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291

The building is crumbling

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It’s seldom easy to accept change. We may often hear people say, ‘In the good old days … ’ and ‘This is the way we’ve always done it’. Still, as worship numbers dwindle and congregations struggle to remain viable in parts of the LCANZ, we wonder what the future holds for our Lutheran communities. Pastor and writer Reid Matthias asks if this is the end of the church as we know it, what’s next?

by Reid Matthias

It’s painful to write this.

When someone you know and love is nearing the point when end-of-life decisions must be made, we tend to desire miracles. Pleading with God, raging against the machinations of a seemingly fickle existence, we pray that the disease might be taken away so that we can return to normal life.

All of us know someone, maybe many, who is dealing with a debilitating and/or terminal illness. Whether cancer, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s or dementia, these painful attacks on the body cause us to confront our own mortality, but even more pressing, the mortality of those we love who are about to be moved into the dreaded realm of memory only.

In times like these, the dying process can be helped by utilising palliative care where the aims are ‘to give the best possible quality of life to someone’ who is seriously ill or about to die. ‘It helps people live their life as … comfortably as possible’ (Health Direct definition). During the palliative process, the dying and their families are given options. In palliative care, the patient and family do not necessarily end all treatments, but they select which treatments are important and which are not.

Similarly, the church, as we know it, is dying. There are many diseases that have ravaged the body over the centuries; yet it has survived. I won’t list the cancers or syndromes which have been chronicled ad nauseam by a particularly virulent anti-religious world press. But it feels like in the past 25 years or so, the writing has been on the wall.

The church we’ve known and loved, the place of relationship and connection, of spiritual health and healing, of music and ministry to the joyful and the bereaved, is waiting for the end.

There are options, of course. Treatments will not end. Worship in buildings will continue. We will share the stories of the past with great fondness. Similar to attending to a loved one as they move on from this life to the next, sharing humorous moments, times of connection, we, the church, will gather to reminisce about the time Jane accidentally tipped the communion cup onto the floor, Ezra knocked out a window playing cricket in the church hall or those wonderful Christmas services where we came together to celebrate a God who descended to us as Immanuel – a baby born for all people.

Yes, we will still share the stories and we’ll make the church feel comfortable as the pain overtakes it. As it intermittently writhes in agony, with the shock and fear of what comes next, we will attempt to treat it with loving kindness, hold its hand and tell it we loved everything about it – the good, the bad and the exquisite.

But, the statistics don’t lie.

We don’t need to be spiritual doctors to read the charts. All metrics for church ‘attendance’ are down. Buildings are being closed and repurposed. Financial donations are shrinking. A secular world, that has no interest in the things of the Spirit, tears down faithful, caring and serving communities.

Can you see that the building is crumbling?

And yet isn’t this the very thing that Jesus spoke about when they were on a lovely morning walk? ‘As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What impressive buildings!” Jesus said to him, “Do you see great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another – all will be thrown down”’ (Mark 13:1,2).

In John 2:19–21, ‘Jesus answered (the Jewish officials), “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days”. Therefore they responded, “This temple took 46 years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?” But Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body.’

Isn’t Jesus still speaking about the temple of his body? Isn’t the body of Christ still the people of Christ, the living, moving and breathing church? The people who, from the very beginning, ‘ … were God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared ahead of time for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10)?

As the church buildings from around the world enter the final phase of their existence, the next generation of faithful people, those who have received the stories of a loving God from the faithful before them, must have ‘their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith’ (Hebrews 12:2). The living, moving and breathing church, the people, must seek God’s vision for the people post-church-building/temple age. What does this look like?

Firstly, we have the opportunity to treat the building-centric church with dignity, care and respect. We continue treatments of joy and celebration for all that God has done. We remember.

Secondly, we engage the collective energy and wisdom of new generations of believers who are champing at the bit to understand both their faith and how it is utilised in the same world that has brought about the last gasp of the building-centric church. We, as older members of the body, diligently take a step back to hear and to be led by the newest church builders full of what John Perry Barlow calls ‘Digital Natives’, who understand the next phase of building up the church and reinforcing it with spiritual pillars rather than those of stone.

Lastly, we thank God for the gift of life in Jesus. Many things may pass away, but the Word of God will not.

Reid Matthias is Lead Pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Para Vista, in suburban Adelaide. He is also the author of the faith-reflection internet blog I Reid, where this story was first published as ‘The Church in Palliative Care’, and the novels Butcher and Baker.

292

The church’s mission is to share God’s love

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JESUS IS GOD’S LOVE.

HE GIVES US NEW HEARTS –

TO LAY ASIDE OUR OLD WAYS,

TO BELIEVE AND FOLLOW HIM,

TO LIVE WITH HIM EVERY DAY.

HEARTLAND

Rev John Henderson

Bishop Lutheran Church of Australia

‘Likewise, although the Christian church is, properly speaking, nothing else than the assembly of all believers and saints, yet because in this life many false Christians, hypocrites, and even public sinners remain among the righteous, the sacraments – even though administered by unrighteous priests – are efficacious all the same’ (Augsburg Confession Article 8).

When speaking to the recent online General Pastors Conference, I described the church as the ‘beachhead’ of heaven on earth. If we pay close attention, we will hear the distant surf crashing on its beaches and see the glow of the rising sun on the far horizon heralding the new era of justice, peace and love. ‘Beachhead’ is a military term meaning ‘the area of lodgement which is the first objective of a military force landing on an enemy shore’ (Macquarie Dictionary).

I usually avoid military terms when talking about the church. This may partly be due to the influence of my father, a military man who would never wear his uniform to church. I remember how astonished friends from our congregation were to see him on the parade ground, looking so different to the man they knew.

Since the early fourth century, the institutional church has too frequently been associated with conquest, empire and colonialism. The Roman emperor Constantine was the first of many rulers to implicate Christianity in his political schemes. In medieval times Christian Crusaders claimed to march in the cause of God. In the Great War of 1914–18, each warring country claimed that God was with them.

Historically, the institutional church itself has sought political and military power, sometimes even fielding its own armies.

The Bible also uses military language occasionally, such as St Paul’s description of a Roman soldier in Ephesians 6. Some passages describe God as a victorious ruler marching into a conquered city, an image which, on Palm Sunday, Jesus turned on its head.

Because of my aversion to military terms, I struggle with some popular Christian songs such as ‘Onward Christian soldiers’. ‘Lift high the cross’, a perennial favourite at church gatherings, also uses the language of conquest, as do many songs, traditional and contemporary. Such language can too easily turn into triumphal thoughts about worldly power and conquest.

The church is not here to rule the world but to bring it salvation through our humble Saviour Jesus. Its mission is to share the safety and surety of God’s love. Jesus has conquered sin and evil, even though, for the time being, they still wreak havoc, destroying lives and God’s good creation. In the church, which in the proper sense is the assembly of saints, Jesus brings us to a safe place of forgiveness, restoration, acceptance, love, compassion and peace. That’s the sense in which I believe it is a beachhead of heaven on earth.

At the same time, we know that the external church is not – and never will be – a perfect society. It is made up of genuine believers and hypocrites. Jesus himself said that he did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:12). Even true believers are sinners as well as saints. God has brought us sinner-saints into the holy Christian church, not only so that we can be safe, but also so that we can be his beachhead in the battle against every force that is opposed to God.

The image of a beachhead can be helpful. Through the church, God is reclaiming territory that had been under the control of the enemy. In the church, through word and sacrament, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus rescues his people from sin, death, and evil. Here God prepares us to receive Jesus when he returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. That’s awesome. Praise be to God!

293

GPC meets online for first time

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On 6 July, in a first for the LCANZ’s General Pastors Conference (GPC), participants met online for the triennial meeting with a slimmed-down agenda. The conference leaders and IT support team broadcast the conference from the boardroom in the Churchwide Office in North Adelaide, with 202 pastors logged on from their homes or offices. Some pastors gathered in regional hubs.

Pastors voted using the OpaVote platform, which will also be used for the online session of Convention of General Synod in October. Once the IT support team had assisted some pastors with a variety of issues, all pastors were able to fully participate in the voting process.

The 151 pastors who have been appointed as General Synod delegates elected nominees for the positions of LCANZ Bishop and Assistant Bishop. Pastors Matt Anker and Paul Smith each received the prescribed minimum of 25 per cent of the votes to become nominees for bishop. Pastors Neville Otto and Stephen Pietsch were nominated by the pastor delegates for the role of assistant bishop. The incumbents, Bishop John Henderson and Assistant Bishop Andrew Pfeiffer, did not make themselves available for nomination for re-election. All General Synod delegates, lay and ordained, will vote for the bishop and assistant at the first session of Convention, to be held online in October.

Dr Andrew Pfeiffer, Chair of GPC, based his opening message to pastors on 2 Timothy 4:5: ‘But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all your duties of your ministry.’

Speaking of the demands and challenges of contemporary pastoral ministry and the potential flow-on effects of fear, anxiety and discouragement, Dr Pfeiffer said: ‘We endure in the difficult time because Christ is at work, both in us and in the lives of others through our ministry. There is no pastoral theology of glory here. Pastors live and work as theologians of the cross, and the pastoral ministry can be marked by hardship, difficulty and even persecution.’

He urged pastors to keep their heads and to endure. ‘The image here is not so much to build resilience. That can be important, but it can also give the impression the task is within our own grasp and resources’, he said. ‘In fact, we only endure in the strength of Christ.’

Four hours of Continuous Education for Pastors (CEP) was offered through an exegetical paper by ALC lecturer Dr Stephen Hultgren, as well as two pastor panels covering the topics: ‘Pastoral Responses to COVID Challenges’, and ‘Reflections on Pastoral Supervision’.

Pastor Mathew Ker, GPC Secretary, noted that the experience of an online conference demonstrated both the successes and limitations of this format.

‘We were able to complete work that didn’t rely on open and complex dialogue, such as the elections’, he said, but added that ‘such a one-way event would make more comprehensive dialogue difficult. Being online also meant that many participants missed the personal connections that are often the highlight of such conferences.’

The decision to go online for Synod was made only weeks prior to GPC, due to the increasing risk of COVID restrictions, and GPC likewise went online. Dr Pfeiffer thanked the team of almost 20 people, including the LCA IT team, who ‘made it happen’. He further reflected: ‘COVID has meant that, like much of society, our pastors are weary. A six-hour online conference needed patience and a spirit of cooperation on their part. As chair of the conference, I appreciated how pastors engaged on the day and worked hard to enable us to do our work.’

Pastors have been asked to provide feedback on the online GPC in order to assist LCANZ event planning teams, including the General Synod planning team, to create the best possible online conference experiences.

294

Partnerships key to facing change without fear

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by Libby Jewson

Change is not easy and can bring fear, uncertainty and insecurity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to our home, work and worship lives, including some that we would have thought unimaginable just 18 months ago.

It has put further pressure on our faith communities, too, through church closures, ongoing but ever-changing restrictions, increasing compliance requirements and the need to re-think and adapt how we conduct and take part in worship and how we engage with and serve the communities around us.

I believe this has left many people weary – especially in my home state of Victoria – and, in some cases, they are disheartened about life and church.

Even before COVID, some people within the LCANZ expressed fears that change in the world around us would threaten the very survival of our church as we have known it. Others believe a viable future for the church comes down to whether or not we are prepared to change to connect with and minister to that ‘world’. Coupled with already-dwindling attendances in many mainstream churches, including ours prior to 2020, we may feel that we face the multi-pronged attacks of hostility from without and division within.

But it’s not all doom and gloom – far from it. We are all God’s children, and his unfathomable love is the one constant, unchanging reality for the world. Also, our Father, Son and Spirit have promised to be with us, walk alongside us and hold us in loving arms as we face the trials of life, including unexpected and unwanted changes.

And many great things are happening across the Lutheran community in Australia and New Zealand. There are indeed differences in thinking across the church about how and whether we need to change to not just survive, but thrive as we seek to further God’s kingdom. But I believe we can work together to address these differences. And I am hopeful we can do this collaboratively in a spirit of trust and respect.

From my experience in both church and professional life, I believe that managing change well and coming through the other side stronger is all about working in respectful partnerships with others, including – and even especially – those we may disagree with.

One image used to describe this partnership of ‘opposites’, is that of the place where the river meets the sea – fresh water and saltwater mingling into one body, but each still existing in its own right. It’s an image evoked in the Archie Roach song Liyarn Ngarn which, translated from the Yawuru First Nations language, literally means ‘a coming together of spirits’. It is a place of richness and vitality. It is also the metaphor used for the theme of the LCA’s Reconciliation Action Plan website (www.rap.lca.org.au).

Such collaborations of disparate partners suggest that, when we are open to and respectful in working with people of different viewpoints, each can learn from and be enriched and blessed by the other.

We also may come to humbly recognise that each person is individually gifted by God and has a role to play in bringing the good news of Christ’s saving sacrifice and love to the world, as we read in 1 Peter 4:10 (‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace’), 1 Corinthians 12:14 (‘For the body is not one member, but many’) and elsewhere. I am an accredited partnership broker and partnerships and system change have been passions of mine for more than two decades. Perhaps more helpfully described as a change-maker, bridge-builder or servant leader, a partnership broker is an active ‘go-between’ who supports partners in navigating their journey together by helping them to create a map, plan their route, choose their ‘mode of transport’ and change direction when necessary.

Partnerships can be reactive, adaptive or transformative. Reactive partnerships are formed as a strategy to deliver outcomes within the framework of the existing status quo – in other words, without significant change. Adaptive partnerships are designed to deliver development that occurs somewhat separate from, but alongside, the mainstream – so it will involve some change, though not likely fast or revolutionary. Transformative partnerships are intentionally created to challenge and change mainstream systems and mindsets.

The world’s longest-established organisation dedicated to multi-stakeholder partnering, The Partnering Initiative (https://thepartneringinitiative.org/), outlines the ‘partnering cycle’ in The Partnering Toolbook. This cycle goes through the phases of scoping needs and building relationships, managing and maintaining such elements as governance arrangements and partner capacities, reviewing and revising the partnership effectiveness and collaboration agreement and, finally, sustaining outcomes within partnerships. The cycle can then continue as the partnership matures and develops.

Many things can threaten productive partnerships, according to the Partnership Brokers Association (PBA), the international professional body for those managing and developing collaboration processes.

Challenges that partnerships commonly face include anxiety about differences between the partners, power imbalances, hidden agendas, competitiveness and uncertainty.

In each case though, the PBA says there are core principles the partnership can adopt to address these, and benefits that result from them, as outlined in the table below.

CHALLENGE                              KEY PRINCIPLE            LEADS TO

Anxiety about difference               Diversity                                New value

Power imbalance                            Equity                                     Respect

Hidden agendas                              Openness                               Trust

Competitiveness                             Mutual benefit                      Commitment

Uncertainty                                      Courage                                 Breakthrough results

Some relationships don’t reflect partnership behaviour – there may be an imbalance in communication between the members or the intent of partnership principles may not be understood. These are simply about exchanging information or are more operational.

A genuine partnership features mutual accountability and shared risk between the partners. The partners are equal and develop goals and strategies together, paving the way for exciting and often unimaginable outcomes at the start of the partnership journey.

Of course, there are many benefits and blessings that can flow from working together in genuine partnerships, including in our church. We gain knowledge, capabilities and resilience in the face of change. Partnerships can also help each member to develop a healthy curiosity about the other member/s and a willingness to understand and learn as they work together. This helps to get rid of rushing to judgement about other ministries. And this is not a new concept; there are many examples of this happening already.

In a simple example, when congregations and families team up, aided by resources and support from district and churchwide child and youth ministries, the faith of our youngest members is nurtured. For many years, congregations have established and partnered with Lutheran schools, and work with them in mission. Partnerships can also exist between churches located in the same region, as through this collaboration they discover opportunities for projects and ministry that haven’t even been thought of yet!

So how do we use the same strategy of working in genuine, equitable partnerships when we face far more complex questions, uncertainties and change together as a church? The development of a partnership agreement derived using a collaborative process and the framework as outlined allows for this. Once the partners begin to follow the principles and work together, there is no end to the projects that could develop and exciting opportunities that may arise.

The key is to recognise that it is only through God’s grace that we can hope to put aside our will and prayerfully seek to follow his leading together, especially when circumstances change. Then we can explore ways in which partnerships could provide opportunities for the unforced rhythms of grace (Matthew 11:28–30) – continually coming in to Jesus’ rest and going out in his grace. Working together is always more effective than working in silos.

We will hear God’s voice through the partnership as we put aside our differences to work together and seek to do his will. Are there more opportunities that we have not yet taken up as a church where we can adopt a partnership approach?

A member at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church North Geelong, Victoria, Libby Jewson has worked in organisation and systems design, agency partnerships, leadership and management and, most recently, leadership in the family violence sector. She also has extensive experience in multi-sector and multi-organisational partnerships. She is the chair of the Greater Geelong Lutheran Forum, which brings together the leaders and pastors of three Lutheran parishes, Geelong Lutheran College and Araluen Lutheran Camp, to explore opportunities to do things better together that they can’t do alone.

295

Change in the local church

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by Adrian Kitson

Change is not an option. Change is life in God’s kingdom. God changes us. He has begun his good work in us in baptism and promises to continue it until the last great day of final resurrection.

Change does not need to be feared. A lot of the time it is the Spirit calling us into it.

Change is simply God’s kingdom having its effect on this dying world – the old going and the new coming into our midst (2 Corinthians 5:17). Change is God’s people responding to the opportunities God gives us.

We make change difficult because we are broken people turned in on ourselves with disordered loves of people and things over and above our love of God. We allow this to rule us rather than trusting God’s presence and promises with all we are and do (the First Commandment – ‘You shall have no other gods’).

I see in many local churches the resistance to all change. This dismissal of change as a response to our unchanging God who is changing the world breeds quiet desperation. This state of mind seems to accept a false reality that we cannot change and that we are a ‘dying’ church – as though God has given up on us because we have given up on him.

Change is possible for a local church. In fact, in a local church – a community of God’s kingdom coming – change is always needed.

Because of who we are with our limited insight, clinging on to things and people more than the promises of God, change is always unsettling, uneasy and requiring trust of each other and God’s promise and presence.

We should not be surprised that we feel unsettled as we change. Just because we feel unsettled and unsure does not mean we cannot trust the Lord in and through change. We are people of faith in him, not faith in the things we can already see, after all.

Change that is fruitful in a local church is founded on trust and vision.

Pastors and leaders need to share trust based on God’s word and strong relationships so that change can be initiated and implemented with clarity and compassion. If leaders trust the Lord and each other, they can call people to trust the Lord and their leaders.

The two move together into necessary changes. If there is little trust between the pastor and leaders because their relationships are not strong, changes will more than likely ‘end in tears’ for everyone.

The vision for change comes from the pastor and the leaders asking the ‘why’ questions for as long as they can before having to do something practical. Vision comes from a group of trusting, committed people in a supportive atmosphere in a local church asking questions such as:

  • Why has God put us here?
  • Why has God got us to this stage at this time?
  • Where is God at work in our local community and how can we work with him in his power to draw more people into a loving relationship with him by faith in Jesus in the Spirit’s power?
  • What is our calling – generally and specifically – as a kingdom community in our Lutheran confession of faith?

When the pastor and leaders listen and ask these questions as they dwell in God’s word together and listen to their people and people in the local community, they can draw the congregation into that conversation and gain a vision for what the Spirit is calling them to be and do – where he has placed them. Vision for change comes from listening.

Don’t initiate significant change without this hard work of listening, building relationships, asking why and dwelling in God’s word. All you will do is scratch around at surface level changes to how you do things. This may frustrate people or end up in unnecessary conflict over things that don’t matter that much. Change for the sake of only some practical need without any seeking of the Spirit, listening to people and listening to the word together first, will quickly become ‘all about us’, rather than all about the Spirit’s calling and directing. We will remain self-focused and out of whack with God’s leading of us into his preferred future for us. That is a real shame!

But when leaders do listen together, relate, ask for comments, care for their people, dwell in God’s word and work on those ‘why’ questions, look out! God gives vision. His people can go together in faith into the changes ahead.

It is a wonderful thing to trust each other and trust the Spirit into change that bears the fruit of the kingdom: Christians growing in faith and being disciples of Jesus, biblical learning, baptisms, affirmations of faith, new possibilities to connect with our community and serve it in Jesus’ name, faith, hope and love on display every day.

Adrian Kitson is Senior Pastor at St Petri Nuriootpa, in South Australia and chair of the LCANZ’s Commission on Worship.

296

Domestic violence research project seeks participants

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The LCANZ is seeking to gain knowledge on ways in which religious beliefs and practices are used by some men to perpetrate domestic violence.

The research, commissioned by the church’s Campaign for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence task force, involves interviewing pastors about their understanding of domestic violence and experiences supporting men who have used violence. It also involves interviewing men who have previously used violence to understand their recovery journey and Christian beliefs.

The project is now recruiting participants. The research team would like to hear from pastors willing to share their knowledge and experiences. The researchers will also invite pastors to ask men they have supported who are no longer using violence if they are interested in participating.

Research outcomes will support developing more effective policies and practices inside and outside of religious settings to prevent domestic violence. The research is led by Professor Sarah Wendt at South Australia’s Flinders University, in partnership with Professor Wendy Mayer at Australian Lutheran College (ALC).

For more information, contact Professor Wendt at sarah.wendt@flinders.edu.au or on 08 8201 3978.

Phone 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or MensLine (1300 789 978) for free, 24-hour domestic violence counselling.

297

New bishop for LCANZ partner

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The Right Reverend Lu Guan Hoe is the new bishop of LCANZ overseas partner church Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS).

Bishop Lu, who succeeds Bishop Terry Kee Buck Hwa, was installed as the third bishop of the LCS on 26 June. Ordained in 1992, Bishop Lu has served in pastoral ministry, as well on the Four Denominations Chinese Work Executive Council, the latter for more than 10 years. He studied at Trinity Theological College and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong. He is married to Grace, and they have two daughters.

LCANZ Bishop John Henderson sent greetings for the installation: ‘For many years we have enjoyed a strong and encouraging relationship with you all in Singapore’, he said. ‘We thank God for you, and for our fellowship in Christ in our region. Bishop Lu Guan Hoe, may God hold you in the palm of his hand, lifting you up and inspiring you.’

Established in 1997, the LCS has established missions in China, Mongolia, Thailand and Cambodia, together with the International Seafarers Mission in Singapore.

Read more about Bishop Emeritus Terry Kee’s service in LCA International Mission’s magazine Border Crossings, included with this edition of The Lutheran and available at https://lcamission.org.au/

298

‘Please pray for us’

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Bishop Deddy Purba of the GKPS, a partner church of the LCANZ, has asked our church to pray for his people as COVID-19 reaches crisis levels in Indonesia. About 700 GKPS members in the Java region alone have the virus. A number of pastors of the 230,000-member church have died, including one who was buried by pastors in full PPE on 11 July. ‘Please do pray for us’, Bishop Purba said. ‘May God have mercy and bless and protect us all, and those who are suffering will recover and survive.’ In 2019 Bishop Purba spent six weeks in Australia on an LCANZ Reconciliation Ministry scholarship.

299

Church@Home August 2021

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CHURCH@HOME www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Laying a sure foundation for faith

Regular devotions can be a great foundation for our home-worship life. They can help nurture our faith and even that of our families, as they strengthen our relationship with Jesus, increase our trust in God and our openness to the call of his Spirit. We pray that you will receive blessings from the devotional materials here and in the Church@Home resources collection collated and shared on the special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome. There are also other faith-building and practical resources available through this webpage. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print some and mail or deliver them to those who may otherwise miss out?

–Lisa

Proverbs 18:10    

The Lord is a mighty tower where his people can run for safety.

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

These reflections are from a collection of devotions written for our LCANZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus. They can be used by families, small groups and individuals as part of daily faith practice. You can find these and more on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

The secret of the kingdom of God by Kathy Matuschka

He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you’ (Mark 4:11a).

Read Mark 4:1–12.

This is confusing. Jesus tells his disciples the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to them, whereas the outsiders are told truths via parables. But Jesus’ disciples don’t seem to understand either Jesus’ straight talk or his parables!

So why does Jesus say that the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to them?

Today, when we refer to ‘the secret’ in this way, we tend to refer to information (for example, a secret ingredient) or a technique (for example, the steps of a process).

No wonder we have trouble noticing the obvious – that Jesus is not referring to information or a process but himself: Jesus is the secret. Jesus has been given to the disciples and you and me also.

Do you know the secret of the kingdom of God?

I hope so.

Jesus offers this key, or secret, as he tells this parable of the sower. He invites us not to look at the soil conditions but at him. In the kingdom of God, it’s not about trying our best to be fertile soil. It’s not about judging and correcting others when they seem to be choked up by the cares of life. The secret is unearthed not through our productivity but in receiving Jesus. He is the secret of the kingdom of God in all the ways he is present: in Christian community, in the written word of God, in the sacraments, in suffering, in paradoxes, ambiguity and unpredictability. The secret is gradually revealed as we live an ordinary life with its ups and downs, with our good days and our bad, our times of plenty and scarcity, in the presence of Jesus, in the power of God’s Holy Spirit and to the praise of our Creator.

Dear Jesus, thank you for the many ways you reveal yourself and your heart to me. By your Holy Spirit, please continue to teach and inspire me to know you and share you in a world that so needs to know this secret. Amen.

Sleeping through a storm by Pastor Joshua Pfeiffer

But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ (Mark 4:38).

Read Mark 4:35–41.

In today’s reading, we find the disciples amid a chaotic, fear-inducing storm. The wind was blowing ferociously, and the waves were crashing into their boat.

If you’ve ever been caught in a serious storm, you know this is no joke – let alone when you’re out on a huge body of water.

There is something truly awesome when the forces of nature are unleashed in their fury, and we realise just how little control we have over our own circumstances.

But during the storm, there is another problem. It troubles the disciples, perhaps even more than the physical elements, namely, the apparent lack of care and concern from Jesus. He’s asleep!

Isn’t it true that problems we have in life are made even worse by the reality that those close to us don’t seem to treat them with the same seriousness? This is even more so the case when it comes to God.

In response, Jesus exercises his divine power by speaking peace and calmness to the storm, as well as calling for greater faith from his disciples. They recognise they are in the presence of no mere man, and the awe previously evoked by the storm is redirected to Jesus himself.

The final question of the text is the main point: ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

We know who he is. He is Christ Jesus, the Son of God, and our Saviour. He has come from the Father on a mission to restore peace to the chaos of this sinful world by dying, rising and sending his Spirit. Indeed, there is much in this world to fear with threats all around.

But let us never mistake the apparent inactivity of God for his indifference to our plight. On the contrary, no matter what we face, our Lord Jesus promises to be ‘in the boat’ with us, and he has all authority. Trust him.

Heavenly Father, my life sometimes feels like I’m in the midst of a storm. I fear, and I lack faith. Be near to me in your Son Jesus, and by the power of your Spirit, bring me comfort and strengthen my faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

PRAYER

Hold our hands, Lord,
walk us through the loneliness
and the valley of our sorrows.
Hold onto us when we’re too afraid
to think about the future.
Let us lean on you, Lord,
when we’re too weary to continue.
Hold our hands through the night
until we see the light of dawn.

– Author unknown from LCA PRAYERS FOR A TIME OF CRISIS AND LOSS by Aub Podlich, at www.lca.org.au/worship/wpp/churchhome/ under the Pray@Home tab

Exodus 15:2        

The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.

Who has authority? by Pastor Jim Strelan

He sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits (Mark 6:7).

Read Mark 6:1–13.

How are you with authority? There are lots of people who have authority, and generally, we accept that. The government, the police, parents and those in schools have a hierarchy of authority going from the top and moving down to even the student body. Martin Luther taught that all those earthly authorities are extensions of God. Whether they recognise it or not, they work on behalf of God.

Jesus sends his disciples out, and he gives them authority. Their authority is not to do with their own abilities. It’s not to do with how much they have or how much they own – ‘take nothing for the journey except a staff’ (Mark 6:8). It doesn’t depend on their training or particular expertise. They go with the authority of Jesus, and in that authority, they drive out demons and heal the sick.

How are you with authority in your faith journey? Sometimes we can think that it’s only certain people who have this kind of authority. We can think that it’s only the pastor who has that authority, and we insist the pastor must be of a particular gender. But the authority is not the disciples’. Without the authority of Jesus, the disciples would have been timid and ineffective. It is the authority of Jesus, and it’s the highest authority there is. He gives it, and they go out in his name and do things they wouldn’t have thought conceivable.

We are to respect all authority that acts for the common good. The authority of Jesus is the highest of all, and he gives it to those who want to serve on his behalf – even you.

Jesus, I acknowledge that all authority is yours. Thank you for empowering all those who act in your name, even me. Amen. 

Remember me by Chelsea Pietsch

This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you (2 Kings 20:5).

Read 2 Kings 20:1–7.

Hezekiah is ill and has just received word from the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, that he is going to die. ‘Put your house in order’, he is told.

What would you do if you were told that your death was imminent? What actions would you take? To whom would you turn?

Hezekiah’s first response is to pray. He turns his face towards the wall, perhaps to hide his quivering lip. His prayer is not necessarily a plea for longer life, though maybe that is implied. He asks God to ‘remember’ how he has strived to lead a faithful and holy life. And after he says this, he weeps. Bitterly.

Hezekiah’s tears are not necessarily tears of despair or even fear, as one might first assume. Perhaps they are just a way to mark the end of life and the gravity of death. Death is confronting. It separates us from the world we know and the people we love. It is also ultimately unknowable – a mystery to those of us on this side of life.

Irrespective of Hezekiah’s motives, it is clear that God feels moved by his prayer. If God has decided death for the good king, then he has now changed his mind.

This reading reminds us of the active and reciprocal nature of prayer. God hears us. Sometimes, as in the case of Hezekiah, prayer apparently prompts God to change course.

Hezekiah’s prayer ‘remember me’ also gives us words to say when we ourselves are at the point of death. Do you remember another instance in Jesus’ life when someone cried out to him, ‘remember me’, at the point of death?

Dear Jesus, now and at the hour of our death, grant us the faith and courage to pour out our emotions first and foremost to you. And remember us. Amen. 

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Relationships the key to 21st-century discipleship

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by Jodi Brook and Christine Matthias

Early 2020 was an exciting time for Grow Ministries. We had just launched our Grow Disciples guide and curriculum as a new confirmation resource for the LCANZ.

In March we travelled to Western Australia to share this resource with the District Pastors Conference and were encouraged by their enthusiasm to try something new. This was to be the first of many trips like it we had planned in 2020.

However, as we all know, COVID-19 arrived, and all plans changed! As 2020 progressed and we gained glimpses of what our new world was going to be like, we began to develop online training and videos, not just for Grow Disciples but on other topics as well. In September, the New Zealand ministry leaders were willing to have us join them via video conferencing, and we did the best we could to highlight the relational approach of this resource while all feeling very isolated.

It has been with great delight and enthusiasm – and good timing – that we have been able to attend district pastors’ conferences for New South Wales-Australian Capital Territory (pictured above right), South Australia-Northern Territory (above) and Queensland (below). We have shared with pastors all around the country that discipleship in the 21st century is about developing relationships through intergenerational connections and engaging curriculum. This is what Grow Disciples aims to do. This can feel like a big change from the way we have always ‘done confirmation’ and it can seem hard to find the time in our busy calendar to adopt a new way of thinking.

However, Grow Ministries can help your congregation, pastors or lay leaders to imagine something new when discipling young people. If you need our help to work out how, please contact one of our team – email growministries@lca.org.au or phone 08 8267 7300.

WHAT SOME PASTORS SAY ABOUT GROW DISCIPLES

SA-NT

‘The Grow Ministries presentation at pastors conference was a highlight for me. This is what ministry is all about, sharing the faith with each other … Can’t wait to try some new ideas out.’

Pastor Joel Cramer – The Ark Salisbury SA

NZ

‘Christine introduced us to Grow Disciples, with its key principles of learning through relationships. Now at St Paul’s in Wellington, we are looking how we might use this resource in our ministry to an up-and-coming group of adolescents. Thank you.’

Pastor Jim Pietsch – St Pauls Wellington NZ

NSW-ACT

‘It is so exciting to see a new resource not just for confirmation, but for a holistic and engaging approach to discipling young people and connecting them to their church community through authentic intergenerational relationships.’

Pastor Mat von Stanke – LifeWay Newcastle NSW

QLD

‘That was the best “last-session-of-the-day” presentation I have ever been a part of … it was a session of joy, enthusiasm and interaction that really promoted wellbeing in a way that was practically joyful, as we collectively hoped for an exciting future where confirmation is no longer a “graduation from the church” and instead a “graduation into the life of the church”.’

Pastor Ben Hentschke – Ipswich Lutheran Church Qld