New Beginnings

I emailed this letter to our council and staff a few moments ago.

Council and staff:

Thank you, all, for EVERYTHING you have done to make the last weeks and days go as smoothly as they did—especially Wednesday evening. Special thanks to Gary Lankki for all his uncompensated work—hours and hours—and to Deb Hammond and Diane Zitzloff for the many hours of extra work you have put in behind the scenes. Thank you, Karen, for accompanying the hymns and thank you to all council members for your work in registering people and kindly handling questions. I did not want this vote but am glad it’s behind us.

We have a task of reconciliation ahead of us as a congregation—not something that the leaders can do on their own but we can model what Rabbi Friedman called “self-differentiation” and “non-anxious presence” while avoiding “triangulation.”

• Without compromising what we believe—being “self-differentiated”—letting others know where we stand—we can continue to be in relationship with all—being “non-anxiously present”—this includes not avoiding those who we know we disagree with and those who still feel confused and hurt above everything else.

• It’s important not to “triangulate”—that is, to not put the focus on something beyond the relationship each of us is directly involved in. The basic law of emotional triangles is that when any two parts of a system become uncomfortable with one another, they will "triangle in" or focus upon a third person, or issue, as a way of stabilizing their own relationship with one another. A person may be said to be "triangle" if he or she gets caught in the middle as the focus of an unresolved issue. Conversely, when a person tries to change the relationship of two others (two people, or a person and his or her symptoms or belief), they "triangle themselves" into that relationship (and often stabilize the very situation they are trying to change).

So, If you see that there is a way that I or anyone else is failing, then please speak directly with the one you have the “issue” with rather than talking with others about it. You can, of course, talk with others to ask for prayer or advice, but not to avoid talking with someone. That will be very important as we move ahead.

If you have any comments or questions about this, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you all in worship on Sunday!

Peace be with you in Jesus’ name. – and CONGRATULATIONS to Nate, Sarah & Baby Izabella Grace born the same day as our congregation meeting, Wednesday, June 23. 

www.equalsharing.com

So What Happens Now?

Tonight--well, technically, LAST night--it being after 1:00 a.m. Thursday now, our church talked and sang and sweated through a "special congregation meeting" with a vote on whether or not to disaffiliate from the ELCA.  The vote was taken shortly after 7:00 p.m. and a half hour later the vote was announced--with 111 voting "yes" to leave the ELCA and 116 voting "no." 

Later I got a text from a friend: So what happens now? 

I replied: Well... We keep praying... No quick decisions... I wasn't wanting this vote... It turned out about how I thought... Don't know what is next.  Thank you for asking.

And that's the truth. God holds the future! We are not in control! God is good! Praise God for that! God, and God alone knows "What's Next."

After spending some sweet time with friends late into the evening, we came home and I saw that my daughter Naomi had already written in her blog tonight.  Her blog is called "Simply Shalom."  She began by quoting a Roman Catholic priest and author, Henri Nouwen from his book In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. 

"We are not the healers.
 We are not the reconcilers.
 We are not the givers of life.
 We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anybody we care for."

That is so true, Naomi.  We simply submit ourselves to God and rest in His care.  Naomi went on to say:

Tonight my parents’ church voted on whether or not to leave their denominational affiliation. I was there to vote too. (I am a member, my dad is the pastor… but I do not really call it my church because I only lived there for one year.) The resolution to leave the ELCA did not pass–the vote was pretty much split 50-50, but needed a 2/3 majority to pass. But this means the congregation is split 50-50 on this subject and probably on many other related topics as well. (I wrote about this conflict before in my post “Washing Feet for Unity.“)

Our synod bishop* was there and she said to my dad (the pastor), “This just means you’ll have to work on reconciliation.” And my dad said, “Sometimes reconciliation is not possible. People are not only in conflict with one another. They are in conflict about a principle.” (see the ELCA social statement on human sexuality that was adopted in the 2009 churchwide assembly here.)

After this "vote" which showed that we are quite different from one another, and even when we cannot be FULLY reconciled, we can still can be kind to one another.  We can care about one another even when we disagree about things that are hugely important.

But even Jesus was not fully reconciled with everyone during his time on earth--we'll see that as we read from Luke 9:51-62 assigned for this coming Sunday.  There are times for many things under heaven.  There are times to "scatter" and there are times to "gather."  There are extended times of uncomfortable feelings and outright disagreements. There are things no human being can control.  Even leaders are simply too broken and weak to do much of anything sometimes.  We can follow Jesus' example.  We can love and forgive.  But we can't make someone make up.  Even Jesus didn't do that.

I hope everyone will stick together, but that's not something I can make happen.  So, when I think again about my friend's question, "So what happens now?"  I have to say, only God knows.  And tonight I'll leave it in God's hands.

If you wonder what happens now -- Ask God!  Pray, believe, and do all you can to live at peace as the Word of God commands you in Romans 12:9-21.  Breathe and trust our God.  He holds the future.  We do not.  When we surrender to God, He will work things out.  All we do is trust and obey.

On another dear "friend's" facebook wall I was reminded of these verses tonight:

Jesus said,
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
(Matthew 11:28-30)

That's the promise I will rest in tonight.  I have a promise from Jesus--an excellent promise of his eternal love that holds me even though I don't deserve to be held.  I'm rambling, I'm tired, I'm disoganized.  But I am so thankful that my Lord holds me anyway. Praise the name of Jesus forever!

I want to be with Jesus.  I hope you will too. Only as we are "yoked" or "connected" to Jesus can we find peace, or, as my daughter would say, "Simply Shalom."  Good night.

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*My daughter promoted Pastor Linda Pedersen to bishop!  Her official position is "Synod Minister" and she serves as assistant to Bishop John Anderson here in Southwestern Minnesota.  Naomi's blog post from tonight, pictured above, is called "We are not the reconcilers." Click the colored words for links.

www.equalsharing.com

Standing at the Crossroads

I'd been meaning to listen to a particular recorded presentation since my son Jon heard it live at the 2010 WordAlone Convention held back in April.  As I was driving to Minneapolis today to see someone in the hospital I listened to it on CD and was thoroughly blessed.  Today I called WordAlone and got permission from office staff to post excerpts "ripped" from the CD--I've started the process tonight.

This presentation entitled "Standing at the Crossroads" is by the Rev. Dr. Gemechis D. Buba.  Dr Buba is currently serving as the director of African national ministries in the ELCA. Originally from Ethiopia, East Africa, he brings a message of hope and encouragement that the Word of Christ, which brought faith to Africa, can now return to bring faith to those who originally sent it.

His text is from Jeremiah 6:16 -- I suggest you read the entire sixth chapter of Jeremiah to gain perspective.

Thus says the Lord:
    Stand at the crossroads, and look,
    and ask for the ancient paths,
    where the good way lies; and walk in it,
    and find rest for your souls.

Here a tiny excerpt I transcribed from the very beginning of his sermon--you can listen to the first 22 minutes or so by clicking here (mp3).  In his message Dr. Buba speaks the strong truth of God's Word.  During the first part of his message he says this:

...Brothers and sisters, Christianity is always standing at the crossroads and making a choice.  Always Christ turned to his disciples--in the Gospel of John chapter 6 verse he said "Do you want to follow me?  Or do you want to live like the others?"  Standing at the Crossroads, the Lutheran Reformation was born with three words:  Here I Stand. 

Where do you stand?  What is the foundation on which you are called to stand? 

Jeremiah was speaking to people in captivity.  They were running up and down--once to Jordan or to Egypt as if these neighboring nations would save them.  But the salvation of Israel was coming only from one place--there is no other choice--from God.  Jeremiah was telling the kings and the people, "Stand and wait for the Lord--for there is no substitute to faith in God alone."

With the permission of the WordAlone Ministries staff, I have uploaded the about 22 minutes, of Dr. Buba's sermon.  I encourage everyone to listen to it by clicking here (mp3). Please take time to listen to this gifted man of God.  Dr Buba is a great preacher--and he speaks the truth.

If you'd like to hear the rest of his presentation, talk with me and we'll loan you the CD.  It's good preparation for our meeting tomorrow evening, as all of us are called to stand on the Word of God.

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In his message Dr. Buba tells the story of Gudina Tumsa, who chose tho stay with his Ethiopian people at the cost of  his life.  To learn more about this martyr, click his name.

www.equalsharing.com

Patience for Interpretation

Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. (Second Timothy 3:16 - today's KTIS verse of the day)

At last night's "Friends of the ELCA" meeting someone remarked about all the different Christian denominations and how all of them claim to be based on the Bible.  There are differences, for example, about baptism that have existed for many, many years.  There are differences about how people understand God's gift of life and questions about whether it is ever permissible to end that life through abortion or the death penalty.  Someone mentioned that if they "googled" "Christian denominations" that they're sure they would find thousands.  Someone mentioned that there are differences of Biblical interpretation even among husbands and wives.  Are they all to divorce and "disaffiliate" when they run up against differences that won't go away?

How can people continue together in spite of their differences?  In my opinion the church has done well when we sketch out a wide boundary for what might be acceptable in Scriptural interpretation.  The difficulty for many of us in connection with the ELCA is that it seems as though some positions are not based in scriptural interpretation but instead come out of experience and conscience.  We believe what has held us together under a big tent has been an agreement that we will discuss everything on a biblical basis.  That, for some of us, is what it means when we say that the Bible is our "authoritative source and norm."

Last night I wrote a piece called "Is It Possible?"  Is it possible to remain together as we work out our differences?  I think it is IF we agree that all our differences need to be discussed on the basis of scripture rather than appealing to experience or conscience above scripture.  If we can agree on that, I think we can be patient with one another as we interpret and work out what the Scriptures mean for our life today.

Being patient is not post-modern relativism. Being patient--even being patient in suffering--that is a command of God.

www.equalsharing.com

Is It Possible?

Scripture says "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).  Even a rich man like me can be saved for the Kingdom of God.  Amazing Grace!

What about the possibility of keeping our local church together after Wednesday's congregation meeting?  This Wednesday evening there will be a meeting with a vote called for to disaffiliate from the ELCA.  Can we stay together and continue to work side by side?  Can God not do this?  What can stand in God's way?

Aside from the issue of hurt feelings and personal offense, which must be taken care of through talking with one another, confessing and repenting and forgiving... aside from that what is it that stands in the way?  And can some kind of agreement be reached?  Only with God--only according to the Word of God and by the loving spirit of Jesus Christ.

Tonight I attended a meeting of "Friends of the ELCA."  As I said to Pastor Eric Lemonholm, with whom I'm having a fascinating dialog, "I attended because I hope I am a friend, though not a happy friend at present."  I'm not happy with some deep issues* within the ELCA, but as I listened to what the "Friends of the ELCA" are saying, I find I appreciate some of the things they brought up: (1) The ELCA's support of those in need through organizations such as Lutheran World Relief and Lutheran Social Service and (2) a general non-judgmental attitude of that allows people to continue to talk with each other and work together in spite of significant disagreements.

I came out of the meeting wondering what might be possible.  I know that some people from one side or the other have been reaching out to talk with others to listen and learn from each other.  I think that's helpful.  I don't think any accommodation that trivializes or demeans either "sides" concerns will work--the difficulty with "staying" in the ELCA is that the ELCA has decided to lift up personal conscience over what seems to me and others to be so clear--that the one blessing God places on sexual relationships is heterosexual in its essence. The difficulty with "leaving" is that we're not sure what that means, what kind of future affiliation(s) would work for us... though, because there are two votes that need to be taken to leave, we would have time to figure that out.  I know of some churches that took their two votes years apart!

What might be possible?  Perhaps some kind of "staying but protesting" can be arranged... or perhaps "leaving with support" -- that if we leave we could agree to to continue to fund ELCA programs that are most important to our "Friends of the ELCA."  Last week at church council I suggested that perhaps God might intervene and bring strong voices on both sides together for the good of our local church, to sketch out a possible future, or to postpone the vote for another time while such a future is imagined...

I can't control this and I haven't.  I will continue to pray and I hope you will too.  A 25 hour prayer vigil begins tomorrow at 5 p.m.  If you'd like to participate, please contact me or call the church office (320-286-5964).  It's only with God that any good comes--and that means prayer.

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* I've outlined some of the deep issues in the ELCA previously on this blog and now again in my dialog with Pastor Lemonholm--if you're interested let me know and I'll see if we can share our conversation with you.

www.equalsharing.com

An Open Minded Church

Yesterday at FaithLift my daughter Naomi and I were privileged to hear a Bible Study on Luke 24 mostly focused on verses 42-49.  Pastor Gemechis Buba spoke on the Biblical Understanding of Open Mindedness ("διανοίγω τὸν νοῦν") as found in Luke 24:45 where the resurrected Jesus opens the minds of the first church assembly.  That first assembly was divided--not over issues of sexuality but over the question of whether Jesus was truly resurrected from the dead or not.  It was not experience that settled the question, it was the Scripture--the Written Word of God.  Here are some of Dr. Gemechis' points:

1. An Open Minded Church Subordinates Experience to the Word of God.
2. An Open Minded Church Believes in the Theology of the Cross.
3. An Open Minded Church Has Faith in the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. An Open Minded Church Proclaims Repentance and Forgiveness--not one or the other but BOTH.
5. An Open Minded Church Is A Community of Witnesses - We are not "actors" who "do" God's will as much as we are paying attention to what God is doing and saying "Look at that!"
6. An Open Minded Church Is Open to the Promise of the Holy Spirit--not just the head knowledge of believing.
7. An Open Minded Church is Positioned for Persistent Prayer.

I'll try to write more later.  Peace to you in Jesus' name.

www.equalsharing.com

Politics and/or Theology

I spent the evening reading a paper by a retired ELCA pastor, Ed Knudson.  The paper called "Conservative Lutherans Forsake Heritage for Politics" can be accessed at this link: http://www.pubtheo.com/page.asp?pid=1539.

The paper was referred to me by another pastor.  In response, I wrote:

I spent the evening reading the paper. I previously read the similar one by Jon Pahl. I'm hoping for dialog... What are the sections of Pastor Knudson's paper, ____, that you think are particularly applicable to our situation in Cokato? Sections 13 and 14 especially speak to very important concerns. I'm just not sure what to do with what seems to me to be the clear witness of scripture about God's plan for the male/female life-giving bond... That understanding seems to be so firmly rooted in God's creative design that lifting up and blessing something else takes us outside of God's will. I do not want to be doctrinaire about this but I think there's a lot more to this than politics. It troubles me that Ed Knudson and Jon Pahl belittle the theological and biblical concerns of so many. Let's talk...

On Pastor Knudson's website (http://www.pubtheo.com/) it says that he...

"...began online publishing in 1994 after serving city and suburban congregations in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, Bemidji and St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon. Knudson has also worked professionally in settings of higher education and public policy planning. He has served as a consultant for planning and decision processes for congregations and church bodies. He now lives and works near Tacoma, Washington, next to the incredible waters of the Puget Sound."

Here's a noteworthy quote, also from Pastor Knudson's website:

"Religion is the source of great contention in public life today. One form of Christian faith, what is referred to as fundamentalism, evangelicalism, or the religious right, has come to dominate the public sphere. It has aligned itself with one political party and allowed itself to be used by that party in partisan politics. This has tremendously skewed the political culture of our time and threatens the historic witness of the orthodox church.

[Pastor Knudson goes on to say that his] "...website seeks to promote a more responsible form of public faith associated with the historic orthodox theology of the ecumenical Christian church. Fundamentalism is a modern perversion of historic Christian faith. Biblical inerrancy, for example, is a modern notion of the holy scriptures. One of the most important theological tasks of our time is to make this clear and to seek to interpret and present historic Christian faith in concepts and terms understandable to modern folks, including a proper role for faith and church in public life. This we seek to do at this website.

"Since the Republican Party has chosen to identify itself with the religious right, and since we at this website oppose that theological view, it will seem that we are ourselves promoting the views of Democratic Party. But this is only because we live in a society with a two-party system. If you are against one you appear to be for the other.

"We reject absolutisms on either side. We promote the concept of 'critical engagement', the church needs to be critically engaged with the issues and powers of the day but ultimately captured by no one party or perspective. To believe in God incarnated in Jesus Christ is to transcend and stand apart from any of the powers of this world. At each moment in history Christians must carefully assess how to be critically engaged in their political context. Christians who are Republican will be able to critique their own party, as should Christians who are Democrats.

"Let it simply be said here that our views are motivated from faith first, and politics second, not the other way around. Hopefully the various materials on this website will make this clear."

(end of quote from Pastor Knudson's website)

I agree that faith needs to be first and politics second. I think we need an understanding of the scriptures that is centered in Jesus' sacrificial love for us and that a simple statement of biblical "literalism" is unhelpful without understanding that the Bible has a shining center that we must always look to first.  However, in Pastor Knudson's paper "Conservative Lutherans Forsake Heritage for Politics," he claims that those of us who have issues with the ELCA are primarily motivated by conservative politics. I must object most strenuously to this assertion!  There are dangers in holding to what I believe is the biblical and theological order of creation, but I think there is more danger when we turn away from the clear understanding of male and female found in scripture.

Please, let's keep the dialog going!  Let's not blame or label one another.  Let's talk!

www.equalsharing.com

An Historic Crossroads

A letter went out on May 28 from our congregation council to the members of our congregation in regard to a "first vote to determine" if our local church should "terminate its relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as based on section C6.05 of the congregation's constitution."  The vote is scheduled at a special congregation meeting to be held here at the church on Wednesday, June 23, 2010, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

If you wish to see a copy of this letter, please contact our church office - 320-286-6169.

Feel free to contact me for my own perspective on this vote--or call the office and ask for a copy of our recent newsletter, the Parish Pulse.

This is a very difficult time for all. Difficult times always call for prayer. We'll gather for prayer at 6:30 tonight as we usually do on Thursdays.  Please come if you can.  In any case, please pray that God's Will, and God's Will alone, would be done. 

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
    but rescue us from the evil one.

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A Historic Crossroads - Wednesday, June 23.

The following is from the April 20, 2010 minutes of our local church council:

T.B. moved, B.M. seconded, to have a congregational meeting in order to have our first vote to leave the ELCA.  The vote was taken by paper ballot with these two options: Yes, call vote OR No, let's wait and not have a vote.  T.R. and N.B. served as tellers.  Results of the vote were:
    7 - Yes to take vote
    5 - No, wait and not have a vote.
Motion carried.
...
T.B. made a motion, seconded by J.B., to call a special congregational meeting to be held June 23, starting at 6 p.m. with a vote taken as close to 7 p.m. as possible.  Councilors voted by raising their hands.  There were 7 votes for and 6 votes opposed.  Pastor Thorson voted in opposition.  Motion Carried.

With these actions our church council set up a historic crossroads for our local church. Though many of us have not asked for it, it is upon us.  I have written an article for our church newsletter on this subject.  It will be printed today, assembled with the rest of the newsletter tomorrow, and mailed soon after.

Please keep us in prayer.

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The Spirit of Truth

Here's a draft of tomorrow morning's sermon.  Not only are we recognizing high school graduates tomorrow, tomorrow is also The Day of Pentecost.  This festival has been celebrated since ancient times by the Jewish people as the "Feast of Weeks" or, in Hebrew, Hag ha-Shavuot, commemorating God's gift of the Ten Commandments and the harvesting of wheat.  It occurs 50 days (7 weeks) after Passover, at which time Jesus suffered, was executed, and rose from the dead.  The Christian account of Pentecost is found as chapter 2 of the New Testament book of Acts.  The assigned reading is verses 1-21.  We will also be reading Psalm 104:24-35; Romans 8:14-17 and John 14:8-27.

THIS is an important time.  High school seniors are graduating.  We're moving closer to the June 23 meeting.  And, this day, today, this is the actual day when, about 2,000 years ago, the Spirit of Truth came down on about 120 disciples, gave them courage and miraculous communication skills, and by that evening the church had grown by 2,600 percent.  And all of these things--high school graduation, our June 23 meeting and the explosive growth of the church--it's all based on Truth.  The truth we learn, the truth we know and the truth God gives us as a gift to the world.  This is an important time.  A time of Truth.  A time for the Holy Spirit of God to work within us, among us, and through us--not because we are anything special, but because we have been given the Spirit of God--the Spirit of Truth.

In our Gospel we have these words from Jesus:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.  This is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

If my some miracle you can trust God's love, if you know the truth about yourself, that you are a lost sinner saved by Jesus, if you know who you are and the truth of Jesus' love, then the Holy Spirit of God's Truth has done his work!  By that work of Truth, you are born again!

It's a miracle because so often we avoid the truth.  We don't want to know who we are any more than we want to know just how much sludge and oil is pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.  We don't want to think about how our lives and our lifestyles indirectly hurt the creation and the poor of the world.  We do not want to remember how we have done damage through our pride, our stubbornness and our unwillingness to work out our differences in a peaceful and respectful way.  We don't want to know how much is hurts God when we fail to pray, when we fail to trust, when we gossip and try to control others.  But when God comes to us we come to know the truth--the truth of our damnable sin--and the truth of his far greater love.

And because of Jesus' love, we never have to be afraid of the truth.  That's what I'd like to say to our graduates this year.  You never need to be afraid of the truth.  Because God is the truth, and because God sends his Spirit of Truth, you never need to be afraid of your questions, you never need to hide your mistakes, you never need to pretend you are anything other than what you really are.  God knows all that.  God knows everything there is to know about you and God loves you just the same.  Let your minds expand.  Learn all you can.  Let your hearts be open.  Let God's love pour in like a river.  When you are hurting and wounded, come to a Christian adult who can pray for you and share this truth--God will always love you, no matter what.

I'd say something similar to the members of this church as we come up to the June 23rd vote.  You do not need to be afraid of the truth.  Let your minds and your hearts expand.  Talk with one another.  Learn all you can.  Don't come up to June 23 without doing some learning.  Think of that date as a test date for our church.  Not a final exam--this first vote on ELCA affiliation is not a final thing.  It is a first vote.  Disaffiliating from the ELCA takes two votes.  I think this vote is coming too soon because many of us just haven't learned enough yet... but our church council voted to bring this before the congregation a month from now.  There is no reason for fear, no reason to believe God will not lead us.  So take a breath, learn all you can, and come prepared for this first vote on the 23rd.  A letter from the council will be coming out to you shortly with the particulars.  In any case, hear Jesus' words: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.  Be in prayer.  Pray for faith to trust God even at this time.

Finally--about that "explosive growth" of the church.  It is the Spirit of Truth that brought that growth.  If you read through the whole second chapter of Acts, you'll see how the Spirit of Truth made that happen.  The disciples had been in hiding.  For weeks they barely moved.  Then God came and made them change!  You never need to be afraid of God's changes!  When changes come that are in agreement with God's Word, we can let our joy just explode!  That's what happened to those disciples.  When God came they just let Him in.  No barriers, no walls, no boundaries.  God came and took them where they never expected to go.  God did that through signs and wonders, miracles and gifts of deliverance and healing--and, especially, through the Truth of the Word of God.

Peter was the spokesman.  He preached a sermon that we heard just a part of from Acts 2.  The sermon goes on to speak the truth.  We human beings, no matter who we are or when we have lived--our sins, whether we meant them or not, whether we know about them nor not--our sins were the reason Jesus died.  Those sins--those sins against the commandments God gave--You Shall Not Covet, You Shall Not Bear False Witness, You Shall Not Steal, You Shall Not Commit Adultery, You Shall Not Murder, Honor Your Father and Your Mother, Keep the Sabbath Holy, Keep God's Name Holy, Love God Above All--every time we miss the mark intentionally or unintentionally on those or any other of the commandments in God's Word--it's as if we put Jesus on the cross with each one.  Because Jesus is the only one who could pay the price for our treachery, for our disloyalty, for our treason against the one who loves us more than we can imagine.  But we never need to be afraid of that truth.  Accepting that truth, and preaching that truth, it opens the door for saving, freeing, precious grace.  Grace that never ends.  Grace that brings blessing every day.

When God's truth comes to us, we, like the people who heard Peter preach, we say "what shall we do?"  And, through Peter, and through this preacher today, you hear the same message.  Do not hide from God's truth.  Admit your sin.  Ask for his grace.  Give up your games.  Take Jesus instead.  Let God be your Abba Father.  Let Jesus be your savior.  Let us pray God's Spirit into you.  And then live in this new family--this new family of believers.  This new family of prayers and lovers and givers and forgivers--people who let new beginnings come over and over again--who never hold grudges--and who are never afraid.

That's the new beginning God has to give.  And that's the new beginning we can speak to every hurting, precious soul out there.  We let the truth be known.  The truth about ourselves--we never pretend we are good--only that we have a good God.  That's the truth the Spirit brings.  And when we speak that and live that truth boldly, when each of us takes our place in letting God have his way with us, I believe God will open the floodgates for a new beginning, a new beginning based on nothing but what the Spirit of Truth gives through the precious Word of God.

Jesus died for you.  Because of you and because he loves you.  And he rose again to give you new life.  That is the truth.  The truth that brings new beginnings.  And whether we're graduating, voting, or just going out to proclaim that truth to our neighbors, we never need to be afraid.  That truth is available for you today.

www.equalsharing.com

The Story of the ELCA

This is from the ELCA's "Mosaic" series.

You can watch it on YouTube by clicking here.

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Stand Up!

Here's the beginning of the message for tomorrow as I've prepared so far... and as the Lord provided for it to be finished!  See the end of this for links to the audio so you can listen one or both of the two parts as preached Sunday morning.

"The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." (Acts 5:30-32)

"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31)

David Housholder is a pastor of the ELCA out in California. He recently wrote an article – Why Lutherans Can’t Evangelize. We have great teaching and excellent theology, but, he writes We have no idea how to get someone saved.

He explains in his article how Lutherans grow up with Sunday schools and Confirmation classes, but when it comes to helping someone who did not grow up in a Christian home become a Christian, we really don’t know what we’re doing.

We don’t even know what to do with people who drift away and need to come back. When I left the church in my twenties I had to come back through an independent church down on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. It was at a non-Lutheran church where I was challenged to get up out of my row and come down front.

In Lutheran churches, we generally don’t know how to do that. It’s very rare, in churches like this to have a time when people are called to stand up as individuals, to just top blending in with the crowd.

But in our scriptures today we have at least two God given examples of standing up or standing out from the crowd—the first in our Gospel, from John 20, and the second from our first reading, Acts 5.

What keeps us from standing up? Why are we so shy about telling our faith stories or asking our questions? At the annual meeting back in January someone suggested that council candidates say how they felt about the ELCA. Then someone else said let’s just have each one tell how they came to know Jesus. Many of us are starting to talk more openly about ELCA issues… I wonder if we can start being more open about Jesus too.

I know it might seem strange to put these two things together—talking about how we feel about our church and talking about Jesus… they do have things in common though—sometimes the reason we don’t want to stand up and say how we feel and what we believe about anything important can be (1) because we just don’t know what we really believe and (2) because we’re afraid to speak up.

The Gospel from John 20 deals with the first—about questions and the First Reading from Acts 5 (and really the Revelation reading too)… they deal with the second—there’s no reason to be afraid.

When we have questions about what we believe, Jesus says that it’s okay. Just bring those questions out and get them answered for yourself. If that’s the reason that you don’t want to talk about Jesus it’s really important that you do what Thomas does and get those questions answered. Don’t be lazy about this! Don’t sit back and think someone else can tell others about Jesus! If you care about your friends and family, if you care about those people you have coffee or a beer with, you will find a way to tell them about our Lord. As we read in Acts 4:12—there is saving grace in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven [ ] by which we must be saved.

If you care about your friends and neighbors you will do as Thomas did and ask your questions so you will have one less excuse about telling others about our wonderful forgiving Lord. When the Holy Spirit is given to us we will want to share that forgiving grace. The key is in our hands. What excellent grace we have to share.
There are many ways you can get your questions answered. You can look at books—The Case for Christianity and The Case for Christ are two… ask a friend if you can’t find them. You can also talk with me or text me or email me.

Last week I invited people to text me questions and during the week I had this conversation by text message.

Someone said:

Why did the stone need to be moved from the tomb entrance?

That’s a good question since the Bible says that Jesus could just appear later in a locked room. Why would the stone need to be moved? I answered that the stone needed to be moved

So the women and the disciples could see evidence that Jesus had risen!

If the stone was still in place they wouldn’t have been able to see!

Then my friend came back with:

The ‘but’ in my head asks how did they plan to prepare Jesus’ for burial, they would have had to move it to get to him.

I answered...

Yes—one of the evidences that the resurrection is real and not carefully crafted fiction is that there are loose ends. I think the women were overly emotional and hadn’t worked it all out. Or they expected that the guards would open the tomb if thaw asked. Who knows?

In any case, we need to get our questions answered if we’re going to be able to tell anyone about Jesus Christ.

And, once we know… once we know enough… then it is time for us to stand up and let others know. That’s the point of the Acts 5 reading. People need to know two things—they need to know they are sinners—and they need to know about the forgiveness that’s given for free… so they will come to Jesus and receive the forgiveness gift.  But how do we do that?  We Lutherans just don't know very well...

So, at this point in my preparation for preaching tomorrow, I decided to take a break and I went biking... coming into town from the west I saw this:

Naturally, I stopped to see what was going on.  It was a group from the Bethany College of Missions who are on a "Cross Walk" of faith and witness.  They were blindfolded in Minneapolis and driven to a random location--ended up being dropped off in the Spicer-New London, MN area this morning.  Totally dependent on God at work in people's lives, only having their clothes, the cross and a Bible, they are to tell people about Jesus and make it back to Bloomington, MN by tomorrow evening.  

So since I didn't know what to say at the end of this sermon about WITNESSING for the Lord Jesus, I naturally invited them to church.  They're staying at our house tonight (picture below with our son Jon) and one of them will be doing the second half of my sermon tomorrow.  We stopped at Marketplace to get food for supper, had a very sweet prayer time, and now are chatting and trying to find space for everyone to sleep.  You'll need to come and hear God will use all this to help call us to STAND UP and share the good news of Jesus with the world.

You can listen to my first part (about 9 minutes including the Gospel reading) by clicking here.  Listen to Luke Cada's second part (about 20 minutes) by clicking here.  (In the picture above, taken when they arrived at our home last night are--left to right--Julia Engebretson, Hannah Dunbeck, Andria Jasper, Luke Cada, Nichole Downer, and our son Jon.)  Thanks to Andria for the first two photos!

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