Posted on Apr 3, 2023 in Uncategorized |
On Sunday, February 26 at 3:28 p.m. I got the kind of phone call that every parent dreads. My youngest son was calling… for a second time. I was in Zoom meeting and had ignored his first call. In our family, we have a code: if the first call goes unanswered and it is an emergency, call back a second time.
“Dad, I’m pretty sure my car is totaled. I’m really sorry.” My heart stopped. “Are you okay?” I asked. He replied, “I’m okay, but I’m pretty sure the car is totaled!” I responded, “I don’t even care about that right now, as long as you are okay!” He later was able to describe what happened, that another car lost control around a curve and came into his lane and collided with him head-on.
Oh, how it could have been so much more tragic! I really love cars, and I loved my son’s car, but I would much rather mourn a car than my son! Even though he faces lingering challenges of whiplash and the hassles of replacing his car, the main thing is that he was alive…and he was loved and cared for by his mother and father!
Posted on Apr 3, 2023 in Uncategorized |
Recently I have had several conversations about finances that have led me to think more deeply and biblically about the subject. Even though the financial realities of investing over the past year and a quarter have been less than enjoyable, I thoroughly enjoy personal finance. I also take great pride (undoubtedly sinfully so) in being a good steward of God’s resources. As a full-time church worker, I am ever mindful of spending the resources entrusted to our ministry with great care. I have pridefully shared with others how much we do together as a district with how little resources we spend doing it like it is some sort of badge of honor.
While my sin of pride is something I need to confess and repent, good stewardship of kingdom resources is indeed a good thing. But I recently realized just how stark the difference in mindset can be between personal and ministry finances. In the name of good stewardship of precious resources, we in the church tend to strictly guard the financial resources entrusted to us. When dollars are spent, we often see it as kissing them goodbye! If this is the case, it is no wonder we think twice before parting with these dollars!
Posted on Apr 3, 2023 in Uncategorized |
In my work for the Texas District, I have the privilege of sharing about our association and have often been invited to give a presentation about LCMC. One of the questions that I have been repeatedly asked over the years I just love to answer: “Where do your pastors come from?” My answer: “Well pastor trees, of course!!” After a good chuckle, we then engage in an important conversation that many congregations have neglected for far too long. What my tongue-in-cheek answer points out is that the initial question presumes that pastors are “produced” from some external source. This line of thinking is problematic.
Many Lutherans in well-established American denominations have relied heavily on church camps and campus ministries to speak into young people the calling of God to vocational ministry. Over twenty years ago, a study of first-career seminary students in one Lutheran denomination revealed that the overwhelming majority personally experienced his or her call to pastoral ministry primarily through either a church camp or a campus ministry. While camp directors and campus ministers received this news as a great affirmation, it also exposed another weakness: a student’s home congregation was a far less significant factor.
Posted on Dec 19, 2022 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
I recently attended PLI Leadership’s Discipleship to Missional Community (D2MC) training and was asked this question: “How do you view the world?” That’s not something any of us probably think about apart from being specifically asked! The presenter went on to describe two common perspectives that Christians typically adopt and proposed a third one that might better reflect the life of a disciple of Jesus.
GOD ⬅️ YOU ➡️ WORLD
We are tempted to understand the world simply as the forces that oppose God. God is on one side, the world is on the other, and the Christian is in the middle. With this worldview, you find yourself in the tension of either turning towards God or towards the world. This is the whole devil on one shoulder and angel on the other sort of picture! This perspective leads Christians to see the world as dangerous and develop a separatist culture to better reflect the life that we believe God is calling us to live. Unfortunately, this approach makes it difficult to share Jesus with the world.
Posted on Nov 3, 2022 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
Since the earliest days of the church, followers of Jesus have struggled with division and disunity, so it does not come as a surprise when we encounter it in the church today. It is common for me to visit a church and hear members speak with envy about what the other churches in their community are doing. And I get it: I have spent countless hours strategizing how my church could gain in “market share” so to speak! Too often we view our church in competition with others.
It is easy to see how this disunity and division must grieve God, especially the attitudes that seek gains for one congregation at the expense of another! But I also see that God may be at work in a mysterious way through our earthly divisions. I profess a Lutheran faith because I believe it to be faithful and true as I read scripture. But I also know faithful Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Anglicans, and others who would earnestly say the same thing about their faith. And I do not think that it is God’s desire that we lock ourselves in a room together until we have hashed out an agreed upon faith so that there would be just one church on earth! Instead, the diversity of the church might be a part of God’s plan to reach the masses.
Posted on Oct 3, 2022 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
“Everything is bigger in Texas.” “Bigger is better.” “Do you want to SuperSize that?”
We live in a size-obsessed culture in so many ways. The assumption is often made that bigger organizations are always more able to do and accomplish what smaller organizations simply cannot. While there are certainly examples of this, it isn’t always the case. The primary difference is scale: larger organizations seem to accomplish more due to the scale at which they can effect change. Smaller organizations, however, typically can make a greater proportional impact on a smaller scale. The problem is that smaller organizations frequently assume that they cannot make much of a difference and regularly do not even attempt to do so.
Why does this matter or the church? We believe God is calling us to “Multiply Disciples and Churches” as Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ here in Texas. As I travel about the Texas District and have conversations with pastors and church leaders, I encounter a common assumption that church planting is an activity for either church bodies or mega churches. As an association of congregations, we are committed to congregational mission. The most effective model for planting new churches is when they are parented by one or more congregations that are actively involved in the new mission effort. Since the typical congregation in Texas has a worship attendance of around 65 or 70 people, most believe that they are far too small to do such a big thing as to plant a church.
Posted on Sep 13, 2022 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
As we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus in this season of Easter, we are reminded once again of God’s power to bring the dead to new life! And God is alive! “Christ is Risen!” we declare with all enthusiasm and confident faith. This is Good News! I believe, trust, and celebrate it! But the troubling question I often struggle with in the face of the resurrection reality is why so many churches look closer to death rather than reflecting new life in Christ?
Across protestant denominations in the United States in the past two decades, 2 to 3 percent of congregations close their doors for good in any given year. If anything, this trend has likely accelerated due to the pandemic. Here in LCMC Texas, we have seen four churches hold their final worship services in my seven years in this position. Across LCMC a 2-3% closure rate would equal approximately 20 congregations annually that cease to exist. This reality may be masked as our total number of congregations slowly increase due to churches joining from other denominations and new churches being planted to numerically overcome these losses.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Years of struggling with weight and healthy physical habits have resulted in this present reality for me. Like the church, the statistics for diabetics are not great. I was referred to a doctor who has helped me to confront the reality of my unhealth yet did not leave me without hope. Instead, he pointed me in the direction of some lifestyle changes that, if I make them a priority, will greatly increase the likelihood that I live a full and healthy life.
Posted on May 26, 2022 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
I have the distinct privilege of teaching the Church Planting & Revitalization course for Harvest Workers, our
online ministry training program. Recently, my first two students successfully completed the course. It was an
absolute joy to teach them, mostly because I had a front row seat to watch them grow!
Every Harvest Workers course has a list of expected demonstrated competencies that we hope to observe in
all students by the end of each class. For my class, there are several specific areas that I have listed. As I
supported these first students through the course, I discovered that there is a single, over-arching hope that
summarizes all that I desire for my students: that each begins to think like a missionary.
Missionaries the world over strive to bring the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who have no idea
that it is at all necessary or relevant for their lives. Some may have never heard of Jesus before while others
may be familiar but have either rejected the faith or have yet to respond. Either way, missionaries need to
figure out how they can meaningfully connect and communicate with those outside of faith in Jesus Christ.
Posted on May 10, 2022 in Uncategorized |
As we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus in this season of Easter, we are reminded once again of God’s power to bring the dead to new life! And God is alive! “Christ is Risen!” we declare with all enthusiasm and confident faith. This is Good News! I believe, trust, and celebrate it! But the troubling question I often struggle with in the face of the resurrection reality is why so many churches look closer to death rather than reflecting new life in Christ?
Across protestant denominations in the United States in the past two decades, 2 to 3 percent of congregations close their doors for good in any given year. If anything, this trend has likely accelerated due to the pandemic. Here in LCMC Texas, we have seen four churches hold their final worship services in my seven years in this position. Across LCMC a 2-3% closure rate would equal approximately 20 congregations annually that cease to exist. This reality may be masked as our total number of congregations slowly increase due to churches joining from other denominations and new churches being planted to numerically overcome these losses.
Posted on Mar 19, 2022 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
“Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the law?’ he asked him. ‘How do you read it?’ He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘You’ve answered correctly,’ he told him. ‘Do this and you will live.’ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” – Luke 10:25-29
If you’ve spent much time at all in the church, chances are high you are quite familiar with this text. This conversation between a lawyer and Jesus serves as the introduction to what is perhaps Jesus’ most infamous parable: The Good
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