Lord, Teach Us to Pray
Guest Author, John Waak
Weeks of worry brought a woman to the surgery waiting room. Nagging symptoms in her husband’s body grew to the point that not even manly denial could dismiss the feeling that something was not right. His wife, with womanly strength, bore the torch of hope -a hope that said, ”You’re going to the doctor!” He went. The prognosis was serious but hopeful, but surgery was required to understand what was truly going on. So, there we sat, she and I. We chatted about meaningless things, and then in words that were few, she talked about her worst-case fears. I am sure that somewhere in there we prayed. Then the Doctor came out. As compassionately as he could, and with words that plainly explained what he found, he shared that the situation was terminal and fast-acting. She was stunned into silence until at last, realizing that she needed to say something, quietly uttered a one-word expletive. In that word I clearly heard something that came from the depth of her soul. It wasn’t offensive, but honest; not dirty, but pure; not profane, but prayer. It was the most authentic prayer I have ever heard next to Jesus praying, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
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A Mission-Minded Lament
Last week I received the following email from a concerned church member offering a heartfelt and faithful lament for the mission of the church. I asked for his permission to share it with you anonymously:
I was going through some old documents at my parents’ house today. I came across an old bulletin and I was at first amazed… and then scared. I grew up in a small town in Texas. Our Lutheran congregation was the big church in town, but not the only church. As I think back, everybody I knew went to some church.
The bulletin dated December 2, 1956 showed the attendance the previous Sunday had been a whopping 255 people! And this was no fluke: the attendance on Thanksgiving Day was 212! The 1960 census population for the town was a little over 600 people. In other words, this Lutheran church had regular worship attendance of more than 40% of the whole town’s population while numerous other churches thrived nearby. Fast forward to today and that same church reports and average worship attendance in the 80s while the town’s census population grew by 30% between 1960 and 2020. Today, about 10% of the community’s population is in worship at this church. In 67 years, the attendance fell by 65% and the attendance as a percentage of population fell by 75%!
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Too Busy NOT to Pray
I don’t know about you, but I am tired. I’m not the kind of tired that can be managed by an extra hour or two of sleep. Rather I am talking about the rhythms of a full and busy life where there are simply not enough hours in the day, days in the week, or weeks in the month to get everything done. The day-to-day activities of life, even life in ministry, can result in a weariness that can steal our joy of living the life that we are so busy living that we really aren’t actually living! Have you ever felt this way?
As I think about my weariness and the endless “To Do” lists, I recall a conversation I had with my mom 20 years ago. She had called me just to chat and I didn’t really have the time. I told her I was busy, and she asked what I had going on that day. I rattled off all the things I had to get done and she replied: “Oh, my! You are busy. It sounds like you probably need to pray.” I was frustrated with her: “Mom, I don’t have time to pray!” As soon as I said it, I realized how foolish I was. My mother answered, “Bryce, listen to yourself. You’re a pastor! You are too busy NOT to pray!”
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Recognize and Respond
Back in 2019, leaders here in the Texas District took a leap of faith in creating Harvest Workers, our online ministry training program. The biblical inspiration came from Matthew 9 where we read about Jesus’ daily ministry: he was teaching and preaching, healing, casting out demons, forgiving sins, and calling disciples. Day after day we read about this ongoing ministry among the ordinary people he encountered wherever he went. One of these days as he went about his work, he paused and surveyed the crowd. As he looked out upon the world that he was dwelling in, I believe he saw all of the problems: the hurt, pain, brokenness, issues, division, anger, addictions, and everything else. Jesus saw all of it!
And upon surveying the world and seeing the problems, Jesus wasn’t depressed, angry, or hopeless. Nor did Jesus shame or blame people. Instead, Jesus was moved with compassion and speaks these words: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
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If You Build It…?
Growing up in Eastern Iowa in the late 1980s, it was big news when a major motion picture began filming a baseball movie on a family farm. In the movie, Field of Dreams, a mysterious voice is heard from beyond: “If you build it, he will come.” As the story unfolds, the lead character plows under his crops mid-growing season to build a baseball field. Then from out of the cornfields beyond centerfield appeared a historic team from baseball lore.
The cultural impact of Field of Dreams was significant. Visionary leaders seized upon the infamous movie line and adapted it for their own organizations: “If you build it, they will come.” Even pastors and churches adopted the mantra as ministries scaled bigger and better programs and church facilities, trusting in the idea that new and bigger would attract more people. To some extent, this approach seemed to work! As churches engaged in expanding and improving their ministries and facilities, more people were attracted to it and began engaging with churches in news ways.
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What is LOVE WORKS All About?
You might have noticed the black and yellow promotional material that we’ve been sending out for a few months promoting LOVE WORKS. You might be asking, “What in the world are they talking about?” If you have, well I’m glad you asked. If you have not been curious, well I hope you are interested now! LOVE WORKS is our theme for the 15th Annual LCMC Texas District Gathering this summer, July 26-27 at Zion in Kerrville. The theme this year was born out of the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10. Our District Council selected this as the biblical foundation for our Gathering to focus our attention on our call to love God and our neighbors.
We are excited to welcome Greg and Susan Finke to be our keynote speakers. Greg is a Lutheran pastor, author, speaker, and leadership coach who, along with his wife, Susan, has dedicated his ministry to helping the church rediscover the art of loving neighbors with the love of Jesus. Greg has authored three Joining Jesus books, with his wife Susan co-authoring their most recent book, Joining Jesus as a Family.
It was Greg who suggested the title LOVE WORKS for two particular reasons. First, we read in Ephesians 2:8-10, For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. Therefore, while our good works will never save us nor prosper
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We Are Family
See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are!– 1John 3:1
I have recently been thinking about how rich the image of family is as a metaphor for the church. Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ is an association of congregations and “family” is a great word to describe who we are together and how we relate to one another. We have unity in a common confession of faith and a mission to make new disciples of Jesus in the world. Yet we also celebrate our freedom in Christ that leads to diverse expressions of worship and ministry as each family member lives out their faith differently as each is uniquely called and positioned in the Kingdom of God.
As family we connect, communicate, care for one another, forgive one another, share in each other’s joys and sorrows, help one another in times of need, hold one another accountable, offer and receive advice and counsel and respect that each family member is ultimately responsible for themselves and their own decisions. Not only is this a good and helpful understanding for our association, but also for the individual members of a local congregation. The brothers and sisters of Christ gathered in a local church are called into a family relationship. When we are attentive to our church family and live into these relationships well, not only are we blessed by the relationship, but we bear witness to God’s love to the world, too!
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Speaking Truth in Love
“But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.” – Eph. 4:15
I was recently asked my opinion regarding how churches, pastors and followers of Jesus should talk about difficult, hot-button topics in a way that is faithful but also does not exacerbate the divisions that often exist between us and the very people we are called to reach with the Gospel. This is an excellent question and is worthy of thoughtful reflection and conversation. I hope that this might spur-on thoughtful dialogue for you and your church as each of us wrestles with the tension between being faithful to what we know to be true and honoring God by loving those who do not share our faith or worldview.
While homosexuality happened to be the topic of interest for this person, similar questions have been asked about abortion and gender identity as well as other contentious topics where a biblical morality and a sense of personal freedom collide. Regardless of what the hot-button topic is, effectively communicating the Gospel is an ongoing challenge for any follower of Jesus. So how do we handle these sensitive topics while being mindful of our mission? We need to speak the truth in love.
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Remembering What We Were Made For
Just like many of you, I recently attended an Ash Wednesday service to mark the beginning of another Lenten season. The message of Ash Wednesday is an important reminder of our identity: that we are mortal beings created out of dust who will return to dust at the end of our natural lives. Even though we realize that God will resurrect the dead in faith to eternal life with him and dust we will not remain, we cannot escape the present reality of the fleeting nature of our lives lived here on earth.
The Lenten season draws us into deep reflection as to who we are, whose we are, and what we were made for. As followers of Jesus Christ, we acknowledge that our identity is shaped not by our accomplishments, wealth, social status, talents, or even our personality. Our identity is shaped by God: our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. We belong to He who made us, redeemed us, and guides us in our daily living. But what exactly were we made for?
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How to Grow Your Church
In my role as Director of Mission Growth, a common question that church members and even some pastors ask me is “How do we grow our church?” I love this question because it tells me a few things about the person asking it. First, the very question itself communicates that the person asking recognizes that their church has a purpose to connect to more people and reveals a “holy discontent” with the present reality. Secondly, the question also informs me that the asker is genuinely interested and open to learning and implementing new ideas. Both having a heart to connect with more people and a teachable spirit are key components to ministry success and congregational revitalization.
The question also presents a bit of a challenge: Growing a bigger church should never be the mission of the church! Instead, church growth is a biproduct of a church engaging in and accomplishing its true mission and purpose. So, what is the true mission and purpose of the church? In my opinion, it can be summed up with “connecting people to Jesus.” Exactly what this looks like in each congregation and community can and should be very different: no two congregations are alike; nor are the contexts in which those congregations minister.
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2024… Call to Prayer
For more than a decade, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) has invited members of congregations to engage in an intentional period of prayer at the beginning of each year. Known as “Three Days of Prayer”, former LCMC Service Coordinator Mark Vander Tuig established this annual practice to draw our collective attention back to the throne of grace. He boldly shared his conviction that “the church of Jesus Christ will never rise up until it first falls on its knees.”
Once again, the call goes out to you and to me. On January 2-4, 2024, we are invited as the body of Christ to follow our Lord Jesus’ example to pray, pray, and pray some more! And if you are reading this message after those specific dates, please set aside your own three days of prayer. There’s nothing special about the particular days themselves, other than it is an annual reminder to set aside an intentional time for focused prayer.
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Advent: More Than a Countdown
As a kid, I LOVED Advent! Why? Because it was a countdown to the best day of the year in the minds of most kids: Christmas! Why? Because Christmas meant PRESENTS! What kid doesn’t love getting to unwrap Christmas presents?!? As I have grown and matured (hopefully) I have come to realize that Advent is so much more than a countdown… it is an invitation to give the best gift of all: God’s grace through Jesus.
Entering the season of Advent, we are reminded of the extraordinary gift of God’s grace given in the advent or arrival of Emmanuel (God with us), Jesus. As we anticipate the Christmas celebration and reflect upon the gift of God’s grace in sending His son, I can’t help but take note of what I think is often overlooked: our call to share that grace with others. Advent is a season of intentional love and outreach in Jesus’ name.
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