To Celebrate and Encourage Lay Service

Ov. 6-87

To Celebrate and Encourage Lay Service Preamble God has established the Office of the Holy Ministry so as to ensure the public proclamation of the Gospel and proper administration of the Sacraments, and the establishment of that office does not invalidate the gifts and service of the priesthood of all b elievers, including those who have not been called into the Office of the Holy Ministry. This overture seeks to celebrate, affirm, and encourage the service of those who, while they may fulfill a function of the office as the needs of the congregation dictate, are nevertheless not in the Office of the Holy Ministry.

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

WHEREAS, “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

WHEREAS, 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

WHEREAS, “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 right to utilize the laity in accord with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.

Southeastern District