ELCA LEADERS DO NOT HONOR COMMITMENTS, RESPECT BOUNDARIES, OR RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN INCONSISTENCIES

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR – JUNE 2018

Recent events in the ELCA blatantly reveal that ELCA leaders have no intent to honor the commitments that were made and the boundaries that were set as part of the decisions on human sexuality at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.

The social statement, “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” which was approved by that assembly, clearly states that there is not agreement within the ELCA and that there would be a place for a wide variety of views, including the traditional view, within the church. But many who hold to the traditional view feel that all of the actions and positions taken by the ELCA since then have favored those who agree with same sex marriage and even those who are advocating for all sorts of other sexual identities and expressions. Recent events at United Lutheran Seminary, formed by the merger of Philadelphia and Gettysburg Seminaries, show just how much disfavor there is even against someone who held a traditional view twenty years ago.

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community at United Lutheran Seminary have been complaining loudly about how hurt, wounded, traumatized, and unsafe they feel because of the choice that was made for the first president of that institution. Great effort has been expended by ELCA leaders to help them feel safe. A letter written by one ELCA bishop came across to me as groveling in front of that part of the student body. In our view recent events at the seminary should lead anyone who has ever held a traditional view on human sexuality to feel unsafe. I have read various reports on the reasons for the recent firing of the president, Dr. Theresa Latini. For me any of those reasons is problematic.

If Dr. Latini was fired because twenty years ago she held a traditional view, even though she fully embraces the LGBTQIA+ agenda today, that is problematic, because it shows that anyone who has ever held a traditional view is unacceptable and their employment is not safe.

Some of the reports say that she was fired because twenty years ago she was director of an organization that advocates for and practices reparative or conversion therapy. I have spoken with the president of the board of OnebyOne, the organization that she was director of back in the 1990’s. He emphatically stated that that organization has never been an advocate for and has never practiced reparative therapy. Instead they are an educational arm of the church, which speaks to groups about hope and healing in Jesus. So if once being director of an organization that advocates for and practices reparative therapy is the reason she was fired, that reason also is problematic, because it is based upon an untruth.

Some say that Dr. Latini was fired because she did not disclose to the interviewing committee her previous involvement with OnebyOne. If that is the reason, that also is problematic, because, as I understand it, she did disclose her previous involvement to the chairperson of the board, who felt that she did not need to further disclose her previous involvement.

So, if any of those three was the reason for her being fired, they are all problematic, and they definitely show that the person who should feel unsafe in the ELCA is not a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, but instead anyone who now holds or has ever held a traditional view on human sexuality.

The above is just one more example of how the ELCA is not honoring its commitments to provide a place of inclusion, value, safety, respect, and honor for the traditional view on human sexuality. Why would I say that the leaders of the ELCA are not respecting the boundaries that were set by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly?

One needs look no further than the list of keynote speakers for the ELCA’s National Youth Gathering, which will be held at the end of this month in Houston. One of the keynote speakers is a member of the “We Are Naked and Unashamed” movement, which arose out of the student body of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and rejects marriage by any definition (whether same gender or opposite gender) as normative for sexuality activity. Another keynote speaker is a leader in the DeColonize Lutheranism movement, which feels that Lutheranism needs to be delivered from white, male, and northern European dominance and oppression. A third keynote speaker is a mother and her twelve-year-old son, who wants to be a girl, who will be advocating for transgender issues.

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly addressed a specific and narrowly defined subset of same-sex relationships, namely those that are publicly accountable, lifelong, and monogamous (PALMS). It never addressed bisexuality or the issue of transgender persons or any of the other forms of sexual identity and expression that are a part of the LGBTQIA+ movement. And yet what do we see the ELCA doing less than nine years later? Totally catering to the LGBTQIA+ community within seminary student bodies, doing nothing to renounce the “We Are Naked and Unashamed” movement, and inviting a transgender activist to speak to 30, 000 young people at the National Youth Gathering.

Pastor Mark Erson, Chair of the Commission for LGBTQIA+ People in the ELCA’s Metro New York Synod, recently sent out an email in which he stated, “Our commission, that was formed in 2000 to implement our RIC (Reconciled in Christ) practice, was called the Commission for Gay and Lesbian People, but now there are a lot more letters that are used to identify members of this community.” They know full well that what they are pushing for is going way beyond what was approved in 2009.

Where is the honesty – where is the integrity – when ELCA leaders are endorsing, promoting, and allowing something far beyond what was agreed to and approved at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly? How can the ELCA claim to be an advocate for justice when it acts so unjustly? How could anyone who holds to a traditional view on human sexuality feel included, valued, honored, respected, and safe?

The ELCA suffers from nothing less than a massive breach of trust because of the way in which the actions of the ELCA since 2009 have been so different from what was actually approved in 2009.

If those are examples of how ELCA leaders are neither honoring commitments nor respecting boundaries, what do I mean when I say that they are not recognizing their own inconsistencies?

One ELCA synod had as part of its recent assembly a service of worship that featured Native leaders and Native music. The invitation from the synod said, “Join us as we reflect on the respect we owe the original inhabitants of the lands that make up our synod, repent of the harm done to Native populations . . . and commit ourselves to new levels of respect and regard.”

I cannot imagine their reflecting on the respect they owe to the original, orthodox leaders of the Lutheran Church. I cannot imagine their repenting of the harm they have done when they have bullied, isolated, and marginalized those with a traditional view of the authority of the Bible, Lutheran theology, human sexuality, and the mission of the church. I cannot imagine their repenting of the harm they have done to so many congregations because of the relentless LGBTQIA+ agenda. I cannot imagine their committing themselves to new levels of respect and regard for the traditional, orthodox people who planted the churches, built and paid for the buildings, and started the social service agencies within the territory of that synod. It amazes me how a synod can balance its budget by selling buildings of closed congregations – buildings that were built and paid for by people whose theology, moral values, and mission priorities they reject.

What kind of a future does a church body have that is doing things like that?

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

A MODEL FATHER

Devotional for Fathers’ Day 2018 based upon Genesis 21: 8-21

I am writing the devotional for this week for a particular group of people, though everyone else is welcome to read it. I am writing to those whose fathers were not ideal fathers. They were not everything they should have been as fathers. Some of these fathers are still alive, so there still might be a chance for their children to work on that all important relationship. Some fathers are gone, so their children can no longer make that relationship better, but they can still work on making their own lives better if they can find peace in their pain and a healing of their memories.

The hard, cold fact is that many fathers are not ideal, model fathers. For example, Abraham was not an ideal, model father.

Now that may kind of surprise you because we think of Abraham as a great man of faith. As the great father of both the Hebrew nation and the Arab people. But Abraham, in his relationship with his older son Ishmael, was far from being a model father.

What great joy Abraham must have felt when he finally was able to have a son by his wife, Sarah. It was a miracle – a gift from God. Both Abraham and Sarah were in their nineties. They named their son Isaac, which means “laughter,” because, by giving them a son, God had given them their laughter back.

When Isaac was three years old, Abraham threw a big party. But in the midst of all the celebrating, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, saw something that made her very upset. She saw Isaac playing with his half-brother, Ishmael.

Now Ishmael also was Abraham’s son. But Ishmael’s mother was a slave woman by the name of Hagar. When God seemed slow to act – at least slow according to Abraham’s timetable – in fulfilling His promise to make Abraham the father of a great nation, Abraham decided that he needed to help God out, so he took matters into his own hands and had a son by the slave woman, Hagar. After the birth of Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar did not get along at all. There was deep resentment and bitterness on Sarah’s part, so at the family celebration, when she saw Ishmael playing with Isaac, she flew into a rage. She told her husband, Abraham, to get rid of that woman and her son. She did not even call them by name. She was so eaten up with jealousy that she wanted Hagar and Ishmael out of her life forever.

Abraham must have lacked either the guts or the know-how to intervene and solve the problem between the mothers of his two children. I’ve seen it happen many times. Some of the worst of tensions erupt at what should be the happiest of family gatherings. In the midst of what should have been a joyous occasion, Sarah became so upset just because she saw Ishmael playing with her young son, Isaac. There is no indication that Ishmael was in any way being mean or abusive towards his younger half-brother. It just says that they were playing together at a family celebration.

Sarah wanted action, and she wanted it now. How sad. How sad for Sarah – for allowing herself to become so consumed with jealousy and anger. How sad for Hagar – to be cast out and now not have someone to provide for her. How sad for Isaac – to no longer be able to have a relationship with his half-brother. But especially how sad for Ishmael. To have a father who rejected him, cast him out, cut him off, sent him away.

I am sure that Abraham loved Ishmael deeply. I am certain that he was greatly distressed over the thought of having to send him away. It was during this time of great confusion and pain that God spoke once again to Abraham. (Thank you, Lord, for speaking to us in our times of greatest confusion and pain.) God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of the slave woman. I will make a nation of him also, because he is your son.” And so, in what is one of the saddest scenes in the entire Bible, Abraham gives in to Sarah and sends Hagar and Ishmael away. He casts them out into the desert with only a skin filled with water and a little bit of bread. How long did Abraham think that they would be able to survive with so little food and water?

I live in the Phoenix area. Day time temperatures are now consistently over 100 degrees. Every summer we hear and read stories of people who go hiking in the desert with not enough water. They do not survive. How long did Abraham think Hagar and Ishmael were going to be able to survive?

When their scanty provisions were gone, Hagar did the best thing she could. She found some shade and left her son there. Then she sat down quite a ways away, looking in the opposite direction. She cried out to anyone who might hear her, “Do not let me look on the death of my child.” Then she sat down and wept.

God heard the cry of the child, so an angel of God called to Hagar and said, “Do not be afraid. Lift up your son and hold him fast, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God showed her a well where she and her son could draw water. They were not going to die in the desert. God would be with them. Ishmael would grow to become “an expert with the bow.” His mother would find a wife for him. God gave great promises to a homeless woman, and God always keeps His promises. They would not be alone. Even though they had been cast out by a very non-ideal earthly father, they still had a perfect, loving, model Heavenly Father who would look out for them.

And that is good news for all of us. That no matter how well or how badly our own earthly fathers may have fulfilled the role of father, and whether or not we still have a chance to make that all important relationship better, still each one of us – like Ishmael – has a perfect, ideal, loving, model Heavenly Father.

And so, you see, the model, ideal father in our Bible story is not Abraham. In some ways Abraham was a very bad father. No, in this story, the model, ideal Father is God. And God wants to be your model, ideal Father. Earthly fathers may let us down, as Abraham let Ishmael down. But our Heavenly Father will never let us down.

And so, on this upcoming Fathers’ Day, let us give thanks for our earthly fathers, who did for us the very best they could in loving us and nurturing us, but who also had their own very real life issues, hurts, and needs to deal with.

But even more, let us give thanks that we, like Ishmael, have a loving, ideal, model Heavenly Father, who will always love us. Who will always take care of us. Even when we are in the desert times of our lives, He will never forsake us, but will always be there for us.

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

SATAN’S FAVORITE LIES
Devotional for June 10, 2018 based upon Mark 3: 20-35

Jesus said, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.”

I believe that the strong man Jesus was referring to is Satan, and the strong man’s property are people. People whom God loves and for whom Jesus died, but people who are under the influence and control of Satan. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead in order to defeat the power of Satan. But until Jesus returns, Satan will work to hold and keep people in bondage. One of the ways in which he will do that is through his lies. And so one of the ways in which people can be delivered from the power of Satan – one of the ways in which the strong man can be tied up so that his property can be plundered – is as people hear and believe God’s truth rather than listen to and fall for Satan’s lies.

Satan’s first lie is this: GOD IS HOLDING OUT ON YOU. Eve fell for this lie. Eve gave into Satan’s temptation and ate the forbidden fruit. “You will not die,” Satan had lied. “Rather God knows that if you were to eat of this fruit, your eyes would be opened and you would be His equal. And God does not want you to be His equal.” The lie Satan was telling Eve was, “God is holding out on you. There is something good that God is trying to keep from you.” Unfortunately Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s first lie.

Is there any way in which you are falling for Satan’s first lie? Is there something happening or not happening in your life that makes you wonder if God is holding out on you? Or do you truly believe that God really means it when He said in Jeremiah 29: 11, “I know the plans I have for you – plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”? If Satan is trying to get you to believe that if God truly were good, then He would gratify some desire of yours and do so immediately, then you need to intentionally recall that God’s plans for you will always be only for your good.

Satan’s second lie is this: YOU DO NOT NEED ANYONE BEYOND YOURSELF. Even King David, the man after God’s own heart, fell victim to this second lie. First Chronicles 21 tells us that Satan incited David to take a census of Israel. David responded by commanding General Joab to count all of the fighting men. David had begun to believe that his security lay in the size of his army rather than in his Lord. Because of David’s act of self-reliance, the whole nation suffered a terrible plague. In the same way, if I rely solely or mainly upon myself – upon my own human resources, insight, wisdom, and strength – it will damage my relationship with God and, as in the case of David, it could also really hurt others.

There is a lot to learn from the Twelve-Step Program from a Christian perspective:
1. I admit that I am powerless over whatever it is that is holding me in bondage. My life has become unmanageable.
2. I need a power outside of myself and greater than myself to restore my life to sanity.
3. I will turn my life over to the power of God as the Bible tells me about Him.

Is there any way in which you need to stop believing Satan’s second lie of total self-reliance and instead start depending upon God?

Satan’s third lie is this: YOU WILL NEVER SUFFER AS A CHRISTIAN. And if you are, something is wrong. In Mark 8 Jesus told His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. When Peter heard that, he emphatically rebuked Him. “Never, Lord. This shall never happen to You!” Jesus replied, “Get behind Me, Satan!”

Jesus recognized Satan’s clever seduction in Peter’s well-meaning words. Jesus knew that God’s plan for His life included suffering and pain. And God’s plan for your life will include some suffering and pain. Are you falling for Satan’s third lie, or are you able to trust God’s promise in Romans 8: 28? “Not just in some things but in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Even in difficult circumstances, do you trust God to accomplish His good in your life? Do you trust God to use the trials that will come into your life to help shape your character to become more like His?

Satan’s fourth lie is this: MONEY IS THE KEY TO HAPPINESS. Satan knows the powerful lure of money. Satan is well aware of how greed can take over our lives. So the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” The reef of earthly riches is not worth shipwrecking your life on.

Satan’s fifth lie is this: YOU CAN NEVER FORGIVE THEM. You cannot possibly forgive someone who has wounded you so severely.

Where in your life do you need to stop believing Satan’s fifth lie? Whom are you having the greatest difficulty forgiving? The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Forgive each other, just as God in Christ forgave you.” Do you need to meditate more on just how much God has forgiven you, so that you can let go of your own bitterness and forgive someone else? Oh, the healing process may take years. But wouldn’t you rather be free? Wouldn’t you rather be able to think of that person with peace – if not also genuine desire for their welfare? The first step on the road to forgiveness is remembering just how much God has forgiven us. The second step is to let the sweet, healing love of God flow from us and through us to that other person.
Someone once said, “Forgiveness is the oil that keeps our souls from burning up in the friction of human relationships.”

Satan would be more than happy to use His lies in order to keep you in bondage. In Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead God has already won the decisive victory over Satan and all of his demons. Until God wraps up the campaign at the end of the world, may each one of us be able to resist Satan’s lies by holding onto the truths and standing on the promises in God’s Word.

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

AFFLICTED, BUT NOT CRUSHED
Devotional for June 3, 2018 based upon 2 Corinthians 4: 5-12

“We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus. We are afflicted, but not crushed. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.”

This coming Sunday, June 3, I will be preaching at a Lutheran church in southern California. Whenever I hear or read the above words from the apostle Paul, I think of the pastor of that congregation.

This pastor is very solid in his theology, very bold in his witness, and very strong in his holding to the authority of Scripture, the historic Christian faith, and traditional Biblical views on human sexuality and marriage. The congregation had been a very liberal Anglo congregation for many years, but then called this pastor after their community became increasingly Asian. Through the hard work of this pastor and the blessings of God, this congregation has experienced a major turnaround from liberal Anglo to increasingly orthodox Chinese.

After this pastor took a very strong stand for traditional views of marriage and human sexuality, a few members of the congregation complained to the bishop of their ELCA synod. The bishop used their complaint as an opportunity to intervene in the life of the congregation. That intervention resulted in that pastor being told that he would need to serve under the supervision of another pastor in order to learn how to be less divisive in his ministry.

The congregation council responded by informing the synod that the group of members who filed the complaint were acting on their own and did not represent the council or the congregation. The synod backed off and told the pastor that he would receive a letter stating that there were no charges against him. That letter has never been received.

In the meantime a couple seminarians from that congregation were told that they would need to leave that congregation or their ordination candidacy process would be cancelled. They refused to leave the congregation. Their ordination candidacy process was cancelled, so they are now pursuing ordination through another Lutheran church body.

The pastor continued to be very strong in his ministry, but through the process suffered a debilitating stroke. He is doing much better now, after more than two years of therapy, but he is still carrying in his body the marks of death because of his bold witness for Jesus Christ.

He is only one example of people who have paid a great price because of their bold witness. Not all have suffered major health setbacks, but many have endured major financial setbacks. Others have experienced severely broken relationships, major conflict and divisions in their congregations, bullying from their synod, and horrible accusations.

These words of the apostle Paul are an encouragement to all who have been faithful during this time of major upheaval within the Lutheran community. If that includes you, may you experience the blessings and love of God as you proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ. You may have been afflicted, but you do not need to be crushed. You may have been struck down, but you do not need to be destroyed. As we carry in our bodies and in our spirits the death of Jesus, may the life of Jesus be made visible in our bodies and through our ministries.

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

THE KING IS DEAD
Devotional for the Sunday of the Holy Trinity 2018
based upon Isaiah 6: 1-8

For those who are old enough, where were you on November 22, 1963, when you heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot? Most people can tell you exactly where they were. The news sped around the world: “The President is dead.” It was shocking – unbelievable. John F. Kennedy – young, vibrant, dynamic – cut down by an assassin’s bullet. Our entire nation was plunged into grief. The following Sunday people flocked to church – and in the greatest numbers since the announcement of the end of World War II.

Twenty-seven hundred years ago another sad announcement was heard: “The King is dead.” Uzziah, king of Judah, had died. He had been crowned king at the age of sixteen and had reigned for fifty-two years. Despite his weaknesses, he was the greatest king since David. The prophet Isaiah was heartbroken. Uzziah was not only his king. He was also his friend. In grief and sorrow he wondered what to do. He made his way to the Temple – like the people after the death of President Kennedy – to find comfort and renewed faith. When in your life have you really needed to go to church to worship, to find comfort, and to have your faith strengthened and renewed?

Now no one else is mentioned as being in the Temple that day. But I have a feeling that the Temple area was full that day as thousands of people came in response to the news that the King was dead. After all, Uzziah had been king for fifty-two years. For many people, he had been king their entire lives. Many people knew no other king. And now the king is dead. When sorrow comes, when life crashes in, when our earthly source of security is gone, the best place to be is in the house of the Lord.

Isaiah went to the house of the Lord. And there he learned that even though King Uzziah had died, God had not died. God was still on His throne. Isaiah might have lost his good friend and earthly king. But that day he caught a fresh glimpse of the King of kings. That day he had an encounter with God that totally changed his life. Today you can have an encounter with God that can totally change your life.

In his encounter with God Isaiah saw four things. First, ISAIAH SAW THE LORD. And that is the greatest vision that anyone can have. To see the Lord. Isaiah writes, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty.” Another translation says, “High and lifted up.” Isaiah saw God as the central object of all praise – surrounded by angels. It was the vision Isaiah needed because Uzziah had died.

How often in worship do you have a vision of the Lord sitting on His throne, high and lifted up? And if not very often, why not? Isaiah had a vision of the greatness and glory of God, and it changed his life. The same living Lord wants to change your life. Earthly kings will come and go. But the King of kings is King forever. He is just as powerful as He has ever been, and just as willing to reveal Himself to you. First, Isaiah saw the Lord.

Second, ISAIAH SAW HIMSELF. And he saw himself as he had never seen himself before. As he saw himself, he did not admire his image in the mirror. He did not think, “Wow! I must be the best person here, because God has revealed Himself to me.” Instead he cried out, “Woe is me! I am lost. I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

And it’s true. The closer you get to God, the more clearly you see your own sin. The more you see the glory of God, the more you realize just how far you fall short of the glory of God. A weak sense of God leads to a weak sense of our own sin. While a renewed sense of God leads to a renewed sense of our own sin. Seeing the Lord high and lifted up, Isaiah saw himself in a whole new light.

Third, ISAIAH SAW GOD’S CLEANSING POWER. A live coal was brought by an angel from the altar of sacrifice and was touched to Isaiah’s lips. The altar was the place where the priests would kill the animals and then cover over the sins of the people with the blood of animals. For as God said, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.

The coal had been touched by two things – blood and fire. Blood speaks of the cleansing from sin – as blood can cleanse a wound. And fire speaks of purifying power. Blood removes the sin, while fire brings power for renewed living. The angel took a blood-soaked and fire-purifying coal from the altar of sacrifice and touched it to Isaiah’s lips. Isaiah experienced the sweet, clean feeling of forgiveness, peace, and power. There is nothing like it in the world.

And then fourth, ISAIAH SAW THE WORLD. Isaiah heard God ask, “Whom shall I send? Who will go? Who will be a messenger of hope to other people who are grieving over the death of the king? Who will bring the blood and the fire to other people who need forgiveness of sins and power for living?” Isaiah heard God ask, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah replied, “Here am I, Lord; send me.”

Isaiah did not say, “Here am I, but please send someone else.” Nor did he say, “Before I sign up I need to find out what all is involved, how long it will be for, and what is in it for me.” Rather he signed a blank cheque. He did not try to strike up a bargain with God. He did not attempt to negotiate a compromise. Rather when God called, Isaiah answered. When God commanded, Isaiah obeyed.

And who would respond like that? Only someone who has seen the vision. Only someone who has seen the Lord high and lifted up. And the same thing can happen for you today. King Jesus was dead, but now He is alive. He died for our sins, but He rose from the dead and is alive forevermore. And He calls us to see Him as He truly is – the holy God. He calls us to see ourselves as we truly are – sinful and in desperate need of Him. He calls us to see that He can cleanse us of all sin and give us power for renewed living. And He calls us to see that other people also need to know what He can do for them.

Today have you seen the Lord high and lifted up? Today have you been cleansed by His blood and have you received the fire of His power for living? Today are you hearing and heeding His call to go and tell others?

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

THE CHURCH ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST
Devotional for Day of Pentecost 2018

There was a news item sometime back about a man from Mankato, Minnesota, who was fined $100 for trying to set fire to an evangelist while he was preaching. My guess is that there are a lot of Christians today who need to be set on fire in a figurative and positive way. The church on the Day of Pentecost was a church that was set on fire. It was ablaze with enthusiasm, excitement, and power. What was there about this particular church that made these people so responsive to this kind of outbreak of Christian fervor?

First, the church on the Day of Pentecost was A CHURCH OF INTENSE FELLOWSHIP. They really loved each other. They had strong bonds of care and concern for each other.

There is a church in Chicago that officially is named St. Stephen’s. But it is also known as “The Church at the End of the Road.” And don’t you think that “at the end of the road” is a fitting location for a church? For there are many people who are at the end of their ropes and at the end of life’s road. Their hope and strength are gone. “At the end of the road” is also where the church needs to be.

The church at its best is a caring church. A church where love is experienced. And that certainly was true of the church on the day of Pentecost. They ate together, sang together, worshipped together, and even had their possessions together. They gained strength from their intense fellowship.

Second, the church on the Day of Pentecost was A CHURCH OF STRONG UNITY. People of different backgrounds, social classes, languages, skin colors, and national origins all heard the same Gospel in their own native tongue. But rather than fragmenting into tiny, self-serving interest groups, the church on the Day of Pentecost was drawn into a cohesive whole.

When Billy Graham held his historic crusade in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1960’s, he insisted on an integrated choir. A local newspaper wrote in an editorial that Billy Graham’s coming to Alabama had set the church there back a hundred years. Billy Graham’s answer was classic. “If that is the case,” he said, “then I have failed in my ministry. For I had intended to set the church back two thousand years – back to the Day of Pentecost.”

When the waters of God rise, the dividers disappear. People are not separated by race, color, or language. Rather we are all precious souls for whom Jesus died. Where the Spirit of God is, there is unity.

And then third, the church on the Day of Pentecost was A CHURCH THAT REACHED OUT TO OTHERS. Where the Spirit of God is, people are concerned about sharing the Good News of Jesus with their family, friends, and neighbors. The church on the Day of Pentecost was a rapidly growing church because they were reaching out.

At the end of World War II, Robert Woodruff, president of Coca Cola, declared, “In my generation it is my desire that everyone in the world will have a taste of Coca Cola.” Today Coca Cola is sold throughout the world, because one man by the name of Robert Woodruff motivated his colleagues to reach their generation all around the world for Coca Cola.

Is it our desire in our generation, that everyone around the world would know Jesus Christ?

Richard Lederer, author and speaker, has become nationally known for collecting what he calls examples of “Anguished English.” He gathers such things as unintentionally funny headlines and signs.

People Magazine once did a story on Lederer. Their photographer asked him to think about setting up a humorous, posed picture that would summarize his work and would lead into his article. He did not have to fabricate anything.

On the outskirts of his town stood a telephone pole with a street sign that read, “ELECTRIC AVENUE.” Right below that street sign was a yellow diamond traffic sign that announced, “NO OUTLET.”

And that is the greatest danger for the church. That we will have God’s electricity, but no outlet. That we will experience God’s power, but then refuse to share that power with others. We will not let that power empower us to do something. That we will experience God’s love and unity among ourselves, but then shut others out. That we will experience the joy of the Holy Spirit, but then not want to and not try to share that joy with others.

The answer is really quite simple. The source of power is the Holy Spirit. Where the Spirit is, there is intense fellowship and a strong unity. And where the Spirit is, there is a great concern for reaching out to others.

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

MARY: A MODEL OF MOTHERHOOD
Devotional for Mothers’ Day 2018 based upon Luke 1: 26-38

If you were looking for the perfect mother to leave your one and only child with, who would she be and what would she be like? Would she be wealthy? Would she live in a nice house? Would she be famous, well educated, experienced, and mature? Well, think about the young woman whom God chose to give birth to and to raise His Son. As we look at Mary, the mother of our Lord, I believe we see a model of motherhood.

Two times in our Bible reading the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she is favored by God. Why? What was there about Mary that caught the Creator’s attention? I believe that God chose Mary partly because of what she already had and partly because of who God knew she would become.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the Gospel writer Luke tells us that Mary was much perplexed and greatly troubled. I am sure that she was troubled simply by the fact that an angel was speaking to her. But even more, the message that the angel was bringing to her was a very disturbing message. After all, she was already engaged to Joseph, and engagements in those days were taken very seriously. If an engaged woman were found to be unfaithful, she could be put to death. As her pregnancy began to become known, Mary, a young teenage girl, would be facing many troubling possibilities. Such as rejection by Joseph, a ruined reputation, and the prospect of raising a child alone in a culture that was not supportive of women.

Mary had many things to be troubled about. Not to mention the fact that Mary probably felt very insecure, unworthy, and insufficient for this great task of being the mother of the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Mary could have easily said, “Lord, I am just a young girl. I am not ready to be a mother. I am not worthy. I am neither wealthy, nor well educated, nor well situated. You need to find someone else.” But instead Mary said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.”

Mary had the right perspective. She knew who God is – the Lord Almighty. And she knew who she was – a servant of the Lord. And in her saying, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord,” she was also accepting what the angel was saying, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” If God said it, Mary knew it would happen. And even if she did not really understand all the how’s, she would go along with the what because she was the servant of the Lord.

And Mary also had the right perspective about her role as a mother. She saw being a mother as an honor and as a blessing from God. Luke 1 also contains Mary’s song in which she tells how her soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. She sees herself as being blessed by God in what He was going to be doing in her life. Mary saw being a mother as an honor and a gift.

And mothers today need to be like Mary in seeing being a mother as an honor and a gift. Mothers, you too are God’s servants in all things, including in your raising God’s children. And though there will be times when you, like Mary, will feel overwhelmed and totally inadequate for the task, along with Mary remember that “nothing is impossible with God.” And though there will be times when your children will totally frustrate you, they really are a gift from God and it really is an honor that God has entrusted them to you and your care.

And then I believe that God looked upon Mary with favor also because she had a solid foundation. She knew the Scriptures. In her song of praise she recognizes God as the Mighty One who has done great things for her. She knows God as the Holy One whose mercy reaches out, who lifts up the lowly, and who fills the hungry with good things. Mary’s solid foundation is an example for mothers today. For a mother who praises God and who knows His Word is going to make a huge difference in her child’s life.

Mothers, how solid is your foundation? Do you know God? Do you know God’s Word? Do you know it well enough to be able to quote it and pass it on to your children? Do you set a good example for your children as one who loves, worships, and praises God?

And then I believe that God also chose Mary because of what He knew she would become. First, she would be unrelenting in her protection. From the very moment that Jesus was born, His life was in danger. Mary protected Jesus from wicked King Herod and from many other people and things that could have done Him harm.

And mothers today need to be unrelenting in their protection of their children. Which is obvious when they are very young, when there are many potential dangers everywhere. So mothers must protect their children from germs, electric outlets, sharp things, stoves, and stairs.

As your children grow, they still need your protection. Oh, they may be able to climb the stairs and keep their fingers off a hot stove. But there are many new dangers out there as they grow. And these new dangers can be even more deadly. There are new dangers like low self- esteem, substance abuse, peer pressure, sexual immorality, and thoughts of suicide. Children need their mothers to protect them from the world’s value system, which is being marketed all around them and which stands in total opposition to the Christian faith. And they need their mother’s protection from all the subtle things that really do not seem all that bad, but which totally crowd God out of your life.

Mothers, your children may not always want your protection. They may think they do not need it, and they may even resent it. But, mothers, don’t stop protecting them, for the dangers out there are very real.

And then God knew that Mary would be unwavering in her love and devotion. Mary’s love and devotion for Jesus began before He was born and lasted beyond the cross. The final time the Bible mentions Mary is not at the foot of the cross and not at the empty tomb – though she was present at both. In fact, the last time we see Mary is not in any of the Gospels, but instead in the book of Acts. In Acts 1: 14 it says that the disciples “were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as His brothers.” Thirty-three years later Mary is still right where she is supposed to be. Jesus is still the center of her attention. He is still the focus of her being.

Mothers, may God look with favor upon you as He looked with favor upon Mary. May you have the proper perspective and see yourself as a servant of God. May you see being a mother as an honor and as a gift. And may you know and experience that nothing is impossible with God. May you build your life upon the solid foundation of God and His Word. And may you be unrelenting in your protection and unwavering in your love and devotion for your children. For if you do, then you and your children will be blessed by God.

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

I HAVE CALLED YOU FRIENDS
Devotional for May 6, 2018 based upon John 15: 9-17

On the eve of His crucifixion Jesus gave an astonishing invitation. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. I do not call you servants any longer. I have called you friends.” At the cross Jesus laid down His life not primarily for His followers, students, or servants. Rather Jesus laid down His life for His friends.

Now if I were to guess what kind of word Jesus would use to describe me, I would probably come up with words like “follower,” “servant,” “student,” or “disciple.” But “friend”? That is not a word I would have expected. But Jesus’ invitation here is to something far more – something far better – than we ever would have expected. Jesus invites us to be His friends.

What does it look like to be Jesus’ friend? Here are seven characteristics of a true friend. Jesus more than fulfills each of those characteristics in His friendship with us.

First, A FRIEND ALWAYS LOVE YOU. Proverbs 17: 17 says, “A friend loves at all times.”

Second, A FRIEND ALWAYS STICKS BY YOU. Even though the disciples were riddled with shortcomings, Jesus always stood by them. He stood by them, even when they did not stand by Him. He focused on His love for them rather than on their falling short for Him.

Third, FRIENDS SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON. Proverbs 27: 17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another.” Friends bring out the very best in each other. Which, admittedly, is not always easy. Sparks fly when iron sharpens iron. But it is worth the discomfort. A true friend challenges you to move forward – to step out of your comfort zone and pursue God’s greatest purposes for your life.

Fourth, A FRIEND WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH. Proverbs 27: 6 says, “Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.” Jesus was a consummate truth teller. He never spared any punches when it came to telling it like it is. He was far more concerned about conveying truth than about being considered “nice.” With straightforward honesty, he sought change in those He cared about. In the words of last Sunday’s Gospel, He pruned His branches because of His love.

Fifth, A FRIEND IS INTERESTED IN WHAT INTERESTS YOU. Philippians 2: 4 says, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but instead to the interests of others.” Jesus always engaged people at their point of interest. Looking at Jesus as our friend will affect what we talk about with Him. If we see Him primarily as our teacher, then we will bring to Him our questions. If we see Him primarily as our master, then we will bring to Him our lists of completed assignments. But if we see Him as our friend, we will feel free to talk with Him about anything. Seeing Him as our friend will change the way we pray.

Sixth, A FRIEND OPERATES ACCORDING TO YOUR SCHEDULE OF NEED. Real friends are there for you when you need them, even when it is inconvenient. Jesus was that kind of a friend. Romans 5: 6 and 8 say, “While we were weak, Christ died for the ungodly. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Ephesians 2: 5 says it even more strongly. “When we were dead through our trespasses, He made us alive.” When we needed Him the most – even before we knew we needed Him – even before we knew Him – Jesus already was our true and faithful friend.

Seventh, A FRIEND IS A PART OF YOUR LIFE. Jesus said in John 10: 10, “I came that (you) might have life and might have it abundantly.”

But in our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday Jesus gives an even more astonishing characteristic of a true friend. John 15: 13 – “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” It was at the time when He was on His way to the Garden of Agony and the Hill of Crucifixion that He said this. He said it when He was about to lay His life down for His friends.

A Savior is someone you need. A King is someone you obey. Jesus is certainly our Savior and King. But here Jesus is saying that He wants us to be His friends. A friend is someone you know and love.

We all long for a relationship like that. We all long for a relationship with someone who will love us and understand us and challenge us to reach our full potential. We all long for someone who will encourage us in our dreams, confront us in our foolishness, strengthen us in our times of insecurity, and guide us in our moments of boldness.

Jesus wants to be that kind of friend for you. He does not call you merely to be His servant to come before His throne on occasion for a new list of assignments. Rather He calls you to be His friend. The Christian life is not so much about working harder as it is about coming closer to Jesus, the perfect friend.

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Do you know Jesus as your friend, who laid down His life for you?

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

THE BLESSINGS OF ABIDING
Devotional for April 29, 2018 based upon John 15: 1-8

Our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday is part of Jesus’ final words to His disciples on the night when He was betrayed. After supper they must have passed through a vineyard on their way to the Mount of Olives. Jesus stops. The disciples gather around Him. He reaches for a branch and begins, “I am the vine, and My Father is the vinegrower.” Then He begins to talk about grapes and branches. It certainly was not what His friends had expected to hear, especially after having been told that one of them would betray Him. But at this moment Jesus chooses to reveal to them what their Heavenly Father wants for them and how He has been at work in their lives to bring it about. And I believe that Jesus was also thinking about you and me that night. For God is at work in our lives, too, to bring about what He wants to see come from our lives. So let’s look at what He is saying.

Jesus is the vine, the trunk that grows out of the ground and ends in a large gnarl from which the branches grow in either direction along the trellis. The Father is the vinegrower, the keeper of the vineyard who coaxes from the plants the largest, juiciest, and most grapes possible. We are the branches – the focus of the vinegrower’s efforts – because it is the branches that produce the fruit. Here Jesus is distinguishing between four different kinds of branches – those that produce no fruit, some fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. How much fruit do you see in your life today? Are you satisfied with that level of fruit? How can all of us live a life that is more fruitful for God?

First, NO FRUIT. Some Christians live lives that produce nothing of eternal consequence. Jesus describes these people when He says, “Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He removes.” This is a person who is connected to Christ – a branch that is connected to the vine – but is producing no fruit over a period of time. Most Bible translations use words like “he removes” and “he cuts off” to describe what the vinegrower does to that part of the vine. But I have read that the Greek verb can also be translated, “he lifts up.”

The vinegrower leans over to lift up the branch that is trailing down and growing along the ground, because branches do not bear any fruit down there. The leaves on branches that grow along the ground get coated with dirt. When it rains, they get muddy and mildewed. They become sick and unproductive. But they are too precious just to cut off and throw away. So the vinegrower goes through the vineyard with a bucket of water, looking for branches like that. He lifts them up, washes them off, and then wraps them around the trellis or ties them up. Soon they are thriving once again.

For the Christian, sin is like that dirt covering the leaves so that air and light cannot get in. The vinegrower will use even painful measures if necessary to bring us to repentance, because His purpose is to cleanse us and free us of sin so that we can live lives that are productive for Him. God loves you so much that He will take whatever measures He needs to to correct you. He will even bring or allow pain into your life to get your attention and to bring about the needed change. So if you are down in the dirt, do not stay there a minute longer. Thank God for the way He is intervening in your life. It is His love for you that motivates Him to discipline you. And He will raise the stakes if He has to. One day you will look back on your determination to stay in the dirt and wonder why you resisted your Heavenly Father for so long.

Second, SOME FRUIT. What does the Heavenly Father do when the branch looks pretty good – it is covered with leaves – yet it is not producing much fruit? Jesus said, “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.”

If your life is bearing some fruit, God will intervene to prune you. Left to itself, a branch will always prefer producing leaves over grapes. So the vinegrower must cut away any unnecessary shoots, no matter how vigorous, because the vine’s purpose is to produce not leaves but grapes.

For the Christian, a vigorous growth of leaves represents all the preoccupations and priorities in our lives which, while not wrong, are keeping us from being more productive for God. Without pruning, we will live up to only a fraction of our potential.

The expert pruner removes what is dead, dying, and not fruit producing so that the sunlight can get to the branches that are bearing fruit. In the same way our Heavenly Father wants to cut away from our lives those things that drain precious time and energy away from that which is truly important. In pruning, God asks you to let go of those things that keep you from your ultimate good. But pruning is cutting, and cutting always hurts.

If you feel that God is pruning you, ask Him to show you what it is that He wants you to let go of, and then trust Him enough to release it completely to Him. You might be looking down the fence line of your life and seeing all your favorite branches being hacked away. You might be saying, “God, I never asked for the shears.” You might be wondering what He will do next. He loves you so much that He will not stop tending your life. What God asks of you may seem difficult and demanding. But the results, if you say yes, will be more than you could have ever asked for.

Third, MORE FRUIT. In mature pruning – the kind of pruning that produces more fruit – God’s shears cut even closer to the core of who we are. In mature pruning, God is not just taking away. Rather He is faithfully at work in our lives to make room for more strength, productivity, and spiritual power. Where does it hurt in your life today? That could be where God’s shears are at work. Pain always comes when shears are snipping. How is God shaping and directing you so that He can strengthen you for the season of abundance that He has in mind for you?

Fourth, MUCH FRUIT. I see Jesus leaning forward and placing His fingers at the point where the trunk divides into branches. “Abide in Me, as I abide in you,” He says. And then, directing His disciples’ attention to the branch that is swelling with the promise of a great harvest, He adds, “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.”

He points to the place where trunk meets branches. That is where the abiding happens. That is the connecting point, through which the life-giving nutrients flow. Many times Jesus uses the word “abide.” You can feel His passion. He is about to leave His friends. And yet He is saying, “We must stay together.”

Abiding is all about the most important relationship in your life. It is not primarily about how well you know the Bible or how many church committees you are on or even how many good things you do. Rather it is about how much you long for and thirst for a relationship with God. Abiding means wanting and having more of God in your life. More of God in your activities, thoughts, and desires. It means enjoying His company.

So what season of life are you in? If you are in the SEASON OF DISCIPLINE, the Vinegrower is kneeling down beside you, reaching down to intervene in your life. He wants to lift you up and bring you back to fruitfulness. He does not see you as a chronic loser, but as a precious branch that is only one choice away from a better life.

If you are in the SEASON OF PRUNING, the Vinegrower is standing beside you, wielding some rather serious-looking shears. His face conveys delight and anticipation as He carefully and purposefully snips away unwanted, unproductive shoots. He is impressed with your energy and promise.

If you are in the SEASON OF ABIDING, the Vinegrower is learning against a nearby trellis, looking at you with great pleasure, satisfaction, and joy. The huge clusters of grapes that are crowding your branch are exactly what He had in mind for you since you first sprouted from the vine.

Know for sure that God will always be at work in your life. He can use you no matter what season you are in. His plans for you are unique and suited specifically for you. It’s never too late to begin bearing fruit. He wants you to participate in the joy of an abundant harvest.

What Jesus said to His friends that night in the vineyard, He is also saying to you “so that (His) joy may be in you, and so that your joy may be complete.”

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

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