The joy of weeping at All Saints
There is more weeping on All Saints Day than at almost any other time of the church year, yet we weep together in joy and hope.
The Magazine
Reading old books on Reformation Day
Luther himself was well aware that he stood on the shoulders of giants. This Reformation, why not dust off a really old book and make a new friend?
The thief of joy
It happens every Sunday morning at every congregation: As soon as sinners gather, they start to compare themselves to each other.
Going for gold in grumbling
How often do we go for gold in grumbling? How hard is it for us to let someone else be more wretched than we are?
Mental health and pastoral ministry
The Holy Ministry does not bubble wrap pastors. In fact, it can compound mental health stressors in ways that many other vocations do not.
Are you an eye, a little toe or a spleen?
The Lord put His Church together so that each member is an important part of the Body. We are incomplete when even one of our members is missing from our fellowship.
Walther’s breakdown
Even the greatest of Christians can suffer from mental illness. In this letter from C.F.W. Walther to his congregation, Walther describes his debilitating depression and the beginnings of respite and healing.
Lutheran Witness: October 2018
It’s well documented that church workers experience high rates of burnout, depression and mental illness. But why is this? And what can be done?
Of handshakes and holograms
“You’re going to be out of a job soon, Pastor Bob,” I said to our pastor in the handshake line the other Sunday. “Not you personally. But preachers everywhere.”
‘Now’ is a good time to pray
Every “now” of our lives is a good time to pray. Whether we are content or troubled, each day is a good day to pray to the Lord.
Pray, praise and give thanks
Our life together should certainly include bearing one another’s burdens and interceding for the sorrowful, but it is also important to celebrate together — to “rejoice with those who rejoice” even as we also “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15).
To number our days
“When I am at the bottom of my strength. When I am at the lowest of lows. When I am sinking in fear, that’s just where God’s grace meets me.”