These past nine weeks we have been looking at the Office of the Ministry, often called the pastoral office. This Office is the delivery system through which God gives salvation to the world. God calls specific individuals into this office for the purpose of nurturing Christians in Word and Sacrament in order to grow their faith and mature their love and hope. This section of the book shows the manner in which people are called to this ministry, and the way congregations are to function in this orderly process. This session describes the process of removing pastors from the office, the proper and orderly way pastors are to be moved between congregations, as well as a comment on the consistency of liturgy and music within different LCMS congregations.

The teaching will stream LIVE on Thursday November 17th at 8am PT (Pacific Time)

Who has the right to call pastors? What two ways are pastors called? What is the difference between a pastor being called and being ordained? Christ is Lord of the church. He is joyful as His Word goes forth into the world through his Church. He says to all, "I laid down my life for you."

Book Introduction. Martin Chemnitz observed that Reformation pastors were not trained in the manner to properly administer the Gospel message. He wrote this small book in 1569 in response to this condition so that the pastor's teaching might return to what Scripture states and what the Church fathers taught. Chemnitz states that God instituted the Church so that it might grow using pastors as 'ministers of the Word," being co-labors in their vocation so that God can deliver the Good News to the people by faith. This book was intended for use by pastors, but laypersons can benefit greatly from the information herein.

Key themes: Pastor accountability; Pastor oversight; Purpose of the ministry; Patristics