December 2024
Dear Friends in Christ –
Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1: 31, 33). This was in fulfillment of the promise God made to David through the prophet Nathan – “Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7: 16).
This fall I have been teaching a Sunday morning adult Bible class at the ELCA congregation where my wife and I are members on the life of David. I have entitled the series, “A Man After God’s Own Heart,” which is the way that Samuel described the next king after Saul had been rejected because of his disobedience.
I have shared with those attending that I believe that the two best days of David’s life were (1) when he was anointed to be the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16: 13) and (2) when the prophet Nathan told him that his throne would be established forever. I also asked them what have been the best days of their lives.
I am sure that from the time when he was anointed, David looked at himself and his life in a completely different way. As we read the accounts of his being chased by a severely threatened and fiercely jealous King Saul, there were extremely difficult situations that David handled differently and better because he was completely secure in who he was as the one who had been chosen by God. In the cave at En-Gedi (1 Samuel 24) and in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26) David would not allow his men to kill the king – even though they had the opportunity to do so – because Saul was “the Lord’s anointed.” Knowing that he would be the next king, David was willing to let things work out in God’s way and according to God’s timing.
And think of what it must have meant to David – on the darkest days of his life – to remember that God had said that through his descendant (whom we know is Jesus) his house, kingdom, and throne would be established forever. It would not end with him – or after one or two more generations.
I have now been serving as executive director of Lutheran CORE for nearly ten years. Previously I had served as pastor of an ELCA congregation in southern California for forty years. I feel that my work with Lutheran CORE is the culmination and high point of my entire professional ministry career. I believe that all that I have done, learned, and been through as a pastor was preparing me for what I am doing now.
The board of Lutheran CORE and I are fully committed to keeping you informed about the structural and governance changes that are likely to come from the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. The Commission continues to hold its cards close to its chest. I interpret their behavior as their not wanting us to know what they will be recommending until close enough to the time of the August 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly that there will not be adequate opportunity to make people aware and give people a chance to process the potentially drastic changes. The board of Lutheran CORE and I are also fully committed to alerting you to the all-encompassing redefinition of mission and ministry that will most certainly result from the DEIA audit which the ELCA had done of its governing documents. We are deeply concerned about how many of these so-called “Recommended Minimum DEIA Standards for Congregations” will become expectations or even requirements and what will be done to congregations that are not DEIA compliant. Third, we will let you know whether the provision for bound conscience is at risk when there finally is some official word from the task force that is reviewing and reconsidering the 2009 human sexuality social statement.
The board of Lutheran CORE and I feel that we have been called by God to do this work of alerting you to what is coming and helping you prepare and be ready to respond.
We are encouraged and inspired by the way in which being anointed by God was a great source of definition of calling and strength for David. We also think of what it must have meant for him to know that the kingdom would last beyond him. His efforts would not be in vain.
Many people have asked me, “How do you keep going? Do you ever become frustrated, discouraged, or feel overwhelmed?” I always reply No. I work with no delusion that our efforts will get the ELCA to change. Rather I work with the hope that more ELCA pastors, congregations, and leaders will become aware of the seriousness of what is coming and will be equipped with knowledge and tools to make good decisions and take action. I cannot imagine that God will bless what the ELCA is doing and that what the ELCA is doing will end well.
In Matthew 16: 18 Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” In 1 Corinthians 15: 58 the apostle Paul wrote, “Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Thank you for your prayers and your faithful, generous financial support. Please find below a link to print a form which you can use to let us know how we can be praying for you. You can also use that form to send a year-end gift that will enable us to continue to do our work, including the above as well as providing resources such as worship aids, prayers, daily devotions, weekly lectionary-based Bible studies and children’s messages, video book reviews, webinars, and support and assistance for congregations in transition. Direct links for online payments are also found below.
In the Name of Christ, in Whom we are chosen and through Whom we have a secure future.
Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
