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Mission-focused pastor takes on churchwide role

Pastor Mark Schultz has accepted a call from the LCANZ to serve as the church’s Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission from next year.

Despite serving for 18 years at Sydney’s LifeWay Lutheran Church, Pastor Mark wasn’t looking for a change. He often told people ‘God would need a sledgehammer’ to move him from his role as lead pastor at the multi-ethnic, multi-site church, which includes Chinese and online worshippers and worshipping communities at Newcastle, Illawarra, Western Sydney and Cambodia.

It turns out that the churchwide international mission role was the ‘sledgehammer’ God used to disrupt and eventually dislodge Pastor Mark from his ministry at LifeWay.

Pastor Mark said he didn’t give the LCA International Mission role any real thought when expressions of interest (EOI) were called for in August this year. ‘There was more than enough change and work to do at LifeWay, and I was happy to grow here for the rest of my ministry’, Pastor Mark said. ‘It wasn’t something I was looking for. I’ve always believed that the grass is greenest where you water it, and it is really lush here!’

However, Pastor Mark said God wouldn’t let him ‘find peace or let it go’. ‘I was restless, and everyone around me, to a person, expressed that they believed God had a bigger part for me to play in the church and that I should submit an EOI’, he said.

‘During this time, I had also personalised the vision prayer that we pray as a community, “Lord, prepare my heart for what you have for me next and give me a heart of faith to go where you call me to go” and added, “and use me where you can use me best for your kingdom purposes. Amen”. The peace returned the moment I pressed send on the email with the EOI attached!’

Pastor Mark will succeed Pastor Matt Anker, who served in the role from early 2019 until July this year. LCA International Mission Program Officer Erin Kerber has been Interim Assistant to the Bishop and will continue in that role until Pastor Mark starts early next year.

Pastor Mark was ordained in 1995 and first served in Auckland, New Zealand, in a community with more than 28 different languages. He then served at St Peter’s, Loxton, in South Australia’s Riverland, and moved to St Mark’s Epping, in suburban Sydney, in November 2006. In 2014, the congregation changed its name to LifeWay and embarked on a multi-site ministry.

During his time at LifeWay, Pastor Mark has led nine mission teams to Thailand and Cambodia and has been involved in running intensives on leadership, worship and law and gospel.

These ministry experiences, along with his service on the LCANZ Council for Local Mission and as a current member of the Australian Lutheran World Service Board, have all been training grounds for this new role. ‘Looking back, it’s hard not to see how God has been shaping me for this new adventure’, Pastor Mark said.

He said he is excited about ‘reimagining what collaborative and interdependent partnerships can look like in this new era of mission and ministry’.

‘We are entering an interesting time in international mission, as Christian mission is no longer seen as emanating from the West’, he said. ‘We can gain as much from our partners as our partners can from us, and these insights will be critical on the local mission front as Australia’s cultural diversity continues to increase.’

Pastor Mark will be installed in the role on 23 February 2025 at his home congregation in Mount Barker, South Australia, but will remain based in Sydney.

 

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Synod enables ordination of women and men

On 5 October at the 21st Regular Convention of the LCANZ, General Synod voted to enable the ordination of both women and men as pastors in the church.

Delegates resolved to support a proposal from the General Church Board (GCB) and College of Bishops (CoB) to remove from the LCA’s Theses of Agreement the paragraph (VI:11) that prohibits women from entering the pastoral ministry.

The resolution incorporated recommendations from the 2024 General Pastors Conference (GPC) and was passed with a 71.3 per cent majority, 269 votes for and 108 against, with all 377 registered delegates voting.

In effect, this means that the church’s teaching on the office of the public ministry remains unchanged apart from the requirement of the ordination of men only. The proposal passed by Synod included the expectation that the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations (CTICR), together with the church’s pastors conferences and districts, will finalise a doctrinal statement on ordination in 2025, to be approved by an online General Pastors Conference and online Convention of General Synod.

The decision also confirmed the commitment to parishes and congregations that they may call a pastor who best meets their ministry needs. Parishes and congregations will not have to call a pastor who is a woman.

Synod delegates prefaced their debate with prayer led by Bishop Emeritus Mark Whitfield, who called for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, singing the prayer in both English and Te reo Māori. LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith said: ‘We commend this resolution to God, trusting his mercy, guiding our feet in the way of peace.’

In a pastoral statement to the Convention after the vote, the bishops of the church noted that the respectful dialogue of delegates showed ‘deep love for the church and the desire to find a way forward together’ and that the tone after the vote ‘reflected the grace of God among us’.

Despite more than three decades of theological study and debate, division has remained within the church about whether the Scriptures permit the ordination of women.

At the 2023 in-person sessions of the 2021–23 Convention of General Synod, delegates voted by a strong majority to direct GCB and CoB to find a way for the LCANZ to operate as ‘one church with two different practices of ordination’ and to report back with a detailed framework to the 2024 GPC and General Synod.

The Way Forward project team and working groups appointed by GCB-CoB worked through the theological, constitutional and governance requirements to allow this directive to be accomplished.

When the Way Forward Detailed Framework was released in July this year, it was the result of the most consultative, collaborative project in the LCANZ’s history, with feedback from across the church shaping the resolution put to GPC ahead of Synod.

The bishops of the church have reaffirmed a commitment to work through pastoral and relational matters following the ordination decision, including providing care and support for those in their districts who did not vote in favour of the change.

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LCANZ elects mission leader as Assistant Bishop

The LCANZ’s General Synod has elected Pastor Stephen Schultz as Assistant Bishop of the church.

He was installed to the role during the closing service of Convention on 7 October at Concordia College in suburban Adelaide.

Assistant Bishop Stephen has been serving the SA-NT District in the role of Assistant Bishop for Mission since 2018. Prior to that, he served as pastor of two South Australian parishes: St Michael’s Hahndorf (2002–2017) and Bethlehem, Adelaide (1997–2002).

He has broad governance and leadership experience, having served throughout his pastoral ministry on numerous boards, councils and committees, including District Church Council and General Church Council, Australian Lutheran College Board and General Pastors Conference Planning Committee. His service on various district committees covers Aboriginal, tertiary, children, youth and family ministries.

As the role of Assistant Bishop is a volunteer one, he will continue to serve in his current role with the SA-NT District.

Former Assistant Bishop Neville Otto, who served in the post for one term, did not stand for re-election.

One of two pastors nominated by the LCANZ’s General Pastors Conference to Synod for election to the role along with Pastor Fraser Pearce, Assistant Bishop Stephen said he had ‘wrestled with accepting the nomination’ because of the time-consuming nature of his district position.

‘But I also recognise our Lutheran Church is at a critical time in its history’, he said after his election. ‘I love our Lutheran Church and feel so blessed to be part of it. I want to serve her to the best of my ability, and I was encouraged by many of my fellow pastors, who I respect deeply, to allow my name to stand.

‘The role has a huge commitment and responsibility, and I feel a bit overwhelmed by it. I’m looking forward to discovering why God has called me into this role and how I can grow and serve through it.’

LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith was elected for two synodical terms in 2021 and so the role was not up for election in 2024.

 

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New home purchased for churchwide bodies

A five-level building in the Adelaide CBD will become the new home for Australian Lutheran College (ALC) and the Churchwide Office.

The building is located at 139 Frome Street, Adelaide, in close proximity to Bethlehem and St Stephen’s Lutheran churches. Ample parking for visitors and staff is available onsite and within 200 metres.

The acquisition of this property follows the sale of the LCANZ’s properties in North Adelaide for a net price of approximately $52.5 million, which was above market valuations.

The purchase of the building is expected to provide benefits in working more closely on mission and ministry and sharing common facilities, as well as streamlining some back-of-office operations. The new premises are also expected to provide the opportunity for other church entities to co-locate.

Parts of the building are currently tenanted, and this is expected to continue, providing an ongoing income stream for the church.

Settlement on the property is due at the end of November when work will commence to fit out the floors to be occupied by LCANZ bodies. MPH Architects has been retained as the firm to design the workspaces in consultation with representatives of ALC and the Churchwide Office. The project is being overseen by Tony Materne, a director of MPH and member of St John’s congregation, Unley.

The purchase has been funded through LCANZ reserves and deposit monies from the sale of the North Adelaide properties. The majority of the proceeds of the sale are payable in July 2026.

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LCANZ properties under contract

The LCANZ’s entire 1.9-hectare property at North Adelaide is under multiple contracts, with the total purchase price exceeding the various market evaluations.

The property was listed for sale in late March, with expressions of interest (EOI) closing on 15 May. All successful EOI applicants were assessed on predetermined selection criteria and have agreed to all LCANZ terms and conditions of sale.

Settlement conditions have been negotiated, with settlements for differing lots occurring over the next 48 months. Vacant possession will be provided over various sections of the site between July 2025 and July 2026.

Brett Hausler, Executive Officer of the Church, said that purchase contracts ‘will support the LCANZ in potentially purchasing a new building for the Churchwide Office and ALC but also provide the opportunity for other Lutheran entities interested in co-locating’.

Potential locations for the new workplace for ALC and the Churchwide Office are being investigated. It is hoped that the new location will provide opportunities to actively streamline operations, create a collaborative and supportive workplace environment, and foster a living missional culture.

‘God has blessed the LCANZ with the outcome of this sale, which has exceeded our expectations’, Mr Hausler said.

‘We look forward to where God leads us next, as we explore options for the new home for ALC and the Churchwide Office, as well as investing the balance of the proceeds to support the operations of the ALC as well as supporting mission and ministry.’

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Website resource to support congregations

A Congregational Life website designed to support congregations and agencies in areas including worship, pastoral care, discipleship and faith teaching, outreach and church planting, and community service is being developed by the church.

As an outcome of a recently released report addressing the LCANZ’s ongoing ministry challenges, including its pastoral supply shortage, the website will help equip faith communities as they adjust to the church’s changing context. To be launched later this year, it will offer relevant resources and raise awareness of learning pathways that are currently available or being developed.

The website was recommended in the summary report of the Ministry Future project, which was received with approval in May by the General Church Board (GCB). Led by Victorian District Bishop Emeritus Greg Pietsch, the project was established by the College of Bishops (CoB) in 2022, with the support of GCB, to ‘consider and develop a coordinated response’ to the decreasing number of pastors in the LCANZ and the changing nature of its communities.

The report contains a multi-faceted approach to tackling what Pastor Greg says are ‘clearly evident’ difficulties facing the church. The three-part response developed to address these challenges is:

  1. a regional rather than solely congregation or parish approach to organising pastoral ministry,
  2. suitable pathways into general and specialised service – both lay and ordained, paid and voluntary, and
  3. a regular way of ordering the service of lay people involved in word and/or sacrament ministry, in addition to the existing preparation and call of Specific Ministry Pastors (SMPs).

‘(We have) a large number of pastoral vacancies, long periods in vacancy with frustration over the call process and communities struggling to afford a pastor’, Pastor Greg says in the report.

‘Yet ministry needs and mission opportunities still continue in the Lord’s harvest field.’

Pastor Greg says the Ministry Future project ‘does not pretend to be every answer to the changes we face’, but rather that it hopes to be of help. He also asks LCANZ members to commit the church, its communities and the project outcomes to prayer.

Read more, download the Ministry Future report and access a question-and-answer document about the project at www.lca.org.au/ministry-future  

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ALC staff farewell faithful colleagues

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