45930 Divine Call CTCR final - The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

CONTENTS
The Biblical Witness ........................................................................... 6
The Gospels ..................................................................................... 6
The Acts of the Apostles ................................................................ 6
The Pauline Epistles ....................................................................... 9
Summary Observations ............................................................... 10
The Lutheran Confessions ............................................................... 10
Augsburg Confession and Apology XIV .................................. 10
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope ...................... 11
The Right of Choosing .............................................................. 14
The Right of Calling ................................................................. 14
The Right of Ordaining ............................................................ 15
Examples of Sixteenth Century Practice ................................... 15
C. F. W. Walther and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod..... 17
Obtaining a Pastor ........................................................................ 17
Length of a Call ............................................................................. 19
Termination of a Call .................................................................... 21
Contemporary Issues and Practices ................................................ 26
Basic Considerations .................................................................... 27
The Gospel ................................................................................ 28
The Scriptures ........................................................................... 28
The Historic Practice of the Church ......................................... 28
The Consensus of the Church ................................................... 29
Reason and Common Sense ...................................................... 29