Outer Rim Territories

Ordination of Pastor for Beginners

I suspect many of you have never been to the ordination of a pastor candidate to the pastorate. We're working through the rites for a class. I have made the argument repeatedly that laypeople must remember these rites even though they may rarely experience them. The reason being that the oaths sworn by the pastor are just that... oaths. These oaths testify to what a pastor should be about. If laypeople do not know what they say, whether creed or confession, they have abdicated his responsibility to hold the pastor accountable. These days you have no excuse to not know the symbols of our faith. CPH has finally rereleased the Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions-A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord. At $20, this is a small investment for such a large responsibility. I understand these will start shipping in January. Read the confessions! Also as an FYI, the complete rite which you can read by clicking the link below has many fantastic "proof texts" of the Lutheran understanding of the Holy Ministry. That is, if you're into such things! The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - Ordination of Pastor -- Page 2

9.   The presiding minister addresses the candidate: P    Dear brother in Christ, the Lord grant that you receive and keep these words in your heart that you may be strengthened and encouraged in your labors.       God gathers His Church by and around His Holy Gospel, and thereby also grants it growth and increase according to His good pleasure. That this may be done, He has established the office of the holy ministry into which you have been called by the Church and are now to be ordained and consecrated by prayer and the laying on of hands.       In the presence of this congregation and before our Lord God to whom you must give account now and at the Last Day, I now ask you:       Do you acknowledge that the Lord has called you through His Church into the ministry of Word and Sacrament? R   I do. P    Do you believe and confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice? R   Yes, I believe and confess the canonical Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. P    Do you believe and confess the three Ecumenical Creeds, namely the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds, as faithful testimonies to the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and do you reject all the errors which they condemn? R   Yes, I believe and confess the three Creeds because they are in accord with the Word of God. I also reject all the errors they condemn. P    Do you confess the Unaltered Augsburg Confession to be a true exposition of Holy Scripture and a correct exhibition of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church? And do you confess that the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Authority and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord—as these are contained in the 1580 Book of Concord—are also in agreement with this one scriptural faith? R   Yes, I make these Confessions my own because they are in accord with the Word of God. P    Do you promise that you will perform the duties of your office in accordance with these Confessions, and that all your preaching and teaching and your administration of the Sacraments will be in conformity with Holy Scripture and with these Confessions? R   Yes, I promise with the help of God. P    Will you faithfully instruct both young and old in the chief articles of Christian doctrine, will you forgive the sins of those who repent, and will you promise never to divulge the sins confessed to you? Will you minister faithfully to the sick and dying, will you demonstrate to the Church a constant and ready ministry centered in the Gospel? Will you admonish and encourage the people to a lively confidence in Christ and in holy living? R   Yes, I will with the help of God. P    Finally, will you honor and adorn the office of the holy ministry with a holy life? Will you be diligent in study of Holy Scripture and the Confessions? And will you be constant in prayer for those under your pastoral care? R   I will, the Lord helping me through the power and grace of His Holy Spirit. 10. The candidate kneels. The presiding minister lays both his hands directly on the head of the candidate and says: P    [Jesus said:] “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 11. The presiding minister clearly, slowly, and distinctly says: P       Name   , I ordain and consecrate you to the office of the holy ministry of the Word and Sacraments in the one, holy, catholic [Christian], and apostolic Church, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C   Amen. P    The Lord Jesus pour out on you His Holy Spirit for this office and work that you may faithfully preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments. Amen.