Note: This is a reflection that I wrote and was published in the Trinity 2014 issue of Gottesdienst, and was shared at Gottesblog in 2017. ~ Ed.
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My own practice is to preach one sermon for all. It unifies our church, and it includes the children, even if the preaching is over their heads. It won’t be for long. They learn the English language the same way: by immersion.
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The arrogance of the late 20th century church which calls itself Christian has added another claim to its list - that it is the first to really reach children (also known as “doing children’s sermons”). Like the charismatic movement, which claims that the Holy Spirit is now working through them for the first time since the apostles, and the higher critics who claim that they have discovered for the first time in history the true nature of the Bible as an error-filled yet useful book, the proponents of children’s sermons are claiming that they are reaching the children for the first time and in a much better and more improved way than ever before.
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Today marks the great feast of St. Lawrence, a deacon in Rome in the third century, and likely the most famous deacon after St. Stephen the protomartyr. St. Lawrence and his fellow deacons, like St. Stephen before them, were tasked with the material wealth of the Church and the care of the poor.
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Abolish all vicars. Restore the diaconate.
Three years of seminary. Three years as a deacon.
Note: Gottesblog began in 2009. There are a lot of gems hidden under fifteen years of the sands of time. It was suggested that we do a Throwback Thursday feature every week. This is Fr. David Petersen’s advice from fifteen years ago, especially appropriate for younger pastors and recent ordinands looking for practical liturgical advice in bringing the treasure of the liturgy to their parishes, where what is old and authentic may seem new and out of place. This calls for pastoral wisdom. Pastor Petersen offers that here. ~ Ed.
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Footnote #2 in Walther’s Lutheran Pastoral Theology on page 96…
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Can you abide the willful disposal of the Blood of Christ in the trash? Brother, if this pricks your conscience, it should. Get busy about this already.
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What I’ve been thinking about more and more is this. How do we as pastors help or hinder that process? Are we to see ourselves primarily as agents of alleviating pain or of administering it? Are we called to make other people’s lives easier and more comfortable? Or are we called to call them to a life of embracing difficulty, of endurance and fortitude, of daring and risk, of zeal for what is good despite the pain?
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While looking into the confrontation between Emperor Valens and Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, I came across this beautifully-written summary. I’m gratified by the example of St. Basil…
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August 19-20, 2024 in Madison Tennessee. Register now!
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To be sure, we Lutherans do not walk with the archbishop, nor he with us. But we do stand sympathetically with him on a principle found in Article 28 of the Augsburg Confession.
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Of course, this is not normally language we consider pastoral or biblical - but there are times for bluntness, sarcasm, and for raising eyebrows. Dealing with false teachers in the congregation is not a time to be nice or to worry about hurt feelings.
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Early life experience taught me that spirits are most definitely not to be trifled with.
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The 2024 St. Michael Liturgical Conference - Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Detroit - Monday, September 30, 2024.
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According to Scripture, a change in style can have sufficient force as to change a blessing into its very opposite, a curse. This is not just mission drift; it is mission reversal.
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