This work comes to us from a career of careful research and reflection, is clearly and spritely written, and is, above all, timely. Debates over the nature of pastoral ministry have been endemic through the Lutheran tradition, and perhaps never more so than now. The author wisely enters his discussion not just on the movement from Luther to Walther but also on the Scriptures. Thus, the ordained ministry in Lutheranism is neither populist nor priestly. In addition, Klug leaves his comments on the views of others to the end of the work rather than scattering them throughout the whole.
