Getting the Hay to the Goats

In a recent talk to Presbyterian ministers, John Ortberg borrowed Garrison Keillor’s criticism of a Lake Woebegone minister whose sermons did not “put the hay where the goats could get it.” Ortberg said many Christian churches know how to reach the “goats” but don’t have any “hay” for them and many other churches have the “hay” but don’t know how to reach the “goats.” He put his Presbyterian denomination in the latter category and urged his audience to look for a movement of God’s Spirit that would enable their church to equip disciples to be effective teachers of the nations.

Magisterial vs. Ministerial Uses of Reason

Martin Luther said human reason should be “ministerial” rather than “magisterial” in its theological uses. A magisterial use of reason in theology would involve employing it like a magistrate standing in judgment over the Christian gospel to determine whether or not it is true apart from dependence on the Bible and the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, human reason is ministerial when it is guided by and in service of God’s wisdom (made available to us in his Word and through his Spirit). So for Luther, as for Aquinas, theology is the queen and philosophy is the queen’s handmaiden.