Because we bear your name October–November 2025

Have you noticed that our word ‘gospel’ includes the word ‘spell’? We still use this old English idea of ‘spell’ for ‘story’ when we ask someone, ‘Do I have to spell it out for you?’

The word gospel means ‘good telling’. The story of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus for our salvation is ‘good’, and it is to be ‘told’. The risen Lord sent us to the ends of the earth to be his witnesses, telling this good news.

We have a long history in the tradition of the Lutheran church – particularly from the time of Martin Luther – of using all kinds of media for this telling.

The Reformation era saw the flourishing of the printing press for the production of Christian books. No longer did people need to write out the pages of the Bible by hand, but the presses could print whole Bibles accurately in just days. Today, the United Bible Societies estimates that around the world, we print 219,000 Bibles every day.

The Reformation era also saw the printing of Christian art for instruction. Luther’s Small Catechism was published with posters that could be displayed on the walls of a family home to help teach the Christian faith.

Finally, the Reformation era saw an explosion of Christian hymn-writing and church musicianship so that people could learn the faith and could share the gospel through song.

These three elements of media for communicating the gospel have continued to the modern era, and our church has various ministries with ‘media’ in their charter. This includes Lutheran Media, which this year celebrates 80 years of wonderful witness and service in the mission of the church. And there are many ministries in our church that could be rightly called ‘media ministries’ through the print, visual and audio productions across the communities of the LCANZ. They all have the core purpose of telling’ the good news: the gospel!

When the Apostle Paul was writing his first letter to Christians in the early Church community in the city of Corinth, he worked through a variety of conflicts and concerns in the congregation. Then his letter to the Corinthians builds to a high point in chapter 15 where he tells the people:

‘Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you – unless you have come to believe in vain.’

In 1 Corinthians 15:3–10, the apostle goes on to summarise the core elements of this ‘gospel’: ‘For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them – though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.’

‘According to the Scriptures’, not ‘according to the Apostle Paul’, ‘Christ died, Christ is risen, Christ has appeared, even to me!’ Paul explains that this telling is of ‘first importance’. We are first and foremost, people of the gospel!

We have established our media ministry to maintain the tradition of what is of ‘first importance’. It is this telling of the good news, so that we might by any means save some, all for the sake of the gospel, so that we may share in its blessings (1 Corinthians 9:22,23).

I thank God for the founders, servants and supporters of Lutheran Radio and TV, the Lutheran Hour and Lutheran Media, ‘bringing Christ to the nations’.

In Christ,
Paul

‘Lord Jesus, we belong to you,
you live in us, we live in you;
we live and work for you –
because we bear your name’