“Alderaan? I’m not going to Alderaan. I’ve got to get home. It’s late. I’m in for it as it is.”

Name that movie.  Name that scene.  Anyone with even a passing interest in the Star Wars franchise knows this one. It’s a pivotal moment.  Obi Wan asks Luke to come along, inviting him on a journey. It’s the beginning of Luke’s heroic journey; it’s a term penned by Professor Joseph Campbell who traced such stories through history, all of which followed a certain pattern and all leading to a central task: prevailing against darkness. 

George Lucas conferred with Campbell while writing the first three movies of the series.  Maybe that’s why most aficionados consider them the best of the nine. I find it ironic that when I first saw that movie, I looked like the kid being given a light saber.  Now I’m the white-haired old guy saying, “Hey, come along this way…” and for what it’s worth Luke’s first response is basically, “No thanks old man, I’ve got to get home and work on some evaporators.” In short order Luke experiences the loss of his aunt and uncle, crosses the threshold of Yes and with Obi Wan goes down into the valley of the spaceport.  Lucas knew what he was about.  The imagery was subtle, but followed the ancient pattern, down into the valley of the shadow of death with an outcome unknown. 

At our August board meeting of Lutheran CORE, our executive director Dennis Nelson led us through a bible study on the trip to Caesarea Philippi and the question, “Who do people say the son of man is?” Dennis offered a quick survey of Simon’s response, a look at the meaning of being given the keys and what that might entail, and then an insight into the gates, the gates that will not prevail against the rock. Then Jesus gave Simon his new identity, role, and assurance, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”

The thing is that gates don’t take territory.  They don’t advance against an intruder.  They attempt to hold back an incursion.  Their role is to block that which is outside, like an opening in any good boundary regulates what can come in and what will go out.  Why can’t these gates prevail?  I sat there and soaked in that insight.  Of the many times I had explored that text, I asked who is Jesus in a pagan culture, what does it mean to be given the authority and therefore the power of the keys to bring life and the promise of forgiveness and eternal life?  What did it mean that Peter had a sufficiently robust relationship that he could endure the challenge of being compared to Satan and standing behind? And as our walk with Jesus becomes more personal, what does it mean that we find ourselves more open to being challenged in our brokenness and sin (sin that the Gospel may release)? And then Dennis brought up the idea of prevailing against the gates.  That invigorated a lively conversation around the table. 

What does it take to prevail against those gates, not merely hunker down and survive, but prevail?  Not in a militaristic sense, but certainly with a recognition that the church was founded to be movemental, to advance into new territory, to train and equip those who would bring the Gospel from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and all the ends of the earth.  How are we doing with that in our own contexts?  Were any of us trained to lead a movement?  Are we prevailing? Most of us were taught to preach, teach, bring comfort to the homebound and hospitalized, baptize the children, marry the silly romantics, bury the loved ones of the grieving. 

What if prevailing is more than that? In these times that often feel like we are traversing down into the valley of the shadow, what tools did we miss in seminary that we need for the journey? If you can find a copy of the book In The Valley of the Shadow by Hanns Lilje, it’s worth a read.  Lilje was a contemporary of Bonhoeffer—he survived his experience in the camps, later became a Bishop and wrote a catechism for adults.

Drawing from the disparate training of those on the Board, friends of CORE and others we will likely recruit, we are working on providing tasters on topics we didn’t learn in seminary.  During my brief stint as an assistant to the bishop in the ELCA’s Sierra Pacific Synod, I was called to manage first call theological education as part of a team for region 2.  Since I like to be data driven when it comes to providing training and support, I got all our first call pastors together, asked how it was going, and what do they think they missed?  I heard an earful.  So many things.  And that was twenty-five years ago. 

Since then, we’ve experienced the sexuality wars, the worship wars, the decline of Christianity numerically in the US, Covid, rising racial tensions, massive rejection of the faith by a younger generation (half of GenZ claiming to be agnostic or atheist)[i], family brokenness splashing out onto all the mediating structures of society including the church.  Etcetera. These tasters could be provided live on Zoom and recorded for later viewing.  We could interact via a social media platform as we figure out how to use what we’re learning.  Some of the topics being considered are:

1. visionary leadership, the power of casting a vision and how to do so
2. how to reach multiple cultures in our contexts including how to maintain core values amid an influx of new members
3. how to be a church that can reach new people, a look at everything from Celtic models to multi-generational faith formation
4. how to mobilize faith for mission and ministry within the congregation and in the mission field of their daily lives
5. managing conflict and boundaries
6. creating healthy staff teams
7. creating leadership pipelines for disciples who know how to make disciples, for small groups and missional communities
8. balancing personal life and strengthening the emotional side of pastoral life
9. worship, preaching and leading transitions to discipling culture church
10. developing a giving church and a church built on prayer

In the months ahead we will test a number of pilot offerings to see if we are on the right track.  If any of these topics are interesting to you, please let us know. If there are other areas of stress send us a note about that also.

The gates of hell shall not prevail “for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.” All of us in leadership in the church heard the call, crossed into the journey, and now find ourselves on paths unknown to destinations unchartered.  May we do so while knowing that Jesus’ love is always supporting us, and his hand is guiding us. 

[i] https://www.aei.org/articles/perspective-why-even-secular-people-should-worry-about-gen-zs-lack-of-faith/#:~:text=Pew%20Research%20repeatedly%20found%20that,boomers%20and%20the%20Silent%20Generation.

Don’t play with dead fish! Mom said don’t bring it home thinking we’ll eat it! A dead fish is useless and worthless.

What are we to do with dead faith? Since a fish is a symbol for a Christian, maybe we can see how a dead faith isn’t much different from a dead fish.

Why do we declare a dead fish dead?  Most obvious is that it doesn’t move. Ever poke someone who was still to see if they were still alive? I try poking motionless Christians to see if their faith is alive. They don’t like it.

If our faith has no action, is it faith? James declares that faith with no action is dead (James 2:17). A living faith moves us: moves us to worship and praise our living God, moves us to pray and read his word, moves us to share Christ and bless others for His sake.  A faith without the life-giving Spirit is dead (James 2:26). And a dead faith is as useless as a dead fish because it is not living the aliveness that God intends (James 2:20).

(A faith that is about making ourselves feel good about our righteousness is not faith in Christ. I will cover that in a future article.)

If our motionless faith is just words; an empty lifeless confession that we are a Christian but no swimming in life as a Christian, then our faith is dead. If our faith is just the stripes of ancestors and heritage from days gone by but does not inspire fresh living today, then, well, even dead fish have stripes. Knowing facts about God or Christ is like a dead fish skeleton. You can see the outline, but a skeleton alone does not manifest life. A static dead faith isn’t just infertile and lifeless. Not having a living faith means we lack life-changing love, but rather are full of worry, obligation and tedium.

Why bother having a faith that is dead? Should a dead faith Christian just become an atheist to become dead to God all together?  Should we just drop the farce of faith? NO!

Embrace your dead faith. Yes, you are dead in your faith and also dead in your sins where you stand. But God excels at dealing with the dead. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”(Eph 2:4–5)

You have every privilege as a dead fish Christian to call upon God to make your faith alive. You are baptized. You are baptized into the death of Christ so you can be raised to a new life in Christ. (Rom 6:3-6)

Are you content to be a motionless, dead fish Christian or will you pray for your faith? God promises to give you life. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Rom 8:11)

So, I invite you to drag your dead faith butt to worship. Sit there in the pew in your grave clothes of this dull, exhausting existence to hear the Word of God. Dead fish Lazarus didn’t come out of the tomb patting himself on the back but rose up because Christ spoke to him (John 11:43-44).  Christ calls you to be alive with faith.

“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” (1 Th 5:10)

Your servant in his Word, Pastor Douglas 

Note from our Executive Director: Many thanks to Kevin Haug, ELCA pastor in Texas, for his article about the Sparkle creed.  This so-called “creed” has received a lot of attention and stimulated a lot of discussion since its recent use during a worship service in an ELCA congregation in Minnesota.  We should all be alarmed over the way in which this statement rejects Biblical teaching and orthodox theology in its promoting the LGBTQ agenda and transgender ideology.  We are saddened but not surprised as we read of many ELCA pastors who are praising it as a way to connect the Christian faith with life today.  We are also saddened but not surprised by the total silence of ELCA leaders about it. 

“Pastor, what are we going to do about this?”

Those words were spoken by one of my octogenarians after she heard two news stories about the “Sparkle creed,” a statement that received national attention because of its use at an ELCA Lutheran Church in Minnesota.  The congregation recited it at worship, posted the video online, and it went viral.

The “Sparkle creed” has actually been around for a year or two, but it was not until conservative news sites and blogs discovered it that it caused a bit of an uproar, and that uproar is not without merit.  However, care needs to be taken when addressing this issue. I will attempt to show why.

First, let me define creed as a statement of belief.

In a very real way, everyone has a creed of some sort.  Individuals have creeds. Organizations have creeds. Individual congregations have creeds.  In fact, many biblical scholars say that the first creed was quite simple: Jesus is Lord. Those three words actually led to the death of Christians who would not say the Roman creed: Caesar is Lord.  

Because everyone has a creed, one could argue that having a creed is actually a neutral concept.  People believe all sorts of things. That they believe them is undisputed and neutral, but what they believe can be problematic and either good or bad. For instance, if I believe that all human beings are endowed by their Creator with fundamental rights, then that is a creedal statement.  And I would happily argue that it is a good creedal statement for various reasons.  Someone could hold a different position: that human beings are not endowed with rights from a Creator, but that governments decide what rights a person should or should not have. I would argue that this isn’t a very good position to take, but that doesn’t prevent some nations and people from holding it.  

To change positions literally requires a conversion process as many, if not most, creedal beliefs are actually statements of faith not statements of science.  For instance, science is practiced by using the scientific method: state a hypothesis; test and measure to see if the hypothesis holds water; formulate a theory; test the theory repeatedly.  Is the scientific method a true way of getting knowledge? Well, you have to assume that it is.  You have to trust that it is.  You cannot test the scientific method by using the scientific method.  Philosophers call this circular reasoning. Trusting that the scientific method is an accurate way of obtaining knowledge is a creedal belief. It is a deep, foundational belief, but it is a belief none-the-less, and one does not change those sorts of beliefs easily.

Which brings us to the Creeds of the Church, and I am intentionally capitalizing the letter C on both of those words. There is a reason for this as I shall get into shortly.

Within the Christian Church, there are three, recognized, orthodox Creeds: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, and what you need to realize about these statements of faith is this: these Creeds were recognized by the whole Church as true affirmations of the Christian faith.  They were based in Scripture. They were developed over time or argued over or carefully thought through. They were not put together in a pastor’s office to make a particular group or segment of society feel welcomed or accepted.

In general, they were written to stomp out heresy. They were written to unify a divided Church. They were written to solidify and codify what the Church believed about God the Father, Christ the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  And as such, they are not to be trifled with.

Imagine for a minute if you will, gathering with a group of Christians circa 250 A.D. You are in hiding because Christianity is still not a recognized religion of the Roman Empire. It is the Easter Vigil, the time that it has become traditional for converts to be baptized into the faith. As the baptismal liturgy begins, the presider looks into the eyes of the converts. He begins addressing them and asks them three questions: Do you believe in God the Father? Do you believe in God the Son? Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit? And the converts begin reciting what they have been taught about who God is; who Jesus is; and who the Holy Spirit is. These statements have come together over decades of persecution and trial. Speaking them would immediately set these converts apart from the dominant culture and could lead to arrest and persecution.  Such is the nature of the Apostles’ Creed.

Or consider a church divided by various sects all claiming to represent the one true faith. Yet, those beliefs are contradictory at times. Some are not grounded in scripture. Some are off the charts. What does it mean to be a Christian? What are the foundational beliefs? Is this world truly, totally evil? Does only the spiritual count? Was Jesus indeed fully human and fully divine or a really good human being only adopted by God and infused with the divine Spirit?  What do you Christians truly believe? And bishops from far and wide gather to hammer such things out.  They consult deeply with the scriptures; argue their points vehemently and passionately; and put together a statement of faith which declares: this is it.  These are the non-negotiables. It is accepted by the church council and has stood the test of time for centuries. Such is the nature of the Nicene Creed.

The “Sparkle creed” shares none of this history. It was written for entirely different reasons and has not even come close to being vetted by the whole Christian Church on earth.  In fact, the majority of the Christian Church on earth would outright reject it. 

Therefore, it follows, that it has no standing to replace the Creeds in worship.

I mean: if someone wants to say that they adhere to the “Sparkle creed,” then they can personally say that they believe exactly what is in that statement. If a congregation wants to go so far as to use this creed in worship, then they are free to do so, but I strongly believe it should be introduced as a statement of that individual congregation, not of the Christian Church–it is not “the faith of the Church, the faith in which we baptize.” 

For to use it in such a manner is to actually separate one’s self and congregation from the global Church.  It is to become myopic and rather self-centered. Arguably, it is creating one’s own personal faith and religion—dare I say one’s own god.

And yes, I am quite aware that I belong to a denomination whose founder separated himself and then many congregations from the larger Church body of the time. The irony is not lost on me; however, Luther didn’t mess with the Creeds.  He affirmed them and what they stood for repeatedly. He didn’t tinker with the Creeds or try to change them for he never wanted to split with the Church of Rome.  These statements of belief were not up for negotiation or reformation. They were good “as is.”

They still are. They are meant to hold us together despite our disagreements on secondary issues. Trying to put “sparkle” in them only causes more division.

Leave the Creeds alone.

As Americans we are living in a time of increasing emotional despair.  And this crisis presents the Body of Christ with tremendous challenges as local churches consider how they might respond.

In the past, when I heard people complain about the state of American society and the level of social upheaval, I would respond, “But it’s not as bad as it was back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  Well I no longer say that.  I think the state of American society, in 2023, is now worse.  I have never, in my lifetime, seen as many studies and statistics pointing to widespread depression and despair as I have read about in just the last two years.  Some examples:

1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been conducting major surveys of high school students every other year since 2011.  The most recent survey—conducted in 2021 with the findings released in 2022—discovered an “overwhelming wave of violence and trauma and never-before-seen levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts among high schools students in the United States.”  This trend has been particularly alarming among high school girls.  “Almost 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year, and nearly 25% made a suicide plan.”  This represents a 60% increase when compared to the survey results back in 2011.
2. Nicholas Kristoff, a writer with the New York Times, recently wrote, “Americans die from deaths of despair—drugs, alcohol and suicide—at a rate of more than 250,000 people per year, and the number of walking wounded is far greater.”
3. Suicide-related visits to pediatric emergency rooms in the United States—between 2011 and 2020—increased 500% (five-fold) among children, teens and young adults. (New York Times, 5-1-2023)

Back in 1920 the poet William Butler Yeats wrote his poem, The Second Coming.  His appraisal of the world of his day, no doubt shared by many of his peers shortly after the conclusion of the First World War, was incredibly stark.  “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold, the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”  Call me an alarmist, but I believe these words capture how a great many Americans—on both sides of the (political) aisle—view the current state of American society.    

There are undoubtedly many factors contributing to these startling statistics.  Perhaps the most frequent cause cited is the increased use of social media; especially among young people in general, and young women and girls in particular.  There is also the on-going decline in the number of two-parent households; increased rates of addiction; and the increasing numbers of Americans living alone.  And I would add the increasing secularization of our society and culture.

So what can the local church do to respond to all this despair?  In my opinion congregations can potentially make a significant and positive difference.  How?  By reaching out to some of the “walking wounded” in their local communities and introducing them to the blessings of being part of a caring Christian fellowship.  And, this introduction will typically happen one caring relationship at a time.  

However, there are at least two challenges faced by a great many local churches which need to be addressed.  One challenge is that too many congregations are just as polarized and conflicted as our surrounding culture.  We must not allow our churches to be characterized by discord and disunity.  It is incredibly difficult to witness to the love of Christ if this love is not evident within our congregations due to internal conflict.

A second challenge is that too many of our congregations have become immobilized by and fixated on their institutional decline.  This might be apparent due to decreasing worship attendance, or reduced financial giving, or perhaps their inability to find a new pastor during a prolonged vacancy.

Granted, our society is becoming increasingly secular, and the percentage of Americans identifying as “religious” has been decreasing.  However, more and more Americans—in their despair—are  recognizing their need to be a part of a loving and supportive community.  And they understand that this “community” needs to be in-person, not online.

Jessica Grose, a columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote an article entitled, “What Churches Offer That ‘Nones’ Still Long For”.  This article just appeared in the paper’s 6-28-2023 issue.  Keep in mind that Ms. Grose is a “none” of a non-observant Jewish background.  This was her final article in a five-article series on the increasing number of Americans leaving organized religion.  She wrote, “The one aspect of religion in America that I unquestionably see as an overall positive for society is the ready-made supportive community that churchgoers can access.”  One of the de-churched “nones” whom Jessica interviewed for her articles said the following: “I was raised Pentecostal and went to church three or more times a week, so I desperately miss the community.  It was where my friendships came from.  I have very few friends now.”  I would dare to say that hundreds of thousands of dechurched Lutherans probably have similar stories.  At the end of this article Ms. Grose wrote, “Almost everyone needs community to flourish.”  On a personal note, my wife and I, as we returned to more regular in-person worship attendance after the pandemic, realized how profoundly we had missed the worship and fellowship of our home congregation.

Writer Kirsten Sanders, in the recent March/2023 issue of Christianity Today, did an excellent job of describing the kind of Christian community which could reach the “walking wounded” of 2023.  “What makes the church (unique) is its knowledge of itself as called by God to be his representative on the earth, to be marked by unwieldy and inconvenient practices like forgiveness, hospitality, humility, and repentance.  It is marked in such a way by its common gathering, in baptism and Communion, remembering the Lord’s death and proclaiming it until he comes…When the church becomes preoccupied with defending itself to the world, it eventually becomes incoherent.  The only way to be a church is to speak the peculiar language of peace, of forgiveness, of repentance and resurrection.”

One of my favorite New Testament passages that I believe presents a vision of God’s love and Christian community is Ephesians 3:16-19.  Paul writes, “I pray that out of (the Father’s) glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition /Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative

pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

When I think of Baltimore, I often think of my early childhood home with a large magnolia tree in the front yard and a tall, hemlock pine in the back, where my siblings and I used to climb and play amongst the branches to our hearts content. I think of the cookies my sisters and I would sell in the neighborhood without supervision, pulling our bright red Flyer wagon full of a variety of cookies behind us. I was only 6 when we moved away, but I remember, even then, after being robbed multiple times and my brother being held up with a gun when he was 10 for his bike, that I felt fear.

It wasn’t until I was older that I began to hear negative statistics about Baltimore and I came to see my siblings’ and my childhood experiences there in a new light. Amidst all the negative media coverage, it’s easy to believe that Baltimore continues in a downward spiral and there isn’t much hope.

This year, from the first day of City Mission, I had the phrase “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” on my heart. As an athlete, I’ve always preferred sprinting over distance running and that’s true in other aspects of my life as well. The Lord has taught me a lot of patience through the years and, through seasons of burn out, He’s taught me to pace myself more and rely on Him instead of trying to make change happen all on my own. So when this impression came to my heart, I didn’t question it. Looking back now, it feels like a gift from the Holy Spirit because He knew how much I needed that reminder.

I’ll be honest…It felt heavy seeing a woman come through a food pantry with her face apparently beaten and her eyes red and to watch as they called a volunteer over because she couldn’t walk through by herself. Then overhearing another volunteer reminding her “I’m only a phone call away, okay? One phone call and we can get you out of there.” It feels heavy when you walk into a tent city, hidden from the road, and see kids running around, documented or not, with people passed out on the ground (you hope it’s not worse than that) and you learn that some of these individuals used to be businessmen and women, lawyers, police officers, etc. – people who hadn’t spent all of their lives at the bottom. It feels heavy knowing that a stone’s throw from one of the churches we partner with is the sex trafficking hub of the city. It feels heavy when a woman graduates from a recovery program and dies after running into someone she once did drugs with; one last hit and she was gone… just as she was beginning to rebuild her life.

One evening someone in the group shared that these churches, ministries, and organizations that we partner with in Baltimore are like “Pockets of Hope.” It felt like the perfect description. That’s truly what these places are.

Because of these “Pockets of Hope,” we also experienced joy and immense encouragement, not just heaviness. We got to see how much good happens on a daily basis to help people in need, some desperately so. One of these places, after operating solely as a food pantry for a while, decided to expand and offer a deeper level of care through education, job resources, clothing distribution and more. We toured a large warehouse that is going to be an additional extension of their non-profit organization. It is so exciting to see their vision for the future and to think of how many lives will be touched there.

It’s a joy working together to be the hands and feet of Christ. Going out as a team and partnering with those who are already aware of needs in the city and who are actively giving of their time and resources is both encouraging and helpful to us as we try to make the most of our time there. These “Pockets of Hope” are essential to the mission there. Without them, not only would we become discouraged and overwhelmed, we would be in over our heads. It’s in these places that we’re given a tangible reminder that God truly is at work—whether we see it or not. We’re not there to fix everything, we’re not there to jump in and take over. We’re there to walk alongside, to plant seeds, to water seeds, to give a word of encouragement, a smile, or a hug.

The phrase I mentioned earlier, “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” served as a subtle reminder to me to let go and free my heart from the burden of expectation of wanting to see certain results and change happen, in order to embrace being a part of what God is doing right in front of me. I really felt free to do that.

As I’ve continued to think about this phrase, I’ve realized how much it really applies to all of life and ministry as a whole. If we’re in this for the long haul, pacing ourselves and living out our callings through the work of the Holy Spirit within us, is essential. Our hearts were never meant to carry the burdens of the whole world. Many of us are often weighed down from the burden of too much news from all over the world, to the point where our discouragement becomes immobilization and we end up doing nothing. It’s just too much.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” My prayer is that we would take this to heart. When we give those burdens to God, we free ourselves up to be a vessel for good instead of being so consumed with worry and anxiety that we can’t be effective at all. When we leave it in God’s hands, it frees us up to allow His love, joy, hope, peace and other fruits of the spirit to take up residence in our hearts and flow out from there. That is such an essential part of being the hands and feet of Christ because those are the things that point others to Christ – the fruit of His spirit within us.

We go, we speak, we care for others and act as His hands and feet, we love, we encourage, we speak the truth… and then we need to let God do the work of the heart. The Holy Spirit changes hearts, not us.

It is such an honor to partner with these “Pockets of Hope” in Baltimore – from recovery programs, to food distribution centers and churches in the heart of Baltimore that are out there every day reaching out to the lost. We are so encouraged and excited by what God is doing in this city and are blessed to be a part of it, even in a small way.

Mother Teresa once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference toward one’s neighbor who lives at the roadside, assaulted by exploitation, corruption, poverty and disease.” Her response to that? “Do small things with great love.”

That “small thing” is significant and may have a bigger impact than you or I could ever imagine.

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to do infinitely more than we might ask or think.” -Ephesians 3:20

Images were provided by Teresa Dubyoski.

Of all the voices in the world calling you to be this or do that with your life, how will you discern God’s call? While God calls persons into full or part time ministry, biblically God’s call has less to do with the job you get paid for and everything to do with the kingdom impact you were born to have on the world. Living in response to God’s call involves trusting the Lord in the midst of the darkness and waiting for the light to dawn. But how are we to discern God’s light, as opposed to the light of our own desires or our need to please others?

Isaiah’s Vision

Consider the prophet Isaiah, whose call story is found in Isaiah Chapter 6. “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (v. 1). The mention of King Uzziah’s death tells us something about Isaiah’s state of mind. Israel prospered under Uzziah when he listened to the Lord, but he eventually ignored God’s commands, and died in isolation as a leper. And Isaiah had reason to be discouraged. The king was dead, a new inexperienced ruler was on the throne, the nation was drifting into idolatry (again), and their enemies were growing stronger. Where was God in all of this?

“Above him [the Lord] stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke” (v. 1-4).

God answered Isaiah’s question with a vision of heaven in which it became clear that while weak and sinful earthly rulers may die or be unseated, God reigns eternal. The angels proclaim His holiness, which extends throughout the world. The temple is shaken and filled with the smoke of God’s presence and power, echoing the pillar of cloud at Mt. Sinai, and the cloud of God’s glory that filled the temple (Exodus 13:21-22, 19:18 and I Kings 8:10-12).

Isaiah’s Reaction

In a time of uncertainty, God reveals Himself to Isaiah in His heavenly glory to confirm that He is King and reigns in heaven, regardless of what may be happening on earth. His sovereignty is never in question. This assurance is a prerequisite to hearing God’s call! And what is Isaiah’s reaction? ^“And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (v. 5).

Despite his intelligence, privilege, personal integrity and devout faith, Isaiah sees himself for who he really is, a sinful man among a sinful people. In the light of God’s glory, Isaiah’s sins and failings became evident… and damning. He was before God without a mediator, without any covering or sacrifice. And if the priests could only go into the holy of holies once a year, and only after making sacrifices for themselves and the people so they would not fall dead, there was no chance of survival for Isaiah, who was in God’s presence with zero preparation.

God’s Response

In response to this realization, the Lord acts. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (v. 6-7). The altar was the place in the temple where the people’s sins were dealt with through animal sacrifice, foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on Calvary as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  The angel takes a burning coal to purify Isaiah’s lips, which were the source of his sins and the instrument of his impending ministry. As a result of the angel’s action, Isaiah’s guilt is removed, his sins are forgiven, the source of his fear is gone, and he is fit for service.

The Call to Ministry

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, “Here I am. Send me!” (v. 8). God revealed Himself to Isaiah for the purpose of preparing him for ministry. Prior to his cleansing, Isaiah heard only the angels proclaiming God’s holiness, and of course, the accusing voice of his own conscience. But now he can hear the voice of the Triune God speaking to the council of angels, asking, “Who will be the messenger to my people? Who will go for us?” And this time Isaiah answers without hesitation or reluctance, “Here Am I. Send me.” The assurance of God’s absolution and a clear conscience are evident in Isaiah’s desire to answer the call. And from his experience we can draw three conclusions.

1. Worship precedes service – humbly seeking the Lord in worship is the first step in determining the what, where, when, why, and how of God’s calling in a particular season of your life. In Scripture, God’s call sometimes came through a vision, dream, or some other supernatural phenomenon. But most experience an urging of the Holy Spirit to serve in a particular way or to use a particular gift of the Spirit for the common good.

2. Self-awareness precedes action – understanding one’s current condition and circumstances will clarify what you lack that God must provide before he can use you for his intended purpose.

3. Formation precedes confirmation – formation refers to the process of preparation one undergoes in order to carry out their ministry/calling. But formation is not the same as confirmation. Some think that if you have a Bible college or seminary degree or if you have a special skill in service or leadership, you automatically qualify for a particular ministry. But no one in the church is self-appointed. God always uses the Church to confirm a person to ministry after a time of formational preparation, whether lay or ordained.

I pray that in this season of life, as you seek the Lord, His call to you will become clear, as it did for Isaiah. And that you will respond as he did, “Here am I. send me!”

Pr. Jeff Morlock is on the staff of the North American Lutheran Church and is Director of Vocational Discernment for the North American Lutheran Seminary. He may be reached at
jmorlock@thenals.org

Editor’s note: River’s Edge Ministry (REM), located in Mt. Airy, MD, traveled to Pine Island, FL in January as part of Cross Country Mission (CCM) 2023. Pine Island was devastated by Hurricane Ian in late September 2022. Mary Bates, NALC Disaster Response Coordinator, did the necessary groundwork to find the work sites that matched our team’s skillsets. Lutheran CORE’s board provided funding that enabled REM to reduce the cost of the trip for the crew. Previous articles about Cross Country Mission and City Mission include The Potency of Missional Engagement, Igniting Renewal Through Mission and How City Mission Was Born, Part 1: Katrina, the Unwelcomed Reformer.

As a pastor-mission developer who has served for many decades, I believe we—those who are part of a so-called ‘mainline’ denominational church body—are facing a hard (and potentially devastating) reality: Who will be leading our churches, especially as a significantly large percentage of clergy retire and many others ‘step down’ because of discouragement and sheer exhaustion? AND, where is the ‘next generation’ of pastors and leaders? The intent of this article is not to answer these questions but to simply acknowledge and remember that we, as pastors and leaders of Christ’s Church, are called to grapple with such realities and then present hope in the midst of it all. These times press us to consider other, more general questions: “Lord, what are You saying to us?” and “Lord, how should we respond?” I desire to offer at least a glimmer of hope by sharing a hard lesson in fully ‘releasing’ the next generation into leadership.

This ‘hard lesson’ involved laying aside my leadership, unconditionally, and literally watching from afar as the next generation took the reins and completely oversaw a very challenging disaster relief mission which we had been planning for months through Mary Bates, Coordinator of NALC Disaster Response. Though they did all of the work and I watched from 1100 miles away, it was an unexpected blessing to behold and one from which we, I, learned a great deal. In a nutshell, I was sidelined and could not lead this effort called Cross Country Mission: Pine Island, FL because I developed shingles in my right eye. Just days before the scheduled departure from MD on January 29^th, I was still resolved to be part of this effort. But then my ophthalmologist informed me that if I didn’t stay home and rest, I might lose my eyesight. I listened. I suppose we could’ve cancelled but, instead, we recalibrated our strategy and the next generation stepped fully and willingly into the task before them. Not only did I keep my eyesight but I gained a greater vision of how important it is to equip and mobilize the next generation by fully releasing them into leadership roles.

In this article, I’d like to share a bit, as both father and pastor-mission developer, of how the Lord made a way and used a difficult circumstance for the greater good (cf. Romans 8:28). It’s encouraging to know that there’s well-grounded precedence for such a happening: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)

One of the greatest joys in my life has been parenting. As a father for nearly 34 years, it seems that I am still learning the fundamentals of child-rearing. One of them is transitioning from the demanding commitment of rearing and raising little ones to, perhaps, the greater challenge of releasing them into a world beyond the familiarity and comfort of home. It seems that there’s not much difference between our pastoral/shepherding role in ministry and our parenting role. As parents, we are called to eventually release our children into their full potential, giftedness, calling/vocation, and God-ordained destiny, etc. Is ministry any different? As a priest, pastor, shepherd, father/mother of the faith, are we not to release and mobilize our congregants, disciples, etc. into the work of the ministry for the sake of the Kingdom? As I shared in the opening paragraphs of this article, I just experienced this reality, face-to-face, in a very real and practical way, both as a parent and as a pastor; especially in terms of more effectively moving a child (or disciple) from a preparatory season of rearing-raising (or equipping) into a fruitful season of releasing (or mobilizing).  

A while back, I attended a conference regarding what it means to build a discipling culture—an environment to communicate and pass on the faith—within the local church setting. During that time, a clear and concise model was presented on how to create such a culture. It is one that you may be familiar with and is especially apropos to our present conversation. I believe it’s especially helpful and a simple but highly-effective pedagogical tool in raising up the next generation of leaders. For the sake of clarity, we’ll simply refer to this model as a teaching square.

The “P” in our teaching square represents parenting. Our “progression” in teaching our children is essential as we move from P1 to P4, especially knowing that they are—whether we’re aware of it or not—watching and learning from our words and actions. Again, we can bring out the very best in our kids and release them with a self-assured independence, or we can choose not to take the time to parent our children thoughtfully and wait for a different outcome. We could just as easily replace the ‘P’ with a ‘D’ with the emphasis being discipling not parenting. But the teaching square is easier said than done. As pastors and leaders within the Church, one of our great privileges is leading our parishioners into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ while simultaneously equipping and mobilizing them for the work of the ministry … and the Church’s mission. My great confession in this article is that it’s been difficult for me—both as a parent and a pastor—to move around the square fluidly. I find myself stumbling around P4 (or D4), YOU DO—I WATCH! But I know it’s absolutely essential, especially in raising up and fully releasing the next generation. 

I believe you could share a similar story and make a similar confession, but for me it took ‘shingles in the eye’ for my soul to awaken to the gravity of what’s at stake—If our children, the next generation AND/OR our parishioners-disciples are not fully and unconditionally released as missional disciples, then the future of the Church is greatly at risk. Fully releasing means trusting, accepting and expecting that the Lord’s already gone before us, making our paths straight and the rough roads smooth (Psalm 5:8), and causing the necessary infrastructure to be built with new (and different) resources, ideas and relationships, etc. It means that we faithfully lead around the teaching square, but then pause (before we stumble) at P4-D4, take a deep breath … and then completely and unconditionally relinquish our own need to lead and pass the baton into the more-than-competent hands of those we’ve been faithfully shepherding and discipling, especially the next generation! We should then be able to take a seat, rest, rejoice, and then cheer them on with a loud cry, YOU DO-I WATCH! Indeed, it was a joy to watch two of my sons, Jacob and Caleb, and two other young adults enthusiastically take the reins of leadership for Cross Country Mission: Pine Island, FL.

Paralleling many of my own thoughts about leadership in his provocative article, How Your Congregation Can Identify, Enlist and Train Part-time Ministers, Pastor Don Brandt writes, “The current shortage of available pastors in the LCMC and NALC presents a difficult challenge for a great many call committees … In fact, such a scenario can result in nothing less than an existential crisis for their congregations.” This article is very helpful in at least stimulating a much-needed conversation in which all leaders and pastors of every congregation should engage. Though well-intended, addressing such important concerns should not be reserved for just another hierarchically-appointed task force or national staff person. Again, ALL of us should be intensely involved in the discourse because, after all, what happens if we’re not able (or are unwilling) to enlist others to lead when finding or calling an ordained pastor becomes nigh impossible? This question ties in with my opening questions: Who will be leading our churches, especially as a significantly large percentage of clergy retire and many others ‘step down’ because of discouragement and sheer exhaustion? AND, where is the ‘next generation’ of pastors and leaders?

Thank you for taking the time to at least consider how we might more effectively release our parishioners, especially the next generation, into the mission field. Because I wasn’t able to be part of Cross Country Mission: Pine Island, FL, Kim Smith, a missional partner with River’s Edge Ministries and one who did participate, will tell at least part of the rest of the story of how the work of ministry unfolded. Enjoy her article, (Per)Mission to Lead, also published in Lutheran CORE’s  March newsletter. You’ll read about how the team stepped up as she and the other 24 co-laborers from many different churches did the work of the ministry. I stood back and watched … And it was way more than good!

All photographs used in this article were provided by various crew members.

Note:  “This is a ministry resource article for churches that might be interested in the new upcoming CORE ministry called the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI). The article below offers a preview of this new ministry.”  

The current shortage of available pastors in the LCMC and NALC presents a difficult challenge for a great many call committees.  This is especially true for smaller churches when their search process has extended beyond 18 to 24 months without success.  In fact, such a scenario can result in nothing less than an existential crisis for their congregations.  In these situations we are looking not only at burned out and disheartened call committees; we are talking about congregations where their members are beginning to lose hope for their future as a faith community.

Thirty years ago call committees of smaller churches could reasonably take comfort in the conviction that it would “only be a matter of time” before they would be able to “call and install” their next pastor.  However, in 2023 this is not a reasonable expectation.  Why?  Because with retiring Boomer pastors—and far fewer seminary graduates—our clergy supply crisis is only growing more dire.

Here is the stark, unvarnished truth: A great many of our smaller vacant churches will never, until the last Boomer pastor retires in 2029 (or shortly thereafter), have much hope of finding a pastor.  For these churches there needs to be a “reality check”: As long as they assume their only hope to survive as a congregation is to find that new pastor, it’s only a matter of time before they will have given up on their search process.   At that point discussions will probably begin regarding the possibility of having to close their doors and disband as a faith community.

However, there is an alternative to this scenario; a way to continue ministering to their members and their surrounding community without a resident, full-time pastor to lead them.  This alternative is to intentionally transition to a long-term lay-led ministry.  And this transition would not just be a temporary “stop-gap” plan until they find a pastor to call, but a ministry strategy to continue, as long  as necessary, as a vibrant and thriving lay-led congregation.

There is now outside assistance available for smaller churches willing to transition from a clergy-dependent ministry model to one built on a foundation of lay leadership.  But first, a disclaimer: If your congregation’s in-person worship attendance averages less than 25, and/or you no longer have  members who are active retired or younger, this assistance might be “too little too late”.  Why?  Because this ministry model depends on one, two or three members willing and able to step forward and serve your congregation as part-time lay ministers.

However, if you still have congregational leaders who are active retirees or younger, I encourage you to consider the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative as a way of preparing for an immediate future where your congregation will not only survive, but thrive.

Below are the steps involved if you decide to transition to a lay-led congregational ministry model.  And keep in mind that your “outside” assistance in this process would be a retired Lutheran pastor mentoring and encouraging your part-time lay ministers—at a distance—as they serve your congregation.

1. Identifying the right member (or members) to ask to become a part-time lay minister.

The conversation regarding the “right” person will most often begin within your church council.  (And note: The right person might already be serving on your council.)  The ideal candidate for this new ministry role should already be recognized, by your members, as a congregational leader; and as a person characterized by both a strong faith and personal integrity.  He or she should be someone who comes to mind in the context of your council’s prayers for guidance, and also when considering biblical texts such as Romans 12:1-8.  And this needs to be someone whom the Council ultimately chooses  unanimously, not just based on a majority vote.

2. Enlisting your lay minister (or lay ministers).  This step needs to be done with great care, and while Council members are praying for this person to accept this ministry opportunity.  Also, recruitment needs to happen face to face, not over the phone.  Ideally, two Council members should present “the ask”, rather than just one.  In addition, this individual should be asked to pray about this opportunity over the next few days rather than give an immediate “yes” or “no”.  (Of course if you receive an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!”, don’t argue!)  Do not, at this point, get into such details as the average number of hours expected per week, or compensation, or the specific start date.  Instead, make clear that if she/he agrees to say yes to this ministry, the Council will simply “make it work” for your new lay minister.  In other words, the details of this position will be negotiated based on what is workable for this person.  This includes the details of the final “job description”; which will be based on this person’s gifts, abilities and preferences.  The overall theme in this enlistment conversation is: “Why we consider you to be uniquely qualified for this important ministry role in the life of our congregation.” 

3. Hiring your part-time lay minister(s).  To impress upon your lay minister the importance of this position I suggest a formal job contract.  This contract will be worked out with your new employee’s input.  Some suggestions for your contract: Either this person or the Council can end this agreement with a 30-day notice; and the “average” number of hours per week would be flexible and again determined with your lay minister’s input.  (I suggest somewhere between 10 and 20 hours per week.)  Make clear that this person will be supervised by and answer to the Council.  Your written job description, then, will be written in collaboration with your new employee.  When determining the overall structure of this job contract you can find resources online; resources that you will obviously adapt to your specific situation.  

4. Commissioning/Installing your lay minister(s).  It is extremely important your members participate—during a worship service—in this commissioning.  Make a “big deal” out of this occasion. Celebrate this event as a congregation.  Have a potluck immediately following the service.  And have a laying on of hands as part of the commissioning.

5. Training your lay minister(s).  The good news here is that your lay minister probably already has the gifts to perform most of the responsibilities you negotiated in determining the job description. However, there will undoubtedly be some ministry responsibilities he/she might not feel entirely comfortable with.  For example, what if one of the responsibilities is preaching?  There are resources available to become more confident in this aspect of ministry.  (For example, an online 6-week preaching course.)  Contact me or an LCMC staff person for information regarding such resources.

Any costs involved in such resources should be covered by your congregation.

6. Mentoring for your lay minister(s).  The Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative is designed with the goal of every congregation having a retired Lutheran pastor to mentor its lay minister(s).  This mentor would be volunteering for this role and would provide encouragement and counsel for your lay minister(s) by means of a monthly online meeting and/or by phone.  In rare cases this mentor might be within driving distance of your church; in which case the monthly meeting could be in-person.  If needed, I can assist you in recruiting a mentor who is on the LCMC or NALC rosters.

7.  The matter of pulpit supply.  This is of course a huge issue in the worship life of your congregation.  Because of this fact it would be ideal if one or more of your lay ministers was comfortable in a preaching (or teaching) role.  This is especially important if you do not have local (most likely retired) pastors available for pulpit supply.  Here is my rule of thumb: You want to avoid, when possible, having lay ministers and other members reading someone else’s sermons.  This might be okay on an occasional basis, but should not be a regular, most-Sundays practice.  Why?  It’s not easy to be invested and engaged emotionally while reading something that you did not write.  Again, I suggest one of your lay leaders take an online seminary preaching course as one way to address this matter.

8. Maintaining your eucharistic ministry.  If you will not typically have an ordained visiting pastor participating in your worship service, be aware that the LCMC allows for designated congregational lay members to preside over the celebration of communion. 

Finally, I believe two or three lay ministers, if available, would be preferable to just one; for four reasons:

First, a team of lay ministers means each person is able to offer encouragement and support to the others on the team.

Second, there is the Biblical concept of “different people, different gifts”.  In other words, with more than one you are more likely to have a lay minister with the appropriate gift for each major ministry responsibility.

Third, I think mentoring sessions can be even more helpful when the mentor is having online sessions (e.g., via Zoom) with a group of two or three lay ministers as opposed to an extended phone conversation with just one.

Fourth, a team of lay ministers provides a level of accountability that comes with fellow co-workers. 

If you have any questions, you may contact me directly.  My email is…                    pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

Introduction by Dennis D. Nelson: In this issue we will be featuring The Awaken Project (TAP), a nonprofit organization housed on the campus of Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, Minnesota.

The last (January 2023) issue of CORE Voice includes the first in a series of articles about residential discipleship ministries for young adults.  Here is a link to the article about Faith Greenhouse, which is affiliated with Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota.

The Awaken Project (TAP), a nonprofit organization housed on campus at Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, Minnesota, is pleased to continue to offer an eight month/two semester gap year program for students who are interested in a full or part time career in ministry, seeking to study the Bible on a collegiate level in community, and travel across the United States while engaging with practical ministry opportunities.

Our partnership with Mount Carmel is one of the most crucial aspects of our program. Drawing on Mount Carmel’s rich history within the Lutheran Bible Institute, The Awaken Project seeks to draw upon the same spirit that spurred on so many to attend LBI and cultivate that wonderful community for many decades. We believe that young adults who are committed to living, serving, learning, and growing together under the cross are an immensely valuable part of the Body of Christ, and we are committed to providing young adults the opportunity to experience this transformational community life.

The fall semester is primarily Bible classes, taught by independent instructors who join us for a week at a time and teach one subject for the duration of the week. Other rhythms of the fall include a morning devotional centered around the Moravian Daily Texts, weekly community meals, weekly spiritual formation sessions with mentors, and hangouts with the residential community. The spring semester is when most of our travel occurs. We partner with Quake Events, a national youth conference circuit of events geared toward middle and high school students. Our students attend these events throughout the spring and lead in relational ministry, workshops, and production assistance.

We strive to sponsor a program that sees all students grow in relationship with one another, teachers, mentors, community members, and our Lord, Jesus Christ. A recent alumna of our program, Courtney Corrente, has described her time with TAP as an answer to prayer that she never thought would come to pass, but now can hardly imagine her life without the community she’s found through TAP’s gap year program. After completing her year with TAP, she was hired onto Mount Carmel’s staff as their Communications Coordinator, which has allowed her to gain immediate experience in her fields of study (strategic communications), continue to maintain the community she gained last year, and invest back into this year’s cohort of TAP students.

I am expecting that there will be plenty more stories like Courtney’s over the years of TAP’s gap year program. If you know anyone who has been longing for a community to do life with, who seeks high quality and affordable Biblical education, and who has an itch to travel and serve, The Awaken Project’s gap year program can be a wonderful opportunity. Please contact myself, Steven Wagner, at steven@theawakenprojectmn.com if you have any questions or know someone who may benefit immensely from this program.

If you feel led to contribute a tax deductible donation to The Awaken Project, gifts can be sent to The Awaken Project at 800 Mount Carmel Drive NE, Alexandria, Minnesota, 56308.

When God calls a person to a specific task or ministry, resistance is often the first response of the called. Jeremiah claimed that he was too young. Gideon feared he was too weak. Isaiah considered himself too sinful, “a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5 ESV). This resistance to God’s call comes from two sources. The first is a belief that we know better than God what will be required, and a need to explain to the Almighty why we are not qualified.

Moses had a loving family and a quiet life as a shepherd when God’s call came to him in “mid-career,” as we might say. From a burning bush came God’s vocational call that Moses should go confront Pharoah and demand the immediate release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. It’s not unusual for God to ask things of His children that seem beyond our competency. But it turns out that the old trite saying is true: “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.”

In Moses, we might recognize some of the excuses that we ourselves have used for resisting God’s call when it has become clear. ^“‘Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?’” (Exodus 3:13 ESV) One common excuse for resisting God’s call is that I don’t have all the answers. This was my greatest fear when the Lord first called me to study for ordained ministry. I was afraid of not being able to answer every question that my future flock(s) would pose. In Moses’ case, his years as a shepherd had not prepared him to stand up to the wisdom and might of a powerful political leader like Pharoah.

However, what Moses failed to recognize was that he was not the most important factor in God’s plan. When we wrongly perceive that God’s plan hinges on our abilities, we will fear failure. We will fear embarrassment and the judgment of others. But the Lord God is not impeded by such anxiety. When Moses asks, “What should I tell them?” God replies, “I AM WHO I AM. Say to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:13-14 ESV).

Moses had to learn that his call had nothing to do with his own ability and everything to do with God’s sovereignty! As a pastor, when I consider the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel and teaching God’s Word, I often feel unworthy and incompetent. But when I do these things in the awareness that the I AM of the Scriptures is speaking through me, I can be confident that His Word does what it says and accomplishes every purpose for which He sends it.

The second excuse that many of us have in common with Moses is the fear that people won’t accept me. Moses had a past. Having fled Egypt as an outlaw and a murderer, he could be perceived as not only having broken God’s commandment, but as abandoning his own people.  His profound sense of inadequacy led Moses to object, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” (Exodus 4:1 ESV).

Fear clouds our perspective and makes us dwell on the worst possible outcomes. Fear keeps the focus on the self rather than on the Lord. It magnifies our weakness and underestimates God’s power. Thus, God gave Moses two practical demonstrations of His power, first by turning Moses’ staff into a snake, and then back again into a staff; and second, by making Moses’ hand wither, and then restoring it again. Through these signs, the Lord bolstered Moses’ confidence that God Himself would do the work. Similarly, when God chooses you for a particular task or ministry, He will provide all that is necessary and show you the next step you are to take.

Moses, still unconvinced about God’s plan, offers a final critique: his speech impediment would obviously make him ineligible to serve, since confronting Pharoah would require public speaking. The excuse here is that my deficiencies are insurmountable. But God has a different perspective. “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:11-12 ESV).

In the light of God’s design for our lives, even disabilities are overcome and transformed. By now, Moses was running out of excuses, so in one last effort to avoid his assignment, he blurts out, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”  But God didn’t let Moses off the hook. Instead, he called Moses’ brother Aaron to be his helper and spokesperson. The Lord doesn’t need anything “special” from you or me. He definitely doesn’t need our advice. But it’s easy to get so caught up in our excuses that we miss the entire point of God’s call. The Lord wants to accomplish something significant through you by doing something significant in you. Often part of God’s purpose in calling a disciple into a particular assignment or ministry is to grow their faith, so that they learn to trust His provision and depend on His promises.

Lastly, I mentioned that resistance to God’s call comes from two sources. The first is a belief that we know better than God what the call will require. And the second source of resistance is the Evil One, of whom Jesus said, ^“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). Whenever a person gets clarity regarding God’s call and is trusting God’s promise of abundance, the Enemy will show up to create doubt and raise objections. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”  (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

Therefore, when it comes to God’s call at any phase of your life, resistance is good and necessary. But as the apostle James exhorts believers, the one to be resisted is the devil, so that he might flee from you. To resist means to withstand, strive against, or oppose in some manner. Most often, this means trusting in the promises of God, as Jesus did when the tempter met him in the desert to challenge both his identity and calling from the Father.

^“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). It is in this submitting and resisting that objections are overcome, and you are free to pursue God’s call on your life without hesitation.

The Rev. Jeff Morlock is Director of Vocational Discernment at the North American Lutheran Seminary. jmorlock@thenals.edu.