By Thomas Moll
Director of Content
When I was young, I noticed two-letter initials on kids’ clothing and toys at my preschool, marking ownership. You can’t imagine how excited I was, looking underneath toy after toy to find they were all labeled TM. So much was mine! What a disappointing day it was when I learned TM stood for “trademark” and not Tommy Moll.
When we look at the names attached to our churches (the list of pastors on the church website, the name of the congregation president, the name of a saint on the church sign), we could ask ourselves, “Whose church is this?”
As we make our way through October, we have some great things to celebrate as a church. This is Pastor Appreciation Month — a time to thank God for faithful shepherds who guide His children, preach His Word, and give His good gifts to those in need.
At the end of the month, we celebrate Reformation Day, observed this year on Sunday, October 25. Our first “Worship Anew” program in October, preached by The Rev. Dr. Thomas Ahlersmeyer, poses the question: “Whose Church Is It, Anyway?” The answer comes from the Rev. William Mueller’s Reformation Sunday message: “It’s Still about Jesus.”
This clarity of the Gospel was the heart of the Reformation, and it’s still refocusing and revitalizing churches and individuals around the world. When Martin Luther visited churches to see how their pastors were doing, his disappointment wasn’t that they pointed to themselves; it was how little they knew of Scripture and how to point their people to Jesus. So, he got to work and produced a Small Catechism that pastors could put right into people’s hands, a German Bible they could actually read, and a full year of model sermons from which to preach.
In the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), we have pastors steeped in a theology that preaches Christ crucified clearly. We pray God continues to raise up pastors who will answer His call, shepherd His flock, and reach out to the lost with His love. After all, it’s His church we’re caring for — not our own.