On June 7th I had the pleasure of
participating in the ordination of
Ron Fisher. The congregation that
ordained him is one of our sister
congregations (dual rostered) who
are struggling with the question of
loyalty.
Many of us in LCMC feel
that we have made the faithful
commitment—to serve the Lord
our God and not an institution.
This is a commitment to confess a
faith that blinds our earthly eyes to
the will of men and opens them to
the will of Christ.
The freedom of Christ can be
a new experience, and we who
refuse to be spittle (as one board
member put it) are learning to walk
free. In Revelation, the Church of
Laodicea was told to get off the
fence: neither hot nor cold, they
risked being spit out
(Rev. 3:15-16).
In the freedom we have found in
Christ as His Church, we are no
longer told how to worship, what
to teach, who to participate with
in mission or who to serve. We are
free indeed—and that scares a lot
of congregations and believers.
They say, “We have never done it
that way before!”
There are many congregations
in this struggle, but the call and
ordination of a pastor draws the
line and states it is the power and
authority of the congregation.
Today choose whom you will
serve!
The Apostle Peter pronounced
that believers in Jesus Christ are
sanctified to be a royal priesthood
(1 Peter 2:9). So it is right to ask,
“What is the requirement for
ministry?” Who is to be called to
serve the congregation in word
and sacrament?
The Augsburg Confession states
“where the Gospel is properly
taught and the Sacraments rightly
administered, there is the Church”
(Article VII). Scripture does say
that no one should take the ministry
lightly. James writes, “Not many
of you should become teachers,
my brothers, for you know that
we who teach will be judged with
greater strictness” (James 3:1).
Yet we are all called to this very
ministry by the confession of our
baptism. Ephesians states, “For we
are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them”
(Ephesians2:10).
However, we recognize the gifts
of the Spirit, and not all are called
to preach and teach, but as Peter
states we should all be ready to
make a defense of our faith (1 Pet.
3:16).
What are the qualifications for
becoming a pastor and minister
of the Gospel? Who is called, and
who is ordained?
We say the Apostles were ordained
for ministry. I haven’t heard that
challenged—they did spend that
ministry time with Jesus—yet the
ordained of their day, the priests
and elders, noted that they were
uneducated men (Acts 4:13).
If then the Lord of heaven and
earth chose the uneducated and
simple to take His message into
the world, should we hinder the
call of God to those who show this
gift of the Holy Spirit?
In our Lutheran tradition it has
been an accepted practice to desire
an educated clergy. For centuries
this has been our practice since
the Reformers, and it has served
the church well. But the Scriptures
make faith a qualification, not
knowledge. He who is of great
faith will likewise have a great
hunger for the Word of God.
The zeal of the Lord is upon us who
teach and preach. It is God who has
ordained this in us and given His
Holy Spirit to instruct our thoughts
and words. This is affirmed by the
congregation that separates the one
called to preaching and teaching,
and issues a letter to this effect.
Martin Luther stated, “I am not a
preacher of myself and for myself
in this place, as the schismatic
spirits are. Nor was it by choice or
daring that I took over this office.
No, I have testimony that I was
asked and called into the ministry
here. I am preaching at the request
and behest of others. Otherwise let
the devil do the preaching!” 1
|
We are in a time of great distress.
There are many congregations who
have been deceived to believe that
those in positions of authority will
send men or women to be a pastor
to their congregation. The wake-up
call is that these pulpits are empty,
week upon week, year upon year,
while the struggling congregations
are adrift looking for rescue from
empty houses. How long will
these wait, how many will perish?
Hear the Scripture: “Now is the
acceptable time, today is the day
of Salvation”(2 Corinthians 6:2). I
say to the people of God: Wake Up!
Discover the freedom you have in
the power of Jesus Christ. Pray for
the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Choose
whom you shall serve.
Three years ago a group of pastors
responded to this call—the need
for pastors—men and women
truly called by God to serve in
the rural congregations. We were
led by the Spirit to look at the
beginning of the Church, in the
Acts of the Apostles. There we see
that in the first churches, faithful
believers were set aside to serve
the congregation in preaching and
teaching (Acts 14:23).
We remembered from our history
in the U.S. that this was
exactly what was done in the
early settlement days when pastors
trained pastors. The congregation
has the authority, the power,
and the obligation to raise up
servants of Christ to ministry. The
congregation has the authority
and power to call these servants
and ordain them into Word and
Sacrament ministry.
Beyond the River Academy
was founded specifically to this
purpose. The main benefit is to
enhance the zeal for the knowledge
of the Word. It is important
that quick, comprehensive and
affordable training be available
for these servants. We increasingly
recognize that this is of God as He
blesses our teaching.
The Academy is an organization
of Pastors training Pastors. Those
who come to the Academy receive
training in basic courses. As
called and serving pastors, we
recognize as essential to ministry
these fundamentals: knowledge
of the Old and New Testament,
understanding of church history
(from the 1st century), preaching
skills, Lutheran history and
pastoral care.
A seminary education, like any
higher education endeavor,
yields results consistent with the
effort put into it. However, the
majority of today’s seminaries
are not equipping men and
women for ministry, but are
producing academic theologians.
Unfortunately, the majority of
these graduates have not learned
the fear of God or the faith of
salvation. There is a great harvest
of men and women whom God is
calling in their latter years, servants
full of real-life experiences of
struggles and sufferings. These
people are ready to serve—God
is calling them—who denies their
call? Beyond the River Academy
is here to help the congregations
and the one called to ministry. If
you feel God calling you, pray,
discuss it with your council/elders
and contact Beyond the River
Academy.
Rusty Bailey is pastor of Immanuel
Lutheran Church in Swea City, Iowa,
and teaches New Testament for
Beyond the River Academy.
Notes
1 Luther, Martin: Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (Hrsg.) ;
Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.) ; Lehmann, Helmut
T. (Hrsg.): Luther’s Works, Vol. 23 : Sermons
on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8. Saint
Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1999,
c1959 (Luther’s Works 23), S. 23:342.) ♦
|
