Leadership is not a title, a performance, or mere occupation. It is a sacred relationship creating ripple effects, for both good and bad. This book is about stewardship leaders, who are both the humblest and stubbornest people on the planet. Today in our “pro-choice” environment freedom is about choosing, the more choices the better. For stewards, freedom is about being chosen, knowing who you are, with assigned roles and tasks.  Thus, healthy results radiate outward into your community, church, or workplace. Life becomes more gracious, business more successful, and the church more effective when you follow a call.

Central Concept: We are in a leadership crisis today. Without proper grounding, self-appointed leaders are harming basic community building from the family to the nation. The thesis of this handbook is that healthy leaders have the hearts of stewards. Properly understanding our unique LUTHERAN HERITAGE releases incredible spiritual and relational power which in turn builds healthy followers.

Takeaway Values:

• Readers will learn why leadership is harder today, yet be motivated to hear God’s call.
• Readers will understand that leadership is not a title. It is not even an occupation. Leadership is more an art than a science, less a performance than a sacred relationship. When we face a problem, we almost always start looking for a program, some method with which to attack the crisis. But when God sets out to solve issues, he always starts with a person. The Holy Spirit calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
• Readers will discover that there is a rich LUTHERAN theology of leadership, underutilized yet critically needed, which puts individual character at the forefront.
• Readers will gain insights and encouragement to grow in vision, courage, integrity, as they build their team and understand the riddle of power.

Unique Features:

• Each Chapter focuses on biblical characters, discovering healthy and unhealthy models of stewardship.
• This handbook is complete, in that all major issues of leadership are included.
• Personal experiences of the author, his friends, and historical figures, illustrate every point.
• Rather than focusing on gimmicks for success, each chapter focuses on the theology which produces long-term healthy results.
• Each section concludes with Reflection Questions for personal or small group discussion

Organization: The book is divided into an introduction followed by six chapters. The first chapter is foundational, sharing the surprising power and freedom God’s calling gives us. The succeeding chapters address the stewardship of vision (two), heart (three), community (four), opportunities (five), and finally power (six).

Click here to purchase the book, published by Pinnacle House Press, and available on Amazon.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that youth have been asked since they graduated kindergarten. But in high school, the question becomes a much more pressing issue. In a culture obsessed with both success and control, students are encouraged at earlier and earlier ages to have their futures and career paths completely mapped out. And much of the decision making in this regard revolves around interests, skills, money, and the expectations of others. At the intersection of “What am I interested in, what am I good at, what will my loved ones approve of, and how much money can I make doing it?” is the decision to follow one career path over all the others.

What is too often excluded from this equation is the biblical reality of God’s call. We are called into being, called into relationship with the Lord and His Church, called to serve, and called into a yet unknown future by One who knows us better than we know ourselves, and who loves us beyond measure. For Christians, then, the primary question that needs to be answered is not, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” but rather, “What is God’s call on my life?”

Every kid in Sunday School has heard the story of young Samuel (I Samuel 3), to whom the Lord spoke in the middle of the night. Like many of us, Samuel struggled to recognize the voice of the Lord. In fact, it was Samuel’s older and wiser mentor, Eli, who helped Samuel recognize God’s voice and call on his life.

Although he failed to recognize God’s calling at first, Samuel was open to the Lord’s leading. After learning that it was God who was calling, he responded by saying, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” Are you listening for God’s call on your life? Are you open to His leading? You might hear God’s call during times of study or silent prayer. You may hear God’s call through the proclamation of His Word in a sermon or Bible study, through a petition in the Prayers of the Church, or through the lyrics of a hymn. Or even more likely, you may hear God’s call through family, friends, or church members who might say, “You would make a good pastor. Have you ever considered pursuing ordained ministry?”

One of Martin Luther’s gifts to the Church was his insistence that all callings are holy. Whether one is gifted and called by God to be a pastor, butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, each calling is equally holy and necessary for human flourishing, and for the building up of the Lord’s people. So how does one “hear God’s call?”

The first step is to recognize the Holy Spirit’s movement in your life. The older and more experienced Eli recognized that the Spirit was speaking to Samuel, and he encouraged Samuel to reply, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Only then could Samuel recognize the Spirit’s leading and respond in obedience to the call.

The truth is that most of us need an “Eli” at one time or another in our lives. And most, if not all of us, are also called to be an Eli for others. Being an Eli simply means keeping our eyes open to recognize the gifts of others and staying present to them — listening, talking, praying, and sharing with them. Finding an answer to every question is not always as necessary as just being a companion as they search and discern.

Jesus had compassion on the crowds he encountered because “they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 9:36). Today there is a critical shortage of shepherds in God’s Church. Many congregations are without a called and trained pastor to preach His Word and administer the sacraments. How to explain this shortage? Has God gone silent? Is the Lord no longer speaking?

No. In fact, somewhere in our congregations right now is an infant who will be baptized this Sunday, who has a call to ordained ministry. Somewhere in our congregations right now is a fourth grader who has a call to ordained ministry, and who is also the absolute terror of Mrs. So-And-So’s Sunday School Class. Somewhere in our congregations right now is an eighth grader who has a call to ordained ministry. They are about to be confirmed, and they wish their parents would allow them to sleep in on Sundays, because “Church is boring.” Somewhere in our congregations right now is a high school sophomore who is preparing to attend the retreat that will change their life and confirm their call to ordained ministry. And somewhere in our congregations is a college student or career person who is running from God’s call to ordained ministry or has postponed it to pursue an alternative career path. I know this because each of these people was me at different points in my life.

Thankfully, the Lord strategically placed Eli’s in my life. My youth minister, Duane. My Sunday School teacher, Ruth. And my pastor, Reuben. Each of them, and many others, too, played the role of Eli in my life to help me recognize my spiritual gifts, to encourage my discernment of God’s call, to listen to my concerns, questions, and objections, and ultimately to walk with me to the “yes” that finally came when I filled out my seminary application.

Friends, there are many, many Samuel’s out there today who are called to serve and speak the Word of God, but instead of filling out a seminary application, they are pursuing a path that is more expedient or lucrative. They are pursuing a path that is more in line with the expectations of those around them.

So let me ask you to find your place in this biblical story. Are you a Samuel, knowing that there is a voice speaking to you and calling you to a purpose bigger than your own dreams and desires? Or are you an Eli, called to pay attention to the gifts of those with whom you worship? Called to encourage and walk with those who are or should be discerning God’s call to Word and Sacrament ministry? Either way, you are the answer to the crisis we face today in the Church of Jesus, where sheep without a shepherd are “harassed and helpless.” Every Samuel needs an Eli. And every Eli can recognize a Samuel with God’s help.

Pastor Jeff Morlock is Director of Vocational Discernment at the North American Lutheran Seminary. He may be reached at jeff.morlock@tsm.edu.

“You withdrew all Your fury; You turned away from Your burning anger.  Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your indignation toward us to cease.”  (Psalm 85:3-4)

The Lord did not create us to destroy us. He created us for relationship. Yet, in creating us for relationship, he cannot tolerate the sin that rules in our hearts. His burning anger is turned away by His grace and mercy. Come to the Lord and meet the One who made you and walk humbly with Your God. He will restore you to be whom He created you to be that you may walk with Him forever.

Lord, I know the struggle that is in my heart. Lead me, O Lord, to walk in the way of humility that You may work on my heart and transform it with Your goodness and mercy. Lead me in the way You know I need to go that I may be in Your presence always and live in the way You have established from the beginning. Keep Your wrath buried in the grace and mercy You have given me.

Lord Jesus, the One who makes possible the reconciliation You have granted by grace, lead me in the only way of truth and life that in You I may grow in Your likeness. Help me now and always to see Your goodness and mercy and walk with You, my Lord and my God. Keep me close to You that I may know fully Your grace and mercy and walk in a way pleasing to the Father. Amen.

WE ALL HAVE TO GET OUR OWN OIL

Devotional for November 12, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 1-13

At one point all ten had brightly burning lamps. All ten had oil. But five ran out of oil. So five were not ready when the bridegroom came.

All ten had lights. Which probably were not some kind of small clay vessel with a little wick sticking out. Small clay vessels do not use much oil, but they also would not have been able to put out much light for a wedding party. They probably were torches – long poles with rags soaked in olive oil tied at the top. That kind of a torch produces a lot of light, but it also consumes a lot of oil, so the rags would have to be re-soaked in oil every certain number of minutes.

The oil that enables us to live our Christian lives is abundant. We can all be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. There is no energy shortage in heaven. And the oil is free. It has already all been paid for. But still, if we want our lives to keep on shining, we must receive a daily in-filling of God’s Holy Spirit. And so, in verse 4, “The wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” The wise had reserve oil. The wise enjoyed a deep, personal experience of the grace of Jesus. The wise had a deeper prayer life – a deeper Bible study life. The wise had a depth to their faith – a depth in their relationship with Jesus – that the five foolish bridesmaids did not have.

Verse 5 tells us, “As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.” All ten had thought that the bridegroom would have been there a lot sooner. But he wasn’t there. So they became drowsy and slept. Preparing for a wedding can wear you out. There’s a lot that goes into getting ready for a wedding. Not just the bride – and the bride’s mother – but also the bridesmaids spend hours and hours getting ready for the wedding. No wonder brides and bridesmaids get all stressed out and tired out. Even the five wise bridesmaids were so tired that they fell asleep because of the delay.

Spiritually are you asleep? Are you asleep even though you know that the King of kings is coming? True, there has been a delay. Jesus the Bridegroom has not come yet. And yet the longer the delay, the closer we are to the time of His coming.

Verse 6 tells us, “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out and meet him!’” When did the bridegroom come? At midnight. Jesus will return at the darkest time of the night. Jesus will come to you in your darkest hour. Sometimes I wonder how much darker it could get than it is right now. The bridegroom will come at midnight. In our hour of deepest need – at a time of greatest spiritual darkness – Jesus Christ will come.

Verse 7 – “Then all the bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.” All ten bridesmaids needed to refill their lamps with oil. But only the wise had brought along spare reserves of oil. What is that extra oil? It is an extra measure of God’s presence and grace in your life. It is the depth and strength of faith that you need to live in those toughest of times.

Christian parents and grandparents may wish that they could just give their faith to their children and grandchildren. And many Christian people wish that they could transfer their Christian faith to their non-believing husband or wife. But each person must go to the source for himself or herself. The Christian faith can neither be transferred nor sold. Each must get the saving oil straight from the source.

No one can be a Christian for you. Your parent or grandparent can’t. Your spouse can’t. Your best friend can’t. And even your pastor can’t. We all have to get our own oil.

In the same way, if you wait until you really need it to get that saving and strengthening relationship with Jesus – if you wait until midnight, you may have waited too long. The Bible says, Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to restock on oil. Today is the day to make your life right with Jesus. If you wait until midnight, you may have waited too long.

What about you? Is your lamp getting dimmer? Is your light beginning to flicker? Is your walk with Jesus lacking or even non-existent? Are you spiritually asleep? Don’t wait too long.

In verse 13 Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” I want to be there and ready. And I want you to be there and ready too. I want all of us to be seated at that table that will spread for miles in God’s great heavenly banquet room. Jesus, our Bridegroom and Host, will be there to welcome us. So what should we do? Before your lamp begins to go out – on a regular basis – stop and get a fresh supply. Daily repent of your sins and receive God’s grace. Daily renew your relationship with Jesus. And always remember – we all have to get our own oil.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE