Admission

What Is a Pastor’s Legacy? Matthew J. Wietfeldt

Left to right: Rev. Robert Hill's son, Rev. John E. Hill (president of the Wyoming District); son-in-law Rev. James Woelmer (senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas); grandson Rev. Joshua Woelmer (pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Vassar, Kansas); Rev. Hill; grandson Martin Hill (vicar at Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas); grandson Andrew Hill (first-year student at CTSFW); grandsonin-law Jonathan Olson (CTSFW candidate-elect called to Hope Lutheran Church in Aurora, Colorado, this April 29 at the 2020 Call Service); grandson David Woelmer (first-year student at CTSFW); and grandson-in-law Jacob Tuma (candidate-elect from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, called to Saint John Lutheran Church in Pierce, Nebraska, this April 28 at their 2020 Call Service).

When a pastor looks back at his legacy (that is, the mark that he left behind throughout his ministry), there are many different things he could consider. He could consider the membership of his congregation and the impact they have had in their community. He could consider the different programs inside and outside of his church that he created or continued. He could consider the building projects he assisted or the missions his congregations supported.

However, none of these matter unless the pastor has tended to the basics of the task that he has been given to do. He should consider whether he preached God’s holy Word and administered His holy Sacraments rightly. These are the marks of a faithful pastor. In doing this, he has done more for his people and the Church-at-large than one recognizes. In doing these things—in preaching and administering rightly—he has cared for and loved his people as much as one possibly can.

Ultimately, the pastor’s legacy is never about himself. The pastor’s legacy is solely about Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world. As pastors, we have the privilege of being able to step in and serve Christ’s people in our particular locations and in His specific ways. The Lord works through our faults and follies, through our shortcomings and sinful ways. The Lord works through our hard-heartedness and stubborn-headedness. The Lord works in spite (and often despite) what the pastor brings to the table. All that He calls for us as His undershepherds to do is to preach and administer His Sacraments. It is His ministry, not our ministry, just as it is His forgiveness and not our forgiveness.

And still the Lord works through His pastors, using them to raise up future pastors as well. Not only through their faithful work but also through words of encouragement, the Lord uses His pastors to inspire and console those considering and those who should be considering service to Christ in the Office of the Holy Ministry. The Lord uses those who know the task, those who are actively engaged in the task, and those who have lived what it means to be a pastor to raise up those who are to be the next generation of Christ’s undershepherds; men young and old, from those who are just now entering initial conversations and thoughts about what it is they are going to do for their life as well as those who are and have been considering this type of service for some time. To each of these, the Lord uses the means of His pastors to assist those thinking of this vocation.

The Rev. Robert Hill is such a pastor, used by the Lord to speak a word (or many words) to the laborers He is calling to His harvest fields. During his 34 years as senior pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, Plano, Texas, Rev. Hill has encouraged countless men. Through faithful service and words of encouragement, pastor after pastor are now serving in the Office of the Holy Ministry; in all, 13 men from his congregation went to seminary while he served as pastor in Texas. As to his family, the eight men pictured here with Rev. Hill are all currently serving or are preparing for service in Christ’s Church. A son, sonin-law, grandsons, and grandsons-in-law follow in Rev. Hill’s footsteps as they carry the Good News of Jesus Christ’s all atoning death for our sins and His resurrection for our new life.

Our Lord uses us all as we encourage those who should consider the Office of the Holy Ministry. He uses us to walk with those who need a comforting and guiding word to help them along the path to His service. He uses our words and our actions, giving them His Holy Spirit to accomplish the things which He would do. Our words and actions are solely wrapped up in His forgiveness, His love, and His grace.

As we speak these words and do these actions, He is there hidden in them to see that they are done. In the end, He lets us play along in His holy work of preaching His Word and administering His Sacraments. Not our work but His, all the way through.

The Rev. Matthew J. Wietfeldt (Matthew.Wietfeldt@ctsfw.edu) serves as Director of Admission at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.