From the Interim Bishop
Asking the hard questions
Words from the “Service of Affirmation of the Vocation of Christians in the World” (Occasional Services Book) are good words to share with you. “Baptized into the priesthood of Christ, we all are called by the Holy Spirit to offer ourselves to the God of all creation in thanksgiving for what God has done and continues to do for us.” It is my privilege to affirm all of you who are endeavoring to carry out your vocation as Christians in the world. I ask God to give you the faith, strength, and compassion to carry out your holy priesthood.
People in the pews are asking the hard question, “What does my faith mean on the job and in the home?” Our church does not have all the answers on how to live out one’s vocation, but we do have an answer that gives everyone hope. That is, “Through Holy Baptism our Heavenly Father set us free from sin and made us members of the priesthood we all share in Christ Jesus. Through Word and Sacrament we have been nurtured in faith, that we may proclaim the praise of God and bear his creative and redeeming Word to all the world” (Occasional Services Book).
Just as each individual must ask, “what does my faith mean in living out my life every day in this world?” so too, must each congregation ask the questions, what is our congregation’s mission and purpose?” It has been my experience as bishop that when a congregation begins to have serious points of disagreement among its members, or the congregation is facing a tough challenge, the disagreements and challenges are bound to its lack of mission and purpose.
Perhaps a re-read of the congregation’s constitution, or a re-read of the congregation’s mission statement that you may have hammered out several years ago, might be in order. Perhaps printing the mission and purpose of your congregation in the Sunday bulletin and church’s printed and electronic communications might be in order. Perhaps having everyone—children and adults—memorize the mission and purpose of your congregation might be in order. I only know what I have heard in visiting with congregations, “we need to better understand our sense of mission and purpose as a congregation.” What does it mean to be a baptized child of God in this world today? What does it mean to be a Christian Lutheran congregation in this world today?
A new year is upon us. Continue to ask these questions when you gather together in committees, task forces, councils, small groups, and large groups. How exciting it is to be the church in mission. Congregations, synods, and the churchwide expression— we are all working together to be a faithful Evangelical Lutheran Church in mission, God’s work, our hands.
Interim Bishop Glenn Nycklemoe
