Synod Assembly - Saturday Morning
By Rev. Keith Spencer
MORNING WORSHIP
In the beautiful cathedral of creation.
Light breeze. Blue sky. Public beach.
People walking by – coming and going.
As one approaches, the music fades in.
Glorious music. Music of praise. Spirit-filled music.
Pastor Rita and Pastor David and their family singing, leading us.
Public place. Public praise. Public word. Personal word. Passionate word.
As it can be and maybe as it should be.
(Note to Gardner-Tweeds: Your kids are awesome!)
MORNING WORK
Quick bagel from the downstairs bagel and juice place.
Back inside. We vote. A lot (but only once for each candidate, don’t worry).
THEN on to the Bishop’s Report:
The Bishop says that “Each congregation needs to move out of itself.”
“It is not about us” – it is about those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior”
Heads nod. But this is how it should be, not how it is. Honestly?
I would also add:
It is a challenge.
Are we willing to care more about those who are not members of our congregations, than those who are?
Are we willing to care more for those who do not know Jesus, than those who do?
(Note: Walt Kallestad wrote an entire book about this a few years back called “Turning Your Church Inside Out.”) A good and important read.
Are we willing to care more for those who do not know Jesus, than those who do?
Seriously.
Escaping a corporate church mentality in which we care nearly exclusively for members requires serious vision for mission. Serious commitment. Corporate caring primarily for the churched members is quicksand that longs to suck the church deep into the mire until we can barely breath. Until only the very tip of our Lutheran noses signals that we are in fact there.
The Bishop continues:
“We deceive ourselves about how welcoming we really are.”
The Bishop is just speaking truth after truth.
We too easily declare our congregations welcoming places and then move on to other things.
We shouldn’t
Back to the Bishop…He is on a roll:
“We need to move out of ourselves”
“I challenge you – to be an inviting and welcoming Synod.”
“To go out of our sanctuaries and into the mission field.”
“Every congregation is a mission congregation.”
The Bishop is right, isn’t he?
Passionate. Fired up and right.
I mean, missional thinking can be lost in the shuffle once we actually build buildings.
Then we have to worry about cutting the grass and lawn teams to do it.
Keeping the carpet clean and the pews filled.
We have to worry about changing light bulbs (insert you “How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb” joke here).
Being missional isn’t only about writing the check (those checks need to be written).
Missional is about being a church so in love with Jesus that it can’t help itself. It just has to embody the Great Commission. It just has to love the Lord our God with all of its heart, soul and mind AND its neighbor as itself. It just has to. It knows no other way to live. To be the church. To breathe in the Spirit.
Later, the Bishop will return to this theme which predominates his report (and rightfully so): “We are beacons of promise and hope!” says the Bishop.
Amen, Bishop. Amen!