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

gregation—and perhaps even from the office of the ministry itself. Indeed,
it is incumbent upon a congregation (and the church at large) to evaluate
its pastor regarding his doctrine, his life, and his faithfulness in carrying
out the God-given tasks of the office.
On the other hand, we also recognize that the church asks a pastor to
carry out a number of “First Article” tasks that support the preaching of
the Gospel (e.g., administrative tasks, stewardship programs, etc.). These,
too, may be subject to evaluation. But we need to keep the following considerations
in mind. It is possible that a man is faithfully preaching the
Gospel, administering the sacraments, and extending pastoral care to the
members of his congregation. However, he may lack specific gifts (e.g.,
administrative skills, an ability to motivate young people to participate in
a youth group, or the aptitude willingly to receive counsel from the congregation).
The lack of such skills does not constitute a basis for removing
a man either from the ministry or from a congregation, since they do not
constitute the essential tasks of the office. Nevertheless, when gifts or skills
needed for a particular location or task are lacking, the congregation and
pastor by mutual agreement may decide that it would be best for the pastor
to labor in another field more suited to his special gifts (such as the pastor
of a small congregation, or an associate, rather than an administrative
pastorate).
Great caution should be exercised lest a pastor’s faithfulness or effectiveness
be evaluated primarily on the basis of factors such as balancing
the budget or increasing the membership of the church by a set percentage
every year. Such a way of proceeding would represent a significant and
unbiblical shift away from the divinely appointed use of the means of
grace to human factors important for increasing the size of an institutional
organization. At the same time, a pastor should not hide behind or appeal
to his call as an excuse for being lazy or negligent in his responsibilities. In
this case the third reason given for removing a man from the office may be
applicable.
Resignation and Retirement
In days past it was customary to think that God brought a man’s service
in the office of the public ministry to an end by calling him home,
declaring of him “well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Certainly the
apostles themselves served until death, caused by martyrdom or by natural
causes. Until the twentieth century life expectancy for men did not
extend much past sixty years of age. Retirement plans did not exist. It was
therefore necessary also that in order for pastors to have some means of
livelihood, they would have to serve in office until their dying day (as was
the case for many other occupations). But this is often no longer the case.
45