Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Pastors Do Not Minister to Human Changing Desires


Chicago

My fellow pastors...

We are not the ministers of peoples' changing desires,

or time-conditioned understanding of our needs, 

or secularized hopes for something thing better. 

We are lashed tight to the mast of word and sacrament so we will be unable to respond to the siren voices of relevance. 

We deal with foundational realities - God, kingdom, gospel. 

If we give in to the ever-shifting sands of populism we'll end up living futile, fantasy lives. 

Our task is to keep telling the basic story, representing the presence of the Spirit, insisting on the priority of God, speaking the biblical words of command and promise and invitation.

- Adapted from Eugene H. Peterson. Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity (Kindle Locations 244-249).