Candidate Call Service 2024 | Join us for a special service announcing candidate calls for students in their final year at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. | By Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne-CTSFW | And and shed your love reward the weakness of mortal state mighty Oh lord, open my lips. Make haste, oh god, to deliver me turn his gates with blessed A reading from Isaiah chapter forty. A voice says, cry and I said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows on it, surely, the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the of our god will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, oh Zion, herald of good news. Lift up your voice with strength, oh Jerusalem, Herald, of good news. Lifted up, fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, behold, your God. Behold, the Lord God comes with might. And his arm rules for him. Behold, his reward is with him. And his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young. Oh lord, have mercy on us. A reading from Saint John chapter twenty-one. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him, a second time, Simon son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him, the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you, and carry you, where you do not want to go. This he said to show him by what kind of death he was to glorify god And after saying this, he said to him, follow me. Oh lord, have mercy upon us. Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again for our justification. Glory be to the father, and to the son, and to the Holy Spirit. Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from god, our father, and from our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. We focus our attention on these words from Isaiah chapter forty The grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our god will stand forever. This is the word of the lord. When you leave the seminary what will you take with you? History would suggest that the top three answers are either a wife, a baby, or a used vehicle of some sorts. But what else will you take with you? Second-hand furniture couches, and cribs perhaps? Classroom notes to be sure and books and books. And lots of books There will be friendships and memories too. But dear brothers, as you begin in the office of the holy ministry, what you take with you from this place is the word of god. Couches wear out, memories fade, but the word of our god stands forever. And that is precisely why a congregation in a community that you perhaps have never even heard of before a few minutes from now. Has called you to be their pastor to bring to them the word of god, to give them something that the world cannot give. Something that lasts. Something that is eternal. We live in a world of forgettable, disposable words. From tweets and Snapchats to memes and texts, our words are seldom, inspiring, or memorable at all. But there are also those words that and betray gossip, slander, and deceit. Words that tear down another's reputation, words that dishonor god's name and his people. And we regularly hear such words. Perhaps, we even read such words. Words that are disposable. Words that bring pain. And even death. But dear brothers, dear friends in Christ, we have a different kind of word. We have the word of the lord and it is a word that brings life. And it is a word that endures. Rathering rather than turning to our caustic culture for the right words, for the right occasion. We, with Saint Peter, turn to Christ. Lord, to whom else would we go? You have the words of eternal life. As you go forth from this place this word is first for you. A sinner but it is a word of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Before it is a word to be spoken to your people, it is a word for you. But it is also a word that you are called to proclaim. When the pastor ascends the pulpit, he may not have the greatest gifts of poetry or the use of language. But he speaks the word of the lord. He may not be the the greatest of orators but he still stands before the congregation. To proclaim that enduring word. This is your confidence When you preach that first sermon to the congregation that is awaiting you. You have been called to proclaim the whole council of god, wielding the two-edged sword of law and gospel, kill god's word, killing, and making alive. By the working of the Holy Spirit, you are called to speak a word that endures. In John chapter four, an official with a son who was ill came from Capernaum to Galilee. The twenty-seven-mile journey justifying Jesus. Jesus told the man that his son would live and he believed that word that was spoken to him the late Martin Fronzman said, Jesus sent the man home with only a word in his pocket but that word was Christ's word. Our lord sends you forth this night to places across our country. To speak that very word. The word that you have heard, the word that you have studied, the word that you have prayed and song, the word that you have held sacred. God is now sending you forth to people who need that word, people caught in sin. People struggling under the pressures of life in a fallen word. People in need. Of a word that is good news. For that is exactly what you have been called to do. To bring to them that good news that will last. As you pack up you have everything that you need because the word of god is near you. It is as Paul writes in Romans ten. It is in your mouth and in your heart. For with the heart, one believes and is justified and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved. The word is the good news that was preached to you, Peter says. And you will likely be one of the youngest leaders in the congregation you are called to serve. They will look upon you and tell you that they've got cars and socks older than you are. But you have everything that the congregation needs as well. You see, they hear enough words that cause pain and what they need is a word that brings life. They need a word that fills them with hope. And back to Romans ten How will they hear? How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching and how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ Your brothers, the word of the lord endures forever. It's more than a slogan and motto. It is our theology. Jesus Christ is the word made flesh. Preached. To god's people so that he would be present for them. To forgive, strengthen, and give life, life, everlasting. The word of the lord is a word about Christ crucified and risen again from the grave It is a word that creates faith and a word that gives hope. And they have been praying for pastors who will come and preach such a word to them. A word that endures That is what we all need. Every lay person gathered here this night. Every family member watching from a great distance. Every seminary, faculty member, every district president, and every seminarian. Who's about to be called pastor? Needs such a word. And that is the word that you take with you. So, as you load up your used cars as you fill your U-Haul trailers, remember that what you really take with you when you leave the seminary. Is the word of god May it remain in your mouth and in your heart. When days are tough, return to the word again and again. When you feel overwhelmed, hear the word of god spoken to you by a father confessor. So, that it may pass from your ears. to your heart And from your heart to your lips and from your lips to your life The word of god endures because it testifies about Christ. That is the word you are called to proclaim. Dear friends, may we all cling to that word Christ present for us in his word. That is all we need. And the congregations where we attend because it is a word that endures. A word that gives life everlasting. Through our savior Christ Jesus. May God grant it for his sake. Amen. And now may the peace of god which surpasses all of our understanding keep our hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus and to life everlasting Amen. Amen. Greetings in the name of our risen lord, Jesus Christ. First, I would like to say thank you. President Hagan for his words of encouragement, wisdom, as these men prepare to go out into the harvest field. Thank you. So, every year over and over again. I am asked this question. How does this placement thing work? I found out there's a lot of misinformation floating around I have found, well, first come, first serve biggest church and or salary gets first choice. Best bottle of bourbon, best call. That one might be true. And of course, there's this ongoing idea that I have a map on the wall of my office and I throw darts at it to determine who goes where. Now, while we do have a tradition here at Concordia Theological Seminary where the students throw darts at a map to later see how close they got to the actual placement, I, myself, do not throw the darts. Nor do I take into account the location of the student dart throws because they're terrible dart throwers. There are only so many Gulf of Mexico, oil-rid platform ministries out there. So, let me explain once again how I go about this placement process. I begin by interviewing each student and their wife or significant other. And then, we develop a profile on each one and then, when all of the call documents come from congregations etcetera are filed, then, my administrative assistant, she, prints them off, gives them to me. And then, and this is the main thing. I take the stock, the stack of student profiles and I place them next to the stack of call documents. And I pray. Then I make the sign of the cross and then I shuffle em together like a deck of cards. And whichever candidate is next to whatever call, that's where they're going. Hey, I'm just making room for the Holy Spirit here. So, Some of the men sitting here tonight actually believe this or soon will. However, I assure all of you it's a little more complicated than that. Thankfully, the lord remains the lord of the church and the Holy Spirit makes his own room and still moves and speaks according to his means. The placement process always has its challenges every year and this year is no exception. It requires the work of the entire church and it is with Thanksgiving. I announce to you that every candidate from your seminary has been prepared for the office of the holy ministry will receive a call. So my thanks to all the district presidents, their staffs, congregations, call committees, circuit visitors, and pastors, council of presidents, the place where people at Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, and the placement people at Concordia Seminary, Saint Catharines Canada. Together, as the church, we had managed to carry out the call process while safely guarding the integrity of the call. Again, by the grace of god and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A special note of thanks to Doctor Todd Peppercorn, the man in charge of Vicarage. My excellent staff, Nancy Raber, Lorinda Matter, also a big thanks to Robin Ambrose at the Sonautical Office, how she keeps it all straight is beyond me. Thanks to a placement committee, led by President Dwayne Lewick, and my counterpart at Concordia Seminary Saint Louis, Doctor Glenn Nielsen, and from Saint Doctor Thomas Korshak and a privilege working together again this year for the sake of the church. This year, there are 36 MDiv candidates, one alternate route, and three S and P candidates from our seminary. For a total of forty. And fifty-five M div, one alternate route combined with sixteen, SMP, three, EIIT, and three CMC, from our Seminary in Saint Louis plus one candidate from Saint Catharines in Canada and three colloqui for a total of one hundred and twenty-three. 93 MDiv and Alternate Route. There are one hundred and sixty-nine calls available for use in 1 18 calls extended. That leaves 51 calls unfi Less than last year but still far too many. Please say give your prayers for those congregations not receiving a candidate at this time. And pray to the Lord. The Lord of the Harvest to send more workers. With the candidates, please present themselves. Isaiah Sorry, I got a little excited there. Isaiah A Armbrook N Absensia, I probably should mention that he, well, President Hagan, you are a prophet. His wife is having contractions. He's taking some other things on his first call. And Isaiah will be the pastor of our Savior Lutheran Church, Manchester, Iowa, Iowa East District. Jefferson M Arnold pastor, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Mooresville, Indiana, Indiana District. Shawn T Barnett, pastor Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, English District. Jesse L Brubaker, pastor, Christ the Vine Lutheran Church, Damascus, Oregon, Northwest District. Thomas J Chamberlain, pastor Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Van Wert, Ohio and Saint John's Lutheran Church, Wapakoneta, Ohio, Ohio District. Patrick M Cox the second Pastor Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mid-South District. Jordan L DeBoer, pastor First English Lutheran Church, Park Rapids, Minnesota, Minnesota North District. Trey Doak in Absensia, from our sister Seminary in Saint Catharines, Canada Pastor, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Hoxie, Kansas, and Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Oakley, Kansas, Kansas District. Ted L Fisher, associate pastor Saint Peter Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois, Northern Illinois District. Joseph R Goodrowed, pastor, Grace Lutheran Church, Iola, Kansas, Kansas District. Jesse R Greenhagen, associate pastor, Zion Lutheran Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Michigan District. Joseph R Greenmeyer, pastor, Faith Lutheran Church, Parkston, South Dakota, and Saint Peter Lutheran Church Emory, South Dakota, South Dakota District. Kevin D Hemp, pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Pacifica, California, California, Nevada, Hawaii District. Andrew R Hill, pastor, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Green River, Wyoming, and Trinity Lutheran Church, Rock Springs, Wyoming, Wyoming District. Jason L Iwin, pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Battle Mountain, Nevada, and Zion Lutheran Church, Winnemucca, Nevada, California, Nevada, Hawaii District. Alex, Jay, Caldal, Caldal, pastor, Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Quimby, Iowa, and Trinity Lutheran Church, Hinton, Iowa, and Trinity Lutheran Church, Marcus, Iowa, Iowa West District. John L. Castner, associate pastor, Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Olathe, Kansas, Kansas District. Noah R Kerstein pastor, Faith Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Illinois, Central Illinois District. Thompson, Marin, pastor, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Batavia, New York, Eastern District. James S Martin associate pastor Grace Lutheran Church, Clarksville, Tennessee, Mid-South District. There is a god Kevin P McGlattery, pastor, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Orange, Connecticut, New England District. Christian Q Mundorf, pastor, the Lutheran Church of the Messiah, Saginaw, Michigan, Michigan District. Luke H Otten pastor Christ the King Lutheran Church, Racine, Wisconsin, and Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Elmwood Park, Wisconsin, South Wisconsin District. Peter D. Price, pastor, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska, Wyoming District. Jared E Rudolph, associate pastor, Peace Lutheran Church, Fremont, Indiana, English District. Eric D Saunders, pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Miles City, Montana, Montana District, John H Schober the second pastor, risen savior Lutheran Church, Franklin, Wisconsin, South Wisconsin District. Michael A Scarda, pastor, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Lebanon, Connecticut, New England District. Richard Savitsky the fourth pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Logan, Ohio, and Trinity Lutheran Church, Sugar Grove, Ohio, Ohio District. Solomon K Spangler, pastor, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Grosse Point Woods, Michigan, English District. Zachary A Stare, pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Manila, Iowa, Iowa West District. Gabriel M Strong, pastor, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Gorham, Maine, New England district. Brandon M Sullivan pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Mason City, Illinois, and Zion Lutheran Church, New Holland, Illinois, Central Illinois District. Christopher W Warneke, pastor Redeemer Lutheran Church, Arkansas City, Kansas, and Trinity Lutheran Church Winfield, Kansas, Kansas District. David L Went, pastor, Peace Lutheran Church, Wall Lake, Iowa, Iowa West District. Scott A Woodhouse, pastor, Saint James Lutheran Church, Logansport, Indiana, Indiana District. Caleb J. Yeager, associate pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Sturgis, Michigan, Michigan District. Cohem Yamamoto, pastor Christ Lutheran Church, Paris, Tennessee, Mid-South District. President Raff The candidates will please rise for the charge Go then, take heed unto thyself and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost have made thee overseer. To feed the church of god, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Feed the flock of Christ, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy luker, but of a ready mind. Neither is being lord over god's heritage, but being an example to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, thou shalt receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. The lord bless thee from on high and make thee a blessing unto many, that thou mayest bring forth fruit and that thy fruit may remain unto eternal life. Amen. Amen. The congregation rises. Who art in heaven the lord be with you Let us pray. Almighty god, merciful father, since you have awakened from death, the shepherd of your sheep, grant us your holy spirit, that when we hear the voice of our shepherd, we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads, through the same Jesus Christ, your son, our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one god, now and forever. Oh lord god, merciful and gracious father, we give thanks for all the blessings you have bestowed on these, your servants, in their preparation for the holy ministry by your holy spirit, grant them readiness and steadfastness in their ministry, patience, understanding, a cheerful spirit, and great zeal, support, and strengthen them that by your word, your church may be built an increased, through Jesus Christ our lord Lord god, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending by paths as yet untrodden through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us. Through Jesus Christ, our lord. Direct us, oh lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and continue us with your, provide us with your continual help, that in all our works begun, continued and ended in you, we may glorify your holy name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ, your son, our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one god, now and forever. Let us bless the lord. The grace of our lord Jesus Christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all. We are delighted to welcome you all to this great evening as we celebrate the lord keeping his promises to send forth laborers into his harvest. To him alone be the glory. Where delighted also to welcome amongst us not only the families supporting these students but also those fellow supporters and congregations that are watching via the live stream as they excitedly see their pastor for the first time. Hopefully, they're not too disappointed. They couldn't be. Not possible. We're also delighted to welcome the Council of Presidents of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod who have been meeting over the past week, mostly in Saint Louis but have moved up here today to be part of this particular service and also to meet with our faculty tomorrow. I'd like to invite the chairman of the council, Doctor Lee Hagan to come up and offer a few words. You are indeed an answer to prayer. Congregations have been praying for months and in some cases, years And so we give thanks to God that he has he has been faithful to his promises and provided shepherds for the flock. At the same time, I invite all of you to continue to pray for those 51 congregations that did not hear their their congregations name red. Either in Saint Louis or in Fort Wayne. And pray according to the lord's good and gracious will, he would provide for their congregations as well As you prepare to begin ministry, now that you have received your first call, I commend to you these words from Doctor Walther In his, the twentieth evening lecture on the proper distinction between law and gospel. He writes, when a place has been assigned to a Lutheran candidate of theology, where he is to to discharge the office of a Lutheran Minister. That sought to be to him. The dearest, most beautiful, most precious spot on earth. He should be unwilling to exchange it for a kingdom. Whether it is in a metropolis or in a small town, on a bleak prairie, or in a clearing, in a forest. In a flourishing settlement or in a desert To him, it should be a miniature paradise. Do not the blessed angels descend from heaven with great joy whenever the father in heaven sends them to minister to those who are to be heirs of salvation. Why then should we, poor sinners be unwilling to hurry after them with great joy to any place where we can lead other men, our fellow sinners to salvation. Dear brothers in the office, may that be how you look upon this first call. These people commended to your care. On behalf of the Council of Presidents, I am pleased to welcome you to the Ministerium of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod and I leave you with these words of promise from Saint Paul. In his first letter to the church at Corinth, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain. May God bless all of you as you serve God's people. Thank you, President Hagan and also, we're blessed to have with us the president of our Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, the Reverend Matthew C Harrison, President Harrison. We're proud of you. We love you. We thank god for every single one of you. We pray for this moment. We pray for you and you are the answer to god's prayer for us, flesh and blood. We have many congregations, 50 more on this occasion, who wanted a pastor and were ready to call, had the means ready. 50 other calls went unfilled. I'm just thinking if we really got at it, you could take this crowd here and maybe just 10% if we get just 5% of the people in the rest of the building to sit on this side in a couple of years. We'd get this problem solved. Don't worry if you got gray hair or no hair at all. I see gray hair, no hair at all here. This is this is the greatest vocation on Earth You get to tell people about Christ and the fullness of his blessed gospel for them. You do. You minister to people in their absolute worst moments in the hospital, when they're deathly sick, at death, through death. Divorce, tragedy, you name it but you minister to the same people at their most joyous moments. The birth of a baby, a baptism, a marriage, an anniversary, a 50th anniversary. college graduation. And they invite you into their homes. They love you. They receive your service and you're speaking of the of Christ with joy. It's great. All of you out there listening in the world, now is the time to come to the seminary. The support is there for you. I happen to know a seminarian and his wife who are moved to tears at Christmas time with the mountain of gift cards. They being on a tight budget, the mountain of gift card cards. This community provided for going out to eat for all kinds of other nests unnecessary items. The resources here, call the seminary, call Fort Wayne, call Saint Louis, call Fort Wayne first. We love all God's Seminary. The forward of the Book of Concord those great princes and cities and bishops that signed the forward made sure and they confessed that they would adhere to the divine scriptures the divine word of god, a term description the confession used over and again for the word of god and their goal was to advance the gospel to the glory of god, advance it around the world for the well being of church and schools and their tranquility and for the blessing of troubled consciences and they promised that they would not depart from the Rebos Un Frazibos. Words I heard from Robert Price's mouth every week that I was a seminary student here. They would not depart from the very doctrines themselves in the Book of Concord and the very words used to convey that doctrine. And they would stand in the judgment seat, stand before the judgment seat of Christ at the last day making this confession. Luther repeated that in article seven of the form of Concord and he said, I am not drunk. I know what I'm doing. I've I've evaluated these articles over and over again while I lived and when I die, somebody's going to come along and say, well, if Luther were alive today, he'd teach this or that. Don't believe it. I know what it to face the judgment seat of Christ and he swore that he would uphold what he had confessed and so the Book of Concord also ends with a similar statement. Here, the confessors say, we shall stand before the judgement seat of Christ with shrunkenen comes from Shrek and all the guys in Saint Louis laughed when I said that to him last time or last night because they all know what Shrek is because all you were little little munchkins watching Disney. About 20 years ago. They would stand before the judgement seat of Christ with intrepid, intrepid hearts unafraid because they were confessing the divine word of god. You will stand before your congregations very soon and what's also called the most solemn moment other than your baptism? And you will be asked. Do you confess this Book of Concord and you will say, I make these confessions my own because they are in accord with the word of god. God bless you. We love you. Welcome to the greatest ministerium on Earth. With all of our warts and shortcomings, welcome to the greatest Lutheran Ministerium on Earth. We love you. God bless you. Thank you, President Harrison and President Hagan. After that, no more needs to be said. So, I have a few more things to say. Very few First off, thank you. Again, for being here and supporting these men as they make this move towards active pastoral ministry. They could not have done it without you and especially the wives of those who are married. You are absolutely integral to this work. So, thank you for your support to this point and your support into the future. And thanks to all of you for your faithful work over the years. I've gotten to know all of you. I usually make a threat at this point in about finishing church history for but I only see two of you that I can say that to right now. So, I'm looking at you both. I won't name you. But the rest of you, stay after your studies, finish up the work, you will be in your places before you know it. The Lord has provided. He has kept his promise to you. He has supported you this far. He will support you to the end. That is what he does. All of you are invited to a reception in the dining hall. Please join us. Our wonderful Seminary Guild. These wonderful giving ladies will be there to serve you. They have been such a joy over the course of my presidency. I cannot tell you how deeply, deeply I appreciate them. Thank you, Phyllis and all of the women of the guild as you help us out again. And if I say much more, I'm going to start to cry. So, I'm not going to. I'll just say, thanks again. God bless you all and let us rise for the recessional hymn.