Posted on Feb 19, 2025 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
This past month I had the privilege of hosting our fifth Harvest Workers Retreat. Ranging in age from 20-something to 70-something, a total of 24 ministry students, faculty, staff, and spouses came together from across Texas and around the country for three days of rest, instruction, worship, prayer, fellowship, and encouragement. While each retreat has been a delight in its own way, this year’s retreat was extra special for me personally. I came away from this retreat overwhelmed with gratitude to God for the immense blessing it was—not only for me, but for so many of our students as well.
As I reflected on this fantastic weekend, I wondered what made this retreat so special. What was it that caused my heart to rejoice and feel so full of joy and thanksgiving? As I reflected, the lyrics of the song “Change My Heart, O God” by Eddie Espinosa flooded my mind: Change my heart, O God; Make it ever true; Change my heart, O God; May I be like you; You are the potter; I am the clay; Mold me and make me; This is what I pray; Change my heart, O God; Make it ever true; Change my heart, O God; May I be like you.
Posted on Feb 19, 2025 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
In my days as a pastor of a congregation, one of my joys was planning sermon series during the different liturgical seasons of the church calendar. One year I stumbled upon the idea of doing a summer series called “Characters of the Bible.” Each Sunday after Pentecost, we started walking through the Old Testament and studied the men and women of God that we read about in the Bible. For many adult congregation members, this was the first time these stories had been revisited since their childhood days when they were taught in Sunday School classes. Unfortunately, these stories are often not the topic of the regular preaching during Sunday morning sermons.
Through this sermon series, we began to focus on a theme that we find throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible: that God uses ordinary people like you and me to do his extraordinary work! Sometimes we remember the Sunday School stories of these Bible characters and imagine them as superheroes. As we stand in awe at what God does in and through their lives, sometimes it is easy for us to forget that the bible character themselves was a sinful human being just like us.
Posted on Jan 2, 2025 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
As Jesus gathered with his disciples for his last supper, he not only communed with them, but he also served them in a unique way. Before the meal began, he took off his outer robe, knelt down with a basin of water and a towel, and washed their feet. It was a stunning act of service by the King of kings and Lord of lords! Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
This familiar text is a reminder of what sets Jesus’ followers apart: a self-sacrificing love for one another. Jesus did not say “it would be really neat if you would be nice to one another.” He was not asking his followers to tolerate or put up with one another. He did not offer his example of humble service as a suggestion among a buffet of options. He clearly states this as a new command that is a mark of every single disciple of Jesus. Jesus makes the clear connection that this love will be noticed by the world and is key to sharing Jesus’ love and bearing witness to the Gospel to the world. So, this loving one another thing is really important for our mission in the world!
Posted on Dec 12, 2023 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
I recently returned from LCMC’s Annual Gathering in Missouri. It was a great Gathering, as always. This year’s theme was “All Hands on Deck” and reflected our present need for the whole church to offer ourselves, and all our gifts and abilities, to Christ and his Kingdom-building ministry in the world. Our association (along with many other denominations) is facing a leadership crisis. As pastors retire or leave full-time vocational ministry, not enough new people are entering to keep pace. Simply put, we no longer have enough active pastors for established congregations, never mind planting new ones!
The reality is that the old models that previously sustained leadership development for the American church for over a century have been in trouble for a generation or more. While some sounded the alarm 25 years ago, it has only been in the past few years that the issue has become front and center. At this year’s Gathering, our association had the courage to address this directly. Hundreds of pastors and other congregational representatives met in focus groups to share ideas, listen to concerns, and pray for God to raise up future leaders to lead our congregations in mission for Christ.
Posted on Jun 27, 2023 in Mission Moment, Uncategorized |
Each year one of our highlights as a District is to come together for what we call our Annual Gathering. If you’ve been before, then you know what a treat it is! LCMC Texas has Gathered each summer since it’s inception in 2009 with only one exception in 2020. On July 28-29, our District will gather for the 14th Annual Gathering at St. Paul’s, New Braunfels! I hope you will make plans to join us this year!
Our theme for the 2023 Gathering is SENT, based on Acts 1:8. As Jesus gathered with his disciples in his final moments before ascending into heaven, he sent them out saying “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” What does it look like to be sent by Jesus in 2023? What does your Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and ends of the earth look like for you and your congregation as you respond in faith to Jesus’ commissioning?
We are privileged to welcome Pastor Tilaye Daba to be our keynote speaker this year. Tilaye is the Director of the Global Mission Society for the largest and fastest growing Lutheran church body in the world: Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. He has dedicated his life to the mission of Jesus and been a leader in evangelism and theological education.
Posted on Apr 3, 2023 in Mission Moment, 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 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.
