Pr. Stuckwisch has put his finger on the challenges of the young pastor. His assessment resonates true with me. To some, its like I’m from a completely different planet. Others understand.

A pastor who understands and loves the Gospel as the open heart of God in Christ — by which sinners are forgiven and the ungodly are justified by grace, by the Atonement of the Lord’s own Cross and Passion — such a pastor cannot help but preach and teach in harmony with that Gospel. A pastor who knows the beauty and benefit of Holy Absolution will be engaged in genuine pastoral care, in conversation as in the confessional; because the Office of the Keys defines the entire Office of the Holy Ministry, which is not only what the pastor does, but who he is.

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Pr. Peters reposted a portion of an interview with author and pastor Eugene Petersen. His books are largely influential and many of them very helpful. I’m not usually keen to his “The Message” paraphrase but understand his intent. Consider this quote:

Q: In your memoir The Pastor, you [Eugene Peterson] talk about your concerns that the Christian church is becoming too market-driven, and that Christians need “a sacred imagination strong enough to reject and resist the relentlessly secularized and ghettoized one-dimensional caricature that assigned American pastors to jobs in a workplace that markets religion.”

A:  What concerns me is that it kind of turns the gospel and the Christian faith into a consumer product.

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