Do we want our Lutheran pastors to be nice, easy-to-get-along-with men? Should church leaders defrock pastors who annoy administrators and don't play well with others?

Pr Braaten and the stalwart Lutheran writers at Gottesdienst don't think so. Nor do the actual Lutherans he quotes at wonderful length.

The next time that you hear a Lutheran pastor labelled by someone as "stubborn and hard to work with" why not send this link to his ad hominem accuser? Also, your faithful, battered, troubled pastor will love receiving this link as an "Our Lord Bless you, Pastor!" note from you.

Pr Braaten's article begins: Given the current climate that Christians face in this world—a world that has lost its mind—here is a little sanity. It is a good reminder of what the task of the church in general, and her ministers specifically, are charged, yes, commanded, to be, do, and say. “In the world you will have trouble, but take heart (have courage, be bold, speak plainly and forthrightly), for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4—5)? We have overcome the world. Let us act like it! —