 
position, obtains the right and the power of teaching and confessing 
before others this Word which we have obtained from Him. Even 
though not everybody has the public office and calling, every 
Christian has the right and the duty to teach, instruct, admonish, 
comfort, and rebuke his neighbor with the Word of God at every 
opportunity and whenever necessary.” ( Luther’s Works, 13:333); 
and 
W
HEREAS, The Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the 
Augsburg Confession, and the Treatise on the Power and Primacy 
of the Pope were written by, and first subscribed to, by laity; and 
WHEREAS, “Christ Himself instituted the office of the Ministry 
of Word and Sacrament. Many functions belong to this office: 
evangelizing, preaching, teaching, shepherding, supervising, 
admonishing, disciplining, and administering. Because it is often 
difficult or impossible for one person to perform all the functions of 
the ministry, the church may entrust various functions of this office 
to a number of persons” (LCMS CTCR, The Ministry in its Relation 
to the Christian Church [adopted 1973], 12); and 
W
HEREAS, “A distinction must be made between ‘office’ and 
‘function.’ Failure to make this distinction results in confusion. For 
instance, when a congregation is temporarily without a man to fill 
the office of the public ministry in its midst, it may ask a proper ly 
supervised teacher or a lay leader to perform some functions of the 
office of the public ministry. This is done in an emergency situation 
and not as a mere convenience. However, performing such 
functions does not make those who do them holders of the office of 
the public ministry. Even in such emergency situations a 
congregation properly requests a man who does hold the office of 
the public ministry and is serving as pastor in a neighboring 
congregation to assume that office for them as ‘vacancy pastor’ or 
‘interim overseer.’ Thus the oversight and accountability remain 
with one whom the church has called and designated as a pastor and 
who supervises those who temporarily perform some pastoral 
functions. Such practices are common and reveal a ‘folk’ 
understanding of the ministry even if the root of such practices is 
not consciously analyzed” (LCMS CTCR, The Ministry: Offices, 
Procedures, and Nomenclature [adopted 1981], 16); therefore be it 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention give thanks to the Lord 
of the Church for using the entire priesthood of all believers, 
especially the laity, in fulfilling His mission to seek and save the 
lost; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention give thanks to those 
members of the laity who serve in positions that aid in carrying out 
the functions of the public ministry as needs arise within the context 
of a local congregation; and be it further 
Resolved
, That the Synod in convention affirm and encourage 
the laity as they exercise their gifts in service to the local 
congregation, recognizing that such service does not obscure or 
confuse the Office of the Public Ministry but aids and supports the 
work of the public ministry and that carrying out specific functions 
of the ministry does not put them into the office; and be it finally 
Resolved, That the Synod in convention affirm each 
congregation’s freedom to utilize the laity in accord with the 
Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. 
Pacific Southwest District 
Ov.