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SPECIALIZED MINISTRY: A THEOLOGY OF VOCATION
Mark Ryman
Several years ago, my denomination issued me a certificate stating that I was called to “specialized ministry.” I was not serving as a pastor, but as an employee of Sola Publishing. There, I designed and wrote worship and devotional material, printed books, and dealt with renters, salespeople, and service technicians—to name a few items in the job description in order to serve the educational needs of the church. I also repaired toilets, renovated office space, and washed windows, all under the certification of a call to specialized ministry. Things I did not do were preach, make calls on the sick and homebound, administer sacraments, and many other things one would associate with being called to the ministry. That is, if one considers a calling to be things that pertain only to ordained ministry.
Vocare
So, what should be considered a calling? Knowing the etymology of that word is a good place to begin. Vocare is the Latin word for “to call.” It is the root of the English word “vocation,” typically meaning one’s main occupation. One may be a pastor or a printer, a teacher or a nurse, a doctor or a mechanic, or a worker in any number of other jobs. But every one of those jobs may also be a vocation—a calling, not just a job. Early on, the Lutheran Confessions speak of “each one’s vocation or calling...These works include a father raising his children, a mother bearing children, a prince governing the commonwealth…”1 Yet, these vocations, or callings in life, “were without honor.”2 They were regarded as beneath the “spiritual life” and “perfect life” of church vocations. At the time of the Lutheran Reformation, these callings were “far below the glittering observances of the Church.”3
Luther on Vocation
Indeed, they may still be regarded as less than dazzling today. This is the very pith of Martin Luther’s teaching on vocation, what he considered to be a priesthood of all believers. Luther’s theology of vocation insists that “our secular occupations among men are faithfully acknowledged to be part of our religious vocation under God.”4 Treated as such, the calling of pastor would be regarded as one of many vocations which God makes holy. God calls others to civic affairs and commerce, to education, medicine, and to vocations in the home.
Luther’s theology of vocation insists that “our secular occupations among men are faithfully acknowledged to be part of our religious vocation under God.
The pastorate particularly, and the church more generally, is not to lord itself over affairs to which it is not entitled to rule. For instance, God supplies other offices to care for government and home. A pastor should not meddle in the governor’s office, nor the mayor’s. The church should not interfere with the operation of the police department any more than the Chief of Police should tell the church how to worship or support mission. A pastor ought not to interfere with what a parent cooks for breakfast, or what time he or she sends the children go to bed. Those are the functions of specific callings: the godly calling to be an excellent mother or father, the calling to serve and protect the public through law enforcement, or the calling to govern a city—are as valid as the callings to publish or be a pastor. Though some offices, like being parents and children, are holy in themselves, all vocations are hallowed when done for the Lord, and must therefore be performed especially as though it is the Lord who benefits from our service—even though it is our neighbor who is blessed and assisted.
“Fundamental to Luther’s spirituality or way of living in faith is that God does not need our works, but our neighbor does.”5 “The care of the neighbor…is the primary vocation of the Christian in the world. Luther thus cultivated a civic piety.”6
This service to neighbor goes to the heart of Luther’s theology of vocation. Our various callings are not for God’s benefit or blessing; they are for our neighbor, whether that is our next-door neighbor, maybe it should be…whether that is our closest neighbor—our family—or someone across the country. My point is that our neighbors are all of these people: the acquaintance down the street, a family member, or even someone who lives far away. Even the work of pastor or missionary is not for God’s benefit. They work for the good of the congregation and community, not for God’s advantage. God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”7
Paul’s Epistles
The Apostle Paul speaks to vocation in his letter to the Colossians, referencing many different roles in life: husbands, wives, parents, children, slaves, masters — and here he puts the focus instead on our service to God. No matter the call, we are to respond as ministers or servants, “with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”8 No matter the task, we serve the Lord. Husbands are serving the Lord, as are wives. Parents and children alike are called to godly vocations. Those in authority, as well as those who are to follow their orders may discharge their duties “as unto the Lord.”9
All Christians should do their work as though God were their master, for indeed, he is. And if God is over all we do, how would our work, no matter how menial, be anything but a holy office?
My work at Sola Publishing was every bit as much a holy vocation as is my current call to be a pastor.10 Our parents’ callings to be moms and dads are the first level of authority under God, and should be treated as hallowed responsibilities unto him. Parents have “the highest office in the creation.”11 Yet, we may easily enough see that even these vocations “work together for good, for those who are called according to [God’s] purpose.”12 This is one reason we are a kingdom of priests13 with various responsibilities.
Woe to the poor priests or pastors who think the church functions because of their office. Let them keep the books, take out the trash, clean the floors and toilets, prepare the letters, emails, newsletters, bulletins, answer the phone, all while playing the organ, singing the anthem, arranging the Lord’s table, and receiving the offering. Then they may begin to see that God has called many to serve. “All Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office.”14 The church is one body and that body…
"…does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?"15
The Pastor is Not Called to Do It All
The pastor is not only unable do it all, the pastor is not called to do it all. More importantly, the pastor should not think, in light of Paul’s teaching above, that his calling is a higher calling. From the apostle’s epistle, we see that the opposite should be the attitude of those with so-called greater gifts and graces.16 For “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”17 “Serving the Lord’s kingdom is a privilege and labor of love, not something undertaken to gain a reward. When we begin to think that God’s kingdom needs or depends on us, we get it completely backward.”18 Even if the reward we expect is to be revered by those we are to be serving, we will eventually find our desire frustrated, as the last will be first, and the first last.”19
The pastor is not only unable do it all, the pastor is not called to do it all.
The Priesthood of All Believers
Every Christian is called to the priesthood, no matter his or her occupation. “Baptism, gospel, and faith alone make us spiritual and a Christian people… We are all consecrated priests through baptism.”20 Let us put a sharper point on it. Luther teaches: “That is why in cases of necessity anyone can baptize and give absolution. This would be impossible if we were not all priests.”21
He goes on to say: “Since those who exercise secular authority have been baptized with the same baptism, and have the same faith and the same gospel as the rest of us, we must admit that they are priests and bishops and we must regard their office as one which has a proper and useful place in the Christian community. For whoever comes out of the water of baptism can boast that he is already a consecrated priest, bishop, and pope…”22 Yet, not all should regularly practice the office. Though all Christians are priests, God only gave some to be pastors, as mentioned above. Though all Christians may baptize and absolve and preach and minister when necessity dictates, God has only given “some, apostles, and some, prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers.”23
“It follows from this argument that there is no true, basic difference between laymen and priests, princes and bishops, between religious and secular, except for the sake of office and work, but not for the sake of status. They are all of the spiritual estate; all are truly priests, bishops, and popes. But they do not all have the same work to do.”24 There is no fundamental difference of status between a mother and a pastor, a father and a pope, a teacher and a bishop. There is no difference between me being called to the office of ordained ministry or to a publisher’s office. We are all priests; we have only been called to different jobs. “Therefore, just as those who are now called ‘spiritual,’ that is, priests, bishops, or popes, are neither different from other Christians nor superior to them, except that they are charged with the administration of the Word of God and the sacraments, which is their work and office.”25
Therefore, just as those who are now called ‘spiritual,’ that is, priests, bishops, or popes, are neither different from other Christians nor superior to them, except that they are charged with the administration of the Word of God and the sacraments, which is their work and office.
Regardless of this office of Word and Sacrament, there is not a special priesthood or caste which alone handles the Holy Scriptures. A congregation must have many teachers,26 called to rightly analyze the word of truth.27 Parents, pedagogues, politicians, publishers, and pastors alike are to “let the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom”28 for it is clear enough that, like the keys, Scripture too was not given to Peter alone, as some say, but to the whole communion of saints.29 “If we are all priests, as was said above, and all have one faith, one gospel, one sacrament,30 why should we not also have the power to test and judge what is right or wrong in matters of faith?”31
Furthermore, if there is a true student of the scriptures, or perhaps a professor of theology in the pews, why would the church want that person to be silent? Would we not want to hear from one so graced by God? The point is that the priesthood is not for an ordained few; and we are coming to a point in American churches when this will become good news. It seems that pastors are now more difficult to procure than organists. Let the other priests who are able to rightly divide the Word have a go at teaching and preaching. “It is the duty of every Christian to espouse the cause of the faith, to understand and defend it, and to denounce every error.”32
This is what Peter says when he exhorts us about “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”33 This is the job of a priest. Yes, and of schoolteachers, plumbers, parents, engineers, grocers, and those Christians in any other vocation.
No One is Better than Another
No one is better than another, though in Luther’s day, this was certainly not the case in the church that he prayed would be reformed. Luther insisted to the nobility that…
“the kissing of the pope’s feet should cease. It is an un-Christian, indeed, an anti-Christian thing for a poor sinful man to let his feet be kissed by one who is a hundred times better than himself. If it is done in honor of his authority, why does the pope not do the same to others in honor of their holiness? Compare them with each other—Christ and the pope. Christ washed his disciples’ feet and dried them but the disciples never washed his feet (John 13:4–16). The pope, as though he were higher than Christ, turns that about, and allows his feet to be kissed as a great favor. Though properly, if anyone wanted to do so, the pope ought to use all his power to prevent it, as did St. Paul and Barnabas, who would not let the people of Lystra pay them divine honor, but said, ‘We are men like you’ (Acts 14:15).”34
“We are men like you,” said two of the greatest leaders of the Church of Christ. Would we dare to disagree with them? Would we set ourselves up as higher or better than those whom we are called to serve? This can happen when we allow ourselves to think of vocation as a calling from God separate from the rest of life, above the lives of others. This does not mean that we think simply of vocation as being one’s occupation. It is, of course that, but it is much more than a job for the Christian. Vocation is doing whatever one’s work may be, but “as unto the Lord.” As such, vocation incorporates the whole of the Christian life, everything from baptism to parousia. 35 Christian vocation comes to pass whenever one takes up his cross and follows Christ. Indeed, Christian vocation is denying oneself and taking up his cross and following Christ Jesus.36 Christian vocation is living Jesus’ call to discipleship. This call is recognized when one reads Luther’s “Table of Duties,”37 included in later editions of Luther’s Small Catechism.38 This may give you some inkling as to the importance Luther gave to the priesthood of all believers in his theology of vocation.
Listed in the table are bishops, pastors, and teachers of the Word. We have no difficulty in naming these as offices, vocations, and callings. Nor did they have any difficulty in doing so in Luther’s day; these were the only holy vocations. This is one reason he delineated his theology of vocation in To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation: all members of the Church of Rome had been indoctrinated with this high view of clergy.
On down the line in the table, come magistrates, perhaps more simply understood as those who have civil power over us. Who gave them that power, a power that even pastors must obey? “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”39 If the civil authorities perform their duties as unto the Lord, theirs is not merely an occupation but a vocation—an institution of God.
What of other laborers? “The Table of Duties” includes them too. “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Eph. 6:5–8.”40 The key phrase in these verses is “doing service, as to the Lord.” Whatever your labor may be, do it as though you are doing it for the Lord. How can such work not be considered a holy vocation? Further, God is commanding all workers, through the apostle’s exhortation, to be “servants of Christ.” A more literal translation of “servants” or “bondservants” in Ephesians 6:6 is “slaves.” In other words, all that we do is to be performed with the single-mindedness of a slave. They are only working for their Lord. Sounds like what we would expect of a pastor, a bishop, the pope. Exactly. But Christians are the Lord’s servants or slaves. We are to work as unto him, no matter what specialized occupation we may have. Who you work for is what makes the occupation a vocation—a calling.
As I said at the beginning of this essay, my denomination issued me a certificate that declared I was called to “specialized ministry” at Sola Publishing. Sadly, they do not hand out certificates for other vital Christian ministries: those of parent, child, teacher, nurse, secretary, or farmer, to name but a few. Each of these vocations has a different function, specific to the work, but they are to be done especially as unto the Lord.
Rev. Mark Ryman is married to Susan. He is pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, and is happy to have received the D.Min. from St. Paul Lutheran Seminary.
Endnotes:
1Paul Timothy McCain, editor, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House), 2005, 51.
2Ibid., 51.
3Ibid., 51.
4Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, et al. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, xv.
5Martin Luther, Luther’s Spirituality, edited by Philip D. W. Krey, et al., translated by Peter D. S. Krey and Philip D. W. Krey, (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2007, 34.
6Ibid., 34.
7Ac 17:25, The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
8Ibid., 34; Col 3:22–24. 9Col. 3:23, American Standard Version. Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995..
10I have a church certificate that says so!
11James A Nestingen, Free to Be. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Press,1975), 28.
12Ro 8:28 (ESV).
13Ref, Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6, 5:10, 20:6
14Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, 127.
151 Co 12:14–30 (ESV).
161 Co 12:31 (ESV).
17Mt 20:26–28 (ESV)
18Edward A. Engelbrecht, The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009),1625.
19Mt 20:16 (ESV)
20Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, 127.
21Ibid., 128.
22Ibid., 29.
23Eph 4:11, The Holy Bible: King James Version. Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009..
24Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, 129.
25Ibid.,130.
262 Ti 2:2 (ESV)
272 Ti 2:15 (ESV)
28Col 3:16 (ESV)
29Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, 134.
30Here Luther means Holy Baptism, re. Ephesians 4:5-6.
31Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, 135.
32Ibid., 136.
331 Pe 3:15 (ESV)
34Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 44: The Christian in Society I, 168.
35Gustaf Wingren, Luther on Vocation, translated by Carl C. Rasmussen, (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004),250.
36Mt 16:24 (ESV).
37Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism, with Proof-Texts, Additions and Appendices: For the Use of Church, School and Family (The Lutheran Bookstore, 1882), 28–31.
38Luther’s earliest edition of the Small Catechism did not include the Office of the Keys either.
39Ro 13:1 (ESV)
40Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism, with Proof-Texts, Additions and Appendices: For the Use of Church, School and Family, 30.
