My Three Blogs

This is my third blog.  The first was started as part of the Wyoming District Evangelism Website, of which I was, at the time, webmaster.  When that website was folded into the district website, the blog ended.

The second was begun as a chronicle of my life as a pastor.  Unfortunately, it soon became tied into certain political movements in the synod.  It also became involved in several controversies.  None of that had been my intention, but it happened.  Over time, I realized that the blog was becoming a place for me to unburden some of the sorrows associated with being part of the church militant.

But that is really not an appropriate thing to do.  A blog should not bear our burdens.  That is our Lord’s job.  Even less then, should a pastor share those burdens with other Christians, and with those outside the church.

Actually, a pastor, as one who stands in Christ’s stead, is supposed to take the burdens of others.  (See the fifth chief part of the Small Catechism for more on this.)  His burdens are shared with other pastors, or more specifically, with his Father confessor.  They should not be aired publicly.

A growing uneasiness with the content of my blog brought to me two options. 1) Go through and remove posts that should not have been public. (A time consuming process since the blog represented several years worth of work.)  2) Begin a new blog. (A risky proposition because I had built up a rather faithful set of readers, and would likely lose them if I began a new blog.)

Lacking the time to scrub the old blog, I simply began a new one.  Readership plummeted, but that’s OK.  Those who want to find me, will.

The new blog is not a chronicle of being a pastor.  It is a place where I share the joys of being a pastor.  There are many blogs of this sort, but there are few places dedicated to the joys of our life together as Christians, the joys of pastoral labors, and even the joys of being rejected by the world.     There are many great joys in the work I do.  First and foremost, eclipsing all others, is the joy I have of bringing the Gospel to people who need it.  It is truly extraordinary that I get to do this day in and day out, and that there are people who consider my work so important that they give up their hard earned dollars to support me and my family, just so that I can devote myself fully to this.  I don’t have to dig trenches, ask “May I take your order”, build things, or for that matter produce anything of any value to the world at all.  I get to spend my days and years reading Holy Scripture, studying the fathers of the church, hearing sins confessed and offering absolution, preaching the Gospel to the poor, pouring water that gives a new birth, and feeding people with food that does not spoil, but remains to eternal life.

My third blog exists to share these joys.

And for those who don’t know German, the name of the Blog translates to “Preaching Office.”  It is the office I hold, by the Grace of God.  And I pray (often) that God would give me strength so that I fulfill the office faithfully.

All of this to say that, from time to time, I will bringing back good posts from my first two blogs.  Beginning with my next post.