“God ordains men; be one,” as the sainted Rev. Dr. Kenneth Korby famously exhorted us pastors. And indeed, there is nothing more pathetic than men - ordained men - behaving like 13-year old girls. Theology is not an episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood or Romper Room. It is iron sharpening iron. It is not for the faint of heart.

It is especially incumbent upon our pastors to be strong men in the trying times in which we live. The worldwide pandemic has created new challenges for the Church, as well as new tensions with the state. It is fitting that we pastors be free to engage in postmortem analysis - and ongoing reconsideration of the ways that we lead our flocks in these darkening days of postmodernism, rising socialism, state intervention, and increasing cultural hostility to the Gospel. It is humbling indeed to hear pastors with the courage and conviction to say that the Church’s initial response to the state’s order to close our churches was anemic, and to express regret at not pushing back harder. And that kind of confession ought to be encouraged rather than discouraged because it might hurt someone’s feelings. The pursuit of truth and the integrity of how we bring Christ to our congregations and institutions is more important than sparing someone’s fragile ego - especially when that someone is a called and ordained servant of the Word.

Pastors need to courageously weigh in on difficult issues, and do so without fear of someone trying to gag him or get him in trouble with those charged with oversight. We need the ability to be critical of the way things have been done in the past for the sake of improving for the future. The secular world calls this “best practices,” and simply refusing to be critical or introspective about how we, as a Church, have carried out our duties, is a formula for failure in the future - especially in the aftermath of unprecedented occurrences..

The last thing the Church needs in these dark days are Pastor Karens.

What we do need is for pastors to be manly. If you read something disagreeable, make a counter argument. If you don’t like what you read in Gottesdienst Online, start your own blog. They’re free. Unless a pastor is engaging in false doctrine, there is no reason to ask to “speak to the manager” because your feelings have been hurt.

And when the knee-jerk reflex to contact a pastor’s supervisor rears its head, one might want to consider the old quip of Dr. Luther that when one tosses a stick into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit.

We are indeed entering dark days for the Church in the west. And the Church around the world is facing persecution not seen since the days of Rome. We need pastors who are mentally and spiritually tough. We need pastors to be warriors. We need pastors to have thick hides. There is a very good reason the Lord did not turn the office of shepherd over to 13-year old girls.

Man up, guys. We’re in for a ride.