Outer Rim Territories

Role of the Pastor

Back to Akron

As I grew up… it was always the priority of my pastors that we, as members of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Akron, were instructed as to what it meant to be a Lutheran.  It was never a thing to be embarrassed about, but something to be interested in and even proud.  Being a Lutheran meant that we received the Gospel, preached in its purity… and the sacraments as God commanded they be given to us.  By saying that one was a Lutheran, it meant that we were a Christian and that we received the promises of God.     Being a Lutheran is something that is beginning to go by the wayside.  I quickly learned as I left Akron, that other pastors did not labor as intensely to instill the true doctrines of Christianity in the hearts of their people.  Teaching the simple basics of the Christian faith has been expelled in favor of the way of general America.  Tolerance is key and love at the sake of tolerance has become king.     Accepting statements of faith and what has been recognized as a true exposition of God’s promises has become only an action that needs to be done so church goers can get on with better things.  (i.e. We must approve that portion of the church constitution, because District requires it.)  In these hasty actions it is forgotten that each member of the Lutheran Church has confessed before God and their congregation that the doctrines of the Lutheran Church are faithful and true. Forgetting or quickly moving beyond the doctrine of the Lutheran Church forces church goers to miss out on the richness of God’s grace.  The Confessions of the Lutheran Church are not the Word of God.  But, they have been studied and tested time and time again to be faithful and true expositions of God’s Word as has been handed down to the Apostles and to us.

Excellent summary Pr. Cholak! (Please read the duration of his whole post which provides a thorough summary of his role as pastor.) As I was teaching Bible class today, I realized about 30 minutes in we weren't on topic. I asked if anyone cared that we had discussed three or four topics which were not topic of the day. No one minded. In fact, they expressed thanks for speaking more broadly that the class was defined. Our study of scripture led to exposition of the whole of the Christian faith. Had I chosen to limit to our topic of the day, many of applications would have remained hidden. Rather, we delved into the Confessions, church polity, the Christian life, witnessing to homosexuals, a right way to do "contemporary worship" (?), and more. I could have brought us back into focus on the topic. To do so would have left Scripture disconnected to the class. Rather every scripture led us to apply it to many aspects of our lives. The point is that true instruction is dialogue. True instruction is applied to the life of the people. Thank you Pr. Cholak.