Paul McCain, pictured right, has issued this solemn pronouncement:
I monitor a lot of blog sites. Thanks to "Google Reader" you can scan new topics and see what's buzzing about the Blogophere. On the Lutheran blogosphere I will, routinely, bump into a blog post about blogging. Actually, it's usually a kind of self-indulgent sort of twaddle that truly strikes me as the most boring of all blog posts: the blogging about blogging post. I just read another one recently.
Advice to Lutheran bloggers: blog about what you know best. Don't bore us with blog posts about why you blog, or how you blog, or when you blog, or how you don't really care about what others say about your blog but then proceed to explain in several paragraphs of passive-aggression how you are, boo-hoo, misunderstood and under appreciated, or try to convince us of how "you are controversial" and "oh, this is going to make somebody upset."
One of his nail-bitingly inspirational posts was about about his Mac computer.
McCain knows how to do Reformation, too:
Let's review:
(1) The Gospel had been obscured to the point of being lost in many ways.
(2) The Reformation had to take place.
(3) Rome could have prevented it by repenting of its damning error.
(4) Yes, it is sad that it had to happen, but not sad that it did happen.
I'm not advocating some sort of "all praise be to Luther" fest either. Hermann Sasse wisely noted once that when the Luther statues started going up, that was about the same time that Luther's theology began to recede into the background in favor of rationalism, while Luther the hero was preserved.
But, don't let me hear any of this sniveling, "Oh, boo-hoo, the Reformation happened" bunk on this day. Let me hear a glorious celebration of the great blessing and gift of the Reformation of the Church, a glorious celebration of the Gospel of Christ!
Here is McCain's resume:
- Little or no graduate work.
- Three years in the parish, working as Barry's campaign manager, to save the synod from Bohlman liberals.
- Nine years in the do-nothing Barry administration, letting DP Benke, pictured upper left, skip discipline.
- A short hitch at Concordia Historical Institute.
- Hanging on at Concordia Publishing House, encouraging DP Benke to publish!
Someone who professes to love the LCMS or confessional Lutheranism so much should really get a congregation to serve. The Missouri Synod is plagued by too many pastors who are living well on offering money instead of preaching the Word and administering the sacraments. Most of CPH's work could be managed by full-time pastors with smaller congregations. St. Louis has an abundance of needy congregations. The money saved could be used to offset the Ivy League cost of seminary education. Boomer pastors have cleverly moved the cost of education onto the backs of future pastors.
My favorite two blogs are written by Lutheran laymen, one WELS, one ELS. I would like to see Lutheran pastors get more formal education and publish peer-reviewed books. Blogs are not peer-reviewed. The laity blogs are handy and fun to use.
