Dim Stars

A recent discussion came up online concerning the lack of so-called Lutheran “celebrity” pastors. People were like, we don’t have any Doug Wilsons (whoever he is) or John Pipers (whoever he is) or Joel Osteens (I’m sorry, who?). And while we have our share of very bright and talented theologians who write their books and blogs and record their Youtube vids, it is true: We really don’t have any of what I would call “household names” in our camp of Christendom.

And guess what? We really don’t care either.

We are blessed not with celebrity but first and foremost with men in the Holy Ministry who take the purity of confessional Lutheran doctrine extremely seriously. It ain’t the last names on the MEET OUR PASTOR pages of the church websites that matter: it’s the “Lutheran” on our signs out by the street. Consequently, we are also blessed with a faithfully proclaimed Word and administered Sacrament on a regular basis from unworthy mouths and by unworthy hands, reminding us that in the rite of Christian worship God is the true giver and we are simply his grateful recipients. And finally, as a consequence of the minister not only ministering but also receiving the same gifts on a weekly basis, we are blessed with guys who take service seriously. It ain’t about the fame. It’s about giving a bottle of cold water to a guy in July in the airconditioned church and talking about the Gospel as he rehydrates. It’s about tying the shoes of little ones and then leading them in “Jesus Loves Me.” It’s about listening to the shut in on the phone patiently while she incoherently talks on for 40+ minutes simply because she has no other ears to bend.

So yeah, we’ll continue to shuffle on as our Lutheran flock on earth without any “big names” or celebrities. And assured again and again of our Lord’s love in Jesus that transcends even death itself…we’ll be perfectly content with that.