Moe Bergeron

There’s a hunger in many hearts today for clarity in preaching, for shepherds who speak not just to the Church but for the Church. If only more pastors would write letters—true epistles—to their local congregations as Paul once did. Not newsletters filled with announcements or catchy slogans, but messages rooted in the gospel’s power, shaped by divine truth, saturated in grace, and pressed upon the heart with pastoral urgency.

Paul’s letters didn’t begin with commands.

He started with gospel indicatives—what God has done. Before he ever told the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling,” he first unfolded the staggering truth that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4, BSB). The Spirit, through Paul, taught that identity precedes activity. Doctrine before duty. Grace before obedience. Because if the people don’t know who they are in Christ, how will they ever know how to live for Him?

Imagine if today’s pastors, rather than reaching first for applications, took time to write letters that opened with the majestic sweep of God’s redemptive work. That reminded believers who they are in Christ—sealed by the Spirit, adopted by the Father, redeemed through the Son. And then, after the foundation had been poured, then the call would come: “Therefore I urge you, brothers, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1, BSB).

These letters wouldn’t be written for a pulpit.

They’d be written for the people. A church family gathered on a Sunday morning to hear a word not aimed over their heads or under their feet, but straight into their hearts. And when the last word was read aloud—perhaps by the one brave soul who volunteered to do the reading—you could imagine the shepherd quietly slipping out the back, not from shame but from a desire to let God’s Word linger in the silence that follows. The kind of silence that doesn’t need follow-up or explanation. The kind that lets the Spirit work.

How would your church receive such a letter?

Would it bring encouragement? Correction? Would it expose what’s hidden or confirm what’s been stirring deep within? Paul believed the truth was worth writing, even when it risked discomfort. He didn’t soft-pedal sin or apologize for doctrine. He trusted the gospel to do its work. And shouldn’t we do the same?

Maybe it’s time for more shepherds to take up the pen—to write not just sermons but epistles, crafted for their own flocks, born from prayer, filled with Scripture, and ending in exhortation. And maybe, just maybe, we need readers willing to stand before the church and speak those letters aloud, no matter how heavy the content, no matter how high the cost.

So, what would your pastor’s letter say? What would God want you to hear?

Cross References:
2 Timothy 3:16–17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Colossians 1:28 – “We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”