tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post6652189488561296882..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: How hard pastors work. . . Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-77697870604452950642021-11-08T16:12:57.436-06:002021-11-08T16:12:57.436-06:00We can't really compare ourselves to Luther, P...We can't really compare ourselves to Luther, Pastor Peters. He was not a parish priest, like you and me. His call to Wittenberg was to the theological professorship, and also as a member of the presbytery (i.e., the ordained clergy in that town). So he spent most of his vocational time on lecturing, research for those lectures, and writing various treatises. As a member of the Wittenberg clergy, he was asked at various times to preach from the pulpit, I think mostly at the parish church, when there was a temporary vacancy. I think the people also just wanted to hear from him from the pulpit, on occasion, because of his celebrity and involvement in public affairs. If he heard confession, led the liturgy or the hours, said Mass, or made pastoral care visits, it was a rare thing, because not part of his regular duties. Until his marriage, he also did not have the distractions of family to impact his productivity. His period in exile was a huge block of time that allowed him to make great progress on the translation of the New Testament. Other great writers and thinkers have used exile, furlough, or sabbatical to accomplish such projects (e.g., Dante)---- I do think however, that you have pointed to significant problems that arise because of our congregational polity. Since in the LCMS we pastors report to our congregations, many of them think that they can load us up with all sorts of duties, not realizing that in many situations it is just too much work to do any of it well. None of us pastors have the luxury of working only 9-5 M-F. Since layman have free time from 5-10 M-F and Sat and Sun, some of them expect their pastors to have that free time then too. The result is overworked pastors, poorly prepared sermons and Bible studies, and eventual burnout. Groups like DOXOLOGY and GRACE PLACE are addressing these problems, but I think the dynamics are typical for all congregationalist polities. ---- Pastors who serve under bishops do not have that problem--though they have OTHER problems, which I will not go into. That said, our synod-congregationalist polity has served us well. We just have to be aware of its weaknesses. Yours in Christ, Martin R. NolandMartin R. Nolandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16511881036585972977noreply@blogger.com