Happy New Year! This week I have the privilege of attending a meeting today, Friday and Saturday at the Synodical offices called “Making Disciples for Life.” They invited Pastors, Educators and parishioners to come and share feedback about ministry in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. This came from the last national convention I attended in Orlando. It is very important to me that Glendale Lutheran be connected to our wider church body. Jesus calls us to be united as a body. This is an opportunity for me to represent you. I will bring the concerns, hopes and dreams of our congregation to this forum.
Here are the goals of this forum according to the Synod:
The world is at a tipping point. Many are speaking of our culture as “post-Christian.” We behold great challenges and great opportunities as we proclaim salvation in the valley of the shadow of death. Our opportunities are obvious; “the fields are white for harvest.” The LCMS is one of the few remaining strong, internationally relevant, and unabashedly biblical church bodies in the world. Among our challenges is that we are not walking together, sharing resources and listening to each other as we should. If we are to meet the tests of the day, clergy and laypeople, congregations, districts, national Synod and Synod institutions must break free from their silos and love, support and encourage each other. We must share wisdom and resources. While holding firmly to the truth, we must challenge the legacy of distrust that has isolated us from one another.
The design of Making Disciples for Life (MDFL) conferences will change over time as we learn and grow smarter about the ways to best work together. We hope to create powerful feedback channels through which our resources, our opportunities and our mission can be evaluated, shared and undertaken together. We want to learn about the gifts and resources the Lord has given to our church outside of our individual experiences. We want to learn about the gaps in our resources and discover the best ways to create what the church really needs. We want to get to know one another and fulfill the Bible’s depiction of the church as a body in which all the parts work together for the common good.
