West Texas Mission

New Resolve?

2011-01-04T08:28:00.002-06:00

How would you fill in the blank?

This year, if only ____________________ would happen/change/move I would be able to __________________.

Whatever you said in the first blank, it is probable that if you wait for that to happen, the second will never happen.

In other words, perfection isn't the basis from which we lead. Press on and watch events unfold.

Prayer Support for the Mission

2010-12-30T09:48:00.005-06:00

The first and most critical component to kingdom building in the church militant is prayer. The disciples looked as Jesus after years of talking, after years of Jesus' modeling, after years of His miraculous events ad requested, "Lord, teach us to pray." They didn't say, "Lord, teach us to heal." They didn't say, "Lord, teach us to walk on water." They said, "Teach us to pray." They came to recognize that the role of prayer in mission and in this life of faith is critical.

Before every significant event in Jesus' life, He was first in prayer. (In fact His life was and is a life of prayer beforethe Father even though He is 100% God.) He went off on His own topray before He called the Disciples. He lifted His voice in prayer beforefeeding the thousands who came to listen to His teaching. Jesus was inexcruciating prayer before He was betrayed and led to the cross. I know you canidentify other prayer/event connections.

Such is the case today. As a District we are looking for a miracle. We arelooking for the miracle of changed hearts that would trust Christ with theirsoul. We are asking the Lord of Life to bring life to the thousands uponthousands who are moving next door to us in Texas, and we are asking that Heuse us to do this. Indeed, we would be honored if He would use us to add to Hiskingdom.

We are organized for this; we have check lists, priorities, coaches, and enthusiasm.We are eager and burdened for this to occur as a District. But the questionstands: are we convicted to pray concerning this Divine mission?

To be sure, we recognize that the growth of the church is a supernaturalevent calling for a supernatural turn of heart toward Jesus. After years ofministry, the disciples recognized this reality and finally suggested to Jesusor pleaded (I can not tell which from the text), "Lord, teach us topray." Is that our request? Or are we still hoping, "Lord, teach usstructure" or "Lord, teach us to better schedule"?

The challenge before us in Texas is so profound that a significant call toprayer is called for. It is myprayer and our goal to realize 10% of the Baptized membership of the TexasDistrict LCMS congregations to be in prayer for the mission in Texas.

As the Lord leads you to pray for the mission of the church in this districtand beyond, I encourage you to subscribe to the Texas District PrayerInitiative. When you do, you will receive a weekly prayer page throughyour preferred email account. The content of this page for 2011 includesscripture readings, reflections by missionaries and leaders in the TexasDistrict, and items for you to include in your personal prayer time.

To see prayer pages or to sign up to be a prayer supporter click here.

God Bless!

Biblical Creation and Faith

2010-12-29T10:28:00.003-06:00

The following is an email response to an inquiry about Biblical Creation and the role of Faith. As you read you will notice that there has been previous communication. It is the second exchange.

Thank you for your kind words. My questionwas an honest one to be sure. Email tends to convert some statements ininappropriate ways. I would ask for your patience in applying the bestconstruction on what I write. Thank you. I am glad to learn thatyou have degrees in Geology and Math. I appreciate your passion for thissubject.

In addition, I am glad to learn that your daughterhas survived a struggle with cancer. Such events are life focusing andpriority challenging to be sure.

I am not surprised to learn that you know Biblepassages. While I do not know your faith I do know that there are many inthe church who embrace the proposition of macro-evolution as the explanation ofall things rather than the Biblical proposition. That broader reality saddensme because there is a larger question in play at this point concerning theveracity of Scripture. The bottom line question is: "To whatauthority does one submit?"

I do agree with you, a deep understanding ofScience does not preclude belief in a Creator. In fact I would go so faras to say that a deep, full, and complete understanding of Science requiressuch a belief. The question is then, "What kind of Creator isHe?" Is He the one characterized by the phrase, "Survival ofthe fittest?" or is it the one who looked at His Creation and said,"It is very good!" (Genesis 1:31)

I can tell you that I would hate to know of theCreator without also knowing of the Redeemer. Knowing the first alonewould terrify me to the point where I would intentionally become anatheist. However, because of the promise of the Word (Gen 3:15 and amultitude of other passages) the Holy Spirit, in His mercy, has called me tofaith in Christ, addressed the fall of mankind in Genesis chapter three (beforewhich there was no death) and provides for me hope in this life and thenext. And since the vicarious atonement calls for God incarnate to beborn of a virgin, to live without sin, to be punished for my sin and the sin ofthe world (John 3:16), to die on a cross and rise from the grave three dayslater, to ascend into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father,(all miracles greater than speaking the Universe into existence 6,000 or soyears ago simply by His word) I have to ask, which is lest tenable? Is itCreation or Salvation? I would suggest the answer is Salvation is themore difficult proposition to accept. How could Jesus be fully God andMan? How could he raise the dead, heal the sick, give sight to the blind,calm the wind, and control nature in such ways? And then I read John1:1ff and learn that Jesus was before everything. At this point, if I amprepared to accept such Christology and Soteriology by faith, Creation is apiece of cake. And so I ascribe to both by faith alone. Then I gofrom there looking at everything through the trustworthy eyes of Scripture.

Just a thought: The Lutheran Reformation of 1517returned the church to the truth of the Gospel, and provided the theologicaland philosophical foundation for science to thrive and move forward. Theworld-view that sees God's word as non-negotiable and removes fear provides thecontext for greater advancement in history more than any otherworld-view. (I have found no exceptions.) In other words, the reasonmankind ended up on the moon has nothing to do with evolution. Rather itis the freedom of the Gospel provided by Jesus' death and resurrection thatremoved fear, superstition, and the obligation to please God with our actions(Matthew 11:28).

I would like to suggest a few reading resources and acouple of websites for you to consider:

The Ultimate Proof of Creation: resolving the origins debate, by Dr. JasonLisle

Refuting Compromise, by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati

Thousands Not Billions, Dr. Don DeYoung

The Greatest Hoax on Earth?, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati

Team Mission

2010-07-05T11:30:00.004-05:00

I had decided to quit golfing. That was it. I do enough stupid things that I don't need others to know about without actually going out with three other people to demonstrate yet another area of inadequacy. "It's about the fellowship," say some. I say no. It's about competing and winning. The last time I won at golf, well I haven't.

So one day, as I was driving home, I decided to quit golfing. I called my wife to give her the news, but before I could say anything she said, "Steve, we need to buy the boys golf clubs." I almost said, "Well, they can have mine now, before I die" but I didn't. I said, "Well, okay." Maybe I shouldn't give up yet.

The boys can hit the ball about like I hit the ball. If I were a baseball player I would be hitting about .300. That would put me in All-Star territory. We all would be in All-Star territory. But in golf hitting .300 is a bad day. Some days better. Most days worse. In a rare moment, the last for many years I'm sure, my two sons and I were together in Borger. So we went golfing. (Go figure.)

I suggested that instead of playing against each other, we play against the course. We played best ball. So here you have three players, all able to hit about .300 (.300 translates into a score of 110 or so) competing not against each other but against that nasty golf course. Game on. At the end of it our score was 78! I couldn't believe it. And everyone contributed.

To start out there was some competition within the team with everyone trying to keep track of whose ball was "best" most of the time. That element of competition evaporated completely within about six holes. We can all mess up pretty well on our own. As a team we could do great things that as individuals would be impossible.

Translating this into other areas of life is not difficult. Where we try to go through difficulties alone, we find ourselves inadequate and unfulfilled. But linking to a team and relying on the gifts and abilities of others actually develops three critical areas:

1) humble fellowship;
2) recognition of others;
3) fulfillment of mission.

Humble Fellowship is something you learn when a team is working well together. Arrogance does not advance the mission. Paul says this in Philippians 2 when he exhorts the congregation not to consider themselves better than the other person. Instead, humble yourself as Christ humbled Himself.

There is also a necessary Recognition of Others on the team. One of the lessons that I have learned as a leader is to make room for personalities that I don't prefer. My role is not one of exclusion but rather of discovery and facilitation for contribution. A person may not think the way that I do, but that does not allow me to preclude their contribution in the pursuit of the mission. God has gifted them as He has gifted you.

Fulfillment of the Mission is the goal, but such is not done in isolation. Even Paul, who seemed to be the individual who just moved ahead, needed support and companionship to the end of his involvement in the Great Commission. I would remind you also that Great Golfers, even though they golf alone, have great caddies who encourage, coach, and rejoice with the one they serve.

I enjoyed golfing with my boys that day. Truth be known, we were disappointed that we shot a 78. We wanted it to be lower, but that is a man thing. Still, given there are not many super-heros in the church, it was a great lesson to learn again; we need each other as we move out with the Gospel to a world that is lost. And as we move together, the task is not as much labor as it is delight.

Maybe I'll continue golfing. Only God knows what else I can learn.

Being the Church in a Recession

2010-03-10T12:47:00.010-06:00

We have been blessed in Texas with a robust economy in good times and a resilient economy in times when the rest of country is struggling economically. Still, people are moving into the state at high levels and businesses are struggling. There are communities dependent upon government contracts when the Federal budget is being redistributed. The result of this is employment numbers are declining. People are looking for jobs. The challenge for the unemployed to find employment is growing, and some economists say economic struggle will continue for years to come.

So what can the church do? An even better question is, what can the church be to their communities in a time when circumstances threaten to turn lives upside down? In one of the ubiquitous blue boxes in the Economist (Feb 20-26, 2010), a short two column piece appeared, addressing this very issue. Here is some of what this secular publication observed.

The church can be a gathering place. Many congregations across the country are providing both spiritual and professional counseling for people who have lost their jobs. They come together in prayer and praise, they network or fellowship, they highlight people who have recently become employed. For those who have been unemployed for the longest period of time, congregations hand out gas cards and gift cards to help them travel to where they need to go and to prepare for an interview. One lay leader said, "We believe that God should be a part of the job search." Then they break out into workshop sessions.

In these workshops they review their resume` writing and learn how to construct an “elevator pitch” for why an employer should hire them. (An elevator pitch is a statement the length of the time it takes for an elevator to reach the selected floor. Not a bad idea to develop for a witness statement as well.)

An interesting component to this growing activity across the country is that the goal is not to add members to the congregation. Indeed, there is a great deal of anxiety and even hopelessness in the ranks of the unemployed. The church can certainly address fear, but opening the doors of a congregation for job searchers unconditionally (without the call to join the congregation) reduces anxiety for those unfamiliar with the church culture and encourages people to become acquainted with principled, hard-working members of the body of Christ.

Such attention to the community may not be forgotten when a job is secured. Still, a cup of cold water given without qualification serves the kingdom of Christ very well.

Stewardship: There is Still Time

2010-03-08T10:32:00.008-06:00

The word "stewardship" has always had an effect on people. In fact, my guess is that as you read the title, this eleven lettered word, you were either saying, "go get 'em" or you were saying, "I'll go to the next blog and skip this." Not unlike the word evangelism, at the mention of the word "stewardship," people either become impassioned or their eyes glaze over. "All they want is money."

Here's the thing. And there is no way around this. Discipleship is stewardship and stewardship is your job. While this is not what you put on your tax forms indicating occupation, it is easily arguable that this is why you are here; to be a steward. If you think about it, you were a steward very early in your life. When you were instructed to make your bed and pick up your toys, you were being trained in stewardship. As I reflect on my reluctance to follow instruction at that age, I realize how resistant I was and how much I needed to learn about being a good steward.

To be sure, stewardship is more than straightening up the garage, washing the car and taking out the garbage. It includes family, being a good husband or wife or child. It includes being a good neighbor. It includes the use of your time. How do distribute your time? Do you set time aside to read the Word of God, to prayer, and to worship the Lord? Stewardship includes the call to mission.

Do you use your gifts and personality for the kingdom of God as well as your vocation? I once had a visit from a man who was a great salesman. He was selling me on becoming involved in his business. Ok, I turned him down. I am not in the business of getting into business. When my visitor was done with his presentation, I asked him if he was involved in evangelism in his congregation. He said no. I told him that he may be gifted in evangelism and should not miss the opportunity of being a good steward in this. I said, "Speak of Christ with the same passion and you will be a blessing for the kingdom of God." I don't know what happened after that, but I am certain he never had a "sales visit" like that before or after. The point is, use what God has given to you for the good of your neighbor and it will also reflect God's kingdom to the world. In so doing, recognizing that God is the owner of all things, you joyfully praise God in all that you do by taking care of and managing that which God has given to you.

Money is included. The Scriptures do not tip-toe into this issue. In fact, statistically, twenty percent of the New Testament deals with financial concerns. It talks about management of money, misuse of money, the consequence of loving money, and the proper place of money in our lives. When Jesus speaks in the parables about the kingdom of God, He is discussing stewardship and many times illustrates His point using money. The Pharisees tried to trip Jesus up over financial issues. He would not be distracted. In fact, Jesus used money to illustrate reconciliation, servant leadership and love. Money is used to demonstrate your love for God and all that He has done for you. It is used to demonstrate your love and responsibility also to your neighbor. First-fruit giving is a major component in praising God with all that you have. Stewardship, in this regard means learning to budget and learning to prioritize the budget to reflect your faith. (My family, at a minimum, has tithed all income for my entire ministry. Praise God, we have never gone without. My children have learned to tithe. I don't say this other than to encourage and perhaps challenge you.)

There is another word that has great effect on people. It is a word that softens hard hearts and minds. It is a word that causes congregations to pause when they are out of sorts with each other. It is a word that reunites families and neighbors. It a word that leads people to an even higher level of stewardship. The word is "forgiveness." In Jesus' death and resurrection, you are offered forgiveness. Adam was given the responsibility of stewardship of creation before the fall. Adam needed to hear that eleven-lettered word when he "dropped the ball" in his own stewardship and caused the human race to fall. You need to hear that word when you fail to manage the things you have and the gifts you are to use. Read Luke 19:11-27 and you will learn that our Lord has exacting expectations. The great thing about forgiveness in Christ is you can start again. There is still time to start again.

Just Stop to Thank for a Moment

2009-11-21T08:28:00.034-06:00

Did you ever develop a list of things for which to be thankful? I'm not much on lists but I like this one. This is a list that will take you past Thanksgiving, the holiday. Against this list, a closet filled with clothes, an end of year bonus, or even good health, even though we appropriately give thanks to God for His provision (!) , simply fades into a secondary level altogether.

We learn in the Bible that thankfulness and joy is not simply something we do but it is who we are as a believer. Scripture keeps reminding me of this. Read Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Paul will point out in Romans that in this world of sin and decay, one can rejoice and be in sorrow at the same time. Lutherans understand this in the "sin/sinner" typology. Paul and Silas were in a jail, bound and shackled in the most desperate of ways and yet they were not desperate. In their physical constraints they were unconstrained spiritually, singing praises to the Living God. Peter will also say the same thing. This kind of giving of thanks and rejoicing is counter-intuitive to the natural man. It is not natural. But there it is. Rejoice always, and again, just because you need to know this, I say, rejoice.

If at this point you should be saying, "That's impossible, what he's saying is impossible, it can't be done," I agree. Giving thanks and rejoicing in a manner recorded in both the Old and New Testament is impossible, except that it is supernatural. We're not talking about giving thanks simply because something happens to be good. We are talking about a thankfulness that can only be understood by the movement of the Holy Spirit. Now, rejoicing and giving thanks is an emotional response to what I know to be true about God, His grace and His mercy. This kind of thankfulness can only be expressed by faith. That is the substance of such thanksgiving. It is the wonder of contemplating the unconditional, eternal relationship we have with God the Father through the shed blood of our Lord, Jesus the Christ.

So giving thanks is a matter of faith. Perhaps you say, as do I, "I mess up on this. I'm not thankful nor do I rejoice all that much." At such a spiritual junction, we are back to the cross, to forgiveness, to God's grace and mercy, and then, as Luther says, "All for which it is my duty, to thank, praise, serve and obey. This is most certainly true."

With that, let me suggest one list for your consideration.

One: The work of Christ.

I love the response of one man to the question, "How you doin?" He says, "Better than I deserve." As one Lutheran I know the two extremes. I recognize the depravity of sin and the work of Christ to satisfy God' wrath upon that sin. Take time to stop to realize what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you, though you be utterly and completely unworthy, undeserving. That is why the angel said in Luke 2:10, "Do not be afraid, behold I bring you good news of a great joy." Then the angel says, "Today is born for you a savior."

John 15:11, records Jesus saying, "These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full." Everything Christ did is for the fullness of your joy.

Speaking of the redemptive work of Christ and His atonement on the cross, Paul tells the Christians in Rome, in the fifth chapter that "It is in this great work of Christ that we exalt, that we rejoice."

Two: The work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul writes to the Romans and says in 14:17, "You have joy in the Holy Spirit." It is the Spirit of God who is producing joy. He is interceding for you constantly according to the will of God. So says Romans 8. It is the Spirit is the one who points you to Christ. He fills you for service and strength. He enables you, He gifts you. Out of thankfulness to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we rejoice always. Nothing can touch the work of Christ and diminish it. Nothing can harm the work of the Spirit of God. The Living, Triune God is at work, drawing you to the cross and into His glory and that is plenty of reason for unceasing joy.

Three: The spiritual blessings that God has given to us.

This is big and worthy of a series of blogs in and of itself. But consider this. Ephesians tells us that We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. Stop to think that you have been given all things pertaining to life. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are declared complete in Him by Him. Because of that you have become partakers of the divine nature. On top of that, God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. This goes on and on. These are things for which the world longs. And yet for you there is no end to the continual flow of gracious blessing in your life and that is reason enough for unceasing joy.

Four: God knows . . . (rejoice and be thankful for that)

Paul would say it this way in Romans 8:28. "All things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose," Romans 8:28. No matter what's going on in your life, unceasing thanks and joy over the divine providence is more than appropriate. God is able to keep you from falling away from faith, and holds you fast.

Five: The certain promise of Heaven.

There is no other system of salvation (religion) that can present this with certainty, other than the Christian in Christ. Still, I have talked with so many Christians who are ambivalent on this point. They need not be. Every other form of religion says, "Maybe, if you've done enough and if God is benevolent at that moment, maybe you will be saved." Such lies! (Again, this blog is too short for me to include my conversations with non-Christians concerning the after-life but they are all over the map and their hope is always on them, not God.) We can be certain. Look at the hope of Paul. Speaking of his own dying Paul says, "I rejoice, I will rejoice." Why, Paul? "Simply for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain."

Listen to the Psalmist once again. "I have set the Lord continually before me. Therefore my heart is glad, my glory rejoices." Why? "He will never abandon my soul in the grave, He will never allow me to undergo decay. He will show me the path of life." I know that is a Messianic Psalm but it is also the resurrection. "I will be in His presence at His right hand to find the pleasures forever." The psalmist had the hope of future life.

Read the 15th chapter of first Corinthians and see what the resurrection of Christ brings.

Six: God answers prayer.

Are you thankful for answered prayer? When you cry out to God in Christ He hears and answers your prayer and shows you great and mighty things which you may not know. No matter what's going on in your life, unceasing joy is possible because in Christ your prayers are answered. God doesn't have to do that but He does it. He answers your every prayer according to His perfect will for your ultimate good in time and in eternity.

Seven: The Word of God.

The Scripture is a most incredible gift. In fact, it is more precious than gold. It is sweeter than honey in a honeycomb. (Psalm 19) And in Psalm 119:111, "I have inherited Thy testimonies forever, they are the joy of my heart." Verse 162, "I rejoice at Thy Word as one who finds great spoil." In Jeremiah 15:16, Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, I did eat them, Thy word was in me, the joy and rejoicing of my heart." Paul says, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly," in Colossians 3:16 he says, "As the Word is richly in you, you will speak to yourselves in psalms and hymns, you'll sing, you'll make melody." We can find joy simply in thanksgiving for the food and the nourishment of the Word of God that feeds your soul, reveals God’s grace in Christ and then is a compass and a guide to your life.

Eight: Christian fellowship (the Body of Christ)

I am so grateful for my family, past and present (and the family to come?). I hope that you are grateful for your family as well. How about the family that God has given to you? Do you give thanks for your church membership? I understand that there are times when those groups can be difficult. But in 1 Thessalonians 3:9, look at what Paul says, "What thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account?" In other words Paul says, "I don't even know words to say about how much joy there is in just knowing you...just sharing with you...just fellowshipping with you. I wish I could communicate that with you." Do you go to church with that thought? Do you establish and sustain that kind of church environment where you are? In 2 Timothy 1:4 Paul says to Timothy, "I long to see you even as I recall your tears so that I may be filled with joy." Just being with you is joy, source of joy. Or have we gotten to simply tolerate the relationships in our congregation? The love of the saints (of each other) is a source of joy. There can be joy in Christian fellowship; unceasing, unending joy. Do you thank God for your Christian fellowship? Here's the thing: the fellowship we have with one another in Christ will never be broken.

Nine: Gospel preaching.

I love to hear the clear Gospel proclaimed. Paul in Philippians 1 says, "Christ is preached and I rejoice." In Acts 15 perhaps even more focused on the point we're making, verse 3, "Therefore being sent on their way by the church Paul and Barnabas were passing through Phoenicia and Samaria describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and were bringing great joy to the all the brethren." Do you receive joy out of the fact that the Gospel is proclaimed and people come to faith and are strengthened in their faith, reminded of their baptism, called to the Lord's Supper?

I thank God for the Pastor's and teachers, for members, for family, for fathers, mothers, children, and all who honor Christ by their words and actions and thereby communicate the Gospel to people who do not yet know the things for which we are thankful, supernaturally.

Ten: God is good.

In Mark 10:18 it says, "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." God is good. I am thankful for that and I am not alone.

2 Chronicles 7:10, "On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents rejoicing and happy of heart because of the goodness that the Lord had shown." As God's people, our delight and joy reflects God's goodness. Indeed, your list will reflect the goodness of God.

Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in Him and I am helped, therefore my heart rejoices and with my song I shall thank Him." It isn't your context for living but rather the strength of the Lord that is cause for giving thanks.

Psalm 71:23, "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to Thee and my soul which Thou hast redeemed."

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." There is strength in the Lord's joy.

I know that this list can continue and it should, but what a great God we have who as been shown to us in the Word. No matter the circumstance I say to you, Happy Thanksgiving in Christ.

The Call to Pray for Missions

2009-10-08T09:10:00.004-05:00

Resource available January 3, 2010

It is no small thing, the call to prayer. In the movement of God's Spirit through God's Word which brings the Gospel to the nations, prayer has not only had a role, it has had the lead role. In a reading of the book of Acts, not only did prayer have a lead role but prayer also had a fundamental role in the Spirit's preparation of the faithful for the hard work ahead. Acts 1:14 reveals that the members of the church understood the on-going call to prayer. The believers in Jerusalem did not know what the future was for them nor did they know how God would use them. What they did know was the simple call to prayer. This they did. Peter, in Acts 6, also understood that as the cry for ministry increased, the Word and Prayer could not be compromised, but rather, the Word and Prayer was to be pursued even more tenaciously!

The drive of the Texas District is the mission which God has given to His church. This mission calls for many things. It calls for understanding our communities and the demographic dynamics of our state. The mission calls for personal clarity of the Biblical message of the Gospel and corporate creativity in the expression of God's love in Jesus for all people. The mission calls for a lot of hard work in the pursuit of the right person, place and plan. But none of these will have any lasting fruit apart from the movement of God's Spirit.

And so we pray. We pray, giving thanks for the call to faith in our own lives. We pray, thanking God for His mercy toward us. We pray, asking God to work through a humble response to the love of God in Christ. As good stewards of our time, we take time to pray, pleading for wisdom and courage to bring the Gospel message to people who do not know or trust Jesus, knowing that apart from Him there is Hell to pay. We pray, holding up those who are on the "front lines" of mission. We pray, knowing that He is the One who calls, gathers, and enlightens the hearts and minds of people for His sake.

If you would like to join our one-hundred and twenty prayer partners who are praying for the mission, you are welcome to do so. Your contribution to the mission of God in this way is a serious matter. But as you enter this ministry, you will be tempted to equivocate your time in prayer. You will find reasons not to pray today. Resist that. In an effort to help you, a prayer resource is being developed and will be available in January of 2010. This is offered to assist you in keeping your focus on the mission, beginning with your prayer time.

Resource for 2010

A series of fifty-two worship/devotion guides are being designed to encourage your prayer time. There will be a Scripture reading and a Psalm for each week of the year. I have included only one per week for your meditation. I have discovered that the more time you spend with a passage, the more the Spirit reveals in that passage. In addition there will be an Invocation (to begin your time), a Devotion (short and authored by leaders in the Texas District) and a Benediction (to send you on your way). This resource will be made available by email to those who sign up. (Click here to sign up.)

It is our prayer that your joyful response to the Gospel will find fruit as you serve the people around you.

The Universe: Old or Young?

2009-09-12T14:04:00.005-05:00

It would be much more convenient for me were I be able to say that the issue of Creation is immaterial and that time does not matter. I grew up trying to resolve this issue in favor of the popular stance. I have found, however, that Creation is not immaterial and that time does matter. The popular, and some say scientific, approach is in direct conflict with Lutheran Theological presuppositions. For a Lutheran to embrace millions of years it is necessary to suspend hermeneutical fundamentals that sustain theological continuity. I realize that many have done this.

It has been pointed out to me that God, being God, could have used evolution and billions of years to create the universe and all that is in it. That is true; and with what God could have done, I have no argument. The problem with this logic is that we a priori conclude that God did indeed use billions of years to create the universe and all that is in it. That conclusion is reached because we look at the world and the sky assuming that the secular presuppositions are correct. Or we throw up our hands and say, "It really doesn't matter." The question of what God could have done is the wrong question. The good question here is, "What does God tells us He did concerning creation in His Word?"

Let me put that thought on hold for just a moment. Words are important in Scripture. So much so that there are divisions between people on the basis of what a word means or does not mean. One example is in the area of eschatology where a contextual understanding of the phrase "little season" makes a big difference in our approach to end times theology. Here we apply the rules of context. Is this section apocryphal or poetic or historic narrative? The answer makes all the difference in our understanding.

An even bigger issue for LCMS Lutherans concerning words and context is the defense of the doctrine of the Real Presence.

On the basis of the understanding of one word, people are included and excluded from our fellowship. And this word is the word "is." "This is My body." Even though it makes sense, humanly speaking, that bread is not Jesus' body, we confess that this isn't symbolic and it doesn't simply represent Jesus' body. We teach that it is His body. And yet, in my ministry I am surrounded by people who mock me, make fun of me, and call me a heretic (indeed they have), because I believe that Jesus is "in, with, and under the bread and the wine." And that on the basis of the meaning of a word; "is." In fact, let me paraphrase Martin Chemnitz. He says that if the meaning of a word is in doubt, it is appropriate to apply the simplest meaning of the word. In that case, "is" is "is."

Over the past 150 years or more, theologians have worked hard at suggesting that a day in Genesis one is not really a day. Every possible Hebraic qualifier (there are four) tells us that "day" in Genesis means 24 hours in clear language. When this same grammar is used in the remainder of the Old Testament the meaning of "day" is not questioned. It is only questioned in Genesis one. Grammatically, there is more reason to embrace a six 24 hour solar day creation week than to subscribe to the doctrine of the real presence. I will not budge on the doctrine of the Real Presence. That I accept by faith. So I ask, (and this is the apologetic that I used many years ago to finally set millions of years aside and trust the Word presuppositionally), "Why would one who confesses that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but that Jesus, being fully God and fully man, paid the price for my sin and the sin of the whole world in a supernatural act on a cross, have any problem with six day creation?"

Notwithstanding profound evidentiary material that contradicts evolutionary models, and there is much to consider, I am saying, with this point, let's be consistent in our hermeneutical practice. Either a day is a day or it is not. Either the bread is the body in the Eucharist or it is not.

It is interesting to me that the choice before us is not unlike that which has faced the church throughout history, indeed our own Synod. Does Scripture interpret Scripture or does Man interpret Scripture? There is a world of difference.

One Christian who believes in millions of years finally said that we cannot deny what Moses meant in Genesis but it cannot be true because of the overwhelming evidence for long ages. Here is what Pattle Pun said. “It is apparent that the most straightforward understanding of the Genesis record, without regard to all of the hermeneutical considerations suggested by science, is that God created heaven and earth in six solar days, . . .” There is no question that Pattle Pun has embraced man interpreting the Word. Parenthetically, scientific hermeneutical considerations are less than overwhelming.

Concerning Genesis 1-11. This section of the Word is without question, historic narrative. It is not poetic. It is not apocryphal. As I pointed out in "Out of Nothing," Dr. Boyd makes this conclusion following a statistical analysis of chapters one and two of Genesis. The study showed that there is a better than 99% chance that this is historic narrative. In other words, the Scripture says what it means and means what it says notwithstanding the hypothesis and conjecture suggested by men.

Jesus points out that this struggle will occur in many areas of faith when He says, "Greeks look for wisdom and Jews look for signs but you have Moses and the prophets."

Having begun developing a presuppositional position, the door is still open for a discussion of evidence.

Take your pick: Carbon dating, magnetic field of the earth, lunar recession, spiral galaxies, comets, tectonics, Big Bang issues, ocean salinity, poly strata fossils, loss of information on a microbiological level, Helium Ions, radio halos, fission tracks, the speed of light, anti-matter, bio-genesis, mathematical possibilities, irreducible complexity of organic matter, the development of language and laughter, one race-not many (human beings are all related to each other). . . Each of these areas and many more can all be researched and have been addressed by men and women who are far more qualified than me to address particulars.

I certainly do understand the struggle. I have friends and family who have had to wrestle with these things. My own wife once believed in millions of years. But coming to the conclusion that the Word is the Word, and that we can trust Scripture, resulted in a peace and confidence in the promises of Christ in every area of the Gospel. It also strengthened our relationship. It strengthened our witness. It also created an urgency to communicate the matter of the reliability of God's Word. The Gospel itself is counterintuitive to man's reason. Anything less than that which the Word tells us is counterfeit.

In ministry it is true that doctrinal conviction, passion, and intensity does not translate well in our missionality. People are easily offended by style. My approach to individuals who are "broken reeds and smoldering wicks" must be gentle, patient, and respectful, yet it must be certain. Content is finally the issue. Making room for false premises in matters pertaining to Truth only leads to the tearing down of faith and not the building up of such. If I am a fool in this, then so be it.

With humility, I offer this for your prayerful consideration.

Restoration

2009-08-25T11:08:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while I will walk around my house with tools from my tool box. I will grab a screw driver, a "finishing hammer," and an oil can just to tighten up loose screws, reseat unhinging hinges, and quiet extraneous noises. Occasionally the task is more than a simple adjustment. Sometimes there is a replacement or reconstruction needed. Once in a while the task exceeds my ability. I have to learn what I can and cannot fix. Still, the house won't do the repair itself. That's when I check the budget and then call a professional. This is part of being a good steward of the things that God has given to me.

I would watch my Grandfather do the same kind of thing when he visited our house. It was what he did. We did not take offense. It was his gift to us. In fact, I would follow him around and watch him fix items around his house and our house. He would show me how to restore things.

In all of this the word restore is operative.

I love the word restore. It is a gospel word. It is a mission word. The dictionary connects the first meaning as brining something back into existence. The next two are intriguing. 2. To bring back to an original condition: restore a building. See Synonyms at revive. 3. To put back in a former position.

Spiritually and, in glory, physically, that is exactly what God offers to us. Sin has made us something God never intended for his creation to be. In the garden of Eden, after the fall, God asks the question, "Adam, where art thou?" Adam realized that he had fallen. He needed restoration. We have fallen apart. Our Lord has put us back together by taking the fall for us. We do need rebuilding. We have been rebuilt in Christ. Sin has unhinged us. He has reseated us. Sin has killed us. He has revived us. We have been restored. He offers exactly that to all of His creation.

Acts 15:13-18 . . . James answered saying, "Brethren, listen to me. 14 "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. 15 "With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, 17 SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' 18 SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.

This restoration, first promised to Adam, is for all people. It is our joy and delight to bring the restoration of Christ to the world. The memories of my Grandfather's restoration fix-it tours are for life. Those memories shape what I do. He and I and other such stewards have to make that tour around the house again and again. It is never a one time solution. But in Christ, the restoration is for eternity.

While we cannot fix the world with a flathead screw driver and oil can, we certainly have been called to bring a word of restoration to the world, to communities, to neighbors. That restoration is shaped in words of encouragement and hope, not judgment and condemnation. The restoration that Jesus offers is not a temporary solution. Instead, His restoration from cross is eternal, never needing to be addressed again.

In the meantime, I will get up and look for that which needs restoration.

The Need for Transmission Lines

2009-05-09T10:50:00.015-05:00

John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

The conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus in John chapter three is intriguing from so many points of view. Jesus looks at Nicodemus and says, "Do you understand the way wind works? All you know about it is that it is there and that is about it." Well I have to say, we know a little more about the wind, methodologically, than Nicodemus did. We know that wind is the result of pressure gradients in the atmosphere (to be simple about it) and such movement and development is the result of temperature variations. The product is wind. And does it blow in West Texas.

The wind in West Texas is strong and consistent. It is the second windiest place in the country according to story. (The first is in South Dakota somewhere. Same source.) This consistency has changed the landscape of West Texas. As I drive there are fewer and fewer miles where one cannot see the virtually ubiquitous wind turbine.

The wind turbine, that generates electricity, is an engineering marvel, an aesthetic curiosity and a landscape frustration all at the same time. Driving through a wind turbine field makes one profoundly aware of the wind. Blades facing into the wind, adjusted for maximum efficiency create power and give life to people and communities up to hundreds and thousands of miles away.

These turbines are designed to reach maximum output at only 13 meters per second. If the wind is stronger, the unit is designed to turn at such a rate so as not to put the turbine at risk. On the other end of the scale, these turbines can produce electricity with winds at only 6 meters per second. That's not much wind in order to supply energy.

There are two problems with this system for creating energy, notwithstanding aesthetic and land usage considerations. The first of these two problem occurs when there is no wind at all. The blades stop turning. This did happen last year. While there is a provision in design for this, there was a real concern about the length of inactivity. Fortunately, the wind kicked up again and the turbines came to life.

The second problem, which is being resolved by the wind energy industry, is the number of transmission lines. In other words, there aren't enough connections with the outside world relative to the amount of energy being generated. While there is life in those turbines, the energy is not getting out the way it could in the amount that it could.

That got me to be thinking about John 3:8 when Jesus speaks of the Spirit being as the wind, and then John 3:16 where we are assured of God's love for us. In addition to that, we are reminded in John 10:10 the Jesus came "that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

What wonderful insights and promises we have here. The breakdown begins when the Word is ignored and equivocated. God's Word is that through which the Spirit moves in our lives and in our churches. Not hearing the Word or reading the Word is like a day without the wind in West Texas. The blades won't turn and life begins to drain away. The Spirit is not a capricious thing that comes and goes on a whim. God's Spirit moves powerfully through the church by the promises of the Gospel given in God's Word. He is there as our ears are turned to hear.

But a second problem is also apparent. Many congregations lack the transmission lines to communities both near and far. We have been given the task to approach our world with the Gospel. We have been commanded to build ways by which the promise of life is communicated to those who do not know or trust in Jesus. To follow the metaphor of the wind turbines in West Texas, the church has more strength, more giftedness, more power, more life than it has the ability or willingness to communicate to those who need and want it desperately.

It is time for the church to build numerous transmission lines into our communities. It is time for congregations to look for new ways to deliver the message of the Gospel to those who do not know or trust in Christ. The Spirit of God is there, ready to move into the community through the connections you make as you are in the Word.

Respect for Life, Coping with Death

2009-04-27T10:08:00.007-05:00

I don’t listen often to “A Prairie Home Companion,” with Garrison Keillor on NPR. But whenever I do, he really holds my attention. He is a great story teller. He told the story of the slaughtering of one family’s hog. He placed himself in the story as one of the young children watching this process. It was a family event. The hog was going to provide food and sustenance for a significant period of time for them. It was also a hog they had raised and taken care of on the farm. The father and oldest brother did the deed. The hog died and then they processed the animal. The younger boys watched this and then began to imitate, in a playful way, leaning toward being disrespectful, that which had just happened. When the older family members saw this growing mockery of the hog’s death the boys were stopped and told this is not something of which to make fun. The parents said, “This hog gave its life so that we could eat.” The message was clear. Instead of making fun, this hog’s life and death was something to respect. That story impressed me. It was just a pig that died after all. Yet God had created this animal as well. But that family had taught their children to respect life at every level. They used this vivid illustration to teach the honoring of life created by God.

Living in awe of God’s creation and knowing that it is He that provides for us at every level and that His provision includes community and relationships, we find the respect for the life that God has given to man and to all of creation is more likely to be established.

And with this respect, children are a blessing to the family and not a burden. Yet the urban life style parent can hardly wait to get their children off to school, so I have had said to me many times. In effect children are not typically embraced as the blessing they are but are seen as a burden that imposes on a lifestyle.

The Elderly, as well, are often seen as burdens to have to look in on, more than as one who contributes wisdom and stability to the family community. One of the tasks that I had in the parish ministry was to visit shut-in members. These are people who want connection and who indeed have helpful and wise things to say were one to listen. I received such encouragement in ministry from these visits. They want to be embraced with a dignity and a respect called for in the life that God has created.

In those same homes where two or three generations lived, people also died. The family gathered around the one dying and made sure they knew they were loved by the family and by Jesus. The children watched. When my ministry was in the urban setting and when my children were young, I often brought them with me to many of the functions of ministry. This included the funerals of members. The thinking behind this was that my boys would not be afraid of the issue of death in the context of life in Christ.

The story is told of the Pastor who was called to the home of a member who was near death. The family was gathered around and the pastor wasn’t sure what to do or what to say. He read a Psalm or two and had a prayer but beyond that he was silent. He sat and watched. The member finally did die. The Pastor was wondering to himself if he had done the right things and could he have said more and what that would have been. About that point in time, one of the family members sat down next to the pastor and said, “Preacher, you did just fine.”

The presence of Christ through the ministry of the church is the coping mechanism for those in the community of believers. We know that life is precious, so much so that Jesus died and was raised again so that anyone, by faith in Him, need not fear death but have life everlasting.

If there is an advantage to the rural or urban culture in this regard, I am not certain. What I do know is that the issues of life and death are not so far removed in the rural context. A birth and a death, significant as it is, in the city is a statistic to the larger community.

The challenge in ministry is to teach that the life we have has been given to us by our Creator. We have to find ways to communicate that all life is precious and yet it is under the curse of the law. Still, our Creator loves what He made and so provides a solution to the curse that is upon us. Your life and my life is so precious to Him that He gave His own Son to die so that we could life forever. This value must not be lost.

A Week of All Weeks

2009-04-04T09:37:00.003-05:00

In this week of all weeks there are many things upon which to focus. There is an entry triumphant into Jerusalem within which we learn that if we, as God's creatures, cannot behave the way God made us to behave, namely to praise God in our vocations, then step aside, because the rocks themselves will praise the Living God, simply by being what they were made to be; rocks. God will be adored.

Take some time to examine the righteous indignation of Jesus when He storms through the Temple and says, "You have made this place into something of dishonor." We are mindful that God will not be mocked.

On Maundy Thursday Jesus celebrates Passover one last time and then gives the church an unqualified gift, namely His body and His blood in, with, and under bread and wine.

In the garden, a grieving and distressed Jesus asks Peter, James and John to watch and pray not once, not twice, but three times; and they could not.

Then there is Judas and "the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees" coming to arrest Jesus. The one who would write, "be prepared to give a defense . . . for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15) defended Jesus with a sword (the antithesis of his most recent advice to the church concerning defending the faith) and cut off the ear of Malchus.

Then the defender denies Jesus. Jesus would have to deal with that later at a place where Peter could be found; on the shore of the lake.

A mockery of a trial is held. Protocol is shattered. The sentence of death by hanging on a cross is reluctantly agreed to. "There is no cause to punish this man," says Pilate. That is true. Jesus broke no divine law. And He knew the law. He wrote the law. But His creation, specifically human kind, broke His law. There was only one thing to do about this. It was His love for us that drove Him. It was a Godly love, an unconditional love that carried no assurance of return. He alone assumed our sin, the sin of every one born of the seed of Seth. Because He did, there is every reason for Him to suffer hell on the cross. Because He did, there is no way around it.

I need to add that this was not a spur of the moment, spontaneous idea of Jesus. Jesus, being born to die for the sins of all mankind, for your sin and for mine, was first promised in the Garden of Eden when the Universe was fledgling and starlight was fresh. It wasn't so much a promise as it was a statement of fact, addressing Satan and intended for Adam and Eve to hear. Adam and Eve heard the Word of God, and they embraced it by faith. Hope was alive. Hope was alive because of God's love.

So concerning the crucifixion, appropriate is not the word to use. Amazing, remarkable, astonishing, beyond our ability to conceive, these words fall short to describe that which was accomplished by Jesus on the cross for us. But that which was accomplished brings hope, comfort, peace, and a future. These are ours because of the resurrection. With sin there is death. With Christ, there is a resurrection to life.

As you focus on the events of this week of all weeks, I encourage you also to consider the message of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts. Read this post resurrection record and as you do, notice the frequency of teaching and preaching on the resurrection. Having been sent by the risen Christ Himself, every chance they had, they talked about Jesus being raised from the dead. We are a resurrection people. We are a redeemed people who have been sent with the same message that Adam would teach to his children and their children. We have been sent with the same message as Noah, and Jonah, reluctant though he was. We have the same message as the disciples.

Is your neighbor looking for hope or peace? Assure him of this: "He is risen. He is Risen indeed!"

The Advantage of a Shared Vision

2009-02-24T13:07:00.004-06:00

Perhaps the most powerful adhesive in any relationship, whether that relationship involves two, twenty, or two-hundred people, is summed up in what some would say is a cold term used by analytical consultants. The term is Shared Vision.

In Proverbs 29:18, a father explains to his son that, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law." In other words, if there is going to be joy and peace in the living we do, vision has a role to play.

When I was in the position of counseling couples before marriage, one of the exercises that I insisted upon was for the engaged couple to describe their home life in five years. What would it feel like when a guest came to the house? Would that guest be welcomed? Would there be tension in the home? Would it be relaxed? What smells would there be? Answers to these kinds of questions precipitated interesting discussions. How you are going to make your vision happen was a strategic question. But you can't ask "how" until you answer "what." During these conversations, priorities and values were considered, revisited and challenged. The product of these discussions was a developing shared vision for the couple's relationship and for their family.

There is another value to this exercise. As the father of Proverbs indicates, there is a delight in shared vision. My experience tells me that Shared Vision brings purpose in community, peace in relationships, and builds trust as time goes on. A genuinely shared vision insists upon articulating values and priorities and finally calls for action.

While there is much in this to offer married couples this dynamic is no less important for congregations who are pursing the missio dei (mission of God). Vision, in this context, is not some mystical immediate revelation from God. To say it plainly, Shared Vision is simply everyone being on "the same page" when it comes to where the community is headed and agreeing, generally speaking, on what is important.

In fact, here are some bullet points and statements concerning Shared Vision:

Shared vision is not an idea. It is a driving force in people's hearts.
At its most basic, shared vision asks the question "What do we want to create?"
Accompanying Shared Vision is a sense of commonality, purpose, and cohesion to diverse activities that one can find in any congregation.
A Shared Vision realizes a commitment to one another in the congregation.
A Shared Vision is not imposed by an individual or a committee. One does not comply with the vision if it is to be shared. One is committed to the vision.
Commitment implies sacrifice by members in order to realize the Vision.

Extrinsic v. Intrinsic Vision
One last thing to mention at this point is in the question, "What drives the Vision?" There are two options One is extrinsic and the other is intrinsic.

A vision that is extrinsic means that it comes from the outside. In other words, it is most often related to the context, in this case, of the local congregation. An extrinsic vision is competitive by nature. A local congregation wants to be bigger and better than the other congregations in town. Such competition, however, ultimately ends up becoming a defensive position where creativity declines, risk is discouraged, and security is valued. The congregation ends up protecting their "number one" position, if they ever arrived at that position in the first place. A vision predicated upon "defeating the competition" will, in the long run, weaken the congregation or the institution.

There is another kind of vision. It is called intrinsic. This means that the vision reflects the essential nature of the congregation. This kind of vision, issued from a Christ-centered congregation, embraces the call to faith, the giftedness by the Holy Spirit, and the unity of the body of Christ. It also agrees with Paul when he wrote to the Galatians and said, Galatians 2:20 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

"Christ in me" is who we are in our Baptism and in our confession. Who we are now lifts us up to the mission of Christ, namely "to seek and save" those who are lost.

In the context of this truth, there is created a climate, a style, and a spirit that seeks to honor Christ and His call in everything that is done. How can there not be joy when we share together the vision and the mission of God?

Developing a Shared Vision takes time and it is not easy to do. But it is worth the investment of a congregation, no matter how small or large. The result will include clarity of call and resting in purpose.

Witness Opportunities

2009-02-03T07:21:00.011-06:00

In 1987 I was extended a call to another community. I was a pastor in a remote part of Texas at the time. The question I was asked was, "Why would you not take this call to another place?" My response was, "60% of the population where I live does not know Christ." Over the last twenty plus years, that number has changed -- for the worse. Today, in Texas, the number of people that are in worship on an average Sunday morning is seventeen out of one-hundred.

When a small congregation, for example in Borger, Texas, looks at the context of their ministry and sees seventy other congregations of various shapes and forms, that congregation can easily be discouraged. Having said that, the reality is, fewer people are attending worship than ever before across the country. There is an opportunity.

For Lutheran congregations, the members of which live by the powerful message of the theology of the cross, (a message that addresses sin, hurt, frustration, failure, loss, and hopelessness) there is a tremendous opportunity to witness the work of Jesus for all people.

The door is wide open for God's people to witness. This is particularly the case with the uncertainty and fear that exists in our country today. The message of hope that comes from legislators in various states, courts and national forums is a hope that will evaporate and will never address the human condition in a satisfactory way. In addition to this, the Gospel is not, at its root, behavior modification initiated by human attitude and effort.

On the other hand, the message of hope that comes from the cross of Jesus Christ is eternal, complete, certain; and it is a gift embraced by faith alone.

That is our message -- and it changes lives beyond the grave. That message is unique to what the world says. The cross of Christ and the empty tomb stand alone as Truth. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, ". . . I will build My church . . . " And He would work through you to do so. In that same Gospel Jesus said, just prior to His ascension, "Go, (and as you are going, wherever you go) make disciples of all nations. . ."

Our Christian message of faith and hope is the message that will transform people, communities, indeed the world because it alone can transform hearts.

If you are interested in witnessing and becoming involved in mission opportunities look at the side bar on West Texas Currents. Also, take a look at what one West Texas Congregation is doing, go to the Church Door. For more information you may also email me at steven.misch@gmail.com

The Golden Rule of Evangelism

2009-01-26T09:07:00.003-06:00

For a period of time, longer than my tenure in professional church work, I have been looking at and trying "Evangelism Techniques." Looking for the one that "works" I have tried Dialogue Evangelism. I have tried the "Roman Road." I have tried "Injoy Life." I have gone to neighborhood doors "cold turkey." I have visited those who have visited a Sunday morning worship service. I have witnessed to people who come in off the street "just to talk." I have spent time talking with Jehovah Witness types and with Mormon Missionaries. (I made them angry.)

In the 80's, while a pastor at Grace Lutheran, Del Rio, I constructed my own program. Using technology of the day, I put together an eighty-slide presentation including a sound track with music in the background that members could bring into the homes of friends and family. The thinking was that members would bring this tool to the homes of friends and family. Together, they would watch a twenty-minute slide presentation by me on a thirteen inch screen. As creative, resourceful, and doctrinally correct as this was, I'm not sure we could have paid people enough to watch. Still, it was a well-intended idea and the Word was proclaimed in homes.

The question remains. What is the best way? Is there a "method for evangelism" that is better than another?

The answer is unequivocally, "No."

The question then is, "What does work?" The Golden Rule comes to mind. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, when you engage in witnessing, be who you are and approach people the way in which you would like to be treated. And that is not the same for everyone.

Spend some time reflecting and discussing with a trusted member of the body of Christ which of the following statements best describe you? Do more than one describe you? To what degree?

One of my favorite things is long talks with friends.
Personally, I usually enjoy discussions and debates on difficult questions.
When presented with a choice, I generally prefer to physically assist people in the name of Christ versus becoming involved in religious discussions.
I am happiest when I am able to include new people in the activities in which I am involved.
I often identify with people by stating, "I tend to think like that, too" or "I used to feel that way, too."
I strongly feel that confronting friends with the truth can be more important than hurting their feelings.

Every one of the above is valid. Some people nurture long conversations while others get to the point quickly. Still others subscribe to service in Jesus' name as the greatest form of evangelism. They would agree with what Brennan Manning said: “The greatest single cause of atheism today is Christians who mouth Jesus with their lips but deny him by their lifestyle. That’s what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

With these diagnostic statements you can see the entire spectrum of styles and approaches with which people are comfortable. These are the kinds of situations that apply to the Great Commission. "Go, and as you are going, make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19)

Having reflected and discussed how you might best relate to others according to your God-given personality, what kinds of activities would be the best compliment to your evangelism style?

A simple style may help discover your best environment for "making disciples."

Which is of the following is your style?

Servant
Invitational
Relational
Witness
Intellectual
Challenging

Perhaps it is a surprise or perhaps it is a confirmation of what you have been thinking all along. In either case, reflecting Christ to the people around you according to the person He has recreated you to be seems the best way to reach out to others.

We can embrace the differences of evangelism styles and spiritual giftedness and at the same time celebrate the unity we have in our Risen Lord.

Reference: Evangelization Teams in the Making, by Dorothy Hulbert

A Resolution for Others

2009-01-01T11:20:00.002-06:00

I was out walking/running the other morning, (my own personal resolution) and I came up to a stop light. At the light was a construction pick-up with two men in the front seat. The one driving was "over-weight." The passenger was thin. I started to think how nice it would be to be thin (which is why I was out exercising) and then the passenger lit up a cigarette. No wonder he is thin. The driver probably had the resolve to quit smoking and now needed a different resolve if he wanted to be thin.

In the book "Strategy and the Fat Smoker," David Maister observes that people know what needs to be done to improve either a relationship, a product, a team, or one's health. The question is not "what needs to be done." The real question is, "Does that person or team have the resolve to make it happen?"

At the turn of this New Year, resolutions fly through the air like dust in a sunbeam. They have about as much substance as well. And it goes like this: If I want to lose weight, I have to exercise and eat well. As far as exercise goes, the commercial on T.V. says that one can exercise for thirty minutes, three times a week and get into great shape. I like that. I can do that. Which days? How about I do this on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'll take the weekend off. Good plan. Monday works out okay. Wednesday comes and maybe I'll do this on Thursday and then Saturday. Thursday comes and I manage to go for thirty minutes. But Saturday is my day off. I'll wait until Monday. It's cold out on Monday and you see how this goes. In a couple of weeks I wonder what happened and so I start a new resolve.

This cycle is the case for most resolutions. Whether one is focusing on exercise or eating, reading or prayer, there is a resolve, the dissolution of which loses the benefit. God bless our resolutions.

In Scripture the word "resolution" does not exist. But the word "resolute" is used once in the NASB. Prothesis is the Greek word for "consecrated" or "purpose" and "resolve." Luke describes Barnabas as "encouraging them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord." (Acts 11:23). But the interesting note here is that this resolution comes from the grace of God in the context of rejoicing. Now the resolution is not a law or something I am determining to do out of my inadequacy. Rather, this resolve comes by rejoicing in the grace of God for the purpose of strengthening those in the fellowship of faith. Now we're getting somewhere.

Another Biblical resolution is reflected in the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:2 where Paul writes, "For I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Paul resolved, for the benefit of this struggling congregation to always point them to the cross and to the grace of God in Christ, that they would be strengthened in their faith and to rely on the power of God and not the power of man. This resolution was for the benefit of others.

One other resolution in Scripture comes in the form of a promise. In Genesis 3:15 God says to Satan, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between her Seed and your seed. He will bruise your head. You will bruise His heel." I don't know how long the resolution of Barnabas lasted or the extent to which the goal was met. As for Paul, the Corinthian congregation needed a lot of attention and called for his determination. Both have encouraged Christians for twenty-one centuries. But the resolution which has benefit for all mankind is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Adam and Eve and all people everywhere. The resolution of God to draw all men to the cross of Jesus is one that will last for all eternity.

So the question is not, "What needs to be resolved?" Rather, the question is, "Is that resolution the thing in which you rejoice?" Or better yet, "Is that resolution for the benefit of others, specifically for their spiritual life in Christ?"

My personal resolutions have come and gone so many times that I forget what they have been. I only know that they are unfulfilled, and because of that, they are of little value for me or anyone else. On the other hand there is a resolution that has staying power and completion, the fulfillment of which has our best interest in mind. In fact, God's resolve became the restoration of all mankind. For that restoration, we have something in which to rejoice. Now we have something to bring to others this year.

God bless your New Year.

The Season of Contrast

2008-12-10T10:08:00.002-06:00

What a story. Dong Yun Yoon asking for help from people who have suffered "more terrible things" pleaded, "Please tell me how to do it, I don't know what to do." The first I heard of this man, he was speaking saying, "They are with God now." He was speaking of his wife, two children and his mother-in-law who had died in a fiery blaze caused by a failed F/A-18D in San Diego.

What incredible insight in the midst of loss.

I wouldn't be so bold as to tell Yoon what to feel or how to react, but his reaction has been no less than supernatural. It is Spirit-filled. The human response would be bitterness and anger and perhaps there will be some of that to come. But then Yoon's story is what Christmas is about. It is about the reality of loss and death and sorrow. And then Christmas is about life and hope and a vision for an eternity to come. The mother of Jesus was told as much by Simeon. When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, Simeon prophesied, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed and a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34b-35) In other words, "Mary, your Son is going die before you do, and heart of mankind will be revealed. Have a nice day."

The soul of Mary was pierced three decades following this event. But the grief was short-lived. There would be a death. There would follow a resurrection. Where there was sorrow, there would be joy. Where there was fear, there would be confidence. Sorrow would return to the human heart and fear would raise its ugly head again, but this time hope would remain and finally rule the day because born in a manger was a baby who would be the Savior of all people.

In a season of excitement and anticipation, Yoon's heart was pierced. What a contrast!

Still, this is a season of contrasts. They are all around. We are outside and it is cold. So we come in and stand next to the heater. Now it is too hot. The sun rises too late in the morning and sets way too soon in the afternoon. There is darkness in our days, but then there are the lights of neighborhood decorations. Gifts are given to some and gifts are never received by others. There is family togetherness and there is individual loneliness.

Then there is a spiritual contrast. Consider the contrast of the Gospel in the world. There is sin and death in the world. In the Gospel there is forgiveness and life. In the world, there is destruction and decay. In the Gospel there is restoration and re-creation. The world offers loneliness and rejection. In the Gospel there is a body of believers in heaven and on earth who, as Hebrews 12:1 reminds us, are so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us."

In this season of contrast, Yoon, I am sure, is experiencing loneliness and will for some time to come. I am broken for him. His soul is pierced at the loss of his family, not to mention his worldly possessions. But I am personally encouraged by his initial response. There is sorrow to be sure, but hope at the end. Merry Christmas.

Suffocating Freedom

2008-11-24T05:14:00.007-06:00

I don't know when it happened. Maybe not so quickly. But it has happened. The freedom we have in the gospel of Jesus is suffocating once again. Perhaps it's the human, less truthful side of James 2:10 where James writes, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." Divine leading and application of this passage leads to grace, forgiveness, peace, contentment and finally, freedom. But remove the Spirit, apply it to things human and the principle remains while love is lost. Let me explain.

The LC-MS at one time in its history, confounded not only the world but ecclesiaologists as well. What kind of church body were we? Were we conservative? Certainly. We held (and hold) the historic creeds as ours. Scripture is inerrant and infallible. Jesus is the only source of hope for salvation. Creation took place, relative to the current secular models, only a handful of thousands of years ago. All of that was "conservative." It is still true today.

But the piece that confounds is this. How does one explain the creative missiology of the LC-MS of the 30's, 40's, and 50's? While on the one hand we were warning the culture of the dangers of certain foundational presuppositions as Theadore Graebner did in his book, "God and the Cosmos" and as Alfred Rehwinkel did in his book, "The Flood," on the other hand we were exploring new, different, and creative ways in which the world could learn of Christ. Worship agendas were offered in 1922 by the church as descriptive possibilities and received as such, rather than as prescriptive mandates, the use of which is required to be Lutheran.

The explanation rests in the clarity of God's total, complete and unassailable grace in the context of Man's total and complete inability to offer to God anything of his own salutary righteousness. The consequence of the death and resurrection of Jesus is the removal of condemnation. With that there is the removal of fear and the offer of freedom. In the words of St. Paul, "For freedom Christ set us free, therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

The Galatians once knew the Gospel and then set it aside for the approval of people who had come within their fellowship. With that compromise, they lost their freedom. It was being smothered by people who were saying, "If you really want to be Christian, then you will do this and that and the other thing." Paul did not write a nice letter of commendation to them. Rather he came close to condemnation as the church was about to add works to Christ.

That same warning comes to us today. What will you do with the freedom you have? Apart from the Holy Spirit, our life in the freedom of the Gospel confuses the world. (How can anyone understand something naturally when it is supernaturally established i.e.. faith in Christ?) Remove our freedom in Christ and we look like everyone else apart from Christ. Do you really want the world to figure us out?

The Common Ministry

2008-11-22T05:19:00.008-06:00

I stepped off the plane and looked for baggage claim. A traveler always hopes the luggage finds arrival at the same time and the same place. So far so good. With the luggage in hand, I waited for the others to arrive. We were spending three days together, traveling in and around the city of New York. In that time we would visit five vastly different ministries in a 22 mile radius. The ministries were LC-MS but the languages were far different than English or German. Hebrew, Liberian, Bengali, Hindi, and English were the languages of choice. Five different ministries in three days. It was a lot to take in. I'm still processing.

We waited for our shuttle and finally met our driver, "Joe." He changed lanes with authority and arrived at the hotel with flair. At an economy motel, our rooms were only 125 a night, such a deal. And crowded? The breakfast area had nine tables in a room 21x15. But, it's New York.

Our first visit was to an established Anglo congregation. The Anglo congregation was aging and declining. The ministry there was transitioning to a mosaic model with Anglo and Hindi. There is health in this move. The Gospel is proclaimed to people who do not know Christ and those who do find comfort in the fellowship that transcends ethnic barriers. There we talked with our guide.

Interestingly, there were parrots nesting on the electric poles in the neighborhood. Not native to the area, they had established themselves five years earlier and survived the winters. Now the various cities are trying to eradicated them.

Initially, it was the antithesis of West Texas. So many people in such a small place. The smells of the street included decaying fish of the markets that were closing for the day. I could not discern much more than that. There was no stock yard smell of West Texas.

Yet, there was a common denominator. Most of the churches were small. Many were declining and the question was, "What do we do?" To an outsider, in the city it seems that it would be easier to grow. There are so many people, why wouldn't there be growth? It isn't so automatic as one might think. In West Texas there are not so many people. Still, there are people who do not know Christ. There are people in whom the Spirit can work through the Word proclaimed, would we trust that.

Christ Assembly is an African Immigrant congregation. Many of their members experienced persecution in their home country because of their faith in Jesus. They have about 250 members. Their pastor is ordained in the LC-MS. They worship with song and dance. Their joy could not be missed. The freedom of the cross combined with their new found freedom to worship revealed a spirit unconstrained. When the offering was announced, a cheer went up in the congregation. There was a second cheer when a second offering was announced. I didn't notice if they had offering envelopes. Worship was scheduled from 11 to 1. We ended worship at 1:30.

Another place we attended was a Messianic Synagogue. Connected with LC-MS and Apple of His Eye ministries, this group used PowerPoint, Yamikas and sang in Hebrew and English. Indeed, I did wear a Yakima. The goal of this ministry was to become more traditional in worship. (If you are thinking that PowerPoint is not traditional you may be correct. But it was not a problem. It simply was the easiest way to communicate the service to the congregants. I certainly appreciated it.) Such Jewish tradition would appeal to their target group, namely traditional Jews of whom there are many in the area. But their evangelism was more post modern by design.

A post modern type of approach to communicating the Gospel takes patience. One does not tell someone what life is all about, at least not until a relationship is established and an acceptance into a community is realized. Until these two are in place, discussion of world view and doctrinal positions is not discussed. In other words, one new to the fellowship earns the right to ask about belief systems.

Parenthetically, there was a study released recently on how people connect with politicians. Belief systems or policies had little if anything at all to do with supporters embracing a candidate. It took a 10th of a second for many to decide for whom they would vote. Others attached simply on the basis of one issue. With such singular agreement the remaining pantheon of issues would be ascended to because of the one common issue.

It is in this post modern, establish relationship and community then we can talk about sin and God's solution to sin that was the context for evangelism and outreach for the Messianic Synagogue.

Following this service, held on Saturday, we were invited to eat with the congregation in fellowship. They served locks and bagels and onions. We discussed doctrine and world views. As brothers in Christ, we are in fellowship and community already. We follow the same Messiah.

On Sunday evening we visited an Anglo congregation that hosts a Bengali congregation. The non-Anglo service followed the traditional Lutheran worship structure, but everything was in Bengali. Traditional dress for men and women was the norm. And such generosity. Following this service, which included celebrating the Lord's Supper together, they served our group by setting a table and giving to us chicken sandwiches. How gracious. This congregation, by the way, is planting a second congregation in the area. Wow. There were about eighty in attendance at this particular service.

The pastor of this congregation has his wife and daughter back in Bengal. For reason, into which I will not go, they cannot come to the USA and join in the ministry. But the pastor stays here to serve people from his country and language.

Finally, we visited with a man named Johnson. He is from India and he has a strong acumen for missions. With an earned Doctorate in missiology he knows the challenge and joy of working with multicultural groups who are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each of the ministries we observed had the joy of God's grace in Christ. There was energy and intensity, intentionality and frustration, all together. What each did not lack was hope and confidence that the God who placed each of them in their new context, placed them deliberately to proclaim Jesus.

What a foreign context for ministry compared to the ministry in West Texas. Yet, with each of these congregations we are related in Christ. Humanly speaking we are related in not so distant a way as well, but our common confession gives us also a common future and a common goal, to connect people to Jesus.

What A Church Plant Does

2008-09-25T15:57:00.015-05:00

On Monday, September 22, Mike Newman and I were installed as Texas District Mission and Ministry Facilitators. The Texas Board of Directors set time aside in their agenda for this. The Texas District staff was in attendance and I am very grateful to all. Rev. Robert Preece was the liturgist and Rev. Ken Hennings installed us. Mike is serving Area C and I am serving Area A. Areas B and D are served by Paul Krentz and Lou Jander respectively.

The sermon text was Jonah. Yes, the book of Jonah. Robert read through the book and commented along the way. I indeed learned some things and saw this event from a different angle. For that I am very grateful.

Rev. Preece also made mention that the Bible is filled with the idea of planting churches.

Well, one thought leads to another and my thinking at that point went like this.

There is a biblical principle of planting churches.
A metaphor that describes a church is a plant.
The church has been described with the biological metaphor of a plant.

What does a plant do?

A plant can be decorative.
A plant, to be healthy, needs to be trimmed.
A plant can provide food.
A plant can provide shade (as in the case of Jonah).
A plant can reproduce (there are those you can't stop like bind weed or "bullheads" which have thorns that hurt like the dickens).

What does a plant need?

A plant needs water.
A plant needs nutrition.

What does a plant give?

In other words, without a human being using a plant for some purpose listed above, what is the function of a plant?
Well, I recall that plants convert (deliberate use) poison (Carbon Dioxide) into oxygen. That is what it does.

The plant may or may not be decorative or healthy or a source of food. It may not provide shade, but one thing it cannot help but do is convert CO2 into Oxygen. In other words, without plants we would die. But plants give life. And for all the other things about plants, this particular contribution is one that most of us take for granted.

But there it is. The purpose of the church. The purpose is to give life to a world that is suffocating. Without the oxygen of the Gospel, people die. And that oxygen is available from plants about which books are written for their size or beauty, all things to celebrate. But that oxygen is also available from plants that are not noticed. Size is not the issue. Beauty is not the issue. Location is not the issue.

As one of my professors pointed out, metaphors break down when it comes to describing the Living, Triune God and so also describing His body, the church. This metaphor is no exception. But I think that we need to recall that what we do in our words and actions, as members of the body of Christ, brings life to the world through Jesus' death and resurrection. Words filled with grace, patience applied, forgiveness extended; these done in joyful response to salvation given from the cross alone are a breath of fresh air full of Life.

Thanks, Robert, for stimulating the thinking. And I did hear what you said.

"Going" to West Texas

2008-09-12T07:47:00.002-05:00

I just ordered two books to read in the coming week. One is by Joel Rainey. The title is Planting Churches in the Real World. The subtitle is, "If you are a planter drunk with vision, this will sober you up." I am not sure what Rainey will say about this, but what I know is there is a real tendency in the church to look for the "silver bullet" or "key" to something. It was true with me early in my ministry. I was looking for the "key" to growth. We want to solve the problems of family, employment, finance, retirement, relationships, and growing a congregation in glorious and sweeping ways over a period of time characterized in, oh, say, an instant. We don't know patience as God knows patience, do we?

There is of course only one "key" as it were and the thing is, this "key" is instant and complete and total, without qualification. The "key" is called the Gospel. And the difficulty that human beings have with the Gospel (at least one aspect) is we cannot control how or where or when it does its thing. We know that the Gospel is connected with the Word, the Cross, repentance, forgiveness and that it is ours by God's grace through faith; but that work is God's doing. We, as God's people, have simply been called to go with this message to the world, to the nations, to our neighbors.

Even though we simply go, going is not so simple. How does this look? Does it look like a missionary with a pith helmet? Does it look like a pastor in a pulpit? Does it look like a person in shorts and sandals playing volleyball? How about if it looks like a Sunday School teacher who comes across a young student who wonders if his parents love him because the parents are getting a divorce? It looks like all of this and more to the end of time itself.

In the book of Acts there is a point where one commentator described God's people as "gossiping the gospel." It was like, "Did you hear about Jesus? No? You know they killed Him, right? Well, now He's alive!" Imagine that conversation over the backyard fence. The point is, the conversation was natural and even casual in nature, though the content was profoundly urgent and even unnatural for people.

Well, the picture of planting churches is often presented as grand and glorious. The reality is it is hard work. Rainey will say that the average new church is less than 100 after four years. He is talking about church plants in the city. And while such strategy of planting new churches for building the kingdom of God is certainly worthy of exploration it may not be feasible in some ministry contexts. Still the call to "go" is given and cannot be denied.

In my time on the Navajo Indian Reservation I learned some things about working in isolation. It's hard. It's lonely. Resources are limited. We could not buy whatever came to mind. There was a level of creativity called for in the lack of materials and in the presentation to a people and culture who looked at the world in a manner very different than this American German from Northern Minnesota. What a challenge. On the other hand, it was marvelous. The going with the Gospel called for a reliance on God's spirit to work through the conversations and the actions of ministry, all of which were covered with His grace and patience. Praise God, He did as He said. People did come to faith in those conversations. There would be no book written about it. There would be no seminar developed to find a new way to evangelize from it. But people had a new hope where before they were hopeless.

Parenthetically, I would point out that the rural community embraces values in ways that the urban community can only dream to realize. I am writing about that in my "West Texas Currents." The rural community has access to the awe-filled nature of God in creation, in relationships, in life and death issues, and in communities in measure that is frustrated in the city. I've been in both places. I digress.

As I read Rainey's book, I'll bring comments about it. The second book is by David T. Olson titled The American Church in Crisis. This is a study that developed a database of over 200,000 congregations in this country. In our communities, we have watched Sunday's becoming our second Saturday's. Numbers in the church have been unchanged and have even declined some while the population has exploded in some parts of the country. Olsen will confirm some of our local observations. I am hoping that it will be an interesting read.

Until next time and still working at it,

sjm