Whatchoo Talkin' 'Bout?

It's looking as though one of our first shows is going to discuss the top three things you should hear from your pastor on Sunday morning. No, directions to the donuts and coffee didn't make the cut (those directions should be clearly printed in the bulletin, people!).

As such, I thought this article was interesting, picking up on the potential role of clergy in the event of a national emergency requiring the implementation of martial law. It's an older article (2007), and the web site definitely seems to be less than unbiased, but it brings up an interesting issue as to what the role of clergy is - what do we tell people, in other words? Who gets to dictate what we say?

The typical knee-jerk reaction might be to claim that nobody dictates what we say! But this isn't entirely true, because that would leave what your pastor says on Sunday morning solely to their own personal discretion. And while personal discretion comes in to play, so does the idea that pastors are not theological or liturgical free agents. What we say and do is dictated in great part by those who have come before us, and by the Word of God that informs and leads us.

Not that others wouldn't like the idea of co-opting the pulpit for personal motivations or even the public good. This article casts aspersions on the meaning of Romans 13, but it raises good, difficult questions for me. Would I preach to my people that they should accept anything the government dictates because of Romans 13? Would I preach pacifist messages based on Romans 13? Would I be able to reliably discern if a government program or mandate was in violation to the Word of God and therefore to be rejected?

These are important questions for pastors to ask themselves, as well as for parishioners to think through. It's clear we aren't exempt from suffering just because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Who gets to determine when that suffering is justified or necessary? That's a harder issue to sort out.