Recently Pastor Jay announced that he had received a call from Holy Trinity Tampa FL. Understanding that there are many questions about this process and what it entails, this email newsletter will seek to explain how the entire process works in our church body. This is a longer article than what we normally publish, but we felt that providing details during this time was appropriate. 
What is a “call”? – Pastors in our church body, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), are called by congregations and other official entities of the LCMS. The verbiage “called” is short hand for “divine call,” and the understanding is that the congregation that calls a pastor is working as the Body of Christ to provide a pastor for the Body of Christ. Lutherans believe that this is a process that is orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, but as with other things that the Holy Spirit does (i.e. Baptism), it is done through people. When a congregation invites a pastor to consider being their pastor, it is a “call” that we believe comes from the Holy Spirit through a congregation.
Eligibility – In order to be eligible for a call in our church body’s order, a pastor must be certified by a certifying agency. Normally this agency is one of the seminaries of our church body, but occasionally it is another official entity. Seminarians in their fourth year are certified to be able to be called. Any person who is on the “ordained roster” (list of certified pastors and/or seminarians) may be called by a congregation, and that candidate is to take the call seriously.
Mechanics – The following is how a call process might go for a congregation:
- Need for a pastor – A congregation notices a need for a pastor. This may be a need that arises out of a pastor retiring, taking a call to a different congregation, dying in office, or the need for a second or third pastor to effectively minister to a congregation.
- Formation of a Call Committee – A congregation in need of a pastor forms a committee to do most of the heavy lifting of the consideration of a call. Normally speaking this call committee has representatives from several different demographic groupings of the congregation.
- Self-Study – The Call Committee’s first job is to conduct a “self study” of the needs, resources, and desires of the congregation. The goal of this step is to thoroughly understand what the congregation is going to be looking for in a pastor, the practical issues of compensation for the pastor, and other important topics that need to be decided upon in advance of a call.
- Seminary Interaction or Nomination – At this point, a congregation has a choice to call a 4th year seminarian to his first call or to call a pastor already on the ordained roster. If the congregation chooses the seminary route, the call committee works between the congregation and the seminary to try to establish a fit between the 4th year seminarians and the needs of the congregation. This process is shepherded by the seminary for the most part but also includes the District (the regional body, for us, Florida and Georgia) staff. In this process the seminary usually gives a congregation a recommendation of a candidate pastor for their approval and ratification. If the congregation chooses to call a pastor already on the roster, that congregation makes a call for nominations. At this point, congregation members may put forth pastors who they see as fit and able to serve the congregation. This initial list of nominations is then revised and added to by District staff as District staff often know of good candidates that a given congregation may be unaware of.
- Circuit Visitor List Check – Currently the selection process begins with the Circuit Visitor (the District officer who ties together approximately 7 churches in a given area) calling all of the candidate pastors who were nominated by the congregation or the District staff to see if there is any clear reason that they could not consider a call. Normally speaking, the clear reason has to be clear. It is not enough to say “I don’t feel like it right now.” There must be some manifestation of something that would not enable the pastor to consider a call (i.e. this happened to PJ in 2014 when Cricket about to be born). Once the Circuit Visitor establishes all of the pastors available for a call, he gives this list back to the Call Committee.
- Selection and Interviews – Once the Call Committee receives the list of usually about 7-12 names, they review the documentation available for that pastor. Every pastor has two such documents that are kept on file for congregations: one is a sort of resume of work experience and training (the “PIF”), and the other is several (like 35) short essays by the pastor concerning theological practice topics (the “SET”). Usually here the Call Committee whittles down their list from 7-12 to about 3-5 given the documentation provided by pastors. Once the Call Committee has 3-5 possible candidates, they usually conduct interviews via phone, web video conference, and/or in person.
- Congregational Vote – Normally speaking a Call Committee will present their congregation with one or two (or in rarer cases three or more) candidates for a congregational vote that establishes a “call” to a certain pastor.
- Candidate Consideration – At this point the pastor who has received a call is given a period of time to pray, think, ponder, visit, and otherwise consider the call that is put before him. During this time the pastor is said to “have two calls” in that he has the call to the congregation he is serving as well as a call to another congregation. This is a time in which many people are invited to pray for the pastor and the two congregations for clarity and discernment. The candidate may choose to accept the call, meaning that he begins the process of changing his ministry to a different local church. The candidate may also choose to return the call, meaning that the Call Committee and local church have to start their process all over again.
We hope that this article helps you better understand the call process in our church body as a whole and PJ’s current place in it. We ask that you would join your prayers with PJ’s: 1. for guidance and clarity as he discerns the Holy Spirit’s work, 2. for him and his family, 3. for the members and friends of Holy Trinity Tampa, 4. for the members and friends of University Tallahassee. Should you have any questions or comments, we ask that you bring those directly and privately to Pastor Jay.