Summer2025
Conference Edition: Office of the Ministry
TheJournalofSt.PaulLutheranSeminary
SIMUListhejournalofSt.Paul LutheranSeminary.
ISSN:3066-6996
CoverPhoto:“Weimar Altarpiece,” Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1555, Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Weimar, Germany.
Disclaimer:
The viewsexpressedinthe articlesreflectthe author(s) opinionsand arenotnecessarilythe viewsofthe publisherand editor.SIMULcannotguaranteeand acceptsnoliabilityforany lossor damageofanykind causedby the errorsandfor theaccuracy ofclaims made by the authors.Allrightsreservedand nothingcan bepartiallyorinwholebereprintedor reproduced withoutwrittenconsentfrom the editor.
SIMUL
Volume 4, Issue 4, Summer 2025
Conference Edition: Office of the Ministry
EDITOR
Rev. Dr. DennisR. Di Mauro dennisdimauro@yahoo.com
ADMINSTRATOR
Rev. JonJensen jjensen@semlc.org
AdministrativeAddress: St. Paul LutheranSeminary P.O.Box251
Midland,GA 31820
ACADEMICDEAN
Rev. Julie Smith jjensen@semlc.org
Academics/StudentAffairsAddress: St. Paul LutheranSeminary P.O.Box251
Midland,GA 31820
BOARDOFDIRECTORS
Chair:CharlesHunsaker
Rev. GregBrandvold
Rev. JonJensen
Rev. Dr. MarkMenacher
Rev. Michael Hanson
Rev. Julie Smith
Rev. CulynnCurtis
Rev. Dr. JamesCavanah
Rev. Jeff Teeples
Rev. Judy Mattson
TEACHINGFACULTY
Rev. Dr. MarneyFritts
Rev. Dr. DennisDiMauro
Rev. Julie Smith
Rev. VirgilThompson
Rev. BradHales
Rev. Steven King
Rev. Dr. OrreyMcFarland
Rev. HoracioCastillo(Intl)
Rev. AmandaOlsonde Castillo(Intl)
Rev. Dr. Roy HarrisvilleIII
Rev. Dr. HenryCorcoran
Rev. Dr. MarkMenacher
Rev. RandyFreund
EDITOR’S NOTE
Welcome to our sixteenth issue of SIMUL, the journal of St. Paul Lutheran Seminary. We had an amazing conference this year from May 12th-14th at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. This was our first conference since COVID and wonderful teaching and fellowship was enjoyed by all. The topic of the conference was the “Office of the Ministry,” and we thought that it would be helpful to publish the talks in this issue of SIMUL so that those who missed the conference might read these amazing articles at their leisure.
Julie Smith started the conference by explaining that pastors are “called to faith,” using the examples of the biblical figures Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Peter and Paul. The next day, she returned to the same biblical figures, but this time she demonstrated how they were also “called to go,” sometimes quite a distance from home, in order to preach God’s word. Brad Hales explained how visiting may be the most ignored, and yet most important ministry for any pastor. Randy Freund lamented the 18th and 19th Century transition from “pastoral care” to “pastoral counseling.” He offered a Hippocratic Oath for pastors to “do no harm” by espousing a “theology of the cross” over a “theology of glory.” Mark Ryman explained the benefits of lectio concordia, or “reading in harmony,” as a pastoral devotion. He
This edition includes the talks from our annual conference which was held from May 18th20th at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC.
even gave us a preview of his upcoming book on the same topic! And I finish off this issue with a review of Kennon Callahan’s classic book, Visiting in an Age of Mission.
What’s Ahead?
Upcoming Issue - Our Fall 2025 issue will deal with the important subject of “Senior Ministry.” While the church places much emphasis on youth ministry, church planters and revitalizers have found that a focus on senior ministry is better tailored for church growth today. Senior ministry also attracts youth, since seniors often bring their grandchildren into the church.
Conference 2026 – Join us again for the St. Paul Lutheran Seminary Theological Conference which will again be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, tentatively scheduled for May 18-20, 2026.
SPLS now offers the Th.D. – We are excited to announce that St. Paul Lutheran Seminary is partnering with Kairos University in Sioux Falls, SD to establish an accredited Doctorate in Theology (Th.D.). The Th.D. is a research degree, preparing candidates for deep theological reflection, discussion, writing, leadership in the church and service towards the community. The goal of the program is to develop leaders in the Lutheran church who are qualified to teach in institutions across the globe, to engage in theological and biblical research to further the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to respond with faithfulness to any calling within the church. Those who are accepted into and
complete the program will receive all instruction from SPLS professors and will receive an accredited (ATS) degree from Kairos University.
The general area of study of the Th.D. program is in systematic theology. Specializations offered within the degree include, but are not limited to: Reformation studies, evangelical homiletics, and law and gospel dialectics. The sub-disciplines within the areas of specialization are dependent upon the interest of the student provided they have a qualified and approved mentor. Other general areas of study, such as biblical studies, will be forthcoming. For the full description of the program, go to https://semlc.org/academic-programs/ If you are interested in supporting our effort to produce faithful teachers of Christ’s church, contact Jon Jensen jjensen@semlc.org. All prospective student inquiries can be directed to Dr. Marney Fritts mfritts@semlc.org.
Giving - Please consider making a generous contribution to St. Paul Lutheran Seminary at: https://semlc.org/support-st-paul-lutheran-seminary/.
I hope you enjoy this issue of SIMUL! If you have any questions about the journal or about St. Paul Lutheran Seminary, please shoot me an email at dennisdimauro@yahoo.com
CALLED TO FAITH
Julie Smith
These days I spend more time than I would have anticipated in churches that are having some sort of trouble, or with pastors who are having some sort of trouble. Sometimes those two things are connected. Sometimes they are not. I also spend a lot of time with churches that are looking for a pastor and have a lot of conversations with pastors who are looking for a church. As I go about this work, there are a couple of recurring themes that I find troubling. One is that a lot of churches do not respect the pastoral office. The other is that a lot of pastors do not respect the pastoral office. In particular, the office is not respected as a calling. That might manifest itself in congregations not seeing much value in having a properly trained pastor. It might also be demonstrated by pastors who think ministry is a career choice, and a particular call is one they will take or leave based on compensation or proximity to Target.
I don’t imagine that we will get to the bottom of that in our time together this week, but hopefully we will start to peel back some of the layers. Then maybe we will stop imagining that our present “clergy shortage” is something that is going to be solved with a clever program from a seminary or church headquarters. Rather, it will take a shift in the attitudes and expectations of all of us who have been called into Christ’s church. I’m not talking about adopting an authoritarian view in which everyone defers
to the almighty pastor. I’m talking about remembering that the office of pastor is a holy calling and ought to be recognized as such, including by those who occupy that office.
I’m going to look at two aspects of the call to pastoral ministry. In this first session, we will hear the call to faith that is built into pretty much every call story we find in scripture. Tomorrow, we will consider the call to go, and our understanding that this is an itinerant vocation. So first, let’s take a look at some call stories of biblical figures, none of whom were actually called to pastoral ministry as we now practice it. And as you listen to these stories, if you find yourself thinking, “wait, she’s leaving out some important stuff,” we will get to that tomorrow.
Abram – Even When It Seems Impossible
If you have a Bible with you and like to follow along, please turn to Genesis 12:1-3. We will start with the call of Abraham, and the call to faith even when it seems impossible. “Now the LORD said to Abram, “. . . I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”1
I’m talking about remembering that the office of pastor is a holy calling and ought to be recognized as such, including by those who occupy that office.
The call of Abram kind of comes out of nowhere in Genesis. Everything before it is what biblical scholars refer to as “prehistory.” We get a lineage from Noah’s son Shem that finally arrives at Abram, son of Terah. But in the generations since
God scattered the people after the tower of Babel fiasco; we have no stories of God interacting with the people between Shem and Abram. All we’ve got is a lineage. And then one day the Lord speaks to Abram, a relationship that leads to the great covenant that defines the Old Testament.
And the Lord makes a promise to this childless husband of a barren wife. “I will make of you a great nation.” At this point in his life, maybe Abram hoped he would die rich, and his nephew would be his heir. But as it stood, perhaps he would be remembered for one generation. As a childless person, this might be a little projection on my part. But the possibility that he would be the father of a great nation couldn’t really have been on his radar at this point.
In the list of things that are possible and things that are not possible, this falls squarely in the “not possible” category. A man with no sons can’t hope for something like this. But it’s into this moment, this circumstance in Abram’s life, that the Lord arrives with a promise. “I’m going to make of you a great nation. And not only that, in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” The Lord’s work in the world is going to be attached to Abram and his descendants.
The easiest response in the world to such a promise would be, “that seems unlikely.” Because it’s not something that Abram’s will or effort can possibly accomplish. That’s the trick to this whole business. It’s going to be the Lord’s work, carried out through Abram. And any time Abram or Sarai try to take that work into their own hands, things go awry. We see that with the Hagar episode. We see it when Abraham decides to protect Sarah by saying she is his sister, only to see her
married off to another in Egypt.
The call of Abram is, first and foremost, a call for him to trust in the one who is calling. Trust in the one who has a mission he is carrying out in the world. And trust that he can accomplish what we cannot. This is an important thing for a pastor and a congregation to remember. God’s mission in the world is possible, even when it looks impossible to us. He is carrying it out in and through us, in spite of all evidence that we are barren and hopeless.
Moses – Even When We Are Afraid
For our second call story, we’re going flip to Exodus and the call of Moses, who was called in spite of his fear.
“Moses was keeping the flock of his fatherin-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for Moses
the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them” (Exodus 3:1-9).
Most of us probably remember the burning bush story. We remember the command to Moses to remove the sandals from his feet because he was standing on holy ground. I had forgotten the line that Moses was afraid to look at God. Of course, that’s a recurring theme in the Old Testament, but somehow, I had forgotten all about it.
Moses has had a rather complicated life up to this point. Pharaoh had attempted to kill him and all the other Hebrew baby boys. His mother, his sister, even Pharaoh’s own daughter had been enlisted by the Lord to intervene on Moses’ behalf. He’d been raised as an Egyptian but had some sense of his Hebrew roots. But now he was a man without a people, having fled Egypt in fear for his life.
And then the Lord, who had been active in his life every
step of the way, makes himself known to Moses, appearing to him in a way he had never appeared before. Moses is understandably afraid. He’s afraid of what he’s seeing―afraid of what might be expected of him. He thought he was safe out there shepherding his father-in-law’s flocks. I find myself picturing those movies that begin with our action hero having retired to a quiet life somewhere far from the action, only to be called back into service once more.
Moses had gotten himself out of the mix. He had escaped from his complicated life in Egypt. He had escaped from the consequences of killing an Egyptian. But now the one who had been quietly in the background his entire life moved front and center after hearing a divine call. But Moses was afraid. He was afraid to face the God of his fathers―afraid of what might lie ahead for him.
When the Lord calls us, he doesn’t call us to what will make us comfortable. He doesn’t say, “well . . . I know that would be hard for you, so I’ll find something else for you.” Often, he calls us right into the heart of our fears. Thirty-one years ago, I was very reluctant to apply to seminary because the idea of public speaking made me sick. The call to ministry is a call to the faith that overcomes fears. It’s the call to faith that trusts the Lord to be our strength when our hands, our knees, our voices are shaking.
Jonah – Even When We Don’t Like the Mission
It would be a shame to talk about biblical call stories and
Jonah
leave out one of the best ones ―the call of Jonah, who was called even though he didn’t like the mission to which he was called. “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD” (Jonah 1:1-3).
Jonah wasn’t afraid of the Lord, and he didn’t think what the Lord had in mind was impossible. It was quite the opposite. He was entirely convinced that what the Lord had in mind would be accomplished. And he didn’t like it. He didn’t agree with God’s plan to save the people of Nineveh. He wanted them to suffer. And he certainly wanted no part in working on their behalf.
Faith is not only trusting that God can do things. It is trusting that what God wills to do is right, righteous. It is being conformed to God’s will, when God refuses to be conformed to ours. It’s one thing to be called to deliver a word to people you care about, people you want to be saved. But to trust that God knows who needs saving and has a plan to accomplish it, even if you’re entirely sure that the ones God is concerned about are not worthy of his concern, that’s rough. That’s not a calling that many of us would have been any more eager than Jonah to receive.
It’s one of the most miraculous aspects of the Bible, I think. That it bears witness again and again and again to the reality
that God’s beloved people, his chosen ones, just think he is wrong so much of the time. This is the heart of our original sin, and the Bible does not make even the slightest attempt to hide the depths of it. Again and again, we see people who should be pillars of faith, who should be examples for us to follow, instead actively defying God’s will, and just saying “nope” to his commands.
Faithfulness in ministry means trusting that God knows what he’s doing. Trusting that especially when we don’t like it.
Faithfulness in ministry means trusting that God knows what he’s doing. Trusting that especially when we don’t like it. When we find ourselves thinking, “why did the Spirit gather these particularly heinous sinners into the flock that I’m now called to shepherd?! Why couldn’t he have just given me a nice congregation that practices great stewardship, great hospitality, great service, is attentive to worship, and overflows with Christ’s love in every possible way?! But nope, I got a bunch of sinners. Sinners who don’t fully appreciate how lucky they are to have me as their pastor.” Tarshish looks better and better all the time!
Sunday Schools and Bible camps have lots of fun with the story of Jonah. It’s simply brilliant on many levels. But right at the center of it all is the decidedly not fun reality that God’s servants – you and I – have a deeply ingrained instinct to second guess him, to go our own direction in defiance of his call. And that’s really not a laughing matter.
Peter – Even When We Are Fickle
Now let’s switch to the New Testament, and we’ll start with
Christ’s call even when we are fickle, as seen in Peter’s confession in Matthew 16. As a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of Peter. The Peter we meet in the gospels is just a little too brash, a little too quick with an answer, a little too quick to put himself forward. And the Peter we meet in Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a much bigger problem than any of that. Those traits that are just kind of annoying in the gospels are deeply problematic once Peter is out there at work in the church. And yet, listen to his conversation with Jesus in Matthew 16:13-17.
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
In a moment driven completely by divine intervention, Peter is right on the mark in his response to the central question of the day. Just who is this Jesus? Peter knows the answer. Because it has been revealed to him, not with his own eyes, but through the power of God. For one moment, Peter got out of his own way and the truth was revealed through him. And upon this confession of faith Christ makes an astounding promise in v. 18, “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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
This faith that Peter so boldly, almost unconsciously, proclaims, is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, upon whom the church will be built. And nothing, not even the gates of Hades, will be able to overcome it. What a huge moment! What a powerful witness to Jesus! Peter must be so proud of himself!!
But, of course, we know how things go with Peter. He will do something amazing one moment, in the grip of the Holy Spirit. And the next minute, his ego, or his need to be liked, or even the devil himself will get ahold of him, and he will set himself up against Christ and his Gospel. He will tell Jesus he can’t possibly go to Jerusalem to die. He will break bread with the Gentiles in Antioch, as long as no one is around to see it, and then back off when powerful leaders from Jerusalem arrive on the scene.
Constancy is not one of Peter’s gifts. But Christ Jesus puts him to work in spite of himself. He gives him the Word when he needs it, even when Peter’s own words and actions are in conflict with the word he’s been given to proclaim. Can you imagine it? A leader in the church who is not perfectly consistent? One who sometimes caves to the pressure of those she wants to impress? One who doesn’t always want to go all the way to the mat for his convictions, but would like to find a middle way, a painless
Constancy is not one of Peter’s gifts. But Christ Jesus puts him to work in spite of himself.
way? One who loves to be loved?
Christ Jesus calls us out of ourselves into the faithfulness where he is the center, not us. The faithfulness that means death to the self in favor of life in Christ. If all we’ve got is our own capacity to keep people happy, we will quickly realize our limits, our hypocrisy, our desperation. We won’t survive it. But that’s ok. Because our death is precisely what such a situation requires, in order that faith might come to life.
And finally, we will consider God’s call of those who have simply been wrong, about him, about themselves, about life, about death. We will consider the call of Paul.
Paul – Even When We’ve Been Wrong
We will let Paul tell his own story, rather than the story Luke provides in the Book of Acts. In Galatians 1 we hear Paul describe his former life. “You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors” (Gal. 1:13-14).
Paul had everything figured out. He was a rising star. He had impressed the right people, was making all the right moves. He was making a name for himself. And in his day that required a specific focus. There was this movement afoot of those who were following an allegedly false messiah. They were gaining momentum in Jerusalem, in Damascus, and in a variety of other places. Paul knew with certainty that his responsibility was to stop this movement―at any cost. He violently
persecuted the church of God because he was convinced that that was what he was supposed to do.
Until one day he was called to be a witness to this same Jesus he had been trying to destroy. That’s a bit of whiplash. To be certain you have to destroy something, and then be equally certain you are called to serve what you were trying to destroy. Paul would have had no reason to think anyone would listen to him—no reason to think anyone would trust him. The easy solution would have been to say, “Okay, I’ll stop persecuting the church. I’ll shut up. I’ll maybe even become an active member of a congregation somewhere. But it makes no sense at all to imagine I have some sort of particular calling to serve this church I’ve been trying to destroy.”
And yet, he did. There was no way around it. The Spirit grabbed hold of Paul, and the rest is history. It turns out that God doesn’t only call those who have the correct resume. He doesn’t only call those who have no missteps, no ugly incidents in their background. He actually turns people around and makes them new. He did that with Paul. He can do that with anyone he chooses to―even you.
Summary
The call to the office of ministry is first and foremost a call to faith because pretty much everything we do is an act of faith. We stand up in front of a congregation and deliver the gospel trusting God’s Word that that is how he has decided to redeem sinners. We He actually turns people around and makes them new. He did that with Paul. He can do that with anyone he chooses to―even you.
stand there and talk believing that this is God’s saving work. We visit the homebound, bringing a word of hope when hope seems foolish or naïve. We stand at hospital beds and gravesides announcing Christ’s defeat of death. We sit in council meetings understanding that even this tedious discussion of the budget is part of the work of Christ’s church, through which the lost are being found. We baptize children whose parents we’ve never seen before, with faith that Christ’s word accomplishes what it says, hoping against hope that, even if we don’t ever see it, the Holy Spirit is bearing fruit in that young life.
The entire enterprise is an act of faith, from beginning to end. It’s when we imagine it as our work and not the Lord’s that we start to find ourselves in trouble. Like when Abraham tried to find an alternate route to a family, or when Moses thought he could hide in the wilderness and forget about his people, or when Jonah thought he could thwart God’s will to save the Ninevites. We even see this attitude in the apostles, when Peter put his own reputation ahead of what he knew to be true and when Paul was convinced that Jesus needed to be stopped. It happens in all those times when our own agenda moves to the center and the Lord’s will gets shunted off to the side―that’s when things go awry.
But God is not so easily thwarted. Our best efforts for the last 2000 years, and Israel’s best efforts for a couple thousand years before that, could not stop God’s will from being done. He’s quite good at being God. He’s been at it a long time. In the face of our faithlessness and doubt, he just keeps calling us back, seeking us out, setting us on the right path. And the amazing blessing of the office of ministry is getting to be a part
of that mission.
Rev. Julie Smith is the service coordinator for Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), and she teaches at St. Paul Lutheran Seminary.
Endnotes:
1The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Gen. 12:1–3. All subsequent Bible citations in this essay are from the NRSV translation.
CALLED TO GO
Julie Smith
When I went to seminary, the system was very clear and mostly unmoving. You moved to a residential campus where you spent two years taking full-time classes. Then you moved to an internship site. Then you moved back for one more year of classes. In the middle of that final year, you were assigned to a synod for your first call. At that time, you were paid about $10,000 a year for that. Adjusted for inflation that would be just under $20,000 a year today.
There were two moments over the course of those four years when a student got to state some preferences. You could make some requests concerning about internship – what type of church you were interested in, and in what part of the country. Every year a number of Luther Seminary students would restrict themselves to the Twin Cities for internship. But they had to be able to demonstrate that moving again was an insurmountable hardship for their families. At least that was the stated requirement. The reality was that if there were a pastor in the Twin Cities who wanted that student as his intern, he could flex his muscles and make it happen.
Students were also allowed to list their top three choices for synodical assignment. Again, there was some opportunity to restrict oneself to certain synods, but this was a little more difficult to pull off in the call draft than it was for an internship
assignment.
In both of these moments when students got to express some preferences, it was understood that no internship sites and no bishops were obligated to honor their preferences. In the end, you would go where the church sent you, or you would be looking for some other type of work while you waited for a call to open up and a bishop who was willing to submit your name for it. It was clear who held the cards in this process.
This was, by no means, a perfect system. It was primed for all sorts of abuse and cronyism. But there was one thing that this system did very, very well. It taught you, from the moment you began your theological education, that you should expect to move. You should not expect that you were going to settle in somewhere and stay there. You should not expect that your children would graduate from the same school district in which they went to kindergarten. You should expect that you might never buy a house, moving from parsonage to parsonage, or that you might buy many houses in markets where it might be difficult to sell them very quickly when it was time to move. There were always pastors whose lives were exceptions to this general rule. But they were exceptions. There was an understanding that no one was entitled to these exceptions. There was an understanding that pastoral ministry was a calling of the church, and the church exercised authority over
But there was one thing that this system did very, very well. It taught you, from the moment you began your theological education, that you should expect to move.
it.
I've been involved with online theological education for many years now. One of the things I have worried about in relation to this form of education is that it can instill a sense that theological education and the pastoral vocation are matters of personal convenience. Apart from the classwork itself there shouldn't be any hardship involved with becoming a pastor. All impediments or barriers to entry should be removed, if possible, so that anyone who feels called to be a pastor can become one. The danger with this is that we end up with people who are trained to be pastors but cannot or will not move from their current location. Rather than this being the exception because of unusual circumstances, it has become the rule. Many pastoral candidates simply do not consider this to be an itinerant vocation.
Somewhere between a system that seeks to exert ownership over pastoral candidates and one in which pastoral candidates feel little to no sense of obligation to their church body there lives a third way. A way in which candidates understand what's involved in this calling while congregations and church bodies respect the challenges that pastoral candidates face. This is especially necessary as many seminary students are second and third career students. Their spouses might be established in a career that makes it difficult for them to relocate. They may have children and grandchildren that need them to stay in a particular location.
Today we're going to return to the call stories that we looked at yesterday. While yesterday we focused on how this was first and foremost a call to faith and trust in the living God and his mission in the world, today we will focus on how each
of these callings included the need to go. Every one of the people God called in these ways was sent somewhere by this calling. We will begin with Abraham.
Abraham – Away from Home
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The Lord's very first word to Abraham was “go.” With no prior introduction, Abraham was called away from his father and his family and everyone he knew. The mission and the promise God had in store for him were going to take place somewhere new. And not only somewhere new but in a place that hadn't even been identified yet. Abraham was just told to go with the promise that he would find out the destination along the way.
Despite the tremendous promise attached to Abraham's call―that he would be the father of a great nation, that his name would be great, and that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed—it's not that difficult to imagine Abraham objecting to this call. Why did it require leaving everything he knew? Why couldn't God give his family the land of Haran as their promised land? Didn’t the Lord understand how important Abraham’s country, kindred, and father’s house
Abraham
were to him?
But Abraham doesn’t object at all. The Lord says go, and without a single question or comment, Abraham goes. The questions and comments will certainly come later. But in this moment, when he receives this call, he goes. He leaves behind everything that defined him―country, kindred, father—in favor of something new that will define him and will define him more deeply than anything else ever had or could.
Can we imagine such a thing? Can we imagine such openness to getting up and going, leaving behind everything that is familiar? I know there are some people in this room who have made big moves, away from family and friends, away from support networks, away from the known. That came with sacrifice, perhaps with some arguments at the dining room table and some tears shed. But that also seems to be increasingly rare.
The question I am most likely to get when I’m out on the road is whether we have enough pastors and what we’re doing to solve the problem. For a while I flipped that question back around to congregations, asking them when the last time was that they sent someone to seminary. Then I decided even that was a bit too abstract, a bit too easily dismissed as someone else’s responsibility. So now I ask if they would encourage their children or grandchildren to become a pastor. Folks are pretty quick to change the subject at that point.
But one day the guy who had asked the question had an answer for me. He would not encourage his children or grandchildren to become a pastor because he didn’t want them to move away, and he didn’t want them to miss family
holidays. On the one hand, there is something refreshingly honest about that. On the other hand, it is truly appalling.
On the one hand, there is something refreshingly honest about that. On the other hand, it is truly appalling.
Here's someone who’s engaged enough in the life of his congregation that he has stuck around after worship for a forum on denominational affiliation: someone who has some sense of the difference a faithful pastor can make in the life of a congregation. But this person is also crystal clear that it is more important that the family all be gathered around the tree to open Christmas presents. I wish I had another crack at him and could let him know what, perhaps, most of the people in this room know. That Christmas dinner tastes just as good on New Year’s Eve or the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s, or sometime in January. That the gift buying is actually cheaper if it happens after December 25. That family traditions can be changed, trips can be made. That working weekends can get you out of a lot of things you’d like to say no to anyway. That it is possible to adjust.
The pressure to stay put is no small thing. It’s part of what makes online theological education so appealing to people. But we may need to at least consider the possibility that this isn’t about our convenience. Last night, we were having a discussion about how we could facilitate getting more of our students to this event, which I think would be great. So, we were talking about finding ways to subsidize their travel, in addition to subsidizing their registration and housing costs. The seminary administrator in me loves that idea. I’m pretty
much a pushover when it comes to students and I want us to do what we can to provide them with learning opportunities and a deeper sense of community. The church bureaucrat, on the other hand, wants to say, “Just make it a graduation requirement. Make them get some skin in the game. A threeday trip is nothing compared to being required to move three or four times to get through seminary!” But we also know from the long history of the church that just adding requirements does not automatically weed out those who aren’t sufficiently committed to the pastoral vocation. It does, however, weed out those who have unusual circumstances to deal with. The challenge of the moment, it seems to me in my entirely unscientific survey of the landscape, is that almost everyone thinks that their circumstances are unusual and ought to be given special consideration. Almost everyone can give a compelling and heartfelt reason for why their call to pastoral ministry does not include a call to “go.”
Moses certainly wasn’t looking for a call to “go.” But he ended up being on the move for the rest of his life, without ever actually arriving.
Moses – Back to Where You Came From
When Moses fled from Egypt it seems likely that he never planned to go back there. He had severed the connection with his Egyptian family, and it was his fellow Hebrews who had accused him of murder when he rose to their defense. Moses left and started a new life in Midian. He got married and settled down and went to work for his father-in-law. His life
was finally starting to look somewhat ordinary. Egypt was becoming a memory – a vivid and complicated memory, but still a memory.
And then he stumbled upon the burning bush, and he heard the voice of the Lord. While Moses had been trying to forget and move on from his life in Egypt, the Lord had remembered his people in Egypt. The Lord was about to do a new thing for the Israelites. He was about to rescue a people who thought he had forgotten about them entirely. And he was going to use Moses to carry out his plan. Moses would have to go back to Egypt. Sometimes the call of the Lord sends you back to where you came from.
I grew up in a town of 1400 people in southwestern Minnesota. Like most of the rural areas in the United States it has experienced what is referred to as “brain drain.” Basically, if you leave town to go to college you don't come back again. The assumption often built into that is that these places are uninteresting and not suitable for people who have pursued higher education. They are not places you'd want to live if you could live somewhere else. In fact, my college advisor called me into his office my senior year to let me know that his biggest concern was that I didn't have a plan and I might end up back in my small hometown. As far as he could tell this would be a total waste of a good education. I did my seminary internship in a town of 150 people. It was a rough town with rough people. But I was a small-town person, so I knew how to live there. For my first call I moved to
Moses
a town of 1000 people. It was exactly the kind of town I had moved away from to go to college. In fact, it was in the same high school sports conference as my hometown. And for the rest of my working life, I have been in towns of fewer than 2500 people.
There are times when the small town thinking that says “if you can move away you do,” creeps into my mind. And I wonder about the places I have served. Are they the places I should have served? Or was there something bigger and better out there that I just didn't pursue? When that thinking creeps in it undermines the work I’ve done in those communities and those congregations. It suggests that my time there was of no value or at least not much value.
I suspect if you were to look at the call histories of most pastors, the movement is from small town to large town. And why wouldn't it be? As you gain more experience you move up the ladder. And every assumption in our culture is that moving up the ladder means moving to bigger and better things: better pay, in better towns, in better churches. The idea that you might ever be called to go backwards hardly makes sense to us. That is surely a sign of failure.
But the people in that town of 150 people had no less need for the gospel of Jesus Christ than the people in the largest church in our association. And while the work done there might look different, it's no less challenging than the work done somewhere bigger and allegedly better. When God calls us, he calls us to go where he needs us to be. He calls us to go where there are people who need his word. And sometimes that means going to exactly the kind of place we've just left—
the kind of place we never thought we would return to.
That was my call. That’s certainly not everyone’s call. It may not be your call. But if it is your call, drive out those voices that would tell you that’s failure. Drive out the voices that would claim you’re going the wrong direction if you’re not constantly going up. And rejoice in the fact that when you are called back to the sort of place you thought you had left forever, you have an advantage. You understand the culture as only an insider can. You know where the landmines are.
Drive out the voices that would claim you’re going the wrong direction if you’re not constantly going up.
Just as a silly little example of that, I have now moved to a metropolis of 12,000 people and I no longer have a parish. In fact, I only know a couple of people in town. And when it came time to replace my car, for the first time in my life, I bought a foreign car. Because somewhere deep in my memory was my father’s observation that only teachers and pastors drove foreign cars. In a small town, a foreign car was a sure sign that you were an outsider: a completely unnecessary wedge between you and the people you serve. With so many other wedges between pastors and parishioners it was no sacrifice to never let the car I drove be one of them.
To serve in a place that doesn’t require a lot of cultural translation can be a real joy. As long as those voices that tell you “I’ve moved on from all of that,” don’t overtake you.
Of course, sometimes there’s another reason not to go where the Lord is calling you. It’s not that you’ve left a place behind with no plans to return. It’s that, like Jonah, you just can’t stand the people living there.
Jonah – Where You Don’t Want to Go
Why on earth would the Lord want one of his prophets to go to Nineveh?! There were plenty of issues to deal with right at home. There were plenty of the Lord’s own people who needed to hear his word. Why would energy need to be wasted on enemies, foreigners?
Jonah was not even a little bit subtle about his objection to the Lord’s plans for Nineveh and the part he was expected to play in those plans. In Jonah’s mind, the Lord had no business saving Nineveh and it was completely unreasonable to expect Jonah to be part of that effort. His attempts to thwart God’s plans are comical. And God’s intervention is a clear reminder of just who was (and is) in charge here.
We’re a little loose these days with terms like “enemies.” We don’t bat an eye at calling members of an opposing political party “enemies.” We imagine people lined up against us, trying to destroy us and everything we hold dear. And they imagine the same about us. Neither of us usually stops to consider that the others are just people going about their business, trying to live their lives, just like we are.
The Ninevites were political enemies of Israel to be sure. But the people of Nineveh weren’t sitting around trying to figure out how to destroy God’s people. They were living their lives. But even if they didn’t belong to the nation of Israel, they belonged to God, as the whole creation belongs to God. Their well-being was of concern to him.
In our current culture wars, it is all too easy to imagine that God is on my side and is against anyone I’m against. God cares
about who I care about. God wants to redeem those I think worthy of redemption. God loves those I love. But our God is the God of the universe. The Creator of all that is. All of this belongs to him. And he seeks to know and be known by all those he has made.
All this means that you may be called to go to places you would just rather not go―to live and serve among people who are not your people. These are people whose values do not match your own, people whose voting record appalls you, people you have nothing in common with. You might think that these people aren’t worth your time and effort. And yet, there you are, sent to deliver a word to them.
A pastor friend of mine in India tells the story of going to a remote village on an evangelism trip. They were met by the local medicine man who wanted nothing to do with them and would not let them enter the village. As they turned to leave, Pr. Duggi felt something nip at his ankle. He woke up days later in the hospital, having been shot with a poisoned dart by the medicine man.
All this means that you may be called to go to places you would just rather not go―to live and serve among people who are not your people.
Most of us do not experience quite that level of resistance to our proclamation of the gospel. People who don’t like the changes we’ve made to the worship service or the confirmation program might feel like poison darts from time to time, but we will probably survive that opposition. On the other hand, our call to a particular congregation might not survive that opposition if we insist on dying on every hill.
But wherever we are sent, there is one thing that is certain. The people in front of us are people for whom Christ died,
even if we can’t figure out why. We don’t have to figure that out. And we don’t have to like it. But like Jonah, we have to deliver the message, even if we’re secretly hoping they’re not listening. Luckily for us, the Holy Spirit takes over from there.
Peter – Back and Forth
In some ways, Peter had the trickiest of all the calls we’ve been talking about. Because he was called to go back and forth between two communities. On the one hand, there were the Jews, his people, the people he knew and loved, the people he understood and could relate to. And on the other hand, there were the Gentiles, people who had always been seen as “other,” but whom Christ had now brought into the fold.
Peter had to find ways to speak to both of these groups. And he wasn’t always very good at it. The temptation he had was to preach a different gospel to these two different groups, to tell each what they wanted to hear. This was different than what Paul meant when he talked about being all things to all people. It seems that Peter waffled a bit on how Christians were expected to relate to the law. Or maybe, and perhaps more accurately, Peter worried about offending either of the two groups he ministered to. And this fear of offending, which may have reflected a fear of being cast out by either group, started to control Peter’s witness―at least that’s what it looked like from Paul’s perspective.
So rather than being laser focused on what lies at the heart of the gospel and then finding ways to speak that truth into the experiences of Jews and Gentiles, he offered a slightly
different gospel to each, which, in the end, meant no gospel at all. In the end, a compromised gospel can only undermine faith. It can never grant or feed true faith.
To be called to go back and forth between diverse communities, with different expectations and different assumptions, can easily cause us to get tripped up and forget what the main thing is. We can get so focused on what they want that we forget that we all need the same thing. We all need the unconditional promise of the gospel, uncompromised by our cultural assumptions, and unedited by our preferences or traditions.
We are called to be all things to all people, to go back and forth between all sorts of different cultures. And that requires knowing different languages, different preferences, different styles. It requires using different examples, even behaving in different ways. But it cannot, it must not, mean changing the message to suit the tastes of those before us, no matter how deeply held their convictions may be.
It is one thing to wear vestments because that is the expectation of the people in front of you. It is something else entirely to affirm a conviction that there can be no proper worship without vested clergy. It is one thing to do all the communion visits because that is the tradition of the congregation. It is something else entirely to agree that the sacrament is only valid if it comes from your hand.
It is one thing to wear vestments because that is the expectation of the people in front of you. It is something else entirely to affirm a conviction that there can be no proper worship without vested clergy.
Understanding the needs and expectations of your congregation when they don’t match your own requires constant discernment. It means constantly asking, “now why am I doing this? Why am I saying this?” And it’s quite easy to get it wrong. But that doesn’t relieve us of the call to go to those whose traditions, whose expectations, and whose fiercely held beliefs, have to be challenged from time to time.
Paul – Wherever the Holy Spirit Sends You, Even to Death
Abraham’s call was to a specific, but not yet revealed, destination. Paul’s was a little different. He was called to go wherever the Spirit sent him. There was not a specific destination in mind. He might have had a rough outline of his missionary journeys, but they were pretty open-ended. He would go wherever the Spirit drove him. There was only one thing about Paul’s journey that was clear. He was headed toward his death. He would not be retiring. He would not someday land at his permanent call where he would live out his days in peace. He was going to be preaching this gospel, without apology or compromise, until he finally ran into someone who had the authority to respond to the offense of the gospel with the power of the sword.
Some of us may indeed run into the power of the sword in opposition to the gospel. But that is not likely to be the story for most of us. But we will run into opposition―that is guaranteed. The gospel does offend people, and sinners do all kinds of sneaky things to undermine this word, and replace it with something else.
I hope you will consider the possibility that your call to ministry might take you to places you have not yet thought of. I hope your vision of the future possibilities in this office might be expanded. But if not, one thing is certain, the call to serve the gospel is a call to die to yourself and your plans and ambitions, only to be given a new life, new plans, and a new identity. Maybe you will go where you are called to go, maybe you won’t. But the life you now live is not your own. It never will be again. It is Christ in you. And he has a way of getting his will done even by those inclined to resist.
Conclusion
The call to faith and the call to go go hand in hand in the life of those called by God to be his witnesses. Faith without going is an abstraction. It’s faith that doesn’t cut to the heart of us, doesn’t break through our defenses and excuses. It’s faith kept at arm’s length. It’s faith that says all the right things while leaving you unchanged.
Faith without going is quite safe. Going without faith, on the other hand, is deadly. Going without faith is going in your own name, to a destination of your own choosing, for purposes of your own imagining. Going without faith results in building the kingdom of Julie, not serving in the kingdom of God.
Faith without going is quite safe. Going without faith, on the other hand, is deadly.
If we learn anything from the call stories we’ve been looking at this week, it’s that God can get his work done in spite of our efforts to thwart it. He can work through those of little faith or hope, and he can work through those who are reluctant to go.
Jonah, for all of his opposition, was the most successful prophet in the entire Old Testament. The people actually repented based on his half-hearted proclamation. And Isaiah’s beautiful 66 chapters had to be delivered, at least in part, to a defeated people in exile, but his prophecy gave the Israelites hope.
God can get his work done in spite of you. And he keeps calling extremely challenging people into the service of his mission. Perhaps one of these servants of God resonates more closely with your own story. Perhaps you see yourself in one of them, for better or worse. Or maybe your story is more like the life of Isaiah, Deborah, Gideon, Mary Magdalene, Thomas, or Hosea. Whatever your story is, there are two certainties –you’re part of it and God is part of it.
Maybe you want to toss yourself into the sea in response to this calling. Maybe you’re eager to go, but just not where you’re needed. Maybe this call will be the death of you. Maybe there will be days you love and days you would rather be doing anything else . . . if only you could. But in any and all of these circumstances, the Lord is making a way. He is getting his work done. So maybe it’s time for you, servants of God, to just give up the fight. Resistance is futile.
Just listen to how Paul, whose calling would be the death of him, described it in Romans 1. “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you
some spiritual gift to strengthen you or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish —hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Romans 1:8-15).
As seen in Paul’s words above, this sharing of the gospel is not just something you are obligated to do for others. It is also mutually encouraging. The same church that frustrates and infuriates you will pick you up in your lowest moments. The same community that seems indifferent to the work you are engaged in will give you moments of profound joy.
The office of pastor is not easy. It’s not glory unto glory. It’s not always held in high esteem by the world around us. And yet, it is a tremendous gift and privilege to be called into this work. And when faith finally breaks through all of our agendas and we can see this work as God’s work to save, then we get to know not only the deep joy of the gospel, but also the profound satisfaction of living into our vocations. What a great combination.
Rev. Julie Smith is the service coordinator for Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), and she teaches at St. Paul Lutheran Seminary.
St. Paul
Endnotes:
1The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Gen. 12:1–3. The NRSV version is used throughout this essay.
VISITING FOR MISSION
Brad Hales
“No one wants to be visited anymore...people are too busy to be seen...individuals do not want their personal space violated...visitation is just paying the rent.” These are just a few of the pessimistic comments I have heard over the years about pastoral visitation. Unfortunately, church leaders and members do not always see the great benefits of visiting church members and other people in the community, however, the benefits are numerous. Visiting makes mission the central focus of the congregation, it builds relationships, it allows for the proclamation of the Word and the sharing of the Sacrament, it provides care, support and encouragement to church members, and finally, it sparks congregational renewal.
Scriptural Support for Visiting
Several examples of visitation can be found throughout Holy Scripture and the early Reformation church. In Genesis 18:1-15, the three-in-one God visits Abraham and Sarah to assure them that even in their advanced ages, they would be blessed with a child to continue the covenantal promise which the Lord had instituted. The angel Gabriel visits Mary in Luke 1:26-38, to announce that she would be the mother
of the Lord. In Matthew 9:35, scripture clearly tells us that Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages preaching, teaching, and healing. As a part of his visitation ministry, Jesus has an encounter with the tax collector, Zacchaeus, in Luke 19:1-10 and visits his home. In the final judgement account found in Matthew 25:36-40, we are reminded that when we visit the sick and those in prison, we are encountering Christ himself. And in Acts 15:36, Paul and Barnabas go back to visit the believers in every city where they had originally proclaimed the Gospel and planted the church.
Early Reformation Support for Visiting
Still another example of the power of visitation can be found in what was called the “Visitation to the Churches in Saxony.” Between 1528-1531, Luther visited all the congregations in Electoral Saxony to check on their “spiritual temperature.” But sadly, Luther was shocked at what he found. In the introduction to the Small Catechism he writes, “The deplorable, wretched deprivation that I recently encountered while I was a visitor has constrained and compelled me to prepare this catechism, or Christian doctrine, in such a brief, plain, and simple version.”1
The Bread and Butter of Parish Ministry
Pastoral visitation is the “bread and butter” of parish ministry. Along with sharing the sacraments, Lazarus Spengler
Barnabus
speaks about this important role of a minister when he writes that, “This [visiting obligation] is the same as their obligation to preach, comfort, absolve, help the poor, visit the sick, as often as these services are needed and demanded.”2
Both lay and pastoral visitation can be done in differing settings depending upon the need and other factors. Home visits provide an opportunity to minister to others in a personal, comfortable setting. There are very few professions where one is invited into someone’s personal space, but pastoring still affords that luxury.
But visits need not only take place in the home. Restaurants are often good places to connect with others over a meal or cup of coffee. Hospital visits are also vitally essential to check on a person’s health condition, and to offer encouragement in the face of difficulties. Offering prayers for strength and healing is usually welcomed in these encounters. Care facilities, such as nursing homes, assisted living communities, rehabs, and memory units all offer ample opportunities for pastors to visit those who suffer from serious health issues.
One of the most effective ways to reach out to those with memory issues is by having sing-a-longs with them. The part of the brain which is receptive to music continues intact for a longer period than the memory centers of the brain. I am amazed when I encounter older adults with Alzheimer’s disease, who can’t remember what they ate for breakfast, but who nevertheless can clearly belt out, “You Are My Sunshine” and “Jesus Loves Me.”
Workplace visits can also be effective but can be limited due to time or working conditions. However, meeting someone for
a coffee break or lunch may be beneficial, and a way to maximize a member’s time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly learned that outside/doorstep visits were essential in connecting with others, especially for combatting isolation and loneliness. Using devices has become a central aspect of our daily lives, and they can be used in the realm of visitation as well. Telephone/text/face-time visitations can offer instant encouragement, and a quick way to “check in.”
Community Visitation
But what about visiting folks outside of the church? Community visitation may seem unnecessary if we are just focused on connecting with “the flock.” And some falsely believe that if you are going to reach out to the community at large, it is done for the sole purpose of getting new visitors into the church. However, there are so many more benefits to community outreach. First of all, community outreach demonstrates that the parish wants to offer its services to the community. Second, community visiting is an opportunity to build relationships with others, especially non-believers. And third, community visiting opens the door to further ministry when needs arise. In his book entitled, Visiting in an Age of Mission, Kenyon Callahan speaks about visiting in the community when he writes, “God invites us to visit with persons in our community. We are not called to visit members only. We are invited to visit with community persons. The
COVID-19
term affirms that we live together in the same community. It affirms that our visiting has to do with more than getting people churched. To be sure, community people are not members of a church. They do not participate in the congregation. That is fine. They are people whom God has given us for mission. God encourages us to help them. As one wise, caring person once said, “We are put on this earth to help others.”3
Relationship Building
While there are various venues to facilitate visitation, what happens in the context of the visit itself will have long-lasting ramifications. One benefit of visiting is the building of relationships. Ministry is relational. In connecting with others, we have the privilege of developing our relationships with Christ, with other believers, and with non-believers. Visitation is evangelistic and has missional implications.
Pastor Dennis Di Mauro of Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenton, Virginia, is an example of just such a relationship builder. When he visits several care facilities in his area every month, always playing his ukulele, he is not just visiting the residents. He has harvested intentional relationships with staff members and families, which have yielded numerous ministry opportunities. As relationships develop, ministry opportunities multiply. Care, concern, and encouragement are the main ingredients for visitation success. I once pastored a church where a long-time minister had retired after forty years of faithful work. While preaching wasn’t necessarily his forte,
his visitation and outreach efforts were legendary. Because of that focus, his Jesus-centered church grew and prospered. The intentional visiting of the homebound, those struggling, and periodically every member of the flock, will go a long way to pastoral success and longevity.
Visiting as a New Pastor and Dealing with Conflict
Perhaps one of the most beneficial times to visit is when a pastor first enters a new congregation. This is because when a pastor starts at a new congregation, there is a certain sense of uneasiness among the laity. And while there is some level of respect for the pastoral office, congregants are often uneasy in these early days because they suspect that a new pastor will immediately try to change things. On the day of installation at my current call, a couple of church members were heard saying, “This guy [new pastor] might make us do something.” So visiting members at the beginning helps prevent the sometimes-rampant speculation that the new shepherd is trying “to throw the baby out with the bath water.” In addition, it helps to strengthen trust, calm initial negative perceptions, and developing the needed support for future changes which might be required for the effective sharing of the Gospel.
Active visitation also helps with congregational conflict management. Now I realize that it is often easier to “sweep stuff under the rug” and not confront discord. But left unattended, these
On the day of installation at my current call, a couple of church members were heard saying, “This guy [new pastor] might make us do something.”
conflicts may “blow up” into crises that can threaten the very existence of the congregation. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18 that we are to go directly to the person that we have a conflict with and attempt to resolve the disagreement. But if this is unsuccessful, we might need to try again with the consultation of one or two others. During my visits I have also been informed about various incidents and conflicts, which have then assisted me in cutting things off at the pass. Visitation and conflict resolution go hand in hand.
The Cure of Souls
I remember one visit years ago in which an aging Lutheran told me, “I hope I go to heaven.” These words still make the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight, but during our visit I was able to ease her fears. I told her that in fact we are saved by grace through faith alone, and so we can know for sure that through faith, eternal life is ours.
Visitations also allow us to refute commonly held heresies and false teachings. This might include correcting the false belief that we must execute good works to be welcomed into heaven. We might also be called to council a parent whose adult child has been attending “new age” leadership retreats, where he or she is encouraged to keep paying more to become “enlightened.” Or we might have the opportunity to council an individual who has been “love bombed” into a cult and then mind-controlled into believing that his family and the generational church are his enemies. Visitation can shed light on these misconceptions, and many others, and allow us to share the true Christian faith.
Shut-ins
When the church visits, we bring the church to those who cannot attend. This is why sharing the sacrament is paramount in the congregation’s ministry. Along with providing the forgiving body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are literally connecting ourselves with those saints who have faithfully served their parishes for decades. They have the right to be remembered, to be nourished from the table, and to feel a part of the body of Christ. When I start working in a new congregation, the first visits I make are to the homebound, making sure that they receive Holy Communion. Visiting also includes responding to emergencies. When people are hurting, the church needs to be present. When grief support is needed, a congregation may want to start a Grief Share ministry, or even train Stephen ministers to help people navigate through loss.
When I start working in a new congregation, the first visits I make are to the homebound, making sure that they receive Holy Communion.
If a congregation is serious about renewing itself, then visiting can be a catalyst for that renewal. Renewing a congregation is like a puzzle. Different pieces of the puzzle are needed to create the picture. The puzzle pieces for renewal include a focus on prayer, on knowing the word, on evangelical worship, on confronting darkness, on outreach, on faithfully using our assets/gifts, and, of course, on visitation. By visiting, the vision of renewal can be cast. By visiting, excitement and enthusiasm can be shared. By visiting, existing connections are
strengthened and new connections are formed, and by visiting Jesus is continually exalted, as it is Christ who revives His Church.
In the community where I live, I have heard the story of a deceased Baptist pastor who was a teacher, coach, and a preacher. I am not sure where he found the time, but a significant part of his ministry was visiting. One of the phrases that he liked to repeat was, “If I go see them, they will come and see me.” Simply put, visitation can yield worship participation. While I have never seen a study to prove this proposition, it simply makes sense. When we endeavor to spend moments with individuals and families, Christ is present. And when people feel heard and cared for, the Holy Spirit is working in their hearts. If the Church believes that going out and seeing others is an integral aspect of its ministry, then those being visited will respond in kind. I cannot count the number of times that church members have told me I was the first pastor who had ever visited them. Aren’t we missing something by not visiting?
Visitation in the Community
Earlier in the article, we discussed the importance of community visitation. And it has been my experience that community connections and outreach bear much fruit. A couple of times a week, I have coffee or breakfast at one of the diners in town. I am usually there visiting with a church or community member. Through this simple ministry of presence, I cannot tell you all the contacts and relationships which have
developed. Through these encounters, prayer has commenced, souls have been soothed, faith is shared, and some are even moved to worship. And that happens just because I am present and available in the community. Whether it is in a diner, sitting on a local community board, being at a local festival, or attending a Friday Night football game, when we are out in the area visiting, the Spirit is providing us with “entry points” for the Gospel. Now, I realize that there are some churches that do not understand this. They think the pastor should attend to their needs only. But sadly, they do not comprehend that this is exactly what the clergy are called to do. They are called to be out in the community, sharing the Good News, and walking along side those also created in God’s image. Isn’t the New Testament always calling us out into the world?
Practical Tips for Visiting
This article has focused on various venues for visitation, and the multitude of benefits received in making these calls. But what might transpire during the encounter itself? Here are some things to consider. First of all, how long should a visit last? While this may be subjective, we certainly do not want to overstay our welcome. A home visit may last up to one hour, and a visit at a hospital or nursing home might hover around thirty minutes. Each situation is different, so use your best judgement. Listen more, talk less. Practice active listening, clarifying what is being said. Listening
A home visit may last up to one hour, and a visit at a hospital or nursing home might hover around thirty minutes.
is more than words, so be cognizant of your body language, tone, and facial expressions. During homebound visits we share information about the congregation and offer the sacrament of Holy Communion. While visiting, we should try to ascertain information about family members and neighbors, to see if there are needs that the church can respond to. Also, if an older adult speaks about someone taking care of his/her finances and personal needs, this may be a “red flag” for an elder abuse issue. Also, identifying things in the house is important. Are there smells? Are the dishes piling up in the sink? Is the individual shabbily dressed? Does there appear to be memory issues? At the end of the call, ask the person visited if there are any things that need to be reported or completed. Visits should end with prayer.
Include the Laity
While many visits within the church might be done in the context of pastoral work, a visitation ministry cannot be complete without the laity. They are the backbone of the church. A congregation will only function if the ministry of the laity is uplifted and expected. But what does lay visitation look like? First, we must identify those who are called and have a passion to connect with others. Second, equipping and training is essential, especially about the importance of confidentiality. Third, who will the visitors be accountable to? And fourth, who will be visited?
The need for lay visitation is huge, as the clergy cannot possibly attend to all the needs in the parish. Holy Scripture
provides a framework for this ministry. In Galatians 6:2 it is written “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”4 And in I Thessalonians 5:11 it says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
Conclusion
Visiting for mission needs to be central to the ministry of Christ’s Church. Even though some devalue its effectiveness, they are sadly illinformed. When pastoral and lay visitation becomes a priority inside and outside of the body, Jesus is shared, care is given, and outreach happens. Please do not listen to the naysayers who say that visiting is outdated in a technological society. What else can combat loneliness, isolationism, and build relationships for the kingdom? Visiting will strengthen your congregation and promote pastoral effectiveness/longevity. Visit and see God’s Holy Spirit at work.
Please do not listen to the naysayers who say that visiting is outdated in a technological society.
Rev. Brad Hales is Pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church in Culpeper, VA and he teaches at St. Paul Lutheran Seminary.
Endnotes:
1Martin Luther, Small Catechism, in The Book of Concord, ed. by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2000), 347.
2Lazarus Spengler in Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Volume 49, Letters II, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1955), 358-359.
3Kennon Callahan, Visiting In an Age of Mission (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994), 5.
4Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008). The ESV version is used throughout this essay.
DO NO HARM: A HIPPOCRATIC OATH FOR PASTORS
Randy Freund
When asked to address the conference title, “The Office of the Ministry,” I was given wide discretion. Having recently addressed a related theme at the Augustana Theological Convocation (LCMC) on "Pastoral Care: Battling Doubt, Despair, and Desperation,” I decided to take up where I left off on that topic as it relates to this one. But the odd title, “Do No Harm—A Hippocratic Oath for Pastors?” should suggest a different landing.
Pastor Care or Counseling?
At the February conference, I mentioned that pastors need to think carefully about words, and how they are used and how they change and how they can subtly shape the way we minister and understand the office of the ministry. Starting in the 18th and 19th centuries (with its fullest expression in the 20th Century) the term “pastoral care” was largely switched to pastoral counseling. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it turned out to be―especially as we think about the importance and uniqueness of the “Office of Ministry.” The change was
made largely because the word “counseling” seemed more acceptable in the academic world, generally, and the professional world of counseling, specifically. Pastors, of course, want to be taken seriously, we are “professionals,” after all! So, we went along with this.
But with this change came other meanings. What was traditionally seen as “care of soul” shifted to “transformation of the mind.” And worse, “absolving sin” moved to “accepting sin.” One of my CPE instructors wrote a book that demonstrated this, called –“Make Friends with Your Shadow.”
Applying the Hippocratic Oath to Theology
All of this got me to thinking about what it might look like if we were to apply the Hippocratic Oath to theology, and more specifically, to the office of the ministry. This oath, to which medical doctors are to subscribe, is loosely translated: "First, do no harm." A related phrase is found in Epidemics, Book I of the Hippocratic school, and goes like this: "Practice two things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient." When a colleague of mine noticed my title, he said, “Do not harm?” he thought that would be an interesting case to make when the whole point is to kill to make alive. I realize this and will address this.
The Hippocratic Oath struck me as a rather minimalist way of thinking about the role of a doctor. In the oath, one does not sense an aggressive motive to Heal! Cure! Be bold! Save lives! And if one were to apply it as an “oath” for pastors, it might read this way: "Practice two things in your dealings with sin (rather
than disease): Either help or do not harm the parishioner." This reminded me of a new term I learned from Dr. John Pless (one of the speakers at the AD theological convocation). It was the term “Clerical pessimism” or what I might term, “clerical shyness.” It refers to the way how we often underestimate the power of the Word and what God does with it. Part of the point of this presentation is to reflect on God’s word and the gift of faith as it relates to the specific and unique role of this office we hold. Martin Luther’s “one little word” is the greatest power on earth. It needs to be released! It needs a voice. We are the vessels of it, but it is all on God. That fact is good news. We not only seem to forget this, but we can actually undermine, that is, do harm to the very Word we proclaim the greatest power on earth (clerical pessimism).
So going back the Hippocratic oath as applied to pastors, we understand the Word of God as accomplishing far more than simply “helping” or at least “not harming” our parishioners. Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly. The new life offers a bit more than “helping” or “not harming.” All of this implies a death! We all get that. But in this presentation, I want us to think about how we use words and how we perceive their effect as we carry out our office in the daily life of being a pastor. As mentioned earlier, something not helpful, even harmful, happens when we forfeit the office by submitting to the subtle shift in pastoral ministry from “pastoral care” to “pastoral counseling.” This shift in language is not insignificant. It can actually derail us from the core of our pastoral office as it relates to the absolution of sinners. Again, this may not simply “not help,” but could “do harm.” The same can be true about the way we use phrases like “theology of glory” versus “theology of the cross,” “law/gospel,” and “right-hand-” and “left-hand-
kingdoms.”
So, I will briefly give some other examples of how language can shape (for good or ill) the people we serve. Then, I will shift to reflections on the third article. How does faith come? What does this imply for preaching? Is there a possible heresy we don’t often talk about? Is this more than just sloppy or imprecise language?
But before we go there, first “a word about words” (the primary tools in our office). In his great little book called Spoken Word, Sheldon Tostengard put it this way:
This crisis of the word is …a failure to believe that the distant God can draw near to us, as near as our hearing (his word).
“There is a crisis in the church. It is, above all, a crisis of the Word. This crisis of the word is rooted in some form of unbelief. It is a failure to believe that God will come to us as promised, a failure to believe that there will be any saving word from beyond, a failure to believe that the distant God can draw near to us, as near as our hearing (his word). It is a failure to believe in a present God, a God who is at hand. The word crisis is rooted in the failure to believe in Jesus, the One who still wishes to speak a word of love and mercy to us.”1
This would be the definitive way to describe clerical pessimism and clerical shyness, as it relates to the Word and our office.
So, let’s go back to our Hippocratic Oath for pastors and show some examples of how we don’t help our parishioners and can actually do real harm with the way we sometimes toss words and phrases around. I highly doubt anyone would admit to espousing a “theology of glory” over a “theology of cross.” But we have
all fallen into the trap from time to time. Lutherans prefer one of two legitimate options. We like to lift up the theology of the cross. Other Christians are more prone to a theology of glory. But, in truth, one of these two does not help and can cause real harm. As an example, let’s go back to pastoral care for a moment and compare what pastors have to offer that is similar, but something other than what a good secular counselor can offer. One of the things a counselor tries to do is minimize the distance between one’s expectations and one’s reality. The bigger the difference between the two, the harder it is to live and to cope. The gap between the two is called disappointment. Good pastoral care does the same in order that one may live, not merely cope. Luther’s genius in mental health/pastoral care field is that he understood the human psyche, the human condition and human nature. He was exactly what he said a true theologian is - someone who calls a thing what it is. So, what is our expectation and our reality? How do these line up? The reality is that we are sinners until we die. The expectation, therefore, is not a healthy dose of optimism and a positive outlook to deal with and tamp down sin. Positivity is not what is given, but something far greater: hope. Hope is based on a person (Jesus Christ). It is true and given no matter the circumstances or feelings. Our expectation is based on the truth that it is “no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” The expectation is to die in order to live. When these things (reality and expectation) are honestly laid out, it changes everything. Any “disappointment” sounds more like Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8-12:
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed,
but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.”2
And here, we could spend some time talking about how looking deeply within is not only a problem of the wrong starting point for truth (inside the autonomous self) but suggests a climbing that is possible (theology of glory). It may be well intended, but it is not helpful and can even be harmful.
I was reminded recently of the anniversary of my sister’s death. She died of leukemia. A coffee mug she received reflected the well-intentioned encouragement she often received. It simply said: “You Got This!” It is not that this theme did not serve as encouragement. It did. But there came a point where it did not. At one point she confessed to me that she did not have this. She knew she was dying, and I had something to offer her at that moment no one else did or would.
In a piece by C.S. Lewis, entitled, “Is Christianity Hard or Easy?” Lewis gets at the radical nature of this gospel we have. Stopping short or pulling back or thinking that the Word needs our help: some bolstering, some dressing up, or our charisma; does not help anyone and can actually do harm by putting the onus on us. Lewis reminds us that dying to self, to sin, is a different way, an alien kind of help. It offers a different kind of harm, a killing, in fact. The whole article is
C. S. Lewis
referenced in the endnotes, but this excerpt gives you a sense of his point. Lewis writes,
“Christ says “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment the natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”3
Without being clear about the radical truth of our human condition, and how Christ enters into it, and what he promises, the preacher is not helping. He can actually be hurting. The Law will always accuse us, and it in fact kills, no matter how we try to soften it. In fact, attempts to soften it can make it even more deadly.
Left-Hand and Right-Hand Kingdoms
We, of course, lift up the left-hand kingdom’s function and goodness in all this. The law needs to prevent harm, keep order and help us cope. This is part of the way God so loves the world and loves the neighbor. As Gerhard Forde once succinctly put it: the left-hand kingdom holds us in readiness to hear the gospel (right hand kingdom work). So, these two kingdoms must be distinguished and held in tension, one serving the other.
Preachers need to know and remember the specific and unique right-hand kingdom role in the office of ministry.
Part of what this means is that pastors must ask things like: Does John 15:5 really mean nothing? Yes! Is John 14:6 really this exclusive? Yes! But there is an inclusive promise found in John 3:16 to accompany this. Is it true that our wills are bound (Romans 7:14ff)? Yes! When we are not clear about such things, our people will start to imagine the autonomous self is the final and most important source of truth. Or we might imagine that we can improve ourselves and rise above our sin with a little effort, or at least, some earnestness.
All of this goes alongside the fact that “justification by faith” is one New Testament theme among many. It is not like Lutherans have their favorite NT themes and other Christians have theirs. One ought to never present it this way. There is a reason for the reformers’ order: 1- God, 2 - Original Sin, 3 - Son of God, 4 - Justification by faith, and 5 - Office of the Ministry.
The Holy Spirit
At this point, we could encourage thought about our use of words as they might apply to a pastoral Hippocratic oath: "Practice two things in your dealings with disease/sin: either help or do not harm the patient/parishioner." But now we are going to move in a different direction with the same theme in mind. We shift now to reflections on the third article, how faith comes, and what this implies for preaching and the office of the ministry. This all relates to the Holy Spirit and how
There is a reason for the reformers’ order: 1- God, 2 - Original Sin, 3 - Son of God, 4 - Justification by faith, and 5 - Office of the Ministry.
faith comes. When it comes to the Holy Spirit, we often focus on the harm done by separating the Holy Spirit from the Word. Luther has a great (and funny) quote that summarizing this danger: “If you want to become a theologian, you must carefully observe this rule, namely, where the Word of God contradicts your understanding, look for some other word that pleases you and say it is the Holy Spirit. After that, you may arrange and interpret the words as it seems good to you.”4 This is one danger, but another relates to the third article. One can sometimes hear the last gasp of the Old Adam/Eve saying, “But, but, but what about. . . I must do something. . .”
Why now focus on the third article at a conference on the “Office of the Ministry?” I would argue that the third article is primary, in some ways, as we think about Romans 10 and how faith comes by hearing, about who gives faith – namely, the Holy Spirit. Getting the third article right becomes critical in a way we don’t talk enough about. We talk about “Free Will” and the “Bondage of the Will,” but seem to rarely connect this to the third article. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5) means the Trinity…all three articles of the Apostles Creed matter.
To have all knowledge and wisdom and become like God is not only the original temptation and sin, but also a constant, persistent and ever-present danger. Therefore, the theological task in the pastoral office is a vital one. This is equally the case for each article of the Christian creeds. When Lutherans come to the third article, what can seem like innocent and even recreational debates about “free will” and “third use of the law,” and the like are anything but that. We make passing references to Semi-Pelagianism, but don’t go much further. That original
temptation always lurks and has deep implications. How might this be as we contemplate the work of the Holy Spirit, and even more, the Holy Trinity?
Every Christian confesses a great mystery: the Holy Trinity. Week after week, whether one’s worship style is “traditional” or “non-traditional,” Christians, by definition, believe and gather to confess that God is one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The very confession, gathering and believing that happens week after week, has everything to do with this great truth and mystery of the Trinity. Our age-old rebellion called sin, our Old Adam/Eve will fight this, even to our dying breath. How does this happen? How does this function?
The Christian confession that God is God generally holds up pretty well with the first article. God is Sovereign. God gives us breath and life. God is the Creator and Owner of all things. By saying and confessing this, we may even go so far as to admit that we truly don’t own anything because God owns everything. I can’t even own a loaf of bread. A little meal prayer reminds me of this. “In back of the bread is the flour and in back of the flour is the mill. In back of the mill is the sun and the rain and the Maker’s will.”5 The source of everything begins with God. This includes our brains and bodies and hands that do all kinds of work in order to receive wages for our labors. No one receives a paycheck without God’s power providing the means. Likewise, no one can choose or command one’s heart to
Week after week, whether one’s worship style is “traditional” or “nontraditional,” Christians, by definition, believe and gather to confess that God is one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
beat or one’s body to constantly produce cells. In the same way, we cannot order the planets to change their orbits any more than we can cause the angle of the sun to change in such a way so that the earth either burns up or freezes. It is in this sense that Christians would not argue with the truth of the first article of the creeds. God is God. God is sovereign. God is the eternal creator of all that is, was or ever will be—100%. “God has created me and all that exists…and has given me and still preserves body and soul with all their powers.”6
Likewise, we do quite well with the second article of the creed. C. S. Lewis once put it this way: Jesus is a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. Christians, obviously, and by definition, confess he is “Lord.” And by confessing Jesus as Lord, we confess the salvation won for us on a cross and an empty tomb. Jesus accomplished all that was necessary for our salvation by his death and resurrection. He did this while we were yet “sinners” and “enemies,” as Paul rightly notes. There is nothing we can claim here. Jesus did this “at great cost” (Luther) and out of sheer mercy, grace and unconditional love. Jesus rose from the dead with forgiveness on his lips for his denying and fleeing disciples. He does the same still to this day. He opens up a future for his undeserving followers, of all times and places. All of this is to say that no true Christian would ever suggest that they participated in Christ’s salvific work. That would be both unconscionable and heretical. The salvation won for us on the cross of death and the empty tomb is completely a salvation of Christ’s own doing— 100%. We play no part in this. We are the undeserving recipients of a gracious and merciful God.
So far, so good. Nearly all Christians have generally been able
to agree on these basic things. It is when we get to the next article that the trouble comes. Our Old Adam/Eve can only yield so much and will only be pushed so far. All of this is true about God the Father (Creator) and God the Son (Savior) but now comes the believing part.
It is when we come to the third article that the confusion comes. Again, the old self can only give up so much ground before the pushback comes – the last gasp for control and power. I first discovered this, in earnest, when I found my way into a theological dispute with a good friend. He was and is a devout Christian. But he seemed to have everything backwards. One day I simply made an observation and asked him: Have you ever wondered why it is that you give the little things to God (job hunting, dating and good parking spots at grocery stores) and leave the big things to you (baptism, salvation and eternal destiny)? That question pretty much ended our theological discussion and greatly hampered our friendship.
Again, the old self can only give up so much ground before the pushback comes – the last gasp for control and power.
The offense here is real and should not be taken lightly. Luther may have thought he ended the discussion by his fine explanation of the third article, but that did not do it. It only increased the offense of the “bondage of the will.” “I believe that I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him.”7 That is a clear declaration and confession. To say that our natural wills are bound to sin only, it requires that something or someone supernatural must break in. The offense of bondage of the will language is that it seems to imply that we have no power here
and are even puppets and robots (my friend’s argument). This reaction gets right at the problem. It is not about US! The bondage of the will is about confessing a dynamic and active God, “in whom we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). We worry about our wills, our power, our believing, while God is all about pursuing us, having us, taking us over, and loving us to death and then back to life. We have this need to hold onto “free will” language, but in truth, only God has free will. Luther saw “free will” language (the “things below” vs the “things above”) as a concession, not some truth to hold onto. He worried that the language tempts the Old Adam/Eve with a power that is not his own. His distinction of having freedom in the “things below” but not in the “things above” was simply an attempt to move conversation forward, but it was a concession. And honestly, when one really thinks about this battle of the wills, you must ask: Whose will do you want to WILL out? Even if one had total free will and it was in your power to choose the big things (like mustering up saving faith….like securing your eternal destiny), in the end, who would you rather trust with your life, death and eternity destiny – you or God? That is an easy answer. Of course, there are other hurdles here. It is tempting to turn sanctification into our work. In Lutheran circles, there is this longstanding argument about the “third use of the law” that comes into play. Once again, Luther may have thought he settled all this by saying “faith is to works as a candle is to heat,”8 but clearly that did not seem to settle the matter. Gerhard Forde made other similar attempts, best summarized by his famous quote that “sanctification is simply getting used to the fact that we are justified by faith alone.”9 This too has not convinced some in the
Lutheran family that any third use of the law is simply an unnecessary repetition of the first use of the law. But even worse, does it subtly tempt the Old Adam and the Old Eve when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit in creating faith (again, we are considering here the importance of language that does not help and can do harm)?
So, to get back to the main point of this article, the title, and our use of language as pastors, Christians do quite well with the fact that every breath and all of life itself is a pure gift of and power from God. Likewise, no one would claim to somehow have a hand in or participate in the salvation event of Christ Jesus. But why do we tend to stumble with the third article? Why doesn’t the total nature of life and breath and salvation translate into the total nature of faith. Why is this? In my mind, it can only be the “last gasp,” the last attempt of the Old Adam/Eve to hang on to some power and control in all this. It is that original and lasting temptation from the garden “to become like God.” And this brings us to the worse offense and the real danger of all this…. this the bombshell part mentioned earlier…
If the total nature of God’s action is diminished in the third article (in ANY measure –even .01%) this undermines the confession of the Trinity that defines us as Christians. God the Father is a total claim - 100%! We did nothing to create ourselves or the universe. God the Son is a total claim - 100%! We did not participate in ANY way in the salvation won for us by Christ’s death and
If the total nature of God’s action is diminished in the third article (in ANY measure – even .01%) this undermines the confession of the Trinity that defines us as Christians.
resurrection. So, when it comes God the Holy Spirit, anything less than 100% faith (even 99.9%) to believe that all of this good news is true would logically make God the Holy Spirit less than God. It matters not what the percentage is. If faith to believe in God the Father and God the Son is 100%, but God the Holy Spirit is 99.99%―God’s power and 0.01% mine―then by logic, math, confession and definition, God the Holy Spirit is not God and there is, therefore, no Trinity. Christians would have to confess the Two in One rather the Three in One. This would be foolish, impossible and completely heretical. This is not helpful and does significant harm (back to the Hippocratic oath for pastors). But that is exactly what one might expect from that slippery snake who still whispers and promises that we can have “all knowledge and wisdom (and a bit a faith) and become like God.” Words are the only real tools in our medicine bags…how we use them matters greatly – they are a matter of death and life!
But thankfully, God remains God for all eternity and therefore gets the last word in this world and in our lives. When God silences/puts to death the Old Adam/Eve and raises us to life the New Adam/Eve, we can only say, thanks be to God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) that we have breath again; that we have gone from death to life again; and that we have faith again.
One can see how the “free will” controversy can subtly, and even unintentionally, undermine the Trinity’s third member. The implication for the preaching office is clear. Faith comes by hearing and faith is the gift of the Holy Spirit….no application, assistance or requirement possible or necessary.
So, going back to where we began – the Hippocratic Oath for pastors to “do no harm” is really about language, how we use it,
and the power of the word. The irony in all of this is that, generally, other Christian groups, especially Pentecostals, are known for their strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit, while Lutherans are derided for a “soft” emphasis on the Holy Spirit. We are characterized as people who don’t take the Holy Spirit seriously enough. In reality, and by our language and theology it is just the opposite. What could be more serious or have greater emphasis than to say, like the Father gives life and breath; “still preserves my body and soul with all their power, and that the SON died and rose, giving eternal salvation, so also the spirit freely gives saving faith!”10 Lutherans understand their total dependence on the Spirit for faith. This seems like a pretty “strong” emphasis on the Holy Spirit.
Letting God Be God
There is one more thing. Let’s end where all matters under heaven and earth begin and end, in the WORD. Let’s go back to my colleague’s comment about the title: “Do no harm.” What about killing? One thing we need to be clear about in our language is that one thing that must die is our desire to control the Spirit, by managing or mustering up saving faith. Dying to self, raised to Christ is the most helpful thing there is to offer. Take the parable of the sower and seed from Mark chapter 4:1-12,
One thing we need to be clear about in our language is that one thing that must die is our desire to control the Spirit, by managing or mustering up saving faith.
…. Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the
sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”
There is mystery here. Why would God choose to open and close ears, hearts and minds? I do not know. So, we preach this One who sows the word (indiscriminately). There is an incredible promise/ harvest. We have no choice but to let God be God. The wind (of the Spirit) blows where it wills. But there is a promise as to where this is heading and why we are called to keep preaching, confessing with Paul about what is true now, and in the end. This is the most helpful, truthful, life-giving thing out there. A famous surgeon once said, “I’m just a high grade
We have no choice but to let God be God.
plumber. I help to make sure THAT people live, but I can tell them WHY they live.”11
We have been given the why answer to offer, both now and in the end. Now? It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). In the End? “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2: 5-11).
Rev. Randy Freund is the pastor of Vining Lutheran Church, Vining, MN.
Endnotes:
1Sheldon Tostengard, The Spoken Word (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 1989), 18.
2Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008). This and all subsequent Bible citations in this essay use the ESV translation.
3C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1977), 178-183.
4Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 38, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1955), 297.
5Beliefnet, Prayer, “Table Grace,” https://www.beliefnet.com/prayers/protestant/meals/tablegrace.aspx
6Martin Luther, Small Catechism, Explanation to the First Article of the Apostles Creed (Graham, North Carolina: Sola Publishing, 2010), 13.
7Martin Luther, Small Catechism, Explanation to the First Article of the Apostles Creed (Graham, North Carolina: Sola Publishing, 2010), 15.
8Martin Luther, Luther’s Works vol. 35, Word and Sacraments I (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960), 370-371.
9Gerhard Forde, The Preached God (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007), 226.
10Martin Luther, Small Catechism, Explanation to the First Article of the Apostles Creed (Graham, North Carolina: Sola Publishing, 2010), 13.
11Alvin N. Rogness, Book of Comfort (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1979), 78-79.
LECTIO CONCORDIA
Mark Ryman
We called it “quiet time” or “daily walk” in the first congregation that I pastored, but it is known by various other names like “daily office” or by Latin terms Luther and the church before him employed. I suppose most people simply call it “devotions.” I will come back to those Latin terms later. Suffice it to say, this 30-year-old lay pastor of a United Methodist Church in Ohio, now understood the old daily walk to be a form of “spiritual formation.” That term was thrown around a bit by my new pastoral colleagues back then, without the definition that might have been helpful to a relatively new pastor like me. So, I did not realize that spiritual formation included more elements than reading my Bible. Reading the Bible was something I had already been doing for a dozen years, and I imagined I had been doing a good job of it. At set times, I would open the book and read, usually chasing down the crossreferences in the margins as part of a daily regimen of drawing near to God.
So, I thought I was doing what the denomination considered “spiritual formation.” To be sure, I was also worshiping, caring for the small group of people God had given me to pastor, and helping others in the community. I did not know that these and other things like fasting and the work of the Holy Spirit were
also part of spiritual formation. But it was instinctual. I knew that reading the Bible had more purpose than personal development or knowledge, that it involved the folks in the church too. What I had yet to discover was that spiritual formation was far more than simply acquiring knowledge about God.
A Guide to Prayer
Not having completed college, let alone seminary, I was reading everything recommended in the 1980s that might help me shepherd a small, inner-city congregation. That is when the Lord sent me to a book that changed my life. That book helped me lead that congregation (and several since) via a strange concept—by changing me, by leading me daily through the discipline of its design. The books that the denomination’s lay pastor track wanted me to read were about church growth, doctrines, practices, and of course, being an old-line denomination, the occasional history book. But the book that did the most for me and my church was one I found on my own, or as I said, I like to think I was led to it. The book is called A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants. 1 It was written and compiled by two United Methodist bishops, Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, and published by The Upper Room in 1983, the year it came into my hands. It changed everything for me and laid the foundation for my future ministry because it was foundational in my daily walk with God. It was a volume that, because I used it in the
confines of my congregation, was simply a means for discipleship. My copy is more worn than I am (that is worn indeed), but God used it to renew me day after day for 20 years at the end of the previous century. Indeed, the structure of their little book provided a way for the Holy Spirit to work upon me through his Word in a more dynamic manner than in my earlier quiet times with God. The approach the authors took changed the way I viewed spiritual formation.
As I mentioned, “spiritual formation” was tossed around a lot back then, but it seemed to be about reading books in connection with continuing education classes. It did not have anything to say about the day-to-day life with God. A Guide to Prayer, on the other hand, is about the daily office, about an appointed time to spend with God. The routine takes one through prayer and reading and more prayer. In this cycle I came to see how the day-to-day prayer life of the pastor informs and fuels the call. Without a prayer life, I am afraid that I would have had a career. With a proper prayer life, I was able to be a pastor replying to God’s call.
A Guide to Prayer was an updated lectio divina model of devotion. Lectio divina is Latin for “divine reading.” The point of divine reading or lectio divina is reading in a way that drives one to pray. It is a method that invites the Holy Spirit to suggest connections between the Word, additional readings, set prayers, and hymns. These connections have focused my sermons, led me into conversations with colleagues and church folks, and more importantly, into conversation with God. Prayer was no longer simply talking to God; it was listening to him too. It was conversation.
Conversational Prayer or Dialog?
In the mid-70s I read a book by Rosalind Rinker called Conversational Prayer. 2 Her idea was that when we pray in groups, one person prays where the other left off—a sort of conversation together with God. Except, from what I could tell in putting this into practice was that it was not a conversation with God at all. It was even more people talking at him and listening to each other pray, while perhaps none of them were listening to God. It would be nearly ten years later when A Guide to Prayer began showing me that prayer is not a monologue. It is a dialogue, a real conversation with the divine. I still like the idea of conversational prayer, but I wish it let God in on the discussion. I wish it were prayer with an open Bible leading the conversation. Luther is said to have insisted that on those days when he had a great deal to accomplish, he simply had to begin the day with at least three hours of prayer. That seems a rather daunting suggestion. Three hours! The honest Christian might think herself lucky to get through three minutes of prayer. The truly honest Christian might even admit he does not pray much at all, unless there is something he really needs—or if he promised to pray for Aunt Gertrude’s current ailment. Even then, you know we are talking of less than thirty seconds of prayer. I speculate here, but I do suspect that the prayer life of most Christians is beggarly at best. Prayer may be altogether absent most weeks, outside of praying the Lord’s Luther is said to have insisted that on those days when he had a great deal to accomplish, he simply had to begin the day with at least three hours of prayer.
Prayer on Sunday mornings.
I wonder if this is true for many pastors too. Now, having poked the bear this much, allow me to sharpen the stick. I have a bit more than a hunch that this dearth of prayer may be due to another lack. When these two shortcomings are identified, the merger of the two negatives may add up to one life-changing positive that can change a career into a call, and a life reshaped by spiritual formation. To get there, we will need to explore both lectio divina and Martin Luther a bit more.
Luther on Prayer
Insisting that prayer cannot be separated from the Word, Luther used the Latin terms oratio (prayer) and meditatio (contemplation). He included tenatatio (trial or temptation) too but as that which leads us back into prayer—talking to and listening to God. These three were steps in a circular journey, one leading to the next, then back to the beginning.3
Now, I am going out on a wobbly Lutheran limb here. Arguably (for I can argue the opposite), Luther has the first two backwards. He has prayer (oratio) coming first and contemplation (meditatio) second—though a bit to his defense, it is a continuous loop, so who knows where it really starts? Still, I think I know where it should start generally. Good lectio divina would have prayer come second. Our words should follow his Word. Listening should precede speaking, if speaking comes at all (James 1:19). A careful, slow, divine reading of the Scripture should lead us to prayer. I will illustrate this for you below. Before that example, let me say that we live in a certain doubt
about our spiritual condition. Jesus often went out into lonely places to be alone with the Father for the night. Have you ever done that? Me neither. My brother-in-law wakes up every morning at 3:00. He used to think, being about my age, that this was because he was an old man. Now he knows that call of nature is really a call to prayer. So, now he stays awake and spends time with the Lord. Me? My eyes won’t focus at 3AM. And eye-focus is critical to me for prayer. So, I get up at around 5 to do my version of lectio divina.
Lectio divina begins with a brief Collect, often a written prayer, and very often the same one for each day of a given week to offer one’s attention to God. Appointed readings for each day follow, often with a particular psalm being used each day for the whole week. I like to use different translations of that psalm each day, so that by the end of the week, the psalm has flowed over me in several voicings. In A Guide to Prayer, there would now be time for an additional nonbiblical reading, journaling, and the singing of a hymn, then closing with a common benediction for each day that week.
I think there is a better approach that includes lectio divina and pairs well with Luther’s oratio, meditatio, tentatio. It begins with slowing down. This slowing down may be why Jesus went up into the mountains to pray, far away from the workaday distractions of ministry. It may also be another reason old men wake up in the fourth watch of the night but do not realize this fuller extent of the reason. In that early morning watch, there are not many distractions —even in a house with
So, try this: the next time you are sufficiently away from distractions, open your Bible and begin with meditatio, though perhaps one might or should begin with a Collect.
TV, the internet, and a Golden Retriever.
How and Why to Pray the Lectio Divina
So, try this: the next time you are sufficiently away from distractions, open your Bible and begin with meditatio, though perhaps one might or should begin with a Collect. Read slowly and allow the Holy Spirit to prompt your prayer. Here I provide you with the promised example, but I remind you first of the word “conversation.” Prayer is dialogue that begins with listening to the Speaker, and then responding. Suppose I was reading from the New Testament lesson from the Daily Lectionary,4 which as I write this article is Colossians 1:15–23.5
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”6
Reading slowly, I might refer to alternate translations or perhaps might immediately notice the word “image” in the opening line which states that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God.” I might recall or even look up the Greek for that word and remember that it is εἰκών (eikon). At this point, a Lutheran version of lectio divina that begins with meditatio would urge me to pray something like:
“Father, no one has ever seen you. Your glory was hidden even from Moses. Philip asked his rabbi to show he and his fellow disciples the Father and Jesus responded that having seen him, they have already seen the Father. Thank you for giving us that icon who connects the human and the divine. I am grateful that you have shown us your character and majesty by giving us your Son, the likeness, portrait, and very image of yourself.”
Now, this is just a snippet of what one might do when one begins his prayers with meditatio. Imagine what prayers and length of time spent in oratio during the lonely hour one might apprehend if begun with reading that prompts prayer. We might begin to pray as Luther did, as Jesus did.
Continuing in the reading we observe that the Son shares the Father’s ascription to creation in the Apostles’ Creed. One might spend some time talking to God about his unique essence, shared among himself, and that his Eikon shared with him and the Spirit as they moved over the face of the deep in creation. Prayerfully, we might wonder aloud how such eternal authority gives him authority over all things (Acts 17:28) especially his
church (Col 1:18). We might praise him in prayer for holding the whole creation together for his own purposes and then be surprised that he even holds the church together, over whom he is the Head.
We are only three verses into just one of the readings in the Daily Lectionary. And no one has called yet, our email lies in an unopened program, Facebook is… Well, who cares about Facebook anyway since you are talking with the Creator of all things. Notice I said talking “with.” This is the point of lectio divina; it is not merely reading the Bible like it was any other book. It is listening to God that prompts conversation with him—prayer.
And that can change everything about your call. Imagine a marriage where one person does all the talking, the other barely responding or not being interested at all. Or where the one does not think the other cares what he or she thinks at any rate. But we know that is not the Case with God. The Father wants to hear from us. Luther teaches us in the Small Catechism that the Father longs to hear from us. In the Conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer, Luther reminds us that God has commanded our prayers and that they are pleasing to him.7 As such, we begin to see that prayer is a conversation between a loving Father and his children.
But the question is, “How do I pray?” Jesus answered this for us with the prayers he taught us to pray. Still, there is something within us
It was suggested by a few during the 2025 Theological Conference of St. Paul Lutheran Seminary that we slow down when we say the Lord’s Prayer in nursing homes, on hospital visits, and even in church.
that suggests something more than parroting is called for when we pray—even in praying the Lord’s Prayer. It was suggested by a few during the 2025 Theological Conference of St. Paul Lutheran Seminary that we slow down when we say the Lord’s Prayer in nursing homes, on hospital visits, and even in church. The perhaps mindless, NASCAR race to the end of our so-called “prayer” does need to change. Indeed, at my own church, St. Paul’s, you will often hear a certain pastor be a whole line behind most everyone else. But speed of prayer is not the whole issue. It is more than slowing down; it is making connections while you pray. It is listening to and being prompted to pray by the thoughts flying past the corners of your mind.
I do not suggest that we should pray about every single thing the enters our fleeting thoughts. Were that true, I might spend an inadvertent amount of time in prayer about the Golden State Warriors or where I might find a place to put a print shop at St.
Paul’s or a studio for painting or where am I going to go in the camper and when? No, we must be selective in our prayers. It is a discipline to pay attention to these thoughts whisking by our consciousness, and to determine which may be prompts from the Holy Spirit guiding our prayers. There must be an easier and better way to pray the way Jesus and Luther prayed, through the night or at least in the early hours of the morning. Most of us would feel pretty good if we could spend half an hour in consistent prayer, let alone watch with Jesus for an hour (Matt 26:40), or “pray continually” as Paul exhorted the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:17).
This is why I suggest the lectio divina model as a basis for spiritual formation.
This is why I suggest the lectio divina model as a basis for spiritual formation. Using this method, we can begin to pray
like Luther, who could not and would not separate prayer from the Scriptures. When Luther had his busy days and spent the first hours in prayer, he wasn’t in a so-called “prayer closet.” He was at his desk with the Book before him. I mean to say that the Holy Spirit may more reliably guide your prayers through the Scriptures than through your wide-ranging thoughts or even a prayer journal. How many of those have I started and abandoned over the last 50 years? How many have you? There is nothing wrong with such journals; but for me, they have mostly been a list of names and things I wanted to see happen, and less about what God willed and wanted me to be praying.
There is nothing wrong with such journals; but for me, they have mostly been a list of names and things I wanted to see happen, and less about what God willed and wanted me to be praying.
That is why Lectio Concordia8 (Reading in Harmony) works for me. It gets me started where I can hear God speak first, in his Word. I find that when I take it slowly—for we can dash though our devotions as quickly as we might the Lord’s Prayer and especially read something (like the Daily Lectionary or a prayer book that has divine readings) that connections are made. Different thoughts fly past the corners of my thinking. One verse speaks to another (like actually reading the marginal references in a good Bible) and soon, Scripture begins to interpret Scripture.9 As importantly, the Holy Spirit using those Scriptures interprets my prayers. A conversation has begun where I am no longer in charge. Instead, I am replying to what God says to me.
Rev. Mark Ryman is married to Susan. He is pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, and is happy to have received the D.Min. from St. Paul Lutheran Seminary.
Endnotes:
1Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants (Nashville, Tennessee: The Upper Room, 1983).
2Rosalind Rinker, Prayer: Conversing with God (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1986).
3For more on Oratio, Meditatio, and Tentatio, join us for the 2026 Theological Conference of St. Paul Lutheran Seminary May 18–20, 2026.
4“Daily Lectionary” in Lutheran Book of Worship (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1978), 179–192.
5Ibid., 182.
6The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:15–23.
7Martin Luther, “The Conclusion” to the Lord’s Prayer in The Small Catechism, https://catechism.cph.org/en/lords-prayer.html
8Lectio Concordia is a book of daily thematic lessons in the Scripture paired with readings from The Book of Concord (the Lutheran Confessions) that are focused on the upcoming Sunday's lessons in the three-year lectionary. I have attached a sample of my project to this article. My intent is to publish in 2026.
9Scripture interpreting Scripture is a hermeneutical principle that is generally attributed to Luther though he never wrote it in so many words.
Example of Lectio Concordia
Waiting for Salvation
First Sunday of Advent (between November 27 and December 3)
• Collect: Knowing that you alone, O God, are my rock and salvation, may I be content to wait in hope for the consummation of salvation through Jesus Christ who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
• Psalm 62
• Readings:
Monday 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Tuesday Luke 12:35–40
Wednesday Daniel 7:13–14
Thursday
Friday
Revelation 22:16–21
Romans 8:18–25
Saturday 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:2
Sunday YEAR A: Isaiah 2:1–5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:(8–10) 11–14; Matthew 24:36–44
YEAR B: Isaiah 64:1–9; Psalm 80:1–7; 1
Corinthians 1:3–9; Mark 13:24–37
YEAR C: Jeremiah 33:14–16; Psalm 25:1–10; 1
Thessalonians 3:9–13; Luke 21:25–36
• Additional Readings
• Prayers
• Reflection
• Hymn: “The Church’s One Foundation”
• Benediction: May the Holy Spirit remind you of the Father’s steadfast love throughout the day so that you are confident of Christ’s return at the end of the age. Amen.
Memory Verse: Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11)
ADDITIONAL READINGS
¶ ...and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. All things were made by him. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. By the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered death, and was buried. On the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. He will return with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. (NC)
¶ We also teach that on the last day Christ will return for
judgment, and will raise all the dead. He will give the godly and elect eternal life and everlasting joys, but will condemn he ungodly and the devils to be tormented without end. We reject the Anabaptists, who believe that there will be an end to the punishments of the condemned and devil. They reject also those who are spreading certain Jewish opinions, that before the resurrection of the dead occurs, the godly will take possession of the kingdom of the world, the ungodly being everywhere suppressed.
(AC, The Return of Christ for Judgment)
¶ Our adversaries accept the 17th Article without exception, in which we confess that at the consummation of the world Christ will appear and raise all the dead, and will give to the godly eternal life and eternal joys, but will condemn the ungodly to unending punishment with the devil.
(AAC, Christ’s Return for Judgment)
¶ I believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? –Answer: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith, even as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church he daily and richly forgives all my sins and those
of all believers. On the last day he will raise me and all the dead, and will give everlasting life to me and to all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
(SC, Third Article)
¶ Meanwhile, while sanctification has begun and is growing daily, we await that day when our flesh will be put to death and buried with all its uncleanness, and will come forth gloriously, arising to entire and perfect holiness in a new, eternal life. Because we are presently only half pure and holy, the Holy Spirit has reason to continue his work in us through the Word, daily dispensing forgiveness until we attain to that life where there will be no more forgiveness, but only perfectly pure and holy people, full of godliness and righteousness, fully freed from sin, death, and all evil, in a new, immortal, and glorified body.
(LC, Third Article)
¶
“The Church’s One Foundation,” Samuel Stone
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is His new creation, by water and the word. From heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth, her charter of salvation:
one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.
Though with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, “How long?” and soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song!
The church shall never perish! Her dear Lord to defend, to guide, sustain, and cherish, is with her to the end; though there be those that hate her, and false sons in her pale, against the foe or traitor she ever shall prevail.
‘Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore; till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won; O happy ones and holy! Lord give us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee.
BOOK REVIEWS
Callahan, Kennon L. Visiting in an Age of Mission: A Handbook for Person-to-Person Ministry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997 [1994].
Way back in 2011, my internship supervisor (and by the way, one of the speakers at this conference), Pastor Brad Hales, recommended that I read this book. I have to admit that I skimmed it briefly but wasn’t quite convinced of its importance. After all, weren’t other things besides visiting more impactful? Wasn’t it more important to be a great preacher, a great theologian, or a great leader?
Well, I’m a slow learner, I guess, or perhaps just thick headed, but in my last fourteen years of ministry I have come around to Brad’s way of thinking. Visiting really is the most important activity for a pastor, and it can grow a congregation like nothing else.
So when Brad mentioned Callahan’s book in his talk, I thought I would read it again, in detail, and share his insights with our SIMUL readers.
Now I know that a lot of pastors don’t think visiting is useful these days. They think that people don’t want to be visited. However, after many years of ministry I have become convinced that people really do want to be visited. So my guess is that our members aren’t the problem, instead our pastors are the problem.
One issue is that pastors are often bogged down in administrative tasks which take up all their time. This leaves little time for visiting. But Callahan suggests that pastors should spend a maximum of twelve hours a week in administrative efforts. If that means hiring more administrative staff, so be it, because freeing up more time for visiting is absolutely crucial for a successful ministry.
Callahan also believes that fear dissuades pastors from visiting. It is simply safer to work on an internal committee or a new liturgy inside the church than visit strangers in the community. This is what Callahan calls “turn[ing] inside” (6). But doing that ignores Jesus’ command to “go.” And so our first priority must be the Great Commission.
Another problem is that pastors simply don’t want to visit people―they’d rather argue theology on Facebook or spend twenty hours a week perfecting their sermons. But I think that if they’d spend three hours on sermons and minimal time on Facebook, and use the extra seventeen hours to visit people, they would see their ministries grow. Instead of concentrating on preaching, we should concentrate on visiting. In fact, Callahan suggests that we visit an hour for every minute we preach!
Now I doubt I’ve convinced you, but please humor me, because I think if we all would start prioritizing visiting in our ministries, God would use us to ignite a world-wide revival.
But how do we go about visiting? Well, Callahan says that we shouldn’t specifically target the unchurched or visit simply to add membership. Instead, we visit to build relationships, and in doing so we seek to become “good friend[s]” (5). Indeed, we need to help “people advance their lives and destinies in the name of
Christ” (14). We need to engage the community, because the societal conformity which used to bring people into the church is long gone.
Callahan also suggests having fun when you visit. So don’t visit when you are hungry or tired. The more you can demonstrate a sense of grace and peace, the more your visit will enrich the lives of others.
He suggests that we create a congregational visiting plan, and we start with first-time worshippers and newcomers. When we visit church shoppers or people who have just moved to town, we leverage “a natural opportunity to welcome them as a part of the community.” We then move to “occasional worshippers and constituent families,” the “persons served in mission and relational persons” and then “specific vocational groupings or specific neighborhood groupings” (18). Each group gets a little harder to penetrate as the circle is widened, and so a pastor needs to hone his visiting skills to master successful visits with all these groups. We shouldn’t ignore inactive members, but they shouldn’t be our top priorities either.
Callahan feels that visits in October, November and December are most fruitful, except in the case of occasional worshipers when the months before Easter are most effective.
Then we must consider how to visit. Callahan believes the home visit is most effective, because it has what he calls “sacramental significance” (32). Brad has even taught me the skill of stopping by unannounced. Because if you call first, they’ll just tell you not to bother, even though
Callahan believes the home visit is most effective, because it has what he calls “sacramental significance.”
they’d really love to see you (go figure).
Callahan also advises developing a good sense of when you should leave and then go before they want you to without mentioning a specific reason why. That also means avoiding impersonal parting statements like, “Well, I guess I had better get going. I have someone else to visit as well” (97).
Now if the family visited isn’t at home, you should leave them a note. But Callahan advises that you should never say, “sorry, I missed you,” a double negative. Instead, say something positive like, “Glad we could worship together this morning. I look forward to our visiting. I’ll give you a call” (32).
Work visits are also helpful, especially with busy people – after all, Jesus did the same himself. Meeting a member for breakfast in the building cafeteria or joining him or her for lunch is a great way to keep in touch—you might even end up becoming the pastor for the entire building!
But other means like personal notes, small group gatherings, and phone calls are also good means of visiting. Take small groups, for instance. Our church has a crochet group and a game group. When I visit those meetings, I am able to connect with many people at one time. Since this book was written in the preinternet age, we might add texts, instant messaging, and emails as good ways of visiting as well. I also like reacting to Facebook posts (while avoiding endless scrolling).
Community events are also a great way to connect with people. Our church has an annual Oysterfest and most of the people who attend are not church members. Events like this allow the church to penetrate the community at large.
Mailed invitations for Christmas or Easter services or for a
special event are also a great way to reach people. And don’t forget newsletters, which can be printed or emailed, as they keep people up to date on what’s happening in the church. And a phone call on someone’s birthday or the anniversary of the death of a loved one is another special way to show you care.
Caring is the key, because when people tell you they are just shopping for a church, there is likely something else going on there. Is there a child who hasn’t been catechized? Are the visitors suffering from grief? Finding out the reason for the visit and solving it shows that you are concerned about them, rather than simply interested in gaining a scalp.
Callahan also warns against saying or doing things that might insult those we interact with. People want to feel welcome the first time they arrive at a new church, so avoid any “you and us” statements in your preaching which might indicate that outsiders will stay outsiders. Avoiding numerous questions while visiting is also important because these queries might be interpreted as an interrogation.
Caring is the key, because when people tell you they are just shopping for a church, there is likely something else going on there. Is there a child who hasn’t been catechized?
Are
the visitors suffering from grief?
And don’t limit the visiting to just the pastors –council members should be part of your visiting strategy as well, so start a congregational visiting team. Callahan also advises church members to visit individually. He believes that visiting two-by-two can be intimidating and it cuts in half the number of people who can be visited. These are just some of the highlights. And while Callahhan’s book is a little dated since it was written before the internet age,
it is still a vital resource for evangelization that every pastor should read and consider.
Rev. Dr. Dennis R. Di Mauro is the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenton, VA (NALC) and is the editor of SIMUL.
Image Credits
(Pages 1, 3, 97) ”Weimar Altarpiece,” Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1555, Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Weimar, Germany, paint on lime panel, Public Domain, Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herderkirche_Weimar_Cranach_Altarpiece.jpg
(Page 10) “Bronze Statue of Moses,” 1897, photograph 2007, Charles H. Niehaus (1855–1935), sculptor; Carol M. Highsmith, photographer; Library of Congress, Public Domain, Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moses_LOC.jpg
(Page 24) “Extract from Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael,” 1657, Guercino (1591-1666), oil on canvas, Public Domain, Pinacoteca di Brera Collection, Milan, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guercino_Abramo_ripudia_Agar_(cropped).jpg
(Page 28) “Moses with the Tables of the Law,” c. 1624, Guido Reni (1575-1642), oil on canvas, Galleria Borghese, Rome, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guido_Reni__Moses_with_the_Tables_of_the_Law_-_WGA19289.jpg
(Page 38) “The Apostle Paul,” c. 1657, Rembrandt (1606-1669), oil on canvas, Widener Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Paul,_Rembrandt_van_Rijn_(and_Workshop%3 F),_c._1657.jpg
(Page 41) “Detail from St. Barnaba Altarpiece,” c. 1490, Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), tempera on panel, Chiesa San Barnaba, Florence, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galer%C3%ADa_Uffizi,_Florencia,_Italia,_2022_09_1 8,_DD_42_(1)_(cropped).jpg
(Page 43) “Scientifically Accurate Atomic Model of the External Structure of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2),” Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coronavirus._SARS-CoV2.png
(Page 53) “Cover of Make Friends with Your Shadow,” Amazon, Fair Use, https://www.amazon.com/Make-Friends-Shadow-William-Miller/dp/0806618558
(Page 57) “Dust Jacket of C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces,” c. 1957, John Murray, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CS_Lewis_photo_on_dust_jacket.jpg
(Page 72) “Cover of A Guide to Prayer: for Ministers & Other Servants,” Fair Use, https://picclick.fr/
(Page 87) “Closeup of a Person Sitting at a Desk Praying,” AI Generated, property of Mark Ryman, used by permission.
(Page 88) “Closeup of Hands on a Bible by Candlelight,” AI Generated, property of Mark Ryman, used by permission.
(Page 89) “Cover of Visiting in an Age of Mission,” Fair Use, https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/visiting-in-an-age-of-mission-a-handbook-for-person-toperson-ministry_kennon-l-callahan/795535/#edition=4231624&idiq=3915768
But God is not so easily thwarted. Our best efforts for the last 2000 years, and Israel’s best efforts for a couple thousand years before that, could not stop God’s will from being done. He’s quite good at being God. He’s been at it a long time. In the face of our faithlessness and doubt, he just keeps calling us back, seeking us out, setting us on the right path. And the amazing blessing of the office of ministry is getting to be a part of that mission.
– Julie Smith
