A local news story flashed on my computer screen as I was surfing the web the other day. The last fews words of the title caught my eye: "The pastor whose penned 175 hymns." I clicked on the link and read about a faithful, confessional pastor who serves a small church not far from where I live. I have not met him but know his brother-in-law who is also an LCMS minister.
Here is a story of a pastor serving in an out-of-the way church that is literally surrounded by cornfields. His hope is not in church growth, new methods or being hip. He has no body-piercings, tattoos, soul-patches nor ripped jeans to show a faux authenticity. He simply relies on Word and Sacrament ministry along with historic liturgy to ground and sustain his flock.
Consider that backdrop and the honor bestowed on him when
his denomination with more than 2 million members tapped him to chair the denomination's Hymnody Committee that produced the new Lutheran Service Book (2006 edition).
Small town pastors take heart. You are not insignificant in God's eyes. Meet the Rev. Stephen Starke, the pastor who's penned 175 hymns | MLive.com
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