The Lutheran Doctrine of the Ministry: Confessional and Theological Resources for Study, Reflection, and Discussion Compiled and Edited by David Jay Webber Introduction An observer of the Lutheran theological landscape noted in 2001 that the doctrine of the Ministry “continues to be the most hotly discussed topic in contemporary Lutheranism.” Since then, debates among Lutherans over this doctrine have only intensified. It seems, in fact, that differences on the Ministry (both real and perceived) are the chief fracture point in the ongoing ecclesiastical splintering process that is taking place within world Lutheranism. But for Confessional Lutherans – who agree in their conviction that the Holy Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, and that the Lutheran Confessions are a correct statement and explanation of the Word of God – it should be possible to overcome this confusion and lack of agreement. A recently-issued special report to the leaders of one Lutheran church body recommended that they “initiate a synod-wide review of key doctrines and practical issues pertinent to challenges facing” their church body, “in an effort to foster and preserve unity in doctrine and practice.” It called for “a fresh approach to examining each study topic,” which “should be firmly grounded in a solid method of exegesis of Holy Scripture,” and which “should incorporate insights from church fathers, Lutheran confessional documents, Lutheran dogmaticians; it should incorporate insights from the history and the experience of the Christian church through the ages. This approach is intended to stimulate a fresh, vigorous study of the issues, and to discourage a mere repetition of often-used terms and statements.” Regarding the specific topic in which we are presently interested, this report went on to observe that “Considerable attention has been given to ministry issues in recent years,” but it also noted that “many of the discussions on ministry have taken place in a context that is separated from the larger question of Christian vocation.” It expressed the hope that “A synod-wide study on vocation, church and ministry...can help clarify understanding and provide answers to difficult questions,” and that such a study could be one that “focuses on crystallizing a proper understanding of church and ministry, while clearing up confusion raised by careless writing, exegesis in a historical vacuum, adoption of anti-clerical notions, misunderstandings about Christian vocation, and the potential influence of Arminian evangelicalism upon our synod and upon our understanding of ministry, Christian service, and vocation.” Such a recommendation, for such a restudying of the doctrine of the Ministry, should be wholeheartedly welcomed and supported by all lovers of truth and Christian concord, regardless of synodical affiliation. Lutherans of all synodical traditions would certainly benefit from being involved in such a noble and worthwhile effort. With God’s help, and in the light of his Word, the misunderstandings and disunity that currently exist among the world’s Lutherans on the subject of the Ministry could be overcome. The destructive fracturing process that we have bemoaned could be halted, and reversed. The materials in this compilation are herewith made available to the church at large with the modest hope that they can make a positive contribution toward the achievement of this goal. To be sure, this compilation does not include everything that would be needed for the kind of comprehensive and multi-faceted study that is described above. This compilation does not, for example, attempt to provide all the resources that would be necessary for a direct exegetical study of those passages of Scripture that pertain to the doctrine of the Ministry – although there are indeed some resources in this collection that would be useful in such an exegetical study. We must also remember that the Confessions themselves are, most fundamentally, expositions of Scripture , and that they are accepted as a “normed norm” for teaching in the church only because they have been judged to be correct expositions of Scripture. But in any case, the focus and intent of this compilation is, rather, the bringing together of numerous “Confessional and Theological Resources” on the topic of the Ministry, from the Book of Concord, and from the writings of widely-respected Lutheran theologians from all eras of Lutheran history whose teaching was in harmony with the Book of Concord. A better 1 knowledge of what the Lutheran Confessors and other orthodox theologians teach (on the basis of God’s Word) regarding the doctrine of the Ministry would certainly be an invaluable asset in such a comprehensive study. In spite of all the controversies over the Lutheran doctrine of the Ministry that have been waged in the past, and that are still being waged even now, a case can be made that the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a whole does indeed have a fundamentally consistent and knowable doctrine of the Ministry. This compilation seeks to make that case by means of the many historic testimonies that it brings together, and that it herewith offers to its readers for study and reflection. By means of a careful and thorough review of the resources that are made available in this compilation, we sincerely believe that the beleaguered Lutherans of our time can be significantly renewed in their understanding of, and commitment to, the Biblical, Confessional, and historic Lutheran doctrine of the Ministry. Materials from the private writings of Martin Luther and the Concordists (especially Martin Chemnitz) predominate in this collection. In the sixteenth century these men were providentially raised up by God to serve as pastors and teachers of his church in a very unique way, at a time when such pastors and teachers were sorely needed. The authority of the Symbolical Books that they penned is acknowledged by all Confessional Lutherans, and Confessional Lutherans also have a very high regard for the private writings of these great servants of God. Their insights in regard to the doctrine of the Ministry, as they elsewhere elaborated on and explicated what they wrote in the Symbolical Books, are, and should be, of great value. As we study and ponder these resources, we will, of course, remember the three-fold distinction regarding theological authority in the church to which the “Rule and Norm” section of the Formula of Concord bears witness. At the risk of oversimplifying, we summarize this distinction in our own words as follows: 1. The Scriptures cannot err, and therefore they do not err. 2. The Confessions can err, but they do not err. 3. The orthodox fathers of the church can err, and they sometimes do err, but they usually do not err. The excerpts and quotations that are included in this compilation are apportioned into twenty sections or topical divisions – some of which do admittedly overlap with each other to a considerable degree. Each of these topical divisions (with the exception of the last one) is, in turn, organized into two categories: “Testimonies from the Lutheran Confessions” and “Testimonies from the writings of Lutheran theologians.” To preserve the context – and thereby the meaning – of the various statements, lengthy excerpts, rather than short snippets, are the rule. Some of the excerpts are quite broad in what they discuss, so that they could just as well have been placed under a different topical division than the one under which they are found. Still, a conscious attempt was made to find the best fit for everything. In the case of three particularly long excerpts – authored respectively by E. W. Kaehler, Charles Porterfield Krauth, and Henry Eyster Jacobs – no attempt was made to tie them down to just one topical division. They are therefore placed in section 20 under their own heading as “Comprehensive explanations of the doctrine of the Ministry.” What is particularly attractive about these three selections is that they approach this doctrine with an acknowledgment that terms like “Public Ministry” or “Ecclesiastical Ministry” are used in the Lutheran theological tradition in both a narrower and a wider sense. This observation holds the key to clearing up much confusion, and has the potential to show us how to get past some of the terminological and conceptual impasses in which we now find ourselves. Some Lutherans (past and present) start out by defining the “Public Ministry” exclusively in terms of its narrower sense or meaning (with reference to the pastoral office, and to the full ministry of Word and Sacrament that is carried out by the pastoral office), and they go on to develop their understanding of this doctrine along those lines, without acknowledging a theologically significant wider sense. Other Lutherans (past and present) start out by defining the “Public Ministry” exclusively in terms of its wider sense or meaning (with reference to all ecclesiastical offices that participate, to one degree or another, in bringing God’s Word to others), and they go on to develop their understanding of this doctrine along those lines, without acknowledging a theologically significant narrower sense. In each of these cases, a way of explaining the doctrine of the Ministry that can fairly be judged as truncated and incomplete is the result. The careful explanations of Kaehler, Krauth, and Jacobs, by comparison, offer a third and better alternative. Their way of describing these things can help all of us to see past the limitations of our own parochial tradition (whatever that may be), and to embrace a more balanced, far-reaching, and genuinely catholic doctrine of the Ministry. It will no doubt be noticed that some of the excerpts and quotations in this collection seem to contradict other excerpts and quotations on certain points. In most cases these seeming contradictions do not represent real differences in teaching, but only differences in emphasis or in the usage and definition of terms.