Freed in Christ to Serve

Wednesday August 17, 2011

Freed in Christ to Serve

Orlando Florida  

One of our delegates Jay Teisberg from PrimRose Lutheran Church wrote these words to sum up our Wednesday together:

I am full of optimism that the ELCA and its Churchwide expression is alive and quite well.  I am so inspired and proud because our church is truly a church rooted in Christ and centered on His perfect example and mission. 

The Churchwide organization has responded quickly over the past year and a half to act responsibly to significant declines in benevolence and other sources of income in ways that streamline available funding so that God's work (mission) is unimpeded. 

Did you know there were 60 new congregations formed last year alone and we have a goal of forming 500 new congregations in the next 5 years?  We are in the midst of deliberating on and approving a new and vibrant Church wide organization that will more efficiently support and enable all three expressions to creatively execute programming across a wide array of ministries and mission opportunities.  We are about to deliberate on and hopefully approve a much needed and groundbreaking social statement which does not judge the use of but enables thought and discernment as to how humans steward the use of genetic science in food production, medicine and other uses.

Yes, it is a great time to be a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  We have such a wonderful story to tell.  But we must, as members of this great church, share our stories of love, faith and hope with those overlooked and neglected in our midst.  It is through our sharing and serving (doing) that the ELCA, through Christ, will become stronger and more relevant to many. It is God's work, our hands.  We are freed in Christ to serve!  Let's get to work!

My first highlight on Wednesday amidst multiple amendments to LIFT (Living into the future) was the report of our new secretary David Swartling.  At the end of his report he used a video clip out of the archives of the American Lutheran Church.  It was the Youth Gathering in Miami Florida in 1962.  It was a fuzzy old memory of kids getting off buses from all across our country.  The keynote speaker during their four days together was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the message was about the Lutheran Church being a church of the Reformation.  King’s comments to the youth addressed racial unity and welcoming all people.  David Swartling drew our attention to the fact that we are still a church of the reformation making room for all people.  

The second highlight was the worship and preacher - Rev. Joseph Livenson Lauvanus from Haiti.  On Sunday evening I met him on the plane to Orlando.  He was in Minnesota visiting the parents of his best friend Ben Larson.  Ben was one of our ELCA pastors who died in the earthquake of Haiti.  While in the states Joseph took time to be with Ben’s mom (Former Bishop April Larson) and dad.  Pastor Joseph preached a message around the text of the Woman at the Well in John 4 on inclusion in the name of Jesus.   The same lesson we had for bible study on Tuesday.  He was inspiring and preached the gospel with clarity reminding us that we are freed in Christ to serve!  Who knows but maybe in the archives 50 years from now another assembly will be watching a clip of history that we are making in Orlando.  Thanks be to God.  Work was done I share a bit of pizza with an old friend and then sleep was welcomed!  It was the end of the third day!