“When I preach I regard neither doctors nor magistrates, of whom I have above forty in my congregation; I have all my eyes on the servant maids and on the children. And if the learned men are not well pleased with what they hear, well, the door is open.”
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Show Your Discontented Eggheads the Door
A gem from Martin Luther, via Ray Ortlund:
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3 comments:
Interesting. It's a shame that the Lutheran Church in Germany is now so intellectual, with all pastors required to be fluent in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. I understand the need, but ALL pastors? Come on. It leaves us with a cohort of intensely intellectual leaders and not a lot else.
As a result we reach the upper classes far more than anyone else.
My favorite part of our service is a "children's moment" in which the 3-7-year olds gather round the pastor at the front, while he does a brief teaching at their level, in front of the whole congregation.
A friend who sits in the choir loft told me that during these moments, he sees every adult paying rapt attention, in marked contrast to their behavior during the regular sermon.
Luther seems to have been onto something effective...
regarding andy's comment, learned pastors don't necessitate the reaching of the learned class. Luther himself is the best example, specifically in this quote.
as to the quote, HERE HERE!
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