One of the greatest joys that I have experienced while serving as Executive Director of Lutheran CORE has been working with a wonderful Board of Directors.  Over the years many different people have served on the Board, but they consistently are a group of people who have a deep love for and commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ, the authority of the Bible, the Great Commission, and mission of the church to make disciples of all nations. 

This month we say a big Thank You to Chris Johnson, associate pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Wausau, Wisconsin (ELS), who is going off the Board, and a Warm Welcome to John Mohan, pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania (NALC), who is coming onto the board.

Chris writes –

“It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Lutheran CORE board for almost 6 years and being a part of Lutheran CORE for even longer.  I served as the board secretary for most of my time on the board.  Going back a bit further, Lutheran CORE provided a ‘shelter’ and ‘voice’ for me while serving in the ELCA, providing a solid group of colleagues in my early years of ministry, and a solid group of believers to converse with while on the board.  It is sad to ‘refrain from embracing’ the board now, especially as they meet in sunny Arizona soon, but God willing, there will come another ‘time to embrace’ in the future.  Until then, I know the board is in very good hands and is led by faithful, sharp, and incredible caring Christians, including Dennis Nelson, CORE’s Executive Director. 

“Being a part of the board has led me to meet some great people, many (perhaps all) who have contributed articles to the CORE newsletter.  All of them, like us here at Zion in Wausau, have also been through the sanctifying experience of witnessing to various pockets of the ELCA whether in person or in writing – bishops, fellow conference pastors, synodical leaders, and laity. Listening to many stories of their resolve in speaking ‘truth to power’ but also speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) shows to me that the board is in good hands and that the Lord continues His work in plucking others out of the fire (Jude v. 23) through such faithful witnessing.”

John writes –

“I was born and raised in Iowa by faithful parents.  I humbly say that there hasn’t been a day in my life when I didn’t know the love of Jesus Christ.  My wife, Melanie, and I were married for 30 years and became parents to two beautiful girls by adopting internationally from Colombia.  My wife died in 2021 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  Beginning with my second call, my focus for congregational ministry became evangelism and discipleship.  My experience has confirmed the importance of discipling but also revealed the challenges present within congregations and denominations.  At this point, I believe congregations don’t know how to make disciples, and denominations cannot effectively help.  Lutheran CORE, I believe, is uniquely positioned to offer congregations help with discipling ministries.  Using confessional theology to explore renewal, Lutheran CORE can help congregations embrace ‘discipleship’ that is rooted in Word and Sacraments, lived out within individual vocations, that then leads to renewal of a congregation.”  

Finding Rest in (and for) a Restless World

Dear Friends—                                                                                                    

When did so many of the mainline denominations begin to go adrift and lose their way? Why? How? What happened? Today hundreds, if not thousands, of those same churches and now non-denominational expressions of the Church, are adopting wokeism, universalism, neo-paganism, etc., and arrogantly moving from any form of Christian orthodoxy, all while simultaneously and carelessly hitching a ride on the slippery slope upon which our present-day culture is sliding. Absolute madness, and at lightning speed … at any cost! So many questions. It’s important to raise such questions because history will, inevitably, repeat itself. We are not exempt, especially if we don’t remain vigilant and deeply rooted in Christ, being well-rested for these disquieting days.

No doubt, many of you have considered a vast array of possible responses to the fore-mentioned questions—Maybe it was because we shifted from the centrality/primacy of the Word of God, or perhaps it was how we began compromising on many ‘social issues’ in the name of compassion but forgetting that this compassion should remain grounded in Christ-centered orthodoxy, or possibly it was because of our introducing various forms of ‘contemporary’ worship to reach the bitter-battered-bored, but compromising truth. The list goes on. Maybe these responses will not provide definitive answers, but they can certainly help us to navigate a more effective and faithful future.

However, there is one obvious response that I hear little, if any, conversation about: Maybe it was because our leadership, as a whole, did not lead or work out of life-giving rest, but only found this rest after leading and working and doing … and doing some more, thereby losing its way. It seems that we’ve struggled with the age-old challenge of doing and not being, like Elijah (cf. 1 Kings 19:9-12) and so many witnesses before us, forgetting about just being still and resting in the grace of Christ, and daring to ‘hear’ His Voice, in the midst of it all!I’m convinced that we would not be where we are today, with a large portion of the Church no longer practicing traditional Christian orthodoxy, had its leaders maintained a posture of resting—IN Christ. Without spending time in this place of rest—praying (not petitioning!), waiting, and abiding—at the very least, our senses become dull and we can lose our ability to discern the spirit of this present age (cf. Romans 13:11-14). A restless world, indeed! Perhaps, that’s why the author of Hebrews is so concise about the necessity of rest: “So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labors as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience.” What does this mean to you, here and now, in your present context?

So, yes, I am writing this brief article, more as a personal letter, as a follow-up to the article I wrote for the November issue of CORE Voice Newsletter called REST, INC. As your colleague, I’m simply inviting you to re-evaluate your own personal pattern of building rest into your daily schedule. Many years ago, I became intensely aware of my own unhealthy pattern of not taking time to rest and choosing instead to live out my ordained calling through the obligatory production of parochial reports, and so much more! It was about then that I bumped into Acts 6:1, 2 where it reads, “ … the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word (and later in v. 4, “ … we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”) to serve tables.’” For many reasons, this passage spoke volumes to me in how I would “do” ministry henceforth. I would stop waiting on tables, putting out fires, meeting all expectations, etc. I would, instead, begin the practice of rest.

Rest will not only serve as the antidote to help us, in our pastoral-prophetic roles, to avoid the slippery slope of which I spoke in the opening paragraphs, but it’ll greatly enhance our ability to attend to the paramount work of disciple-making and mission. Find the rest you need, and even fight for it. There is much on the line.