Jonathan's Declaration Of Intent

I intend to become a pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. I do not state this flippantly. It has taken many years in the commissioned ministry to come to this point. Through this first course of study in my seminary training I have come to several significant understandings that I would like to note here. The first one is that I want to remember how and why our church is structured the way it is. Being mindful of how the Altenburg Debate in Perry County made a critical change in how our church is governed, there is a visible and invisible church. The invisible church has as its members those who truly believe in God and are only known to him. The visible church might have unbelievers in its midst but it is still a church as long as God’s Word is purely taught and His sacraments are administered. “For wherever the church is, there is the authority (command) to administer the Gospel. Therefore it is necessary for the church to retain the authority to call, elect and ordain ministers. And this authority is a gift…which no human power can wrest from the church” (Power and Primacy of the Pope p. 11). Certain men have been selected by God to serve as pastors. We see examples of this in scripture “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3: 9 – 10) and “’Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20: 21 – 23). However it is the church that has the authority to call pastors to publically administer God’s Word and sacraments. It is this divine call by God through the congregation that gives the pastor the authority to do this. “ The ministry of the Word is conferred by God through the congregation as the possessor of the ecclesiastical power, or the power of the keys, by means of its call, which God Himself has prescribed” (Church and Ministry - Klug p. 219). When the congregation calls a pastor he then may function in the public ministry.“…no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called” (AC 14). Throughout scripture it seems as though the church has been more concerned with the qualifications that a man has for the holy ministry rather than the procedures for calling him. We see lists of these qualifications in “ Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect… He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.” (1 Tim. 3: 1- 6) and “blameless…a man whose children believe…not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be…one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (Titus 1: 6-9). A Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor is unique from pastors of other church denominations including other Lutheran denominations. He has taken a good hard look at scripture and found direct commands from Christ. Those commands are that he and his church are supposed to be about administering the Word and sacraments. He knows he can subscribe unconditionally to the scriptures and the Confessions as a pure exposition of the Word of God. “…because he recognizes the fact that they are in full agreement with Scripture and do not militate against Scripture in any point, whether the point be of major or minor importance; and that he therefore heartily believes in this divine truth and is determined to preach this doctrine” (Why Should Our Pastors, Teachers and Professors Subscribe Unconditionally to the Symbolical Writings of Our Church? CFW Walther). While other denominations emphasize healings, name-it claim-it, social causes, political causes, etc. the Missouri Synod pastor knows that his Lord commanded him to publically administer His Word and sacraments. He knows this is the most important and proper order of things. With his priorities straight he can now perform his pastoral functions. A qualified pastor is expected to perform various functions centering around administering God’s Word and sacraments and shepherding His flock. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14). He is to care for the flock as individuals during all times of their lives, but most especially when they are born, when they marry, have children, become emotionally, mentally and physically sick and when they die. As a shepherd he must be there to bring them back on the right path because they can stray in to all kinds of evil that the world offers. There are many false religions and thoughts to which his sheep can become susceptible and he must teach them how to discern the truth from falsehood. When the sheep refuse to listen and turn from their sinful ways it may become necessary for the shepherd to recommend that the flock separate themselves from the offending one in order to protect the whole flock. He hopes lead the offender into repentance and back into the flock. Finally the pastor serves the flock by equipping them for effective ministry. This strengthens and expands his divine call that will help make the church grow and become stronger. All of these functions are understood in the light of the pastor being a servant. He could be characterized as a servant to the servants. He is not to flaunt his authority over the sheep but he is not to be mistreated by them either. It is obvious that the pastor cannot do any of these functions unless he remains in God’s Word. His devotional life must be foremost and he must devote much time to the study of God’s Word, the confessions and the current doctrinal literature produced by our synod. He should also take advantage of the growth opportunities at circuit, district and synodical conferences. Ever remembering to never to separate himself from the source of all power. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Pastors must always be aware of the pitfalls that he encounters every day in the ministry. “Some pastors and preachers are lazy and no good. They rely on these and other good books to get a sermon out of them. They do not pray; they do not study; they do not read; they do not search the Scripture. It is just as if there were no need to read the Bible for this purpose. They use such books as offer them homiletical helps in order to earn their yearly living; they are nothing but parrots and jackdaws, which learn to repeat without understanding, though our purpose and the purpose of these theologians is to direct preachers to Scripture with such books and exhort them to plan to defend our Christian faith after our death, against the devil, the world, and the flesh…” (Some Depend Too Much On Others,1110). It is easy for pastors to not remember that it is the church, not them that holds the office of the keys. Some have deep personal problems with money sex and power can become susceptible to practicing spiritual abuse. Spiritual abuse is “when leaders exercise control over members' personal daily activities, or when they use mind games, power trips, subtle cruelties or manipulative preaching from the pulpit” (Provender – Red Flags). With our church body’s early history in Perry County with Martin Stephan, a pastor is well advised if he regularly reviews the signs of a healthy faith and strives to foster them in his life and the lives of his parishioners. They are “focusing on a personal relationship with God in Christ, not religion, looking to God to meet the needs for security and significance, growing in faith as evidenced by walking into pain, respect for the personhood of others, serving others for their sake, being vulnerable, a trusting atmosphere, celebrating uniqueness by recognizing people's spiritual gifts, relationships being the heart of everything, people being taught to think, balanced thinking rather than extremes in black and white, non defensive, non judgmental, reality based, able to embrace our emotions, able to embrace our humanity as evidenced in the ability to allow for mistakes and the ability to laugh” (B. Jacksons review on the book Toxic Faith). These are the points that one should remember as he enters into the office of the public ministry. May it be so for me as well as the rest of my brothers studying with me in the Specific Ministry Program. So help me God. Jonathan Schultz