LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR – APRIL 2018

REPORT FROM THE PASTORAL SUMMIT – PHASE TWO

My head and heart were full as I returned home from Chicago after the second phase of the pastoral summit on April 11, followed by an all-day, in-person meeting of the board of Lutheran CORE.  At the summit we heard from six outstanding presenters, who are serving God in very different settings, each one of them being very effective in their own setting.  The day certainly showed us that while certain principles remain the same, and the Gospel is good news for all people, the methods used need to be different, and the style, emphases, and giftedness of the leaders need to be different, for the church to be able to reach all sorts of different kinds of people.

The purpose of the summit was to hear from several different people who are doing something unique and effective to raise up leaders, including pastors, for the future.  We began by hearing from Scott Grorud, pastor of an LCMC congregation in southwestern Minnesota.  It was exciting to hear about what he is doing to raise up young people to do ministry and to provide leadership for ministry.  He told of a very thorough program of faith formation, which begins with the very young.  Fourth graders attend a weekly Bible study in addition to Sunday School, which is overseen by adults but is student led.  Incoming eighth graders are invited to a leadership retreat, to prepare them to be role models for incoming seventh graders.  A youth band helps lead worship, so that confirmation students see youth who are just a little bit older than they are in leadership roles.  High school juniors and seniors gather very early in the morning one day a week to read and discuss theology.  An outreach to college students helps them stay in contact with their home congregation and supports them in their faith in an increasingly hostile environment.  Through a summer internship program college students are involved in children’s and youth ministries, read and discuss theology, receive leadership training, and are mentored.  

We then heard by Skype from Jari Rankinen, director of the Theological Institute of Finland.  This organization was started in 1987 by several orthodox mission societies to provide support and Biblical, confessional Lutheran training for orthodox seminarians, to supplement the education they are receiving from the state church seminary, which is a part of the state university system.

Every Monday morning about one hundred fifty students receive an email describing classes in Biblical studies and theology that will be offered during the upcoming week.  Attendance at those classes ranges in number from five to twenty-five, and the classes are held in rooms in the center of Helsinki, so they are near the university and thus easy for the students to get to.  Last year twenty-five different people taught the classes.  Most of them have doctoral degrees in theology, and many of them are professors at the state church seminary.  Students receive their degree from the university rather than the institute.  There are about two thousand people who support the institute with their prayers and financially.  We were very grateful for current day technology as we were able to hear from and engage in conversation with someone in a time zone eight hours ahead of us.    

Both Scott and Jari are very effective in their own particular setting, and yet how different their settings are.  Scott described his church in southwestern Minnesota as being in the heart of deep, dark Lutheranism, so it is only to be expected that certain methods will work there that will not work elsewhere.  Jari lives in a country that is traditionally Lutheran and where a strong majority of the people are members of the Lutheran church, but only about one percent of the population there attend church on any one given Sunday.  A very different approach is needed – one that supports orthodoxy in a setting that is very indifferent if not hostile towards orthodoxy.

Another very different approach in a very different kind of setting was described by our third presenter, Brian Hughes, pastor of an ELCA congregation in Maryland.  Brian describes his county as 90% unchurched, which is very different from deep, dark Lutheranism.  He said, “The church culture has been bled out.” 

Brian began by asking what it must have been like for the early fifth century Christians in Britain when they saw the Roman church leaders sailing down the Thames River, leaving Britain to return to Rome.  What were the Christians in Britain going to do now?  Christian communities were isolated and surrounded by nonbelievers, so they had to form small groups of people who would learn and practice the faith without the “structural church” headquartered in Rome.  He then compared their situation with the position of Christians today.  Christians today are surrounded by nonbelievers, and church structures and methods that have worked in the past do not work any longer – at least not in most settings.  They have sailed down the Thames.  What are we going to do now?  After describing what happened in the development of Celtic Christianity – a lay led, monastic movement that kept the faith alive – Brian then told of how he is working to develop a similar network of equipped and empowered lay ministers.  He quoted from the words of Jesus, who said, “The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14: 12).  Brian told some amazing stories of lay people in his congregation doing amazing ministry, and then asked whether pastors today are willing to let go of ministry roles and to release, equip, and empower lay people to do ministry – even “greater things” kinds of ministry. 

After lunch we heard from three more presenters.  First, we heard from Gary Pecuch, director of youth ministries at an NALC congregation in Ohio.  Gary and his wife are a blessing to the larger church as they lead their faith webinar seminars for the NALC as well as for the Southern Ohio Synod of the ELCA.  One of the things that Gary emphasized most strongly is that faith formation must begin at a very early age.  A congregation needs to “major in little people ministry.”  He told of how a person’s interests and identity are solidified by the age of twelve, so we need to immerse young people in the life of the church well before that age.  He spoke of the concept of “early and often.”  Confirmation ministry needs to be the sharpest, best ministry in the church.  If a church does confirmation well, chances are that young people will stick with the church or return to it later.  Gary mentioned that many churches want to start with ministry to high schoolers, because theirs are the parents who are panicking.  But the strength of a congregation’s high school ministry will never rise higher than the strength of that congregation’s early elementary ministry.  Gary also spoke of the need for the digital church.  He said that churches who do not embrace technology are either dead or dying.  Finally, he talked about the importance of children and youth having quality relationships with every age group within the church.  He identifies the relational voids that young people have in their lives, and then works to connect young people with the people in the congregation who will help fill that relational void. 

Our fifth presenter was Julie Smith, pastor of an LCMC congregation in Minnesota, member of the LCMC board of trustees, and dean of students at St. Paul Seminary.  Julie talked about the original vision that led to the founding of the seminary – that of training preachers of the Gospel, producing pastors who are deeply grounded in Lutheran theology to serve God in the church and in the world.  Their program is one of contextually based education – learning in place.  The concepts students learn they immediately live out in some fashion in their own ministry setting.  She spoke of one criticism of residential education – it removes people from the real church and replaces it with an idealized church that does not exist.  Pastors can end up hating the real church because it is not their ideal.  The faculty and staff are also all embedded in congregations, which keeps their teaching real.  Mentoring is central to this kind of education.  Not only are the students learning and doing simultaneously, they are also constantly being fed by mentoring pastors.  And the mentors themselves are constantly encouraged to learn, refresh, and deepen what they know, which experience reinvigorates their own ministry.  Congregations invest in theological education in more ways than just sending a check.  They see the development of the person right in their midst, from student to pastor.  This approach also creates transparency in what the professors are teaching, because it is so “immediately there” for congregations.  One significant challenge in this approach is the loss of community and collegiality.  Students need to find other ways to connect with one another.  The seminary holds an annual theological conference, which they encourage all students and faculty to attend. 

Our final presenter was Jeff Christopherson, vice president of Send Network, which is a ministry of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Church.  We were grateful that we could have conversation with and learn from not only our fellow Lutherans of different church body affiliations here in the United States, but also from a Lutheran from another part of the world and even from a non-Lutheran.  This conversation also was by Skype.  Again we were very grateful for the wonders of modern day technology.   

Jeff began by sharing how the Southern Baptist Church planted seven hundred new mission starts last year, but then lost at least the same number of churches, so that even while planting that many, they are not able to keep up.  He said that what is needed in our post-Christian world is not addition – not just the planting of new churches – but multiplication – planting new churches that then will go out and plant more new churches.  What is needed is not inadequately fueling all church plants, but instead jet-fueling those who will be the most effective.  His organization has developed a system for assessing the skills and preparedness of potential church planters and reviewing various locations and situations in order to reserve most of the resources for the most unchurched urban areas here in the United States.  They carefully assess whether potential church planters have a vibrant relationship with Jesus, patience, tenacity, perseverance, and ability to endure pain.  They then participate in a three-year program of intense training.  Jeff shared that the goal is that four percent of the churches will be truly “multiplying” churches, and that ten percent will be more classic “reproducing/additive” churches.  Together that percentage of churches can produce a “tipping point,” where there will be sufficient energy and resources to succeed.  He concluded by sharing that a church planter needs to have a clear sense of call to this work, a high value for personal evangelism, and the ability to figure out not only how to win people for Jesus Christ, but then also how to develop these people into disciples who will win others for the Lord. 

Summaries of these presentations can be found as part of the phase two section under the pastoral formation tab on our website, www.lutherancore.org.  Audio recordings of the presentations will soon be available on our website. 

As you can imagine, our minds were swirling by the end of the day.  The next day the Lutheran CORE board met all day to process what we had heard and to begin to think through what happens next.

One thing that came to the top was this.  For a long time we have been hearing about how many of the ministries that used to be “feeder programs” that would encourage young people to go to seminary and consider becoming a pastor no longer exist, or are not encouraging young people to become the kind of orthodox, outreach-oriented pastor that orthodox, outreach-oriented churches are looking for.  We have also been hearing about how the first place where future pastors are formed is within the Christian home and within the local congregation.  And yet what we are also hearing about is pastors who are not encouraging young people to become pastors because they themselves are not happy about being pastors.  They are not encouraging young people to prepare for ministry because they themselves are burned out and/or are cynical about ministry.  And many parents are not encouraging their children to become pastors because of the bad experiences that they themselves have had in church and because they want their children to be more financially successful.

I am reminded of how the apostle Paul ends his letter to the Ephesians by saying, “Grace be with you all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 6: 24).  But then about one generation later the author of the book of Revelation writes to the church in Ephesus, “I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance.  You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not.  You are bearing up for the sake of my name.  You have not grown weary.”  But then he says, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2: 2-4).  What the church at Ephesus was commended for during one generation had been lost by the next generation.   

Those who are involved with Lutheran CORE, LCMC, the NALC, and all others who have been a part of the renewal movement within the Lutheran Church have worked hard, have patiently endured, have not tolerated false teaching, are bearing up, and have not grown weary.  But is there any way in which we have abandoned our first love?  If we are going to have pastors in the future who fervently believe that the Bible is the Word of God and who are passionately committed to fulfilling the Great Commission, do we who are pastors, or retired pastors, or other workers or leaders in the church, need to rekindle our first love – our love for Christ, our love for the Church as the Body of Christ, and our love for ministry, the work of Christ in the world?

Blessings in Christ as we rekindle our first love,

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

REFLECTIONS ON THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM
Devotional for Good Shepherd Sunday, April 22, 2018

What do you think David had in mind when he wrote the Twenty-Third Psalm, the psalm for Good Shepherd Sunday? Can you even imagine having such a gift with language and such a close relationship with God that you could write something like that? Later in life, when David was reflecting back on what he had written, what kinds of thoughts and feelings do you think might and must have been going through his mind? Maybe something like this –

“The Lord is my shepherd”

In David’s day, as well as at the time of the birth of Jesus, being a shepherd was an occupation that was looked down on. When Samuel, who had come to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be king, asked whether all the sons were present, Jesse replied, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep” (1 Samuel 16: 11). Later, when David went to visit his older brothers who were in the army, his oldest brother Eliab asked him, “Why have you come here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?” (1 Samuel 17: 28)

David took an occupation that was looked down on and gave it dignity and value by using that image to describe his relationship with God. Reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “So whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10: 31).

“He restores my soul”

There were many reasons why David’s soul needed to be restored. After his sin with Bathsheba the prophet Nathan had told him, “The sword shall never depart from your house” (2 Samuel 12: 10), which turned out to be painfully true. Son Amnon raped daughter Tamar, whereupon son Absalom murdered Amnon. After stealing the hearts of the people, Absalom stole the kingdom from his father, publicly humiliated his father, and eventually met his death after his short-lived rebellion.

David experienced unimaginable sorrow, as the prophet Nathan had said he would. But still, God called him a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13: 14). His soul was also restored in the birth by Bathsheba of Solomon, who would build the Temple that David had wanted to build and would be the ancestor of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus.

“Your rod and your staff – they comfort me”

David was confronted by a wise woman from Tekoa for refusing to reconcile with his son Absalom. He also was confronted by the prophet Nathan regarding his sin with Bathsheba. “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12: 7) Realizing the greatness of his sin, David experienced the greatness of God’s mercy and wrote a most powerful psalm of repentance. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51: 1).

“You spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies”

David spent many of his younger years fleeing from Saul, who, because he saw him as a threat to the throne, wanted to kill him. Whatever was happening in David’s life when he wrote Psalm 22 also shows how many enemies he had. This is a psalm which Jesus prayed from the cross, beginning with the lament, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (verse 1) Verses such as “All who see me mock me” (verse 7), “They stare and gloat over me” (verse 17), and “They divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots” (verse 18) also show the remarkably close parallels between the experiences of David and Jesus.

“My cup overflows”

David had wanted to buy from Araunah the Jebusite a threshing floor where he would erect an altar to the Lord, but Araunah wanted to give it to him at no cost. David replied, “I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24: 24). First Chronicles 29 records the enormity of David’s gift towards the project of building the Temple. How much David must have rejoiced over the resources God had given him so that he would be able to make such a large contribution and in doing so also inspire other leaders of Israel to give significantly. The Bible tells us that the people rejoiced over the generosity of the king.

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life”

The prophet Nathan, who later would confront David over his great sin, earlier in David’s life comforted David with the promise that after his death, his son would build the Temple that David had wanted to build, and his house, kingdom, and throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7: 16). It would not all end with David.

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”

For days David had prayed that God would spare the life of the child that was born out of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, but on the seventh day the child died. At that point David rose from the ground, washed himself, changed his clothes, went into the house of the Lord and worshipped, and then went home and went on with his life. When asked why he had responded in that way David replied, “Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12: 23). Normally people go through death only in one direction. David was saying, “Someday I too will die and will go to where my son is. But he will never return to where I am.”

The Twenty-Third Psalm has given comfort, strength, encouragement, and hope to millions of people for three thousand years. I believe it also did the same for the one who wrote it – the shepherd who became king. Could he have written a psalm of such depth, insight, and beauty if it did not speak so powerfully to his own life? How does the Twenty-Third Psalm, the Psalm for Good Shepherd, speak to you and your life?

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Devotional for April 15, 2018 based upon Luke 24: 36-48

Are you a worrier? Do you know someone who is a worrier? I know that for me most of the things that I worry about never happen. And the bad things that happen often are things that I had never thought of to worry about. But still, I keep on worrying. Whenever my wife says, “Don’t panic, but. . . .” I always start to panic.

One father told of when his children were small, he put together a swing set for them in the backyard. But then he started to worry about all the ways in which he might not have put it together correctly so that it might come apart and injure his children.

One person once said, “We used to take life with a grain of salt; now we take it with five milligrams of valium.” A lot of people today are worried and afraid. Many people have good reason to be afraid. In our Gospel reading for April 15 Jesus asked His disciples, “Why are you frightened? What are you afraid of?” It is a good question for us as well.

First, MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT AND ARE AFRAID OF THE FUTURE.

Some worry about Social Security. Will it be there when I need it? What will I do if it is not there? Others worry, What if Chicken Little is right? What if the environmentalists are right? What if good old Mother Earth really does become an uninhabitable greenhouse?

The disciples also were afraid for the future. After all, they were facing some pretty tough enemies. Both in the Temple as well as in the State. Their leader had been crucified. It would have been very easy for them to have asked, Where was God when we needed Him the most?

For the disciples it looked pretty bleak. It would have been very easy for them to wonder, What will the future hold? Will we even have a future? They needed to remember what we also need to remember. That there are 365 Fear Not’s in the Bible. One Fear Not for every day of the year. And I am sure that in Leap Year, one of those Fear Not’s will work for two days.

“Why are you frightened?” Jesus asked His disciples. “Why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Then He showed them His hands and His feet. Jesus wanted His disciples to know that He was alive. It was all real. Death had been conquered. The Gospel is true.

But then notice what happened next. Luke tells us that in their sheer joy they still did not believe. It was just too good to be true. They wanted to believe, but they were having such a hard time. They were afraid for the future. Are you afraid for your future? Believe that the same Jesus who has conquered death can also defeat anything that might try to defeat you.

Second, MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT AND ARE AFRAID BECAUSE OF THE PAST.

Have you ever gotten about halfway through a project and then wished that you could start over? A lot of people feel that way about life. They get about halfway through life and then wish they could start over. We all have regrets – over things that we have done and over things that we have not done. We all have plenty of things to feel bad about. We all carry a load of guilt.

Once again, our Gospel reading for April 15 speaks to our needs. Jesus said to His disciples, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins (must) be proclaimed in (my) name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Repentance and forgiveness of sins. There is a way to deal with guilt. And it is a way that will work as no other way will work. It is God’s way. Repentance and forgiveness of sins – made possible by the death of Jesus on the cross. His blood that was shed on the cross for you can completely cover over your past.

And then, third, MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED AND AFRAID BECAUSE THEY FEEL POWERLESS TO DEAL WITH THE PRESENT. They feel overwhelmed with the here and now.

Someone was asking General Norman Schwarzkopf of Desert Storm how he was adjusting to life in retirement. He answered, “Only a year ago I could issue an order and 541, 000 people would obey it. Now I cannot even get a plumber to come to my house.” General Schwarzkopf was finding out what it is like to feel powerless.

Many people today feel powerless. Not only in getting a plumber, but in dealing with life. They feel overwhelmed. Defeated. Unable to get on top of and gain control over their lives.

Once again Jesus gives us Good News. In the verse immediately following our Gospel reading for April 15 Jesus said, “I will send upon you what My Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Power from on high. That is exactly what we need. Power from on high. And the Good News of Pentecost, which is only five weeks away, is that we all can receive power from on high. Human power is so limited when we compare it with some of the circumstances in which we can find ourselves. But even the worst of circumstances has no real power when compared with God’s power. And because of the cross and the empty tomb God’s power is available to you.

So what are you afraid of? Why are you frightened? Is it because of the future? God has your future under His control. Is it because of your past? Your sins can be thrown into the deepest sea, and because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead for you, they need never be retrieved again. Is it because of the present? There is power available to all who call upon His name. So call upon His name.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR DOUBTS
Devotional for April 8, 2018 based upon John 20: 19-31

Recently I came across a list of ten top reasons that people give for going to church. Number one on the list was – You just might miss out on something really important if you do not go. Thomas was not there on Easter Sunday evening when the disciples were gathered together, so he missed out on something really important. Jesus showed up. And the news that Jesus was alive and that Jesus had shown up – that news to Thomas was just too good to be true. He could not believe it.

Now I think that Thomas’ not being with the disciples on that first Easter Sunday evening shows the depth of his sorrow and the intensity of his disappointment. But Thomas was making a serious mistake in withdrawing from Christian fellowship. For there is strength in numbers. There is power in staying together. But Thomas was staying away. And because he stayed away, he missed out on the appearance of Jesus. We also miss out on so much if we stay away – if we separate ourselves from Christian fellowship.

It’s really too bad how some people, when facing grief and sorrow, stay away. They shut themselves off. They become like Thomas. But that is the time when they need God’s people the most. Just like that was the time when Thomas needed the other disciples the most.

You know, if Jesus had died on the cross and then had stayed dead, there would be absolutely no reason for us to gather together and to work together. If Jesus had stayed dead, then it would make more sense for us just to remember him with flowers on the altar once a week and then let it go at that. But since Jesus came out of the tomb, then any trivial issues that could sidetrack us become even more trivial compared with, How can we love Him?, How can we make Him known, and How can we be His people in our world today?

Thomas did get sidetracked for a while. He did leave the other believers just when he needed them the most. And so he found himself alone. Mourning over a dead Jesus, instead of being with the living Lord. And so I am so glad to see how the other disciples became concerned over Thomas’ absence. They sought him out. And when they found him, they told him, “We have seen the Lord.” They pleaded for his return. And we today need to be concerned for those who – for one reason or another – have separated themselves from Christian fellowship – just when they need it the most.

There are two things I really like about Thomas. For one thing, Thomas would not say he believed when he did not believe. I really like the uncompromising honesty of Thomas. Thomas would never just rattle off a creed without first understanding what it meant. Thomas wanted to be sure. I think there is more faith in the person who wants to be sure, than in the person who just glibly and casually repeats things, which he or she has never thought through, and which he or she does not really believe. What the church needs today is more people like Thomas, who honestly admit and work through their doubts.

And then the second thing I like about Thomas is that when he was sure, he went all the way. Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.”

It is really interesting that of all the disciples, Thomas was the first one to call Jesus “God.” Others had already called Jesus Rabbi, Messiah, and even Son of God. But it was Thomas – so-called Doubting Thomas – who was the first one to call Jesus “God.”

There was nothing half-way about Thomas. One person said, “If we, like Thomas, fight our way through our doubts to the conviction that Jesus is God and Lord, then we will attain to a certainty that those who unthinkingly accept things will never be able to reach.” I would rather have a congregation full of Thomases, who refuse to unthinkingly sing the liturgies and recite the creeds and then live lives according to the world’s standards and priorities. I would rather have people who honestly face their questions and then work through those questions.

For Thomas at first the good news was too good to be true. But the fact that he believed with such difficulty in the end made him believe with such a fierce intensity once he was convinced. And in the end, it was not any argument that solved Thomas’ faith problems, but the presence of the Living Lord.

And so we can learn three things from Thomas –
1. Do not stay away from the company of other believers
2. Honestly admit and work through your doubts
3. Once you have worked through your doubts, give yourself completely to the Lord.

We do not know for sure what happened to Thomas. Early Christian tradition says that after the ascension of Jesus, the disciples divided up and went in different directions to preach the Gospel, so that every area could be covered. Thomas went to India. The Christians today in India and Pakistan trace their faith heritage back to Thomas.

Faith did not come easy for Thomas. He had to be sure. But once he was sure, he went all the way in terms of faith, commitment, and obedience. So did Thomas. And so should we.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

DO YOU BELIEVE IN EASTER?
Devotional for Easter Sunday 2018 based upon John 20-21

Do you believe in Easter? I would like to talk about three people in the Bible who believed in Easter and who found out what believing in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter could do for them.

First, MARY MAGDALENE, who learned that believing in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter BRINGS HOPE TO THOSE LIVING IN DESPAIR.

Jesus had cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene. Imagine what life must have been like for her before she met Jesus. It must have been a living hell. But then she met Jesus. Not only were the demons gone, she was cleansed. Her sins were forgiven. With a grateful heart, she became a follower of Jesus. Which brought great hope into her life.

How thrilled and proud she must have felt when she saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem, accompanied by the shouts of pilgrims. But how devastated she must have felt when she heard crowds cry, “Crucify him!” After Jesus was buried, she sat opposite the tomb – numb with grief. The person she loved more than anyone else had died a horrible death before her very eyes. It was the darkest day of her life.

And maybe today you relate to Mary Magdalene. Your hopes and dreams have been shattered, just as her hopes and dreams were shattered. If that is you, then I say to you that the resurrection of Jesus means that there is hope in life and hope beyond this life. If you turn to Jesus, who rose from the dead, He will forgive your sins, just as He did for Mary Magdalene. He will deliver you from whatever it is that is holding you in bondage and despair. Yes, believing in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter brings HOPE TO THOSE LIVING IN DESPAIR.

And then, second, I want to talk about THOMAS, who learned that believing in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter brings FAITH TO THOSE LIVING IN DOUBT.

On that first Easter Sunday evening, ten of the eleven remaining disciples were in hiding. They did not know what to do, and they were afraid that they might be arrested and executed, when suddenly Jesus came and stood among them. One moment they were hovering in fear. The next moment Jesus was there. He calmed them by saying, “Peace be with you.”

But one of them, Thomas, was not with them, so he missed seeing Jesus. Imagine his surprise when he returned to their hiding place only to hear the others say, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas could not believe their story. It was just too good to be true. And so he said, “Unless you can prove it, I cannot believe it.”

A week later they were together again. This time Thomas was with them. Suddenly Jesus appeared and, looking straight at Thomas, said, “Reach out your finger and look at my hands; reach out your hand and put it in my side.” Thomas fell to his knees and exclaimed though his tears, “My Lord and my God!”

And maybe today you relate to Thomas. You would like to believe in Easter, but you are not able to. It is just too good to be true. If that is you, then do not be like another Thomas. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote his own version of the Bible, from which he excluded all miracles. Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Easter story ends with, “And so they buried Jesus, rolled a great stone in front of the tomb, and then they departed.”

Do not let the story of your life end with, “And so they buried you, filled the hole with dirt, and then they departed.” Believe in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter who brings FAITH TO THOSE LIVING IN DOUBT.

And then third, I want to talk about PETER, who learned that believing in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter brings GRACE TO THOSE LIVING WITH DEFEAT.

After seeing Jesus in that room in Jerusalem, the disciples went back up north to Galilee. Peter said, “I am going fishing.” Not knowing what else to do, he went back to doing what he had been doing before he met Jesus. He went back to fishing. He and his companions fished all night but caught nothing. Like the results of so many of our best efforts. We fish all night but catch nothing.

When the sun rose, they could see someone on the shore. They did not realize it was Jesus. He told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. When they did, they caught a whole boat load full of fish. Another disciple, John, looked at Peter and said, “It is the Lord!” Peter could not wait. He plunged into the sea and swam as quickly as he could to the shore. By the time the other disciples had brought in the boat full of fish, Jesus had breakfast prepared for them.

Peter had denied that he knew Jesus three times. So it is not coincidental that Jesus asks Peter three times if he loved Jesus as Lord. Peter found grace, forgiveness, and restoration in Jesus.

And perhaps today you relate to Peter. You have stumbled and fallen. Your sins and failures are overwhelming. Do not ignore them, hide them, excuse them, or try to minimize them. Rather admit them. The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus is offering you grace, forgiveness, and eternal life.

The Bible tells us how we can receive that grace. We must confess and believe. Confess means that we agree with God about our sins. We repent of them and want to turn away from them. We must confess. And then we must also believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. We cannot be right with God without accepting the resurrection by faith. Which means committing ourselves to living the rest of our lives in view of the resurrection.

And so, this coming Sunday, on the day we celebrate Easter, you can believe in Easter and in the Jesus of Easter, who brings HOPE to those living in DESPAIR, FAITH to those living in DOUBT, and GRACE to those living with DEFEAT. Do you believe in Easter? Today could be the first day of your life that you believe in Easter.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WHEN THE CHEERING STOPPED
Devotional for Palm Sunday 2018 based upon Mark 11: 1-11

Several years ago a book was written by a well-known American historian entitled, When the Cheering Stopped. It told the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the events leading up to and following World War I. When the war was over, Wilson was an international hero. There was a spirit of great optimism both at home and abroad. And people actually believed that “the war to end all wars” had been fought and that the world had been made safe for democracy.

The cheering lasted for about a year. But then it gradually began to stop. The political leaders in Europe were more concerned about their own agendas than about a lasting peace. At home Woodrow Wilson ran into opposition in the U. S. Senate. His League of Nations was never ratified. Under the strain of it all, his health began to break. He suffered a stroke. And in the next election his party was defeated. The cheering had stopped.

The same thing happened to Jesus. When He first came upon the scene, He was an overnight sensation. When He tried to get off to be alone, the people would follow Him. The masses lined the streets whenever He would come into town. Great crowds came to hear Him preach. On Palm Sunday they waved palm branches, spread their coats on the road, and shouted, “Hosanna!” “Jesus, save us now!” But the cheering soon stopped, as the tide turned against Him.

Why did the cheering stop? Why did the crowds turn against Him? How could the shouts of “Hosanna!” on Sunday become cries of “Crucify him!” on Friday. In five days it all fell apart. Why? Why did the cheering stop?

I believe that one reason why the cheering stopped is because JESUS BEGAN TO TALK MORE AND MORE ABOUT COMMITMENT. Prior to this time, His message had been mainly about grace. When the five thousand were hungry, He fed them. When they brought their sick, He healed them. When a woman was caught in adultery and was about to be stoned, He came to her rescue.

But now He seems to be saying, “The time for miracles is over. The time for commitment has come.” In all four Gospels – after Jesus enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday – there is not another miracle recorded as being done for the people. And this is especially significant because near half of the Gospels are devoted to the seven last days of Jesus’ life. But you will find no miracles recorded in those chapters, but there is a persistent call for commitment.

Jesus was no longer talking about grace. He was now talking about commitment. The commitment that should result from accepting God’s grace. So the cheering began to stop.

And then, second, I believe that the cheering began to stop because JESUS DARED TO SUGGEST THAT ALL PEOPLE ARE WORTHY OF LOVE. After Palm Sunday Jesus went into the Temple and drove the money changers out. The Gospel writer Matthew tells us that after the Temple had been cleansed, the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He cured them. He brought into the place of worship those whom we would refer to today as “those people.” And then the chief priests and scribes not only saw the amazing things He was doing, they also heard children crying out in the Temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The children’s shouting bugged the Pharisees, so they told Jesus to make those children stop. Time and again it was the powerless in society who recognized Jesus as Messiah, while those in power resisted Him.

Why did the cheering stop? Second, because JESUS OPENED THE DOORS OF THE CHURCH TO EVERYONE. It angered people then, and it will anger people today.

And then, third, I believe the cheering stopped because JESUS BEGAN TO TALK MORE AND MORE ABOUT A CROSS. In the early part of His ministry, He talked about the Kingdom of God. People really liked it when He talked about the Kingdom of God. Especially because they were expecting to have prominent positions in that Kingdom. But increasingly Jesus began to talk about sacrifice – about giving and giving up your life.

A young boy, in a Little League baseball game, got up to the plate. He looked over to the coach, who gave him the signal to hit a sacrifice bunt. The young boy then proceeded to take three big swings and strike out. After he got back to the bench, the coach asked him, “Didn’t you see me give you a signal to sacrifice?” “Yes,” the boy replied, “but I did not think that you really meant it.”

And isn’t that so often what we say to God? “I have heard all Your talk about sacrifice. But I thought You were just kidding. I did not think You really meant it.”

The cross says emphatically, He means it. On this Palm Sunday, when Jesus talks about sacrifice, may we know that He means it. And may our cheering never stop.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

GOD USES BROKENNESS
Devotional for March 18, 2018 based upon John 12: 20-33

Up to this point in His earthly ministry, Jesus has often said, “My hour has not yet come.” But now He has been welcomed by the Palm Sunday crowds. He knows that His death is near. And He hears that some people who are culturally Greek rather than culturally Jewish or Hebrew have come to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, and they want to meet Him. He sees their request as an indication that His ministry is beginning to reach out into other cultures. He sees the beginning of what is going to result from His death on the cross. So He knows that His hour has come. And because His hour has come, He wants to teach His disciples, His friends, a life lesson. Life will be filled with times of brokenness and turmoil. We will all have to face times and experiences in our lives that will challenge us, test us, stretch us, and push us to the very limit. How will we handle those situations? How will we be changed by and how will we grow from those experiences?

To make His point Jesus uses an illustration. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Unless a grain of wheat is planted – is buried in the ground – it is never more than just a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it will sprout and reproduce itself many times over.

Now, generally speaking, there is no comparison between the value of a diamond and the value of a grain of wheat. But it all depends upon what happens to that grain of wheat. If you lock both of them away in a safe or in a safety deposit box for a hundred years, at the end of those hundred years the grain of wheat will still have basically no material value, while the diamond’s value may run into hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The same thing would be true at the end of a thousand years.

But suppose, instead, that you bury that grain of wheat in the warm, moist earth. And year after year, down through the centuries, you let it and everything that it produces keep on producing and producing. Eventually, a single grain of wheat can produce such an abundant harvest that the whole world would barely be able to contain the crop. To save the grain of wheat would mean to lose all that it is capable of producing.

And so, Jesus is saying, GOD USES BROKENNESS. It takes a broken seed to produce a crop. Broken clouds to give rain. Broken grain to give bread. And broken bread to give strength.

It took a broken bottle of perfume to give off such a strong fragrance and to be a love offering for our Lord Jesus to help Him prepare for His death. And it was a broken disciple, Peter by name, who was weeping bitterly after denying Jesus, who returned to greater power and effectiveness than he would have ever imagined. It takes a broken heart to be fully surrendered to the work and will of God. Yes, GOD USES BROKENNESS.

Maybe today you are facing such severe pain – physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual pain – that you wonder how you will ever be able to make it through. Psalm 34: 18 and 19 say – “The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit; many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.”

If your heart is broken, you can find God right there. If you get kicked in the gut, He will help you catch your breath. If you find yourself in trouble, He will be right there with you every time. Yes, GOD USES BROKENNESS – to make us whole, to empower us, to help us identity with others, and to draw us to Himself.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

THERE IS A CURE FOR THE SNAKE BITE
Devotional for March 11, 2018 based upon Number 21: 4-9 and John 3: 14-21

Our Old Testament reading for this coming Sunday starts out by telling us that God’s people “became impatient on the way” because they were now going to have to go back into the desert and around the land of Edom in order to get to the Promised Land. And so they began complaining. Have you ever become “impatient on the way” and so you began complaining?

One more time the Israelites said, “Moses, why did you make us leave Egypt?” Which simply was not true. How often are our complaints based upon information or perceptions that simply are not true? Moses had not forced them to leave Egypt. Rather they were desperately clamoring to escape slavery in Egypt. But still the people said, “Moses, why did you make us leave Egypt? Why have you brought us out here to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water here, and we are so tired of manna.”

Now I do not believe that God deserves our complaints. God desires and deserves our thanks and praise. The Israelites should have been thankful for all that God had been doing for them. But instead, they were complaining.

What about you? Should you be spending more time and effort thanking God for all that He has done for you, and less time and effort complaining?

How about this one? If you were an Israelite during the time of Moses, you would have lived in the desert for almost forty years by now. Most of your friends would be dead. You would have eaten the same food three times a day for almost forty years. You would not have been able to take a shower for almost forty years. And you would have been wearing the same clothes – which you would not have been able to wash – for almost forty years. All of which seems like plenty of reasons to let Moses – and God – really have it and complain.

But look at all this from God’s perspective. God is the one who had brought them out of slavery and was leading them through the desert to the Promised Land. He was leading them to a place where they could have entered forty years before if only they had had more faith in Him. And so, because one more time they complained instead of giving thanks, God sent snakes into the camp.

What if the same thing were to happen to us every time we complain? Well, the truth of the matter is that we are all snake-bitten. God has been so good to each one of us in so many ways. But we will not stop complaining. He puts food on our tables – and not just manna – three times every day. He gives us His guidance and blessing, but we will not stop complaining. He gives us a place to live and the health and strength to go to work, but we will not stop complaining. We are all snake-bitten.

And for all who are snake-bitten, our story for this morning from Numbers 21 has good news. There is a cure for the snakebite. Let me give it to you in the form of an equation. CONFESSION + INTERCESSION = HOPE.

First, CONFESSION. Numbers 21: 7 tells us, “The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” They confessed their sin. If you want to have hope, you must confess your sins.

Now confession is not talking about somebody else – what they have done – which is far worse than anything that I have ever done. Confession is not complaining about what other people have done to me. Rather confession is my talking about me. Confession is about what I have done. And notice something. The people did not say, “We have made a mistake.” Or, “We have made an error in judgment.” Even a very bad error in judgment. Rather they said, “We have sinned.” If you want the cure for the snake bite, you must confess your sins to God, as well as to any other person whom you have sinned against. We need to stop complaining and start confessing.

Second, INTERCESSION. Also in Numbers 21: 7 – “So Moses prayed for the people.” Intercession is praying for the people. Intercession is the job of every baptism-washed, blood-bought, and Spirit-filled child of God. Intercession is not telling God about something that somebody else did to you so that now you feel that you should be able to complain. No, intercession is my asking God to help, heal, forgive, restore, lift up, bless, lead, comfort, and keep another person. Moses is a great example of someone who engaged in the ministry of intercession. In fact, Moses often interceded for the people, even when they did not ask him to. Sure, Moses got fed up with their attitudes and got tired of their complaining. But he was always willing to stand in the gap and intercede for them.

And as children of God we also are to intercede for other people. We do not have the option of badmouthing those who bad mouth us. Instead of cursing them, our Heavenly Father tells us that we are to bless them and intercede for them. Being a Christian means that we are to be intercessors – for each other, as well as for our local community, our nation, and the entire world.

So let’s get back to our original formula. CONFESSION + INTERCESSION = HOPE. According to Numbers 21: 8, the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent and set it on a pole. Everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” Now one thing that is really interesting here is that God did not do what the people had asked Moses to ask God to do. In verse 7 the people asked Moses to ask God to remove the snakes. But there is no indication that God ever removed the snakes. Rather God provided a way for people to live in spite of being bitten by a snake. Why? Why did God not get rid of the snakes?

I believe for two reasons. First, so that the people would have a constant reminder of what could happen again if they were to start complaining again. And second, because the serpent on the pole was a picture of a future, greater event that would give even greater hope to the entire human race for all time. For we all are snake-bitten. We have all been bitten by the serpent of sin. But because of the one who was lifted up on another pole – on a cross – we all can have hope.

In our Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday from John 3 Jesus is having a conversation with a man by the name of Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish people. In that conversation Jesus tells about the second reason why God had Moses make a pole and put a bronze serpent on the pole. In John 3: 14 and 15 Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

The snake on a pole was a symbol of the cross of Jesus. On the cross He who had never sinned took on our sin so that we could have hope. Because He died, we can be forgiven. We can have peace and hope.

Now the Bible tells us that when the people got to the Promised Land they took the serpent on the pole and placed it in the Ark of the Covenant. In the same way, after Jesus died, He was taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed tomb. And then on Easter Sunday morning He rose from the dead and came out of the tomb. And now we can have hope because Jesus is alive.

All we need to do is to look to Him in repentance and faith. All we need to do is to look and live. For looking and living is lifting high the cross.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

THE POWER OF THE CROSS
Devotional for March 4, 2018 based upon 1 Corinthians 1: 18-25

There are far too many people today who want a God who will not expect any changes in them, but instead will approve of whatever way they may want to live. But sooner or later we bump into the cross, where we meet a God who says, “I love you totally and unconditionally, but I do not like your sin. In fact, I hate your sin. Your sin is so horrible to Me that because of it, I had to go to the cross – to suffer and die to free you from its power and penalty.” Thus Paul declares in his first letter to the Corinthians that the cross is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are being saved it is the power and wisdom of God.”

First, for some the cross is a STUMBLING BLOCK. The Jews of Jesus’ day found the cross to be a stumbling block because Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted. They wanted a Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and re-establish the Kingdom of God – with them in charge.

If Jesus had marshaled an army, led them into battle, and defeated the Romans. If He had shown them that He could be successful and victorious, then they would have rallied around Him and marched right behind Him. But the cross got in the way. For dying on a cross looks like defeat, weakness, and failure, not success, power, and victory. So they kept stumbling over it. The cross kept getting in the way.

And the cross keeps getting in the way for people today. Many people today do not believe that we need a Savior to die on a cross for our sins. Rather we just need someone to inspire us to do what we have within us the power to do. People who believe that stumble over the cross.

And then Paul said that for other people the cross is FOOLISHNESS. In ancient times, the Greeks were known for wisdom. They were the educated people of the day.

And many people today believe that if we can just give everybody a good education, then the world will get better and better. But society has found that if you educate criminals, all you get are better educated criminals. Just think of the big time swindling that has been done by some of the richest, most powerful, and most educated people today.

Reason tells you that an Almighty God would not allow puny people to nail Him to a cross. Also, the Greeks had a different concept of salvation. They believed that all souls are immortal. So when you die, you automatically go to be with the gods. If your life was good enough, then you get to stay with the gods. If it was not good enough, then you get reincarnated into another body and you get another chance. You keep on trying until you get it right.

That way eventually everybody is saved. Nobody is lost. You just keep on getting reincarnated until finally everybody is with the gods. The Greeks did not need a Savior or a cross because, in their thinking, everybody is going to be saved anyway. So to them the cross was foolishness. We have the same kind of thinking today.

But then Paul says that to those who are being saved, the cross is the POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD. At the foot of the cross we find our strength – the power that enables us to keep on going even when we are tempted to quit. The cross is our power source.

Now think for a moment about power sources. In order to get power from a power source – like a car battery – what do you need? You need a good connection. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post. In the same way, we must stay connected to Jesus for the cross to have power in our lives. The connection must be tight. Paul said it best when he declared, “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ.”

And we must not let anything corrode our connection with God. Pride, hatred, refusing to forgive, jealousy, anger, and strife can all interfere with and keep us from having a good connection with God. Whatever they are in your life, get rid of those things that are keeping you from having a good connection with your power source.

And then, along with the hot wire, there must be a ground wire. You may be trying to handle a really tough situation, but if your ground wire is loose – if it is not connected – it just will not work.

How can you become and stay grounded? By accepting Jesus as your Savior and believing in your heart that He was raised from the dead, you can become grounded to the cross and thus receive power from the source of salvation.

Yes, long before Sears ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die Hard. Jesus is better than Ever Ready. He has power to save and power to spare. They crucified Him on a cross, buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and tried to drain Him of all His power. But early one Sunday morning our Die Hard, Ever Ready Energizer rose will all power. He rose with wonder working, soul saving, healing power.

Are you connected to Him, the source of all power? Are you grounded to that old rugged cross?

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

FEBRUARY 2018

UPDATE ON PHASE TWO OF THE PASTORAL FORMATION PROJECT

Thank you for your prayers as we prepare for the second phase of our pastoral summit. The first phase was held at Grand View University in Des Moines last June. For that phase we gathered a number of leaders from four different Lutheran church bodies – ELCA, Missouri Synod, LCMC, and NALC – to discuss what can be done to raise up a whole new generation of Lutheran pastors who believe that the Bible is the Word of God and who are passionately committed to reaching people for Jesus Christ. A list of some of the main topics that were covered, as well as written copies and audio recordings of several of the presentations, can be found under the pastoral formation tab on the home page of our website, www.lutherancore.org.

The second phase will be held at a hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare airport on April 11. For this second phase we are gathering a number of leaders who are doing something unique and/or particularly effective to raise up leaders, including future pastors, in their ministry context. Four will be present in person, while two others will be presenting by skype.

The four who will be presenting in person are –

Scott Grorud, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota (LCMC). Scott will tell about what he is doing to raise up leaders within his ministry context, including what he is doing to raise up young people to be future leaders.

Brian Hughes, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Columbia, Maryland (ELCA). Brian will describe what it means to be a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-denominational church, and how he is raising up leaders in his ministry setting.

Gary Pecuch, director of youth ministries at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Grove City, Ohio (NALC). Along with his wife, Gary leads the Faith Webinar seminars for the NALC and offers similar seminars for the ELCA’s Southern Ohio Synod. Gary will describe what the future church will look like (and not look like) for millennials and centennials; what the role of pastor will be in the future; what seminary education might look like in the future; and the kind of training he is offering young people and people who work with young people, in light of the above.

Julie Smith, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Springfield, Minnesota (LCMC); member of the LCMC board of trustees; and dean of students of Saint Paul Lutheran Seminary. Julie will tell about the vision that led to the founding of the seminary and also about their various programs – their more traditional programs as well as the ways in which they are making theological education more affordable, accessible, and available.

The two who will be presenting by skype are –

Jeff Christopherson, vice president of the Send Network, which is part of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jeff will tell about his work of identifying, training, supporting, equipping, and sending out church planters who will focus on new believers, disciple-making, community transformation, and multiplication.

Jari Rankinen, general secretary of the Theological Institute of Finland. This institute gives support to orthodox seminarians and provides orthodox Lutheran teaching as a supplement to the education seminarians are receiving through the state university system. One of the presenters at the first phase of the pastoral summit, Gene Veith, told us about the mission societies in Scandinavia, who are keeping orthodoxy alive in an environment that is very hostile to orthodoxy. We are very grateful to Gene for putting us in touch with the leader of one of these institutions, so that we can learn more.

Also as part of our pastoral formation project, we are featuring in our bi-monthly newsletter, CORE Voice, different organizations that are training the next generation of Lutheran pastors. We are also working on putting together a workshop that could be presented at different church gatherings and convocations, involving the people who would be attending those events. A long-term goal is to be able to put together an event that would be open to all, would be inspirational in nature, and would be based upon the words of Jesus in Matthew 9 – “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers for His harvest.”

We are very grateful to all of our friends for their prayers for our pastoral formation project. We also want to say “Thank you” to all who have given a gift in support of these efforts to raise up pastors and other church leaders for the future.

Please continue to pray with us and for us as we continue to work with others to raise up the next generation of Lutheran pastors.

Blessings in Christ,
Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE
dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com