Gottesblog

“God ordains men; be one,” as the sainted Rev. Dr. Kenneth Korby famously exhorted us pastors. And indeed, there is nothing more pathetic than men - ordained men - behaving like 13-year old girls.

The Book of Concord is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is not a book of rules. It is a confession. Confessions cannot be prescribed. As Professor Marquart said so eloquently: “One believes something because one is convinced that it is true.”

In this day and age of secularism and social media, one of the most countercultural acts a Christian can do is to send Christmas cards - real cards in real envelopes that end up in the real hands of loved ones, colleagues, friends, and those with whom we come into contact throughout the year.

On Reformation Day, even as we focus on Luther and the 95 Theses, let us never forget the martyrs who offered up their lives for the sake of the Gospel - especially the Belgian Augustinian monks Heinrich Voes and Johann Esch, who were burned at the stake in Brussels, July 1, 1523.

In years and cultures past, society valued young men. There was a common-sense realization that strong men meant a strong fabric of society. Christianity recognized the divinely-ordered family structure of the godly leadership of husbands and fathers, as well as masculine leadership in society.