When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations
By Donavon Riley
10/01/25
13mins

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/30/25

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

The following entries are excerpts from Chad Bird’s new book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of the Psalms (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 311 and 335
St. Michael, Defender of God’s People
Amy Mantravadi
Amy Mantravadi
09/29/25

St. Michael, Defender of God’s People

Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?

All Articles

Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
07/03/19

On Reading Broadly

We can’t all afford to travel the world, but the more we read from outside our own context, the bigger we see the world.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
07/01/19

Sin is Boring

Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. It can get ahold of a person and turn him all the way in on himself. What seemed a brief reflection lingers for hours, days, weeks, even years.
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
07/01/19

Making Preaching Great Again

The whole Reformation, and the reason for Lutheran theology at all, is to improve preaching.
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
06/21/19

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theology of the Cross

I’d like to offer a short reflection on the theme of “worldliness” as it appears in his later work and how that’s connected to an item of his Lutheran heritage: the theology of the cross.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/19/19

How Can a Blind Man Thank God for His Eyes?

We’re messed up people with messed up bodies. All of us. Even Miss America gets hemorrhoids. The Fall mocks us in our own skin. We’re all walking sermons.
Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
06/12/19

Stop Sign Theology

All I need to know about your spiritual condition, I can discover by watching you drive your car. What I’ve learned is that everyone is a lawbreaker, including me. It’s as simple as asking a few short questions about your driving habits...
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
05/24/19

An Invitation to Join Our Company of Real, Great Sinners

I heartily sympathize with you and earnestly pray our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen you and give you a cheerful heart. I should like to know, and am making diligent inquiries to find out, what your trouble may be or what has caused your breakdown.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
05/22/19

Dante and Our Obsession with Hell

Throughout the centuries, “Inferno” has also played a large role in the development of Christianity, particularly in the Western Medieval church.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
05/15/19

For the Baptized, this is How it Goes

We can take comfort in the knowledge that He kills the sinner so we can get a new shot at life and life eternal.
Philip Bartelt
Philip Bartelt
05/09/19

The Gospel for Lukewarm Christians

To be lukewarm is to take refuge in your own works apart from the works of God.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
05/08/19

Heresy, Deconstruction, and What to Do About It

When orthodoxy becomes a Law, heterodoxy can feel like the Gospel.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
05/07/19

God Doesn't Give Us a Pass, and That's Good

We're going to worry about what people think of us. It's going to get in the way of our relationship with Jesus. We're going to fear God's judgment. But, we're also baptized into Christ. So we don't give up hope. Jesus will help us and strengthen us. He will guide us in his Baptismal grace and peace.
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