Notes from Pastor Renstrom |
|
On this page, you can read selected Grace Notes articles from Pastor Tim Renstrom from past months and study them in closer detail. Enjoy!
February 2019
Doxology?
Doxology? What does this mean? Over the past few months the word has been tossed about around our congregations as a title to some workshop or conference that pastor was, and then pastor and some lay leaders were going to. But what does this mean?
Doxology. My Merriam Webster 9th New Collegiate Dictionary has, perhaps, the simplest definition: “a usually liturgical expression of praise to God.” The Lutheran Service Book defines doxology in its glossary as, “Words of praise addressed to the triune God. Hymns that conclude with a doxological stanza are so indicated with a r.” The Lutheran Cyclopedia explains it as, “[A s]tately and exultant hymn of praise addressed to the Triune God or to a single person of the Godhead…” It, and my A Dictionary of Liturgical Terms, identify two liturgical pieces common to many of us as Lutherans, the Gloria Patri and the Gloria in Excelsis, and the ending of the Lord’s Prayer, as examples of doxology.
But how does that help us to understand the conference to which pastor and our lay leaders went? Did they just sit around and sing hymns and pray the Lord’s Prayer? If you ask the lay leaders that went, I’m guessing that they’d say that it sometimes felt like that! After all, we had how many worship services in 48 hours?
Doxology: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel. That’s the official name of the RSO (Recognized Service Organization) headed up by Dr. Senkbeil, Dr. Yahnke, and Dr. Flemming designed to offer training, support and encouragement to pastors and congregations as we respond to God’s service to be in service to him.
God’s service? God sent his only begotten son to live, suffer, die on a cross, rise from the grave, ascend into heaven and rule over all creation to pay for the sins of the whole world and forgive the sins give eternal life to those who do not reject his outreached hand and believe in Jesus.
Our service? In response to his Holy Spirit, we believe in Jesus and work in his kingdom to be his hands and feet, ears and mouth, to proclaim his forgiveness and life that others will come to the same faith through the same work of the Holy Spirit.
So where’s the doxology? The hymn of praise? When pastor and congregation work together in God pleasing ways, it is a hymn of praise to our Triune God! When they do not, it is a song of great sorrow. Bringing pastors and lay leaders together to learn from God to help them be a positive witness of God’s grace assists in ‘writing’ that doxology. That’s what these conferences are about.
A group of five of us went to Racine, WI, last weekend. (Imagine riding 6+ hours each way in a pickup with pastor!) It was a weekend filled with hard work and lots of conversations. I encourage each of you to talk to Brian Moreau, Carol Werlein, Kay Christensen and Steve Baker. Buy them a cup of coffee (they all drink it—some even drink the ‘froo-froo’ stuff!). Get your money’s worth in learning what they learned. I don’t know the specifics of what the lay leaders heard and said…only what they have chosen to share with me to this point. But, then, they don’t know all that the pastors discussed, either—not because it is secret, but because there is only so much that the human brain can absorb at any given time! But, if by God’s grace, what comes out of our time together brings glory to God through our ministry together in our congregations and builds faith in the faithful and brings faith to the faithless…that is an awesome Doxology!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Doxology?
Doxology? What does this mean? Over the past few months the word has been tossed about around our congregations as a title to some workshop or conference that pastor was, and then pastor and some lay leaders were going to. But what does this mean?
Doxology. My Merriam Webster 9th New Collegiate Dictionary has, perhaps, the simplest definition: “a usually liturgical expression of praise to God.” The Lutheran Service Book defines doxology in its glossary as, “Words of praise addressed to the triune God. Hymns that conclude with a doxological stanza are so indicated with a r.” The Lutheran Cyclopedia explains it as, “[A s]tately and exultant hymn of praise addressed to the Triune God or to a single person of the Godhead…” It, and my A Dictionary of Liturgical Terms, identify two liturgical pieces common to many of us as Lutherans, the Gloria Patri and the Gloria in Excelsis, and the ending of the Lord’s Prayer, as examples of doxology.
But how does that help us to understand the conference to which pastor and our lay leaders went? Did they just sit around and sing hymns and pray the Lord’s Prayer? If you ask the lay leaders that went, I’m guessing that they’d say that it sometimes felt like that! After all, we had how many worship services in 48 hours?
Doxology: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel. That’s the official name of the RSO (Recognized Service Organization) headed up by Dr. Senkbeil, Dr. Yahnke, and Dr. Flemming designed to offer training, support and encouragement to pastors and congregations as we respond to God’s service to be in service to him.
God’s service? God sent his only begotten son to live, suffer, die on a cross, rise from the grave, ascend into heaven and rule over all creation to pay for the sins of the whole world and forgive the sins give eternal life to those who do not reject his outreached hand and believe in Jesus.
Our service? In response to his Holy Spirit, we believe in Jesus and work in his kingdom to be his hands and feet, ears and mouth, to proclaim his forgiveness and life that others will come to the same faith through the same work of the Holy Spirit.
So where’s the doxology? The hymn of praise? When pastor and congregation work together in God pleasing ways, it is a hymn of praise to our Triune God! When they do not, it is a song of great sorrow. Bringing pastors and lay leaders together to learn from God to help them be a positive witness of God’s grace assists in ‘writing’ that doxology. That’s what these conferences are about.
A group of five of us went to Racine, WI, last weekend. (Imagine riding 6+ hours each way in a pickup with pastor!) It was a weekend filled with hard work and lots of conversations. I encourage each of you to talk to Brian Moreau, Carol Werlein, Kay Christensen and Steve Baker. Buy them a cup of coffee (they all drink it—some even drink the ‘froo-froo’ stuff!). Get your money’s worth in learning what they learned. I don’t know the specifics of what the lay leaders heard and said…only what they have chosen to share with me to this point. But, then, they don’t know all that the pastors discussed, either—not because it is secret, but because there is only so much that the human brain can absorb at any given time! But, if by God’s grace, what comes out of our time together brings glory to God through our ministry together in our congregations and builds faith in the faithful and brings faith to the faithless…that is an awesome Doxology!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
January 2018
I’ve always found this story interesting, but I haven’t heard it in awhile…So I thought I’d share it with all again this Christmas 2018. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14 ESV).—To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 ESV). Merry Christmas! Blessed Epiphany! Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
The Man and the Birds
Author Unknown
As told by Paul Harvey
The man I’m going to tell you about was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe in all of that incarnation stuff that the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to Earth as a man.
He told his wife, “I’m truly sorry to distress you, but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he would feel like a hypocrite and that he would much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed and they went to the midnight service.
Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then he went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another … and then another. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled outside miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. That is what had been making the sound.
Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures just lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter. All he would have to do is to direct the birds into the shelter.
Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light so the birds would know the way in. But the birds did not come in. So, he figured that food would entice them. He hurried back to the house and fetched some bread crumbs. He sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The birds continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them but could not. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction … every direction except into the warm lighted barn.
And that’s when he realized they were afraid of him. “To them,” he reasoned, “I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them.” But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.
He thought to himself, “If only I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe warm … to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see … and hear … and understand.”
At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells, Adeste Fidelis, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.
And he sank to his knees in the snow.
***
I’ve always found this story interesting, but I haven’t heard it in awhile…So I thought I’d share it with all again this Christmas 2018. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14 ESV).—To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 ESV). Merry Christmas! Blessed Epiphany! Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
The Man and the Birds
Author Unknown
As told by Paul Harvey
The man I’m going to tell you about was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe in all of that incarnation stuff that the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to Earth as a man.
He told his wife, “I’m truly sorry to distress you, but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he would feel like a hypocrite and that he would much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed and they went to the midnight service.
Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then he went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another … and then another. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled outside miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. That is what had been making the sound.
Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures just lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter. All he would have to do is to direct the birds into the shelter.
Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light so the birds would know the way in. But the birds did not come in. So, he figured that food would entice them. He hurried back to the house and fetched some bread crumbs. He sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The birds continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them but could not. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction … every direction except into the warm lighted barn.
And that’s when he realized they were afraid of him. “To them,” he reasoned, “I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them.” But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.
He thought to himself, “If only I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe warm … to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see … and hear … and understand.”
At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells, Adeste Fidelis, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.
And he sank to his knees in the snow.
***
December 2018
Why Worry?
It’s panic time! It’s nearly the end of the work week when the secretary wants an article for the newsletter! I must get this done so that she can then do her work efficiently! I get a bit down on myself when I make other people’s jobs more difficult because I wasn’t paying attention to the calendar…
Sound at all familiar to your life? Perhaps you’re the secretary waiting for someone else to do their job? Perhaps you’re having to wait for weather or other factors beyond your control to do important things? Or maybe it’s health problems, aging problems, family problems, financial problems…? This time of the year (Thanksgiving, Christmas) seems to magnify everything that’s moving with difficulty.
The following is from 49 Worship Stories for Children, by Theodore W. Schroeder, CPH © 1957, St. Louis, page 111ff. It is based on Mark 4:35-41.
That day when evening came, he [Jesus] said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (NIV)
A young man was once flying a training plane over the Gulf of Mexico. It was beautiful flying there among the clouds over the quiet, blue water. But suddenly the engine began to miss. It stopped 5,000 feet above the gulf.
The shore was too far away for the man to try to glide his plane in. He was forced to bail out. He jumped, pulled the parachute ring, and slowly floated down to the water.
But it was not nearly so smooth as it looked higher up. The gulf was rolling and swelling with waves. The man hit the water. He quickly got rid of his parachute before it pulled him under. He managed, too, to get out of his heavy flying suit and boots.
Then he started to swim to shore, which was a long, long way off. He was never a good swimmer, and it was terrible fighting those waves. He seemed to get nowhere. He became exhausted and panicky as he shouted for help.
After half an hour he felt he had to give up. He would sink quickly and get it over with. “This is it. This is my end,” he thought desperately. He pictured in his mind his young wife and baby, and sobbed.
He stopped thrashing in the water and let his legs drop in what he thought would be his last moment. But suddenly his feet touched the bottom. He found he could stand up with his chin out of the water. He was on a log sand bar that stretched out far from the shoreline, as many do in the Gulf of Mexico.
All the time that he had been struggling the ground was only a little way below him, and he could have been standing up. He needed only to wade into shore.
Many of us are like this man. We go through life struggling and straining, worrying and being afraid, when we do not need to at all. We need only to trust and rely in God to take care of us. The Bible says: “Underneath are His everlasting arms.”
God loves us. Jesus loved us so much that He died for us on the cross. He will take care of us. Why do we worry and why are we afraid?
I know that you children worry, too, not only we grownups. You are often afraid of the dark, afraid in a storm, afraid of an accident, afraid of getting hurt.
Some of you worry about Mother or Dad or yourselves getting sick. You worry about your school work. You worry about getting left out. Many things.
But Jesus says: “Don’t ever worry. God takes care of the flowers. He will take care of you. Just trust and believe.”
_______________________________
Wise words to children—of all ages! I find, in that list of things children might fear at the end of Pastor Schroeder’s story, things that every adult also struggles with…darkness, storms, accidents, getting hurt, loved ones getting sick, our work—and even the FoMO (Fear of Missing Out—it’s so common there’s modern ‘slang’ for it!). Still, the one who died and rose for us to bring us close to him is the one who calms the storms of our lives. “Be still,” Jesus says. And it is still.
Why Worry?
It’s panic time! It’s nearly the end of the work week when the secretary wants an article for the newsletter! I must get this done so that she can then do her work efficiently! I get a bit down on myself when I make other people’s jobs more difficult because I wasn’t paying attention to the calendar…
Sound at all familiar to your life? Perhaps you’re the secretary waiting for someone else to do their job? Perhaps you’re having to wait for weather or other factors beyond your control to do important things? Or maybe it’s health problems, aging problems, family problems, financial problems…? This time of the year (Thanksgiving, Christmas) seems to magnify everything that’s moving with difficulty.
The following is from 49 Worship Stories for Children, by Theodore W. Schroeder, CPH © 1957, St. Louis, page 111ff. It is based on Mark 4:35-41.
That day when evening came, he [Jesus] said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (NIV)
A young man was once flying a training plane over the Gulf of Mexico. It was beautiful flying there among the clouds over the quiet, blue water. But suddenly the engine began to miss. It stopped 5,000 feet above the gulf.
The shore was too far away for the man to try to glide his plane in. He was forced to bail out. He jumped, pulled the parachute ring, and slowly floated down to the water.
But it was not nearly so smooth as it looked higher up. The gulf was rolling and swelling with waves. The man hit the water. He quickly got rid of his parachute before it pulled him under. He managed, too, to get out of his heavy flying suit and boots.
Then he started to swim to shore, which was a long, long way off. He was never a good swimmer, and it was terrible fighting those waves. He seemed to get nowhere. He became exhausted and panicky as he shouted for help.
After half an hour he felt he had to give up. He would sink quickly and get it over with. “This is it. This is my end,” he thought desperately. He pictured in his mind his young wife and baby, and sobbed.
He stopped thrashing in the water and let his legs drop in what he thought would be his last moment. But suddenly his feet touched the bottom. He found he could stand up with his chin out of the water. He was on a log sand bar that stretched out far from the shoreline, as many do in the Gulf of Mexico.
All the time that he had been struggling the ground was only a little way below him, and he could have been standing up. He needed only to wade into shore.
Many of us are like this man. We go through life struggling and straining, worrying and being afraid, when we do not need to at all. We need only to trust and rely in God to take care of us. The Bible says: “Underneath are His everlasting arms.”
God loves us. Jesus loved us so much that He died for us on the cross. He will take care of us. Why do we worry and why are we afraid?
I know that you children worry, too, not only we grownups. You are often afraid of the dark, afraid in a storm, afraid of an accident, afraid of getting hurt.
Some of you worry about Mother or Dad or yourselves getting sick. You worry about your school work. You worry about getting left out. Many things.
But Jesus says: “Don’t ever worry. God takes care of the flowers. He will take care of you. Just trust and believe.”
_______________________________
Wise words to children—of all ages! I find, in that list of things children might fear at the end of Pastor Schroeder’s story, things that every adult also struggles with…darkness, storms, accidents, getting hurt, loved ones getting sick, our work—and even the FoMO (Fear of Missing Out—it’s so common there’s modern ‘slang’ for it!). Still, the one who died and rose for us to bring us close to him is the one who calms the storms of our lives. “Be still,” Jesus says. And it is still.
November 2018
Paradoxical Living
In my old Webster’s dictionary, ‘paradox’ is defined as “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.” St. Paul struggled to explain the paradox a Christian finds her/himself in with these words from Romans 7:15-24 (NIV):
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Pastor Jeff Lee, MN North District Mission and Ministry Facilitator identified these paradoxes in his monthly e-newsletter:
The paradox of our time in history is that
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; Wider freeways, but narrower view points;
We spend more, but have less; We buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense; More knowledge but less judgment;
More experts, but more problems; More medicine, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; We've added years to life, not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul;
We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals; We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character; Steep profits, and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;
More leisure, but less fun; More food, but less nutrition.
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; Of fancier houses, but broken homes.
Pastor Lee continues: “According to Snopes, the actual author is Dr. Bob Moorehead, who was a pastor. A man whose life should have been centered on bringing the love of Christ to those around him. But, Dr. Bob Moorehead turned out to be a pastor that was a sexual molester of male members in his congregation. He quickly resigned when 17 allegations of abuse surfaced in 1997. I guess it is just one more item to chalk up to the ‘paradox’.”
In the 1500’s, Martin Luther struggled with the same questions. He became convinced that the Bible holds two truths about us simultaneously: We are saint and sinner at the same time. Saint, because we are saved by Jesus. Sinner, because, even though we have been saved, our sinful nature still leads us to sin.
So what’s the answer? Verse 25 of our reading above gives it to us: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” We are turned to our deliverer and accept his deliverance from this paradoxical life. He is our only hope. And he has come down to rescue us.
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Paradoxical Living
In my old Webster’s dictionary, ‘paradox’ is defined as “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.” St. Paul struggled to explain the paradox a Christian finds her/himself in with these words from Romans 7:15-24 (NIV):
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Pastor Jeff Lee, MN North District Mission and Ministry Facilitator identified these paradoxes in his monthly e-newsletter:
The paradox of our time in history is that
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; Wider freeways, but narrower view points;
We spend more, but have less; We buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense; More knowledge but less judgment;
More experts, but more problems; More medicine, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; We've added years to life, not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul;
We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals; We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character; Steep profits, and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;
More leisure, but less fun; More food, but less nutrition.
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; Of fancier houses, but broken homes.
Pastor Lee continues: “According to Snopes, the actual author is Dr. Bob Moorehead, who was a pastor. A man whose life should have been centered on bringing the love of Christ to those around him. But, Dr. Bob Moorehead turned out to be a pastor that was a sexual molester of male members in his congregation. He quickly resigned when 17 allegations of abuse surfaced in 1997. I guess it is just one more item to chalk up to the ‘paradox’.”
In the 1500’s, Martin Luther struggled with the same questions. He became convinced that the Bible holds two truths about us simultaneously: We are saint and sinner at the same time. Saint, because we are saved by Jesus. Sinner, because, even though we have been saved, our sinful nature still leads us to sin.
So what’s the answer? Verse 25 of our reading above gives it to us: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” We are turned to our deliverer and accept his deliverance from this paradoxical life. He is our only hope. And he has come down to rescue us.
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
October 2018
The following article is from an LCMS Publication called ‘Reaching Rural America for Christ’ and was written by Pastor Todd Kollbaum.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Intentionality, Consistency, Relationships
Angie and I recently had the privilege of presenting at this year’s National Youth Workers Conference in Minneapolis. From that presentation, I pulled out three helpful words that might provide some guidance in many aspects of our various ministries.
The first word is “intentionality”: Too often we simply float along and hope things work out for the best. However, this is pretty much a recipe for failure, or at least disappointment. Instead, let us prayerfully consider the path that God has laid out for us and then be intentional about moving along that path in our ministries. When there are road bumps and hiccups along the way, having a mindset of intentionality allows us to weather those without derailing the whole process. Now, intentionality doesn’t mean bullheadedness but simply that we are being deliberate and purposeful in what we are planning and doing.
The second word is “consistency”: In ministry, we often look for the warm body who won’t say “no” when asked to serve in one capacity or another. While this might seem to fulfill our obligations, it is not a good way to do ministry. In order for anything to have a lasting impact, it is important for there to be consistency, both of program and people. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t change or even that a person should cease doing a particular job. What it does mean is that we don’t serve until it isn’t convenient or until “our turn” has been completed, we serve until the Lord calls us to serve in a different way. (Notice we continue to serve.) In this way, we provide consistency for those among whom we serve as well as consistency in what we are doing. Consistency also involves “consistent” evaluation of what, why and how we are doing things. It is with this type of consistency that we can best serve the Lord and His church.
The final word is “relationships”: In rural and small-town settings, it sometimes seems a bit crazy to worry about creating relationships since often our congregations and communities are made up of family and folks we have known our whole lives. However, the relationships I’m talking about here go beyond those kind of surface level relationships we often find. What we’re talking about here is loving our neighbor enough to develop relationships that allow us to share in their lives. To celebrate with them in their joys and help them in their times of trouble. Especially, we are talking about relationships which foster honest conversations about our faith, their faith and how God’s grace is the most important thing we have! May God bless you in all of your ministry endeavors!
Pastor Todd Kollbaum
The following article is from an LCMS Publication called ‘Reaching Rural America for Christ’ and was written by Pastor Todd Kollbaum.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Intentionality, Consistency, Relationships
Angie and I recently had the privilege of presenting at this year’s National Youth Workers Conference in Minneapolis. From that presentation, I pulled out three helpful words that might provide some guidance in many aspects of our various ministries.
The first word is “intentionality”: Too often we simply float along and hope things work out for the best. However, this is pretty much a recipe for failure, or at least disappointment. Instead, let us prayerfully consider the path that God has laid out for us and then be intentional about moving along that path in our ministries. When there are road bumps and hiccups along the way, having a mindset of intentionality allows us to weather those without derailing the whole process. Now, intentionality doesn’t mean bullheadedness but simply that we are being deliberate and purposeful in what we are planning and doing.
The second word is “consistency”: In ministry, we often look for the warm body who won’t say “no” when asked to serve in one capacity or another. While this might seem to fulfill our obligations, it is not a good way to do ministry. In order for anything to have a lasting impact, it is important for there to be consistency, both of program and people. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t change or even that a person should cease doing a particular job. What it does mean is that we don’t serve until it isn’t convenient or until “our turn” has been completed, we serve until the Lord calls us to serve in a different way. (Notice we continue to serve.) In this way, we provide consistency for those among whom we serve as well as consistency in what we are doing. Consistency also involves “consistent” evaluation of what, why and how we are doing things. It is with this type of consistency that we can best serve the Lord and His church.
The final word is “relationships”: In rural and small-town settings, it sometimes seems a bit crazy to worry about creating relationships since often our congregations and communities are made up of family and folks we have known our whole lives. However, the relationships I’m talking about here go beyond those kind of surface level relationships we often find. What we’re talking about here is loving our neighbor enough to develop relationships that allow us to share in their lives. To celebrate with them in their joys and help them in their times of trouble. Especially, we are talking about relationships which foster honest conversations about our faith, their faith and how God’s grace is the most important thing we have! May God bless you in all of your ministry endeavors!
Pastor Todd Kollbaum
September 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ!
They’re sending me aw-a-y! Actually, you’re sending me aw-a-y! Which, of course, begs the question, to where, what, when and why?
Let me give you some back story. This past summer some of the LWMLers from our congregations went to the MN North District LWML convention and while they were there, they heard a presentation on a program called Doxology. Excited about what they heard and concerned for the welfare of their pastor (me), some of them came back and strongly urged the Elders and Council of St. John’s to send me away to participate in the program. The St. John’s Elders and Council consulted with the St. Stephen’s Elders and Council and they have encouraged me and provided funds for me to attend a Doxology program in Racine, Wisconsin, September 17-20, 2018. (So that’s the ‘when’ and ‘where’!)
So what did these LWMLers hear? As best as I can ascertain, they heard that many pastors experience depression and other mental illness challenges from being in the office to which God has called them and that a program called Doxology offered help to keep these challenges ‘at bay’. Hearing these things and wanting to support their pastor, some of them took action and have made it possible for me (and a lay leader from the church, sometime in the future, and Char, sometime in the future) to participate in this program. (So that’s the ‘why’!)
But what is Doxology? To answer this and other questions you may have, I pulled this information off from the Doxology website, https://www.doxology.us/more-congregation-guide/. Doxology is:
How will it benefit our congregation?
How does it assist our church leaders?
So there you have it. You have the ‘where, what, when and how’ of your sending me aw-a-y! I thank you for this opportunity, and I look forward to what God will work through it as we walk together in his service.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ!
They’re sending me aw-a-y! Actually, you’re sending me aw-a-y! Which, of course, begs the question, to where, what, when and why?
Let me give you some back story. This past summer some of the LWMLers from our congregations went to the MN North District LWML convention and while they were there, they heard a presentation on a program called Doxology. Excited about what they heard and concerned for the welfare of their pastor (me), some of them came back and strongly urged the Elders and Council of St. John’s to send me away to participate in the program. The St. John’s Elders and Council consulted with the St. Stephen’s Elders and Council and they have encouraged me and provided funds for me to attend a Doxology program in Racine, Wisconsin, September 17-20, 2018. (So that’s the ‘when’ and ‘where’!)
So what did these LWMLers hear? As best as I can ascertain, they heard that many pastors experience depression and other mental illness challenges from being in the office to which God has called them and that a program called Doxology offered help to keep these challenges ‘at bay’. Hearing these things and wanting to support their pastor, some of them took action and have made it possible for me (and a lay leader from the church, sometime in the future, and Char, sometime in the future) to participate in this program. (So that’s the ‘why’!)
But what is Doxology? To answer this and other questions you may have, I pulled this information off from the Doxology website, https://www.doxology.us/more-congregation-guide/. Doxology is:
- A comprehensive experience of advanced pastoral training offers new skills for pastors to provide transformational spiritual care.
- Ten days of intensive instruction and peer learning spread over three conference retreats.
- Up to five hours of individual consultation and mentoring to enrich pastors’ personal and professional growth.
How will it benefit our congregation?
- Skilled pastors are effective pastors.
- Congregations benefit as pastors are better equipped to provide care for struggling people.
- Congregations experience greater unity and an increased desire to care for one another.
- Lay leaders and pastors review together how Christ grows His Church on earth.
How does it assist our church leaders?
- Dedicated laity are vital for a vibrant parish.
- Your lay leaders are invited to join your pastor for a weekend of instruction, conversation, and problem-solving.
- DOXOLOGY deepens partnerships between leaders and pastor in service to our Lord and His church.
So there you have it. You have the ‘where, what, when and how’ of your sending me aw-a-y! I thank you for this opportunity, and I look forward to what God will work through it as we walk together in his service.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
August 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
I’ve shared some of Pastor Meier’s writing with you in earlier newsletters…I also submit this one for your consideration. Your servant in Christ, Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Be a Summertime Missionary!
By Peter Meier | June 15, 2018
Recently, I’ve had several conversations with pastors who are frustrated that their members “disappear” over the summer months. These members may be at their lake home, or on vacation, or maybe with their kids who play in summer ball leagues.
Recently, I’ve had several conversations with lay members who are frustrated that their pastors seem to scold them in sermons or announcements because they spend summers at their lake home, or take vacations or spend family time with their kids who play in summer ball leagues.
When I was pastor of a church, I admit that I got frustrated too. Now that I’m in the pew, I am still frustrated. Let me suggest a simple way to beat the frustration – and best of all, to send more missionaries into more places to connect with more people.
Rather than see church members as absent from church on Sundays, why not help them to see themselves as church every day? Why not equip, bless and send them as every day missionaries who are mobilized and deployed on mission “as they are going” (Matthew 28:19). Whether going to the lake, on a summer trip, or playing summer ball, each family member has the opportunity to be on mission, to be an extension of the Body of Christ wherever they are.
The challenge for pastors and leaders is to help them be intentional about seeing themselves as church. That means pastors and leaders need to equip them with resources that can be used or adapted in various situations. Use Bible Classes and Sunday school classes to help them understand their missionary vocation and to share stories and practical helps. Devotional tools, activities, spiritual discussion starters, and Bible studies are some of the resources that could be shared for use by your missionary force. Weekly e-mails or text messages could encourage and bless them as they go. Share the Word you use in church on Sunday with a few appropriate application or action points. Suggest resources. Offer a prayer. Text a Bible verse. These media could also be means for everyday missionaries to share their stories of God at work with their pastor or church staff.
Summer is great time to consider God’s creativity as we travel and relax. Summertime can be a time for us in the church and on the road to be creative too! Rather than make church members feel guilty and ashamed because they are not always in church, make them aware of who and Whose they are, and their mission calling as the Baptized. Summer provides us with a great opportunity to disciple them as disciple-makers “as they are going.” Then send them as Summer missionaries!
If you are “just a lay person,” take off the “just” and replace it with “Called.” Your baptism is your Call to the mission field – at the lake, on vacation, at the ball field. You are called as an everyday missionary whose vocation is to make disciples as you live for and share Jesus. That’s true in summertime, and all the time!
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
I’ve shared some of Pastor Meier’s writing with you in earlier newsletters…I also submit this one for your consideration. Your servant in Christ, Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Be a Summertime Missionary!
By Peter Meier | June 15, 2018
Recently, I’ve had several conversations with pastors who are frustrated that their members “disappear” over the summer months. These members may be at their lake home, or on vacation, or maybe with their kids who play in summer ball leagues.
Recently, I’ve had several conversations with lay members who are frustrated that their pastors seem to scold them in sermons or announcements because they spend summers at their lake home, or take vacations or spend family time with their kids who play in summer ball leagues.
When I was pastor of a church, I admit that I got frustrated too. Now that I’m in the pew, I am still frustrated. Let me suggest a simple way to beat the frustration – and best of all, to send more missionaries into more places to connect with more people.
Rather than see church members as absent from church on Sundays, why not help them to see themselves as church every day? Why not equip, bless and send them as every day missionaries who are mobilized and deployed on mission “as they are going” (Matthew 28:19). Whether going to the lake, on a summer trip, or playing summer ball, each family member has the opportunity to be on mission, to be an extension of the Body of Christ wherever they are.
The challenge for pastors and leaders is to help them be intentional about seeing themselves as church. That means pastors and leaders need to equip them with resources that can be used or adapted in various situations. Use Bible Classes and Sunday school classes to help them understand their missionary vocation and to share stories and practical helps. Devotional tools, activities, spiritual discussion starters, and Bible studies are some of the resources that could be shared for use by your missionary force. Weekly e-mails or text messages could encourage and bless them as they go. Share the Word you use in church on Sunday with a few appropriate application or action points. Suggest resources. Offer a prayer. Text a Bible verse. These media could also be means for everyday missionaries to share their stories of God at work with their pastor or church staff.
Summer is great time to consider God’s creativity as we travel and relax. Summertime can be a time for us in the church and on the road to be creative too! Rather than make church members feel guilty and ashamed because they are not always in church, make them aware of who and Whose they are, and their mission calling as the Baptized. Summer provides us with a great opportunity to disciple them as disciple-makers “as they are going.” Then send them as Summer missionaries!
If you are “just a lay person,” take off the “just” and replace it with “Called.” Your baptism is your Call to the mission field – at the lake, on vacation, at the ball field. You are called as an everyday missionary whose vocation is to make disciples as you live for and share Jesus. That’s true in summertime, and all the time!
July 2018
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
From time to time I’m given articles that are just too good to keep to myself. The following is one such. I submit it for your encouragement.
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
A Team is More Than One
What do the following phrases mean? Sport team, employment project team; team work; working together; school assembly; pulling together? They all have the same denominator: a team is more than one person it is meeting together or pulling together for a common goal. What about a congregation? Are they a team?
We read in Nehemiah 3 how it took many teams to rebuild Jerusalem’s broken walls. The disciples worked together after Jesus’ death to share the love and life He gave to save us. They pulled together through the power of the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus. Read Paul’s letter to the Hebrews 10:19-25. We read in verses 23-25: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Let us take stock of our lives. Is love and service to Jesus a big part of your life? Through the blood of Jesus, we are saved from eternal damnation. Can we even fathom what that means? Jesus gave His blood to save you and me. How do we live in that knowledge? Do we say ‘Gee thanks’ and just go right on with our lives.? Does Jesus count in your life? I for one am very thankful for that blessing, to know that by His grace, one day I will be with Him in paradise. Knowing that I am saved and loved so dearly encourages me to want to not only share that love with others, but it encourages me to want to do whatever I can to help others, including volunteering in my congregation-pulling together.
As members of St. Stephens we are a team; justified through baptism, sanctified saved by the body and blood of Jesus; saved by grace through faith. Therefore, our mission should be to encourage and build up the body of Christ, the congregation of St. Stephen’s and Christians everywhere. Let’s pray for one another. Let’s share the love of Jesus with one another and all those in our community. When our leaders ask for volunteers, let’s be willing to step up and say, ‘I’ll try my best’. Let’s meet together more often to support one another and keep our church going. God bless us one and all. See you Sunday!
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
From time to time I’m given articles that are just too good to keep to myself. The following is one such. I submit it for your encouragement.
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
A Team is More Than One
What do the following phrases mean? Sport team, employment project team; team work; working together; school assembly; pulling together? They all have the same denominator: a team is more than one person it is meeting together or pulling together for a common goal. What about a congregation? Are they a team?
We read in Nehemiah 3 how it took many teams to rebuild Jerusalem’s broken walls. The disciples worked together after Jesus’ death to share the love and life He gave to save us. They pulled together through the power of the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus. Read Paul’s letter to the Hebrews 10:19-25. We read in verses 23-25: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Let us take stock of our lives. Is love and service to Jesus a big part of your life? Through the blood of Jesus, we are saved from eternal damnation. Can we even fathom what that means? Jesus gave His blood to save you and me. How do we live in that knowledge? Do we say ‘Gee thanks’ and just go right on with our lives.? Does Jesus count in your life? I for one am very thankful for that blessing, to know that by His grace, one day I will be with Him in paradise. Knowing that I am saved and loved so dearly encourages me to want to not only share that love with others, but it encourages me to want to do whatever I can to help others, including volunteering in my congregation-pulling together.
As members of St. Stephens we are a team; justified through baptism, sanctified saved by the body and blood of Jesus; saved by grace through faith. Therefore, our mission should be to encourage and build up the body of Christ, the congregation of St. Stephen’s and Christians everywhere. Let’s pray for one another. Let’s share the love of Jesus with one another and all those in our community. When our leaders ask for volunteers, let’s be willing to step up and say, ‘I’ll try my best’. Let’s meet together more often to support one another and keep our church going. God bless us one and all. See you Sunday!
JUNE 2018
On English Royalty, Weddings and June…
But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18b-21)
[Jesus said,] ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh[.]’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
By now everyone in the “English-speaking” world has, at least, heard of the wedding in May where the young English prince married the American woman. I didn’t watch it. I haven’t even paid any attention to the pictures of it, although I’m sure there are bounties of them on the internet. I’m sure it was filled with scads of pageantry appropriate to wealthy royalty having a major event in their lives. I wish them the best…but I haven’t paid hardly any attention to it, simply because I’m not all that interested in weddings. But it, and the June calendar with all the wedding anniversaries on it, bring up a good subject for an article.
OUCH! Pastor said he isn’t interested in weddings!!! GASP! Isn’t that one of the tasks he is called to perform as pastor of our churches? SHOCK! Now, catch your breath, everyone…it isn’t what it seems!
Nearly everyone who has come to me to have me officiate at their wedding has heard me say, “I don’t do weddings. I do marriages.” Well, they may not have ‘heard’ it, but I almost always say it. What’s the difference, you ask?
Weddings are a one day event filled with stuff: pageantry, emotions, expenses, family gatherings…stuff like that.
Marriages are a lifetime of hard work filled with God and based on his Word: (see Bible passages above)…mutual submission under God’s mission, leaving families of origin to start a new oneness together.
Because of who we are in Christ (Ephesians 4:32) we are being subject to one another. We don’t get to choose this. It is who we are. And as Christians who are being subject to one another, when we are married, husbands and wives are being subject to one, with the husband being commanded by God to sacrificially love his wife, just as Christ loved the Church, and the wife encouraged, by God, to respect her husband.
Obviously there is much more to this than can be put into a 500 word article, but this gives us enough to ask, “How many of our marriages look like this?” Well, I can’t claim that even my own marriage looks like this…When I was young, my parents often asked me, when I was pointing at one of my sisters, saying that she did it, “How many fingers are pointing back at you?” Yeah. We all sin in our marriages: husbands often lording it over wives; wives not finding anything in husbands to respect… We need the sacrificial gift of Christ on the cross.
And he gives it to us. We are forgiven, by grace, through faith. In repentance he changes our hard, proud hearts to be more like his. He walks with us as he changes us once again, moving us away from a “one day wedding” to a “lifetime marriage.” He separates us from our parents and makes us ‘one flesh’ under him. In his forgiveness we find we have the forgiveness to forgive each other, and the strength and courage to change ourselves to be the spouse Jesus wants us to be.
Marriage is far more work than even the most complex wedding. Thanks be to God that He is the one who does most of the work and helps us to do our part!
On English Royalty, Weddings and June…
But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18b-21)
[Jesus said,] ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh[.]’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
By now everyone in the “English-speaking” world has, at least, heard of the wedding in May where the young English prince married the American woman. I didn’t watch it. I haven’t even paid any attention to the pictures of it, although I’m sure there are bounties of them on the internet. I’m sure it was filled with scads of pageantry appropriate to wealthy royalty having a major event in their lives. I wish them the best…but I haven’t paid hardly any attention to it, simply because I’m not all that interested in weddings. But it, and the June calendar with all the wedding anniversaries on it, bring up a good subject for an article.
OUCH! Pastor said he isn’t interested in weddings!!! GASP! Isn’t that one of the tasks he is called to perform as pastor of our churches? SHOCK! Now, catch your breath, everyone…it isn’t what it seems!
Nearly everyone who has come to me to have me officiate at their wedding has heard me say, “I don’t do weddings. I do marriages.” Well, they may not have ‘heard’ it, but I almost always say it. What’s the difference, you ask?
Weddings are a one day event filled with stuff: pageantry, emotions, expenses, family gatherings…stuff like that.
Marriages are a lifetime of hard work filled with God and based on his Word: (see Bible passages above)…mutual submission under God’s mission, leaving families of origin to start a new oneness together.
Because of who we are in Christ (Ephesians 4:32) we are being subject to one another. We don’t get to choose this. It is who we are. And as Christians who are being subject to one another, when we are married, husbands and wives are being subject to one, with the husband being commanded by God to sacrificially love his wife, just as Christ loved the Church, and the wife encouraged, by God, to respect her husband.
Obviously there is much more to this than can be put into a 500 word article, but this gives us enough to ask, “How many of our marriages look like this?” Well, I can’t claim that even my own marriage looks like this…When I was young, my parents often asked me, when I was pointing at one of my sisters, saying that she did it, “How many fingers are pointing back at you?” Yeah. We all sin in our marriages: husbands often lording it over wives; wives not finding anything in husbands to respect… We need the sacrificial gift of Christ on the cross.
And he gives it to us. We are forgiven, by grace, through faith. In repentance he changes our hard, proud hearts to be more like his. He walks with us as he changes us once again, moving us away from a “one day wedding” to a “lifetime marriage.” He separates us from our parents and makes us ‘one flesh’ under him. In his forgiveness we find we have the forgiveness to forgive each other, and the strength and courage to change ourselves to be the spouse Jesus wants us to be.
Marriage is far more work than even the most complex wedding. Thanks be to God that He is the one who does most of the work and helps us to do our part!
MAY 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On Tuesday evening, April 24, Charlotte and I attended the Call Service at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, to show pastoral care and support to a man from St. Stephen’s who received his first call into the pastoral ministry. (Mike Metzler—his first call is to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hinckley, Minnesota.) During that service the preacher used an illustration that I had read long ago and forgotten about. I believe that it’s good enough to share with you. It’s from Minister’s Prayer Book edited by John W. Doberstein, first printed in 1959, affectionately known as “Doberstein” by the pastors who have been introduced to it and used it over the years.
The Sheep Dog
We offer ourselves, one way or another, to try to work for God. We want, as it were, to be among the sheep dogs employed by the Lord Shepherd. Have you ever watched a good sheep dog at work? He is not an emotional animal. He goes on with his job quite steadily; takes no notice of bad weather, rough ground or of his own comfort. He seldom or never stops to be stroked. Yet his faithfulness and intimate communion with his master are of the loveliest things in the world. Now and then he looks at the shepherd. And when the time comes for rest, they are generally to be found together.
Let this be the model of your love.
--Evelyn Underhill
Doberstein puts it in his little book to draw pastors’ attention to their calling. I’m not sure who Underhill’s original audience was, but I’m thinking it wasn’t just pastors. Bible passages such as Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd”; John 20:20-21, “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you’”; and Matthew 28:19, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” remind us that all of us, as disciples of Christ Jesus, are all trying “to work for God”, to use Underhill’s words.
I prefer Finke’s words from our study on Joining Jesus on His Mission. We join Him in the work he is already doing: saving people from eternal damnation through His Gospel. And I find the picture of us doing it as “sheep dogs” a good reminder of how we are to join Him. We aren’t looking for “atta boys” or an easy time of it. We just join him because…well, just because.
In the end, we will join Jesus in rest. And the rest, by grace, through faith, is the most glorious rest, beyond any of our imaginations. But, again, we don’t join Jesus for the rest—we join Him in rest because we like to be with Him.
Your “sheep dog” in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On Tuesday evening, April 24, Charlotte and I attended the Call Service at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, to show pastoral care and support to a man from St. Stephen’s who received his first call into the pastoral ministry. (Mike Metzler—his first call is to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hinckley, Minnesota.) During that service the preacher used an illustration that I had read long ago and forgotten about. I believe that it’s good enough to share with you. It’s from Minister’s Prayer Book edited by John W. Doberstein, first printed in 1959, affectionately known as “Doberstein” by the pastors who have been introduced to it and used it over the years.
The Sheep Dog
We offer ourselves, one way or another, to try to work for God. We want, as it were, to be among the sheep dogs employed by the Lord Shepherd. Have you ever watched a good sheep dog at work? He is not an emotional animal. He goes on with his job quite steadily; takes no notice of bad weather, rough ground or of his own comfort. He seldom or never stops to be stroked. Yet his faithfulness and intimate communion with his master are of the loveliest things in the world. Now and then he looks at the shepherd. And when the time comes for rest, they are generally to be found together.
Let this be the model of your love.
--Evelyn Underhill
Doberstein puts it in his little book to draw pastors’ attention to their calling. I’m not sure who Underhill’s original audience was, but I’m thinking it wasn’t just pastors. Bible passages such as Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd”; John 20:20-21, “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you’”; and Matthew 28:19, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” remind us that all of us, as disciples of Christ Jesus, are all trying “to work for God”, to use Underhill’s words.
I prefer Finke’s words from our study on Joining Jesus on His Mission. We join Him in the work he is already doing: saving people from eternal damnation through His Gospel. And I find the picture of us doing it as “sheep dogs” a good reminder of how we are to join Him. We aren’t looking for “atta boys” or an easy time of it. We just join him because…well, just because.
In the end, we will join Jesus in rest. And the rest, by grace, through faith, is the most glorious rest, beyond any of our imaginations. But, again, we don’t join Jesus for the rest—we join Him in rest because we like to be with Him.
Your “sheep dog” in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
April 2018
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Again, I submit the following to you for your prayerful consideration. How does it pertain to us? Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Three Problems with Disciple-Making
March 15, 2018 - by Peter Meier
How are disciples made?
One disciple at a time.
Those of us who are passionate about church multiplication know that disciple-making is critical to multiplication. Multiplication begins with the making of disciples who make disciples.
Biblical disciple-making is making disciples (one at a time) who then make more disciples, who make more disciples. This is multiplication. Jesus sends disciples (John 20:21) to go and make more disciples (Matthew 29:18-20). These disciples then gather in faith communities and send and go and make more disciples who start new faith communities - and on and on into infinity it goes! This is how God Himself designed movement to take place.
However, in our addition-growth culture, we face three significant problems.
First, we replace Jesus' design for making disciples (one at a time, who make more disciples, etc.) with man-made growth strategies (marketing, outreach, programs, etc). These are not bad or evil things in themselves, but they end up appealing to cultural Christians ("members") who desire to be kept happy. Ever-expanding growth strategies replace simple disciple-making as churches work harder and harder to accumulate and keep members rather than send and multiply disciples. If we concentrated on intentional disciple-making, which includes the sending of disciples to reach new people in new places, God would open our eyes to the most powerful growth strategy. After all, He designed it! (Read about it in the book of Acts!)
Second, many churches position evangelism against disciple-making. Many don't even realize they've done it. We are so focused on efforts to make converts, or to gain new members, or get new people who gather in our site(s) for worship, that Biblical disciple-making is not an intentional part of who we are. This results in an unnecessary imbalance of evangelism and disciple-making where these strategies should be balanced and integrated. Evangelism is simply the sharing of the Good News, but, as Alan Hirsch points out in his free e-book, Disciplism, "Evangelism gets done along the way as we do discipleship... The Great Commission is just about discipling the nations. Know what happens? As you disciple people, evangelism takes place because it's done in the context of discipleship." I've often called evangelism the "secret sauce" of church multiplication, but only as it takes place within the process of making Biblical disciples.
The third, and perhaps the biggest problem, is that we have found ourselves making cultural Christians rather than focusing on making Biblical Disciples who follow Jesus and invite others to follow Him too. A normal part of Christian maturity is making other disciples, just as a normal part of human maturity is having children who will mature and have more children. One becomes many (although in the case of human beings, two are needed). Cultural Christians, on the other hand, consume. You add one and then continue having to feed them to keep them happy. They never fully mature and reproduce.
Consequently, we double down on addition-growth strategies. We add more staff and classes and small groups, we create more worship services and programs, we do more marketing, and add more space and larger mortgages in order to increase our numbers. Our measurement of success becomes how many people come to events, worship services, classes and so on. Instead of intentionally making disciples who mature to make more disciples, and then blessing and sending them to start new faith communities and make even more Biblical disciples, we find that we are struggling to stay "even" or grow slightly (addition). We are lacking in multiplication.
What's the solution to these three Disciple-making problems? Start by recognizing them in your own experience. Then prioritize disciple-making as your primary purpose, both for yourself and for your church. That will drive your decisions and your actions in new ways to advance God's Kingdom. That's God's growth strategy. It's called multiplication!
Is your church making and sending Biblical disciples, or are you focused on making cultural Christians and keeping them happy? Why is this distinction so important? Why is this so challenging for so many of our churches today?
The Center for US Missions exists to equip disciples to multiply faith communities. If we can help you in your goal to multiply, give us a call!
Rev. Dr. Peter Meier is the Executive Director of the Center for United States Missions. You may contact him at peter.meier@cui.edu
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Again, I submit the following to you for your prayerful consideration. How does it pertain to us? Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Three Problems with Disciple-Making
March 15, 2018 - by Peter Meier
How are disciples made?
One disciple at a time.
Those of us who are passionate about church multiplication know that disciple-making is critical to multiplication. Multiplication begins with the making of disciples who make disciples.
Biblical disciple-making is making disciples (one at a time) who then make more disciples, who make more disciples. This is multiplication. Jesus sends disciples (John 20:21) to go and make more disciples (Matthew 29:18-20). These disciples then gather in faith communities and send and go and make more disciples who start new faith communities - and on and on into infinity it goes! This is how God Himself designed movement to take place.
However, in our addition-growth culture, we face three significant problems.
First, we replace Jesus' design for making disciples (one at a time, who make more disciples, etc.) with man-made growth strategies (marketing, outreach, programs, etc). These are not bad or evil things in themselves, but they end up appealing to cultural Christians ("members") who desire to be kept happy. Ever-expanding growth strategies replace simple disciple-making as churches work harder and harder to accumulate and keep members rather than send and multiply disciples. If we concentrated on intentional disciple-making, which includes the sending of disciples to reach new people in new places, God would open our eyes to the most powerful growth strategy. After all, He designed it! (Read about it in the book of Acts!)
Second, many churches position evangelism against disciple-making. Many don't even realize they've done it. We are so focused on efforts to make converts, or to gain new members, or get new people who gather in our site(s) for worship, that Biblical disciple-making is not an intentional part of who we are. This results in an unnecessary imbalance of evangelism and disciple-making where these strategies should be balanced and integrated. Evangelism is simply the sharing of the Good News, but, as Alan Hirsch points out in his free e-book, Disciplism, "Evangelism gets done along the way as we do discipleship... The Great Commission is just about discipling the nations. Know what happens? As you disciple people, evangelism takes place because it's done in the context of discipleship." I've often called evangelism the "secret sauce" of church multiplication, but only as it takes place within the process of making Biblical disciples.
The third, and perhaps the biggest problem, is that we have found ourselves making cultural Christians rather than focusing on making Biblical Disciples who follow Jesus and invite others to follow Him too. A normal part of Christian maturity is making other disciples, just as a normal part of human maturity is having children who will mature and have more children. One becomes many (although in the case of human beings, two are needed). Cultural Christians, on the other hand, consume. You add one and then continue having to feed them to keep them happy. They never fully mature and reproduce.
Consequently, we double down on addition-growth strategies. We add more staff and classes and small groups, we create more worship services and programs, we do more marketing, and add more space and larger mortgages in order to increase our numbers. Our measurement of success becomes how many people come to events, worship services, classes and so on. Instead of intentionally making disciples who mature to make more disciples, and then blessing and sending them to start new faith communities and make even more Biblical disciples, we find that we are struggling to stay "even" or grow slightly (addition). We are lacking in multiplication.
What's the solution to these three Disciple-making problems? Start by recognizing them in your own experience. Then prioritize disciple-making as your primary purpose, both for yourself and for your church. That will drive your decisions and your actions in new ways to advance God's Kingdom. That's God's growth strategy. It's called multiplication!
Is your church making and sending Biblical disciples, or are you focused on making cultural Christians and keeping them happy? Why is this distinction so important? Why is this so challenging for so many of our churches today?
The Center for US Missions exists to equip disciples to multiply faith communities. If we can help you in your goal to multiply, give us a call!
Rev. Dr. Peter Meier is the Executive Director of the Center for United States Missions. You may contact him at peter.meier@cui.edu
March 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I have been very interested in Christian outreach for many years. You know, the commission our Lord and savior has given to all of us: “As you are going, make disciples of all nations…” As a result of that interest, after a significant amount of study, I came up with “my” 3-legged stool of evangelism (telling the good news) training:
I was delighted to see that our Synod is trying to also say somewhat the same thing. In a blog with a long title, “‘Relationships, not programs’: Youth Ministry shares research on young adults” (https://blogs.lcms.org/2018/relationships-not-programs-youth-ministry-shares-research-on-young-adults), Cheryl Magness reported on a symposium held this January in St. Louis and shared the following information:
Factors that were identified in the LCMS study as positively influencing retention [of millenials] included:
When [2,000 young adults, ages 18-35, that have at some point had a connection to the LCMS were] asked who has had the greatest influence on them spiritually, they responded as follows:
The majority of respondents in the Young Adult survey (around 1,400) are still active members of LCMS congregations. Commonly reported factors in this group were:
I invite feedback to hear what you think of the article and its findings. And I have some questions for us to ponder: Are we building relationships with our youth (at very young ages) so that they want to come to church with us? Even when it’s hard to do so? (Who’s the adult and who’s the child?) Parents…how do we talk about church when we are at home with our spouse (children over-hearing the conversation) or with our children…or with our friends?
Probably the best summary statement that comes from the article: “Young people don’t want more to do. They want safety, authenticity and the sacred” (Dr. Kevin Borchers). What do you think?
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I have been very interested in Christian outreach for many years. You know, the commission our Lord and savior has given to all of us: “As you are going, make disciples of all nations…” As a result of that interest, after a significant amount of study, I came up with “my” 3-legged stool of evangelism (telling the good news) training:
- The foundation is the Word of God
- One leg of the stool is prayer
- A second leg of the stool is patience
- And the third leg of the stool is relationships
- All of which, then, give a structure to tell others about Jesus’ love!
I was delighted to see that our Synod is trying to also say somewhat the same thing. In a blog with a long title, “‘Relationships, not programs’: Youth Ministry shares research on young adults” (https://blogs.lcms.org/2018/relationships-not-programs-youth-ministry-shares-research-on-young-adults), Cheryl Magness reported on a symposium held this January in St. Louis and shared the following information:
Factors that were identified in the LCMS study as positively influencing retention [of millenials] included:
- having adults on staff who work with youth (not necessarily paid);
- having a Lutheran school;
- having the same pastor over a long time; and
- involving young people in church leadership.
When [2,000 young adults, ages 18-35, that have at some point had a connection to the LCMS were] asked who has had the greatest influence on them spiritually, they responded as follows:
- 29 percent – parents;
- 13 percent – pastor of home church;
- 12 percent – other family members;
- 12 percent – teacher;
- 11 percent – another pastor; and
- 10 percent – youth minister.
The majority of respondents in the Young Adult survey (around 1,400) are still active members of LCMS congregations. Commonly reported factors in this group were:
- parents who actively practice the faith;
- healthy relationships in which they were comfortable talking with parents about faith and doubts;
- a pastor who showed personal care for them;
- attendance at an LCMS Gathering and/or Lutheran camps;
- remaining geographically close to their home church; and
- involvement in LCMS campus ministry (either a Concordia or another LCMS congregation or campus ministry) during college.
- lack of care for them by their church at a time of crisis;
- feeling that the LCMS is exclusionary, unwelcoming or dismissive, including to them personally;
- disagreeing with the LCMS on social issues;
- lack of support/opportunities for them to get involved;
- preferring a different kind of worship; and
- finding people in the LCMS to be “inauthentic.”
I invite feedback to hear what you think of the article and its findings. And I have some questions for us to ponder: Are we building relationships with our youth (at very young ages) so that they want to come to church with us? Even when it’s hard to do so? (Who’s the adult and who’s the child?) Parents…how do we talk about church when we are at home with our spouse (children over-hearing the conversation) or with our children…or with our friends?
Probably the best summary statement that comes from the article: “Young people don’t want more to do. They want safety, authenticity and the sacred” (Dr. Kevin Borchers). What do you think?
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
February 2018
Here’s food for thought! What do you think? Pastor Tim Renstrom
Smelling the Coffee: Seven Sins of a Dying Church by Mike Ruhl
This article first appeared in the August 25, 2006, Mission Moments newsletter from the Center for U.S. Missions. Permission is given to copy this article for distribution within your own congregation. Please credit the author and the Center for U.S. Missions in Irvine, California, www.centerforusmissions.org. For more information, contact the Center at 949-854-8002 x1780.
The Missional Church Consultant was deep in prayer, thanking God for the privilege of studying and coming alongside dozens of congregations, helping them to straighten out priorities, strengthen their missionary zeal and operate with healthy organizational structures. He recalled that the average life span of a Christian congregation in the United States is less than 100 years (somewhat longer in rural areas), and he winced at the alltoo-frequent tendency of dying congregations to deny their own decline and impending death.
He also was deep in prayer because, after months of careful analysis, measurement and interviews, he was convinced that this 78-year-old All Saints congregation was dying. He knew that the congregation leaders could be upset and angry over the specific dysfunctional realities which he had noticed and had imported into his consultation report.
He prayed that God’s people would be guided by the Holy Spirit to repent of these observable “sins” of a dying congregation, catch a new vision for what it truly means to be a “faithful and missional” congregation, and commence on an exciting journey of spiritual renewal.
Barnabas-type missional church consultants (like Thom Rainer of LifeWay Christian Resources) are aware of seven “sins” (common characteristics) of congregations that are in precipitous decline and impending death.
1. Doctrinal Dilution -- One dying church conducted a group “Bible Study” on whether or not non-Christians might go to heaven. After much debate, the conclusion was that God would indeed allow people without faith in Christ into heaven. What a terrible tragedy--diluting biblical doctrine in order to make it “easier” for people to unite with the church! By the way, studies indicate that non-Christians are less likely to attend churches with weak doctrinal beliefs than those with strong ones.
2. Loss of Evangelistic Passion -- It is no surprise that dying churches have little passion to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to “lost people.” One study indicates that, when the Senior Pastor either lacks or loses passion for reaching the lost, then the saints of those congregations tend to follow suit.
3. Failure to be Relevant -- Many dying churches are “out of touch” with the trends, values and struggles of people in their mission field. Some are functioning like an 8-track cassette in a DVD world! The opposite extreme is noticeable also, as some dying churches abandon some of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith in their quest to be relevant.
4. Few Outwardly-Focused Ministries -- One study of established congregations in the US found that around 95% of the church’s ministries were for the members alone. When churches seek to care and minister only to their own, it can suggest that decline is in motion and death imminent.
5. Conflict over Personal Preferences -- Energy and focus for advancing the Kingdom of God can be consumed by conflicts over building programs, church and school rivalry, preferred worship style, color of paint for a room and type of sanctuary carpeting. Personal preference rigidity can turn some churches into a war zone.
6. The Priority of Comfort -- Can you imagine someone leaving his car outside the garage for a full year just because the remote door opener has dead batteries? Definitive decline often accelerates as members simply will not move beyond their couches of comfort, rather than expend energy becoming uncomfortable in the world outside the walls of the church.
7. Biblical Illiteracy -- Only 3% of US churches have a planned method for instructing their members to learn the Bible in its entirety. Biblical illiteracy can lead churches into disobedience to the Scriptures because people do not know what the Bible says.
Can you identify one or more of these “sins” in your congregation? If that is the case, do not lose hope. Consider inviting a Barnabas-type interventionist (such as your District Mission and Ministry Facilitator, or a consultant team from the Center for United States Missions) into your congregation to help you smell the coffee of ministry realities, repent of “decline and death sins,” vision and plan for missional advance and be renewed in mission through the Holy Spirit and the Word.
Here’s food for thought! What do you think? Pastor Tim Renstrom
Smelling the Coffee: Seven Sins of a Dying Church by Mike Ruhl
This article first appeared in the August 25, 2006, Mission Moments newsletter from the Center for U.S. Missions. Permission is given to copy this article for distribution within your own congregation. Please credit the author and the Center for U.S. Missions in Irvine, California, www.centerforusmissions.org. For more information, contact the Center at 949-854-8002 x1780.
The Missional Church Consultant was deep in prayer, thanking God for the privilege of studying and coming alongside dozens of congregations, helping them to straighten out priorities, strengthen their missionary zeal and operate with healthy organizational structures. He recalled that the average life span of a Christian congregation in the United States is less than 100 years (somewhat longer in rural areas), and he winced at the alltoo-frequent tendency of dying congregations to deny their own decline and impending death.
He also was deep in prayer because, after months of careful analysis, measurement and interviews, he was convinced that this 78-year-old All Saints congregation was dying. He knew that the congregation leaders could be upset and angry over the specific dysfunctional realities which he had noticed and had imported into his consultation report.
He prayed that God’s people would be guided by the Holy Spirit to repent of these observable “sins” of a dying congregation, catch a new vision for what it truly means to be a “faithful and missional” congregation, and commence on an exciting journey of spiritual renewal.
Barnabas-type missional church consultants (like Thom Rainer of LifeWay Christian Resources) are aware of seven “sins” (common characteristics) of congregations that are in precipitous decline and impending death.
1. Doctrinal Dilution -- One dying church conducted a group “Bible Study” on whether or not non-Christians might go to heaven. After much debate, the conclusion was that God would indeed allow people without faith in Christ into heaven. What a terrible tragedy--diluting biblical doctrine in order to make it “easier” for people to unite with the church! By the way, studies indicate that non-Christians are less likely to attend churches with weak doctrinal beliefs than those with strong ones.
2. Loss of Evangelistic Passion -- It is no surprise that dying churches have little passion to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to “lost people.” One study indicates that, when the Senior Pastor either lacks or loses passion for reaching the lost, then the saints of those congregations tend to follow suit.
3. Failure to be Relevant -- Many dying churches are “out of touch” with the trends, values and struggles of people in their mission field. Some are functioning like an 8-track cassette in a DVD world! The opposite extreme is noticeable also, as some dying churches abandon some of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith in their quest to be relevant.
4. Few Outwardly-Focused Ministries -- One study of established congregations in the US found that around 95% of the church’s ministries were for the members alone. When churches seek to care and minister only to their own, it can suggest that decline is in motion and death imminent.
5. Conflict over Personal Preferences -- Energy and focus for advancing the Kingdom of God can be consumed by conflicts over building programs, church and school rivalry, preferred worship style, color of paint for a room and type of sanctuary carpeting. Personal preference rigidity can turn some churches into a war zone.
6. The Priority of Comfort -- Can you imagine someone leaving his car outside the garage for a full year just because the remote door opener has dead batteries? Definitive decline often accelerates as members simply will not move beyond their couches of comfort, rather than expend energy becoming uncomfortable in the world outside the walls of the church.
7. Biblical Illiteracy -- Only 3% of US churches have a planned method for instructing their members to learn the Bible in its entirety. Biblical illiteracy can lead churches into disobedience to the Scriptures because people do not know what the Bible says.
Can you identify one or more of these “sins” in your congregation? If that is the case, do not lose hope. Consider inviting a Barnabas-type interventionist (such as your District Mission and Ministry Facilitator, or a consultant team from the Center for United States Missions) into your congregation to help you smell the coffee of ministry realities, repent of “decline and death sins,” vision and plan for missional advance and be renewed in mission through the Holy Spirit and the Word.
February 2018 - BONUS
Article for website (adapted from the 2018 annual report for St. John’s)
A Church on the Move
I found this picture somewhere sometime ago...and I found it interesting. It kind of begs the question: Is this your ‘picture’ of a church on the move? The old-timers in the St. John’s Lutheran Church that I serve tell me that their building was moved from Rush Lake into Rush City many years ago like this, with the pastor ringing the bell all the way from the lake to the city lot!
But when I talk about a church on the move, this is not what I have in mind. Let me share a definition of ‘church’ with you, paraphrasing the Rev. Dr. Peter Meier: a church is a group of people who regularly meet for Biblical worship, learning and mission.
Let’s break that down…
God has blessed us with his saving grace. In that saving grace we look forward, seeking where God is leading us, seeking God’s desire. God’s desire is that we are the bride of Christ—the church of Christ. God’s desire is that we are church—a church on the move, following his commission, living in his grace, seeking and saving the lost in his name. In his saving grace, we are just that.
Article for website (adapted from the 2018 annual report for St. John’s)
A Church on the Move
I found this picture somewhere sometime ago...and I found it interesting. It kind of begs the question: Is this your ‘picture’ of a church on the move? The old-timers in the St. John’s Lutheran Church that I serve tell me that their building was moved from Rush Lake into Rush City many years ago like this, with the pastor ringing the bell all the way from the lake to the city lot!
But when I talk about a church on the move, this is not what I have in mind. Let me share a definition of ‘church’ with you, paraphrasing the Rev. Dr. Peter Meier: a church is a group of people who regularly meet for Biblical worship, learning and mission.
Let’s break that down…
- People. Not a building. Not even the organization. But people—breathing, living, hurting, hoping, enjoying, celebrating, struggling, sinning—as they go about their faith-filled lives. People believing the Bible. People believing that they are sinners. People believing the promise of God that they are forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. People believing that life is worth living because the Son of God died and rose for them. People are the church.
- People who meet. People who regularly gather around Word and Sacrament, receiving God’s grace in Jesus Christ through the Means of Grace—the way which he has promised to give it. This, of course, means that if you do not meet, if you do not regularly gather around Word and Sacrament, you are not church.
- Biblical worship. Worship centered in God’s Word—his law and his gospel, both proclaimed in their respective fullness in word, action and song. Biblical worship is not about style. Biblical worship is about content. That content proclaims what we have failed to do, what we have done that is wrong, and what God has done to set us right, by grace, through faith, to give us life—abundant life here and now and everlasting life in heaven.
- Learning. One of my dad’s quotes is, “You never stop learning. The day you don’t learn something new you’re dead.” I’ve been hearing it for over 60 years! I believe that it’s true about individuals and that it’s also true about organizations—which means it’s also true about church. All of God’s revealed truth is laid out for us in the Bible, but we didn’t learn all of it when we went through confirmation and Sunday School. I’ve been teaching confirmation and Bible studies for well over 20 years—and I learn something new each time I teach; and each time I sit at the feet of a teacher.
- Mission. Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore as you are going, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you every day, to the end of the age.” Mission—it bears repeating—is assumed in Jesus’ commission to the church before he returned to heaven. Mission is doing something. For the church, those who regularly meet for Biblical worship and learning, our mission is Jesus’ mission: to seek and save the lost. We can be people who meet for Biblical worship and learning, but without mission—are we church?
God has blessed us with his saving grace. In that saving grace we look forward, seeking where God is leading us, seeking God’s desire. God’s desire is that we are the bride of Christ—the church of Christ. God’s desire is that we are church—a church on the move, following his commission, living in his grace, seeking and saving the lost in his name. In his saving grace, we are just that.
January 2018
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On January 21 (location to be announced) we are having a Circuit meeting to discuss Christian mission outreach in the fast growing Isanti area of our Circuit. The following is an article written by the speaker who has been invited to present. I hope you find it informative as you pray about this opportunity. Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Church Planting for Breakfast
December 20, 2017 - by Peter Meier
I enjoyed breakfast with Ed Stetzer in November.
The Center for United States Missions is a member of Ed's Church Planting Leadership Fellowship, a group of 70 or 80 church planting leaders, who gather several times a year to learn together and to stay on top of what's happening in the church planting world. This year, we met in New York City, at Calvary Baptist Church on West 57th Street.
On one morning, Ed invited leaders of national groups for breakfast. Ed sat with us, engaging in conversation with about other six leaders at our table. After breakfast, he spoke to the larger group of denominational leaders on the future of church planting in North America.
Ed encouraged us to think of church planting strategies like a golf bag filled with various clubs. Each of them is a legitimate option, depending on where your ball lies and its distance from the pin. Four strategies in particular are worth noting.
Traditional.
This is the one most people think of right away when we use the term "church planting." It was the methodology most used 20 or so years ago. Most of us are familiar with calling the planter to gather a core group to start a new church made of already-Christian folks from other churches who want something different than they are getting at their current church. Usually, this includes buying land and erecting a new church building with the idea, "Build it and they will come." It tends to be an expensive venture. Overall the goal is to plant a fast growing church which reaches 200 -500 people within the first three to five years. This is a bit of a caricature, I acknowledge. Ed noted that this is still a legitimate strategy. Multi-site church planting is a type of this strategy.
Missional Incarnational Planting.
This is a much more organic form of planting. It has been popular in the last eight or so years. It was made popular by planters like Neil Cole (Organic Church) and Hugh Halter (BiVo) and others. This model takes longer to develop than the Traditional model, and often requires a bivocational planter/pastor. We have learned that the growth of organic, missional community type churches is very slow. Funding needs to be done differently for this model than for a traditional model, fewer dollars up front, and stretched out over a longer period of time. Missional Community types of church plant cannot merely be populated by people who are disaffected church people. Rather, this type is intended to make new disciples by living life together in community.
House Church Model.
The glamor of this type of church appears to be fading, but don't dismiss this model either. It was over-promised and under-delivered. Often House Churches remain a small group of people who gather together weekly for informal church; it's like a family group. Like the Missional Community model, it is slow-growing, and requires a different funding strategy. Even though the house church is a small group (limited by the house/space in which they meet), it tends to be attractional in the sense that it attracts people who have an affinity for low-structure and organization, and high personal relationships.
Both the Missional Incarnational and House Church models, in order to be successful, require catalytic, apostolic planters -planters who, after establishing the new plant, are always ready to move on to start the next church.
I agree with Ed when he noted that there is no church planting movement among the majority peoples of the western world. The church in the western world tends to be highly organizational and lacking in deep spiritual practices and passion. With a focus on level three church growth (growing larger by adding disciples and disciple-making capacity within the established church), there will be no multiplication movement (level five, the "sending" church).
The fourth model offers great hope, in my opinion. It is a re-emphasis on Ethnic Church Planting. The energy in church planting today is not among anglo churches. The majority of new starts today is not Anglo. It is ethnic (either culture-specific or multi-ethnic) church planting. The deep spirituality and emphasis on reaching new immigrants along with starting new churches to reach 2nd and 3rd generations accounts for significant church planting growth overall.
The fact is that by 2040, we will all be ethnic. There will be no one majority ethnic group. Multi-ethnic church planting will be the norm, particularly in our growing cities and metro areas.
I suggest that a fifth strategy exists, one which is often used today, and is a variant of the missional incarnational model. We call it the gospel outreach ministry strategy. This strategy is not church planting in the traditional sense in that its goal is not to become a chartered congregation. Rather, the goal is to reach new people by establishing relationships around shared interests or needs or location. This becomes the platform for disciple-making and multiplying.
On a higher level, this strategy includes microchurches which develop intentionally as people make disciples and gather for worship, learning and mission. The goal is not to establish a large church numerically, but to establish a group focused on Biblical disciple-making and then multiplying by sending disciples to start new groups or microchurches. In so doing these groups fill every nook and cranny of a target area, establishing the presence of the Kingdom throughout the community.
Breakfast with Ed. It was nourishing, informative, and encouraging!
Stay tuned for more in 2018!
Rev. Dr. Peter Meier is the Executive Director of the Center for United States Missions. You may contact him at peter.meier@cui.edu
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On January 21 (location to be announced) we are having a Circuit meeting to discuss Christian mission outreach in the fast growing Isanti area of our Circuit. The following is an article written by the speaker who has been invited to present. I hope you find it informative as you pray about this opportunity. Pastor Tim J. Renstrom
Church Planting for Breakfast
December 20, 2017 - by Peter Meier
I enjoyed breakfast with Ed Stetzer in November.
The Center for United States Missions is a member of Ed's Church Planting Leadership Fellowship, a group of 70 or 80 church planting leaders, who gather several times a year to learn together and to stay on top of what's happening in the church planting world. This year, we met in New York City, at Calvary Baptist Church on West 57th Street.
On one morning, Ed invited leaders of national groups for breakfast. Ed sat with us, engaging in conversation with about other six leaders at our table. After breakfast, he spoke to the larger group of denominational leaders on the future of church planting in North America.
Ed encouraged us to think of church planting strategies like a golf bag filled with various clubs. Each of them is a legitimate option, depending on where your ball lies and its distance from the pin. Four strategies in particular are worth noting.
Traditional.
This is the one most people think of right away when we use the term "church planting." It was the methodology most used 20 or so years ago. Most of us are familiar with calling the planter to gather a core group to start a new church made of already-Christian folks from other churches who want something different than they are getting at their current church. Usually, this includes buying land and erecting a new church building with the idea, "Build it and they will come." It tends to be an expensive venture. Overall the goal is to plant a fast growing church which reaches 200 -500 people within the first three to five years. This is a bit of a caricature, I acknowledge. Ed noted that this is still a legitimate strategy. Multi-site church planting is a type of this strategy.
Missional Incarnational Planting.
This is a much more organic form of planting. It has been popular in the last eight or so years. It was made popular by planters like Neil Cole (Organic Church) and Hugh Halter (BiVo) and others. This model takes longer to develop than the Traditional model, and often requires a bivocational planter/pastor. We have learned that the growth of organic, missional community type churches is very slow. Funding needs to be done differently for this model than for a traditional model, fewer dollars up front, and stretched out over a longer period of time. Missional Community types of church plant cannot merely be populated by people who are disaffected church people. Rather, this type is intended to make new disciples by living life together in community.
House Church Model.
The glamor of this type of church appears to be fading, but don't dismiss this model either. It was over-promised and under-delivered. Often House Churches remain a small group of people who gather together weekly for informal church; it's like a family group. Like the Missional Community model, it is slow-growing, and requires a different funding strategy. Even though the house church is a small group (limited by the house/space in which they meet), it tends to be attractional in the sense that it attracts people who have an affinity for low-structure and organization, and high personal relationships.
Both the Missional Incarnational and House Church models, in order to be successful, require catalytic, apostolic planters -planters who, after establishing the new plant, are always ready to move on to start the next church.
I agree with Ed when he noted that there is no church planting movement among the majority peoples of the western world. The church in the western world tends to be highly organizational and lacking in deep spiritual practices and passion. With a focus on level three church growth (growing larger by adding disciples and disciple-making capacity within the established church), there will be no multiplication movement (level five, the "sending" church).
The fourth model offers great hope, in my opinion. It is a re-emphasis on Ethnic Church Planting. The energy in church planting today is not among anglo churches. The majority of new starts today is not Anglo. It is ethnic (either culture-specific or multi-ethnic) church planting. The deep spirituality and emphasis on reaching new immigrants along with starting new churches to reach 2nd and 3rd generations accounts for significant church planting growth overall.
The fact is that by 2040, we will all be ethnic. There will be no one majority ethnic group. Multi-ethnic church planting will be the norm, particularly in our growing cities and metro areas.
I suggest that a fifth strategy exists, one which is often used today, and is a variant of the missional incarnational model. We call it the gospel outreach ministry strategy. This strategy is not church planting in the traditional sense in that its goal is not to become a chartered congregation. Rather, the goal is to reach new people by establishing relationships around shared interests or needs or location. This becomes the platform for disciple-making and multiplying.
On a higher level, this strategy includes microchurches which develop intentionally as people make disciples and gather for worship, learning and mission. The goal is not to establish a large church numerically, but to establish a group focused on Biblical disciple-making and then multiplying by sending disciples to start new groups or microchurches. In so doing these groups fill every nook and cranny of a target area, establishing the presence of the Kingdom throughout the community.
Breakfast with Ed. It was nourishing, informative, and encouraging!
Stay tuned for more in 2018!
Rev. Dr. Peter Meier is the Executive Director of the Center for United States Missions. You may contact him at peter.meier@cui.edu