tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post8203164303755864886..comments2024-03-29T04:31:15.219-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: The growing gulf between the leaders and the led. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-46086274554810216782016-10-14T08:33:27.907-05:002016-10-14T08:33:27.907-05:00Sometimes we look at the times in which we live wi...Sometimes we look at the times in which we live with great dismay and confusion. We wonder how there exists so much division between people, so many opposing ideals, so much confrontation, and endless conflicts. It is usually in our perceptions and personal experience where we find we have been forced out of our comfort zones by forces outside of our control. But one can look back to the history of the church at various periods and see similar situations to what we are experiencing today. Before Martin Luther, there was Tyndale turning the established Roman church on its head, and Wycliffe, and the dissenters, the Anabaptists, and there were countless bloody wars between Protestants and Catholics, endless debates over the Geneva Bible and its margin notes, and the KJV's several versions and changes offended some and pleased others. In early America, the Puritans went beyond scriptural faithfulness, becoming oppressive and condemning Quakers, wrongly accusing and hanging Innocent housewives for alleged witchcraft. Reading history, including the history of the church, lifts the veneer of truth and reveals the darkness and the light. The church will survive the present challenges we face, the generational gaps, theological debates, and conflicts within the LCMS as well. In order for that to happen, we must continue to be true to the word of God and expose false teachings. God knows all about these things, and His sovereignty remains above it all.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com