Several things over the past couple of weeks have called to mind the importance of our Circuits in fostering and strengthening the pastoral fellowship of our Synod. This is one of the priorities I have tried to keep at the forefront of my own mind and in the life of our District as “the Synod in this place.” Indeed, I have been convinced for many years that our Circuits are the primary place in which our Synod fellowship is actually embodied and exercised; and if it isn’t happening at that level, then there’s no way it can be contrived or fabricated at the district or national level.
On the afternoon of Sunday the 26th of November, I had the privilege of preaching for the South Bend Circuit Reformation Service at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bremen, Indiana. As that is my own Circuit, I was especially pleased with that opportunity, and it was truly a joy to be there and to be part of that gathering. Kudos to Circuit Visitor, Rev. Bill Carney, for his yearlong efforts in planning and preparing for the Service and working hard to publicize it. Serving and worshiping alongside brothers in Christ and in Office, some of whom I have known for several decades now, was a blessed reminder of the fellowship that we share in the Church and Ministry of the Gospel. I was likewise grateful for the brother pastors who came from far and wide to be there with us.
A few days later, this past week, I met with one of our Circuit Visitors, along with the regional Vice President, to discuss a sensitive matter with another brother in Christ. Among other things, our conversation included the fact that challenging topics touching upon our confession of the faith and our pastoral practice are most fruitfully addressed at the Circuit level to begin with. That is the case, not only with respect to formal dissent from doctrinal positions of the Synod, which “is to be expressed first within the fellowship of peers” (2023 LCMS Handbook, p. 36), but with matters of casuistry and practices impacting our faith and life together in Christ Jesus. Such discussions should be cordial and fraternal (by definition), but also forthright, open, and honest, allowing for debate and argument (properly understood), sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron, and exercising mutual accountability for one another within our Ministerium.
This past Sunday, I had the joy of installing another new pastor in one of our congregations – in this case, Rev. Daniel Harrison as the new associate pastor of University Lutheran Church, West Lafayette, Indiana. And I was so pleased by the number of Circuit pastors who were there and participated in the Service. That sort of support is crucial and a great benefit to our brothers in arms as they begin their ministry in a new calling and station. But it also demonstrates to the world and to the members of our congregations the tangible fellowship of our Synod, which is not an abstraction but a fraternity of pastors bound together by their common confession and practice of the faith. And that is not only visible in the gathering of pastors for Ordinations and Installations, but audible in the vows and promises that are made in every such occasion on the part of the new pastor – in the presence of God, the congregation, and his colleagues, as well.
And then, on Tuesday of this week, I was able to join one of our local Circuit Winkels for a day of prayer, discussion, study, and fraternal fellowship. I was impressed by the camaraderie of the group, notwithstanding a variety of personalities and perspectives. What I witnessed was a group of men who love and respect each other as brothers in Christ, who are confident in sharing their thoughts and opinions with each other, and who likewise listen to and learn from one another. I cannot stress enough just how vitally important this sort of gathering is, not only for the sake of our pastoral fellowship, but for the mutual consolation and support of each individual pastor. We are not called, ordained, and sent to labor in lonely isolation, but to follow in the footsteps of the Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers who have gone before us, and to live and work in active fellowship with comrades in arms, sharing in the pastoral care of the Church.