Church and Ministry in the LCMS - Resolution 7-17A
What does this mean?
Issue # 3 - Ft. Wayne Concordia Theological Seminary Professors
May 14, 2002
"When I first went to the seminary I was also installed as an assistant pastor in a local congregation so that I would have a valid and legitimate call and not a professorial call only (without a congregation); but when I left the seminary last January, the power center had so shifted that I did not even ask a congregation for a release, just the school's Board of Control, and no one thought anything of it." (Rev. Lorman M. Petersen. North Wisconsin District Pastoral conference essay, September, 1975.)
Rev. Petersen had more to say on the subject: "...throughout the 25 years I was at the (Springfield) sem we periodically attempted to ascertain what a seminary is in relation to the concept 'Church.' We were Christians residing in one place, but did not use the Sacraments. We could train men but not ordain them. We could say who is going into the ministry but not decide who was a member of a congregation. We could teach men to baptize, but could not baptize. We could keep men from or put men into the ministry, but could not defrock or excommunicate."
None of this should have been a problem for the professors. They should have known: Synod is not a church, it does not have the authority of the office of the keys to forgive sins, it cannot establish the office of the ministry instituted by Christ when He called the apostles. We are employed by Synod and are not incumbents of the pastoral office. Synod can do none of these things; ergo, we can do none of these things. It's that simple.
The position of the seminary at the time referred to by Rev. Petersen was fully in keeping with Synod's official position. According to the Scriptural principles so clearly and forcefully highlighted by Dr. Walther in Church and Ministry, only a congregation of believers gathered together for the express purpose of publicly administering the forgiveness of sins by means of the Word and the sacraments is a church in the sense of that term as used in Scripture; and, that being the case, only a congregation (see "comments") has the authority to confer on men of its choosing, by means of its election and call, the office of the ministry of Word and sacraments, which is the authority to publicly administer the forgive sins.
I've gone over the roster of Ft. Wayne Concordia Theological Seminary professors as it appears on the seminary web site, read the bios of each posted there, and looked up the names in the 2002 Lutheran Annualunder the heading "Ordained Ministers." Unless the latter and the bios are in error in not noting otherwise, there is not one among them who can claim to be an incumbant of the office of the ministry instituted by Christ when He called the apostles and conferred exclusively by the election and call of a local congregation. This means that, according to the official position of Synod, they are all laymen. As such, none of them has the authority to publicly administer in anyone's name the power of the office of the keys - that is, administer the forgiveness of sins - by means of the Word and the sacraments. They are, after all, each one a mister with no claim to a title like "Reverend" - let alone "Pastor."
Next week: Issue #4 - Pulpit Deserters.