Sublime

how do we as Christians live in

many genuine Christians are elder-brotherish

ministry is not marked by legalism or cold intellectualism.

ecclesiastical

How can squatters in the slums of Manila, villagers in rural Uganda, public housing residents in Chicago—or any one of us, for that matter—be returned to the dwelling place of God?

The justified pastor—the man justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to God’s glory alone, who happens to be a pastor—when taken on his good day or bad day, ministry high or ministry low, will be received with gladness and welcome. Clothed in the righteousness of him in whom you trust, how can you be turned away? You will not

But as he was drawn into leading the staff and keeping a large church running, he found himself less involved in the pastoral duties he most loved. Eventually, he made an unusual career decision. He sought a smaller church farther from the city and embraced the tasks of preaching, praying, and visitation within a small congregation.

Rittgers says that the Lutherans, in their concern that Christians not doubt the love of Christ, minimized the legitimacy of lament. He argues that the early Reformers created a culture in which the expression of doubts or complaints was frowned upon.