Through the generosity of the translator, we are able to offer this work *free of charge.*

(If you wish to express thanks for this publication, the editor of the electronic edition suggests the Holy Trinity Sri Lanka Fund or the Confessional Lutheran Education Foundation’s Sri Lanka Project; information is available at <http://holytrinitylc.com/HTLC/Sri%20Lanka.html>.)

You may access this (50 page, 828 Kb) book directly at

<http://HolyTrinityLC.com/WaltherCommunionTheses.pdf>

BUT, it might be easier for you to download it by going to our website,

<http://AugustanaMinisterium.org>

and clicking on the “Reading Lists” item in the “Annual Conference Information” menu. When that page loads, you can right-click and get ‘Save Target As…’ (or some such thing). (Mac users, if you still have a one-button mouse, use control-click to bring up a contextual menu; if you have a two-, three-, or zero-button mouse, click with the right side. But, of course, you already knew that.)

Rev. Eric Stefanski

Dean of Communications

Lately, some have tried to gainsay the topic for the conference, which covers issues of Confession and Absolution, Church Polity, Ecclesiastical Oversight, and the Practice of Communion Fellowship in a “Post-Synodical Age.” These folks try to argue that since synods still exist (and they’re still in them—as are most of ‘we’ in The Augustana Ministerium), the term “Post-Synodical” is somehow evil and threatening.

In all, their complaints remind me of the LCMS Council of Presidents and their great fear that LCMS pastors and laymen filling out the survey that some laymen put up at <http://BlueRibbonSurvey.com> will somehow ‘corrupt the process’ of moving the LCMS into the future.

“Post-Synodical” simply refers to the FACT that no existing ‘synod’ has proven itself either completely trustworthy in all the materials it produces, nor able to produce what its parishes and pastors want and need. Because of that fact, we find independent publishing houses, etc., doing quite well (Repristination Press, Luther Press, Pax-Domini, Vox Visuals, and others), as well as pastors and laymen from several church bodies recognizing that they are in fellowship with those they’d probably ought not be and *not* in fellowship with those they’d ought to be. Our conference deals with these realities, helping those who attend to act faithfully within their context and to encourage others to do the same. In other words, as with all activities of The Augustana Ministerium, it is designed to preserve and promote Lutheran pastors and a distinctively Lutheran Ministry of Word and Sacraments to Lutheran congregations.

For basic information about the conference, please see:
   <http://augustanaministerium.org/conference/>

To register, go to: <http://augustanaministerium.org/conference/registration.html>

A schedule for the Conference is posted at:
   <http://augustanaministerium.org/conference/schedule.html>

To prepare for the conference, our Reading Lists are found at:
   <http://augustanaministerium.org/conference/readinglists.html>

Lodging Information and Directions are given here:
   <http://augustanaministerium.org/conference/lodging.html>

There is also limited free housing available with members of Trinity Lutheran. If you would be interested in this, please contact Trinity’s pastor, the Rev. Drew Newman, who is also the Recording Secretary of the Ministerium, by using the Ministerium’s ‘Contact’ form.

What is The Augustana Ministerium? A full description can be found at <http://augustanaministerium.org/faq/index.html>, but, in brief, we are a pastoral association formed to preserve and promote Lutheran pastors and a distinctively Lutheran Ministry of Word and Sacrament to Lutheran congregations. We accomplish this through providing emergency relief for pastors in crisis and need; helping small congregations keep their faithful pastors, even though they are unable to pay a pastor a full-time livable wage, helping plant new confessional mission congregations and preaching stations; helping put ordained pastors who are without a call to serve in a particular place or are on CRM status back into ministry as pastors and teachers in the church; and establishing, publishing, and promoting such theological conferences, educational resources, and other materials and events as appear helpful for the meeting of our purpose. For 2009, it is our desire to provide over $50,000.00 in aid to pastors.

Please note that this conference is free for members of The Augustana Ministerium or The Augustana Confraternity. For others, the cost is $30. For membership information, please visit our website, <http://AugustanaMinisterium.org>.

Rev. Eric Stefanski
Dean of Communications
The Augustana Ministerium

Ecclesiastical Supervision in a Post-Synodical Age

J.A.O. Preus, The Second Martin (CPH, 1994), Chapter 6, “Chemnitz’ Superintendency”

The Epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch (Kleist translation)

Hans von Campenhausen, “Ecclesiastical Authority and Spiritual Power in
the Church of the First Three  Centuries” (Hendrickson, 1997)

Episcopacy—Lutheran-United Methodist Diologue II (Augsburg, 1991), esp. Todd Nichol, “Bishops in the Lutheran Tradition: The Book of Concord and Later Lutheranism” and George Bornemann, “The Role of the Lutheran Bishop”

Marquart, Kurt, The Church and Her Fellowship, Ministry, and Governance (Luther Academy [current publisher], 1990), esp. pp. 195–219

“The Visitation Articles for the Electorate and Provinces of Upper Saxony” (1592). Available online at http://bookofconcord.org/visitation.php

Akin, Daniel, Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity (B&H Academic, 2004)

Essential Readings for the Discussion (freely available online):
Preus, Rolf, “Church Fellowship and Closed Communion” (parish Bible study outline, taught January and February, 2007)

Preus, Rolf, “Making a Clear Confession in Muddy Waters” (Burnsville, MN, free conference presentation, January, 2009)

Stefanski, Eric, “Fellowship: What It Is and What It Implies” (chiefly for the section “My Sin in Kansas City”; presentation at St. Luke Ev. Luth. Ch., Richland Center, WI)

Stefanski, Eric, “Guilt by Association” (Burnsville, MN, free conference presentation, January, 2009)

Stefanski, Eric, “A Brief and Bluesy Response to ‘Muddy Waters’,” (a reaction to some assertions in Rolf Preus’s paper)
    not yet posted
The bases for the arguments in the Stefanski papers, above, can be studied in more depth by reading:
Marquart, Kurt, The Church and Her Fellowship, Ministry, and Governance (Luther Academy [current publisher], 1990), esp. pp. 39–77

Walther, C.F.W., Theses on Communion Fellowship with Those Who Believe Differently (CTS, Fort Wayne, 1990)

Elert, Werner, Eucharist and Fellowship in the First Four Centuries (CPH, 1966), esp. pp. 23–184

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Life Together (Harper, 1976; Harper Collins, 2008), section on Confession and the Lord’s Supper (may be readable via Google Books)

“Confession and Absolution Readings” (free file, .pdf format)

Rev. Eric J. Stefanski
Dean of Communications

Marquart, Kurt E. The Church and her fellowship, ministry, and governance.  Read esp. pages 195-219

“The Visitation Articles for the Electorate and Provinces of Upper Saxony” (1592).  available online at http://www.bookofconcord.org/visitation.php 

Akin, Daniel.  Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity.  (This book, written from various perspectives flowing out of the British Reformation, assumes something of the flavor of a polemic back-and-forth arguing about which polity is “the” Biblically correct one.  I assume the flawed presupposition of this argument will be obvious to us all, and that this exchange will nevertheless give us a useful look at the strengths and weaknesses of each approach to church polity).

Currently, this last book has only four new copies available at Amazon.com, but there are several used copies available there and elsewhere. Consult http://Bookfinder.com to search for copies on the internet, noting that if you give Bookfinder your zipcode it will customize your results so that you see the prices with shipping for a more accurate comparison.

To register for the Conference and Plenary, please visit our website and the entries available under the “Conference” menu.

Rev. Eric J. Stefanski
Dean of Communications

Rev. Eric J. Stefanski

Dean of Communications

Head over to our Conference Page for information, and use the conference tab at the top of the page to access the registration system.

EJG

THE FOURTH ANNUAL THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE

AND

PLENARY SESSION OF THE AUGUSTANA MINISTERIUM

The Fourth Annual Theological Conference and Plenary Session of The Augustana Ministerium will be held May 11-13, 2009, and hosted again by Trinity Lutheran Church, Kearney, MO and her pastor, the Rev. Drew Newman.

This year’s conference will continue a discussion begun at last year’s TAM conference concerning challenges of a confessional Lutheran ministry in a post-synodical age. A timely theological agenda, open to all—pastors and laity—is being planned that will explore several important aspects of pastoral supervision under the general theme:  Pastoral Supervision in a Post-synodical Age.  Some Lutheran bodies in North America are exercising pastoral supervision that is increasingly being shaped by legal considerations, Church Growth thinking, and disregard for the divinely mandated nature of the Pastoral Office. In response to these distressing and challenging conditions, how can Lutheran pastors who serve faithfully in the Office be supported and supervised?  What would such supervision require and how might it be carried out with attention to matters of polity that can best serve the Gospel? Four aspects of these questions will be slated for discussion as follows:  1.) Ecclesiastical Supervision in a Post-Synodical Age, Pr. James Heiser, facilitator; 2.) The Confessional in a Post-synodical Age, Pr. William Weedon, facilitator; 3.) Church Fellowship in a Post-Synodical Age, Pr. Eric Stefanski, facilitator; and 4.) Various Models of Church Polity and How They May Shape Ecclesiastical Supervision in a Post-synodical Age, Pr. Kent Heimbigner, facilitator.

As has well served TAM theological conferences in the past, these topics will not be covered by formal papers per se. Rather, topics will explored by an open general discussion format with a facilitator moderating each session.  Topic facilitators will also be responsible for researching and preparing pertinent background information on each topic, identifying appropriate issues, questions, and additional reading resources. A listing of these materials will be made available via The Augustana Ministerium website well in advance of the conference for individual preparation for the discussions at the conference. Such advance preparation by attendees is strongly encouraged for informative and beneficial discussion at the conference.  This year’s facilitators are very talented and knowledgeable, promising very stimulating and informative consideration of these important issues.

The theological portion of the program is open to members and non-members, clergy and laity alike. The Plenary Session of the TAM will be open to all attendees, except during an executive session, should one be called. The cost of the conference will be $30. That cost is included in the paid 2009 dues for Ministerium and Confraternity members.

Dr. Steven A. Hein, Dean of Education
The Augustana Ministerium

Seelsorger is a German word which is used as a synonym for Pastor.  It means “curer of souls,” that is one who cares for and comforts the soul.  The following newsletter article, which I initially wrote for the July-August “Holy Cross Messenger,” reflects how God’s intended purpose for individuals and congregation alike can be thwarted by presumably well-meaning parishioners and pastors who ignore the divine shepherd-sheep relationship within a congregation.

A fellow pastor and I were talking recently at breakfast.  We were attending the same meeting later that morning, a continuation from the day before.  The topic of our conversation at one point turned to a project he and his wife are working on to provide a place of retreat for pastors and their wives.  A place away from the pressures of the parish, and yet a place where spiritual care will be provided for the Shepherd who himself has no Shepherd to whom he can turn.  This was by no means a mere whim on his part, as I learned upon my return home, finding in my email a few days later a paper he promised to send me.  It was titled: “Who Shepherds the Shepherds?” He had written it for one of his seminary professors in a graduate level class a few years back.  As I read through the paper I was pleased with this confessional pastor’s understanding of the situation, and I pray his project will become a reality in the near future, for the sake of the Church.  

I bring this up to introduce a topic I would like to address this month: “Pastoral Care.”  No, it is not about or for me.  It is about you, you and your fellow sheep at Holy Cross.  You see, in reading his paper, one sentence in particular caught my eye about life in the parish: “Sheep under the care of a pastor are not free to place themselves under the care of another pastor without the blessing and consent of the first pastor.”  That raises three questions: What does this mean?  Why does he say this?  What are the implications today?

What does this mean?  When Jesus speaks about those who follow Him, as He does in John 10, He is clear in His claim upon them: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (27).  Sheep in Holy Writ are mentioned in numerous figures of speech; and their patience (Jer. 11:19; Isa. 53:7) and stupidity (Num. 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Isa. 53:6) were proverbial.  As such, some may object to Jesus calling them sheep, but it does not change the fact that He does so, and it means something important to you.  First, you are not your own, but you belong to Him, for He purchased you with His shed blood and marked you with His holy name in Baptism.  Second, third, and fourth, because you are His purchased possession, you hear His voice … He learns to know you personally … and you follow Him as a way of life—and all this happens in the here and now.  That’s right, all three verbs are present tense.  Because all verbs are true in the here and now, it means that what the pastor writes— “Sheep under the care of a pastor are not free to place themselves under the care of another pastor without the blessing and consent of the first pastor,” which finds it authority in Jesus’ words to His apostles: “He who hears you, hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16)―is most certainly true.  Pastors, “regularly called” (AC XIV) according to the rite, serve in the stead and place of Christ to the congregation, and those who are sheep under his care in that place hear and follow Jesus by listening to and heeding His servant’s teaching, for he comes and speaks in the place and stead of Christ to His people.   To suggest “sheep” are “free” agents in the matters of pastoral care is to ignore (not heed) Jesus’ serious warning!

Why does he say this?  The pastor who wrote this revealing sentence has, perhaps unwittingly,  hit upon a particularly important principle that seems to have been all but lost in the last century or two.  Pastoral care requires pastoral oversight, and oversight means: “watchful and responsible care.”  For a “sheep under the care of a pastor” to turn to “another pastor without the blessing and consent of the first pastor” for pastoral care is to short circuit Christ’s intended way, for by design none can know the “sheep”―nor their need―but their own shepherd, the one whom God has placed over them through the divine call of the congregation to serve in the stead and place of Christ.  This pastor’s revealing sentence has serious implications for pastor and people in every generation.  

What are the implications today?  Perhaps a lengthy discussion,  can be undertaken later, but in summary I place these thoughts before you for your consideration.  The body of Christ is made up of many members, and though “all the members do not have the same function,” we are “one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Rom. 12:4f).  Ignoring or abusing either the “function” we serve or “one another” hurts the whole body!  And when the whole body hurts, every member of the body feels it.  When pastors, while seeking to carry out their God-given functions within the body toward each and every member of the body, are short circuited by a member who seeks pastoral care from another without the blessing and consent of his or her pastor, important matters pertinent to the spiritual well being of the members, and thus also the body, are not addressed.  Still unresolved, the matter will continue to trouble the congregation.

Confession by those who have violated this important principle and absolution from their pastor can go a long way in restoring health and vitality to the individual and body alike.  No sweeter words are there than when *my* shepherd says to me: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them.”  Your sins are forgiven, Little Lamb.

Rev. Bruce G. Ley

Superintendent, The Augustana Ministerium