Questions & Answers

The Lord's Supper is given to the Church. Ordinarily, the congregation calls a pastor to publicly administer the sacrament on its behalf. Private individuals normally should not set up their own communion services.

We cannot say dogmatically that one must be ordained to validly consecrate the Lord's Supper, but the regular practice of the Lutheran church has been that only pastors acting in the name of the congregation do this. It has not been considered "appropriate" for laymen to consecrate the Lord's Supper under ordinary circumstances.

In cases where there are no pastors available, however, due to persecution or some other circumstances, a congregation could arrange for a man from their midst to serve as their minister of Word and Sacraments.

The pastor has no special authority to provide a forgiveness of sins that is any different from or greater than the forgiveness which is given by any Christian. The ministry of the keys, the authority to forgive or retain sin, is given to the Church even when only two or three are gathered together (Matthew 18). Any Christian may speak the law and gospel to another Christian. The gospel has the same authority when it is spoken by a pastor or by a lay person.