Perceiving New Things
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43: 18&19)
We are on the cusp of the start of a new year, at least according to the calendar. I really think the year ends when school gets out in the spring, then we enter into an in-between time before the new year begins on the first day of school in the fall. For me, it is because the church year of ministries and programs closely follows the school year. In any event, it is a random and arbirtrary day to pick when one thing ends and another begins.
It seems that the issue is not so much the date on the calendar, the time on the clock, or the ball in Times Square, but to our ability to perceive the “new thing.” Is God really doing something new in our lives and our world, or is it just the same-old thing? Am I really a new creation, or just the same old messed up person? Do I see signs of peace, justice, mercy, forgiveness, and love in the world, or is it all greed, hate, violence, and evil?
It seems to depend on our spiritual perception, rather than our physical and temporal perceptions, which is just a fancy-schmancy way of saying it depends on prayer and the spiritual practice called “discernment.” All of which is about paying attention to what God is doing, which also includes learning and remembering what God has done and promises to do in the future. For me, I am glad that the Church continues to celebrate Christmas into this arbitrary New Year, to remind me of what God has done, is doing, and will do through Jesus Christ. For if I can perceive Christ at work in my own life and in the lives of those around me, I can also begin to perceive Christ at work in the world, bringing into being God’s Kingdom on earth.
May God bless you and give you the gift of discernment and the ability to perceive the “new things” of Christ this New Year!
Danger, Danger!! We’re going to open the Bible!
Did I get your attention? Good.
It is a dangerous thing when we open the Bible and begin to read, for in and through these words, written and translated by many different people throughout the ages, God in fact speaks to us and does something to and with us. This book, this Word of God, both kills us and gives us life. Hence the whole “danger” thing.
Which makes me so glad that there are five adult small groups, risking the “dangers” of the Bible, gathering together each month for Bible study. They are learning about different characters and stories of the Bible, or looking deeply at one book of the Bible, or learning more about a particular theme that runs throughout the Bible. All of which, I hope, is helping them grow in their understanding of what God is trying to tell them and do to them, both as individuals and as a group. And not only in their understanding of what God has said and done in the past, but more importantly what God is saying and doing today to draw people into a faith relationship with Jesus Christ.
On Sunday, Dec. 6, we began the first of our series on “How Lutherans Interpret the Bible,” as part of our church’s process to study and discuss the Biblical texts at the center of the controversy over the ELCA resolutions. And I am grateful that so many people attended the first session, and hopefully will follow through on all of the rest. Or, if people are not able to attend on Sundays, that they sign up to attend the Thursday classes starting in mid-January (sign up at the info desk!).
It is hard work, and risky, when we gather together to discuss both how different people approach and understand the Bible. It becomes even more challenging and risky, when we have clarified in our own mind and heart, to then begin to share how we approach and understand the Bible. The ante goes up further when we listen and hear other Christians who have a different approach and understanding of the Bible, which leads them to interpret things differently from ourselves. As if that doesn’t cause people to faint with trepidation, God promises to show up in our dialog and discussion, to say to us exactly what God wants to say to all of us, and, as often happens, transform all of our understandings to bring us closer to God’s will and heart. As Mark Allen Powell reminds us, the Bible gives us Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God!
For those who wish to go a little deeper in pondering questions related to our interpretations and approaches to the Bible I strongly recommend this article by Prof. Walter Brueggemann on Biblical Authority and the Church. It is well worth the slow, careful read.
“How Lutherans Interpret the Bible” and the ELCA Resolutions
The follow-up Study and Discussion Sessions on the Biblical and Theological issues surrounding the ELCA resolutions regarding same-sex relationships and homosexual clergy will be starting up in December! There will be two sessions offered, one on Sunday mornings starting on December 6 for the Adult Forum at 9:45am, and one on Thursday evenings starting on January 14 at 7:00pm. *PLEASE SIGN UP AT THE INFORMATION DESK – or – email me at pastor.kent@christusvictor.org.
We will be using Mark Allen Powell’s series “How Lutherans Interpret the Bible” to give us a foundation to work from as we begin to address the Biblical texts in question. The seven sessions will cover:
- The Word of God
- What Lutherans Say About the Bible
- Where the Bible Comes From
- Interpreting the Bible in Context
- Determining Right from Wrong
- The Many Meanings of the Bible
- Devotional Bible Reading
Sunday Forum Schedule: Dec. 6, Dec. 13, Jan. 10, (Jan. 17 – Committee Fair; Jan. 24 – Annual Meeting), Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 14.
Thursday Evening Schedule: Jan. 14, Jan. 21, Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, Mar. 4
Please contact me if you have any questions about this series.
It is my deep hope and prayer that a large number of Christus Victor members and all interested people will take the opportunity to learn more about the Bible and our Lutheran Theology, to help guide and shape our discussions and discernment when we confront any disagreement over the intrepretation and application of the Scriptures in our individual and communal lives of faith as disciples of Jesus Christ.
An open letter to the church in response to a note from a church member.
(*This is not just a response to one letter from a church member, but to the many emails and notes I have received from church members in regards to the ELCA resolutions. Our church members do not easily fall into clearly defined categories, but represent a broad spectrum of beliefs and opinions on these matters. I offer this to those who are looking for a quick or easy fix to the problems facing the church, especially those who are looking for the “right answer” from me.)
To my friend in Christ,
My grandpa always quoted this Native American proverb: “Don’t judge anyone until you have walked many miles in their moccasins.” Another is like it, “Seek to understand before you seek to be understood.” In the best of times putting these proverbs into practice is difficult. When we are dealing with deeply held beliefs, it is even more difficult if not next to impossible. So, I thank you for sharing your beliefs, concerns, and thoughts with me.
I appreciate the proverb you shared with me: “Vision without action is only a dream. Action without vision is a waste of time. Vision and action can change the world.” I appreciate your call for a clear vision for the church, along with clear actions to change the world. I believe that is exactly what Jesus Christ came to accomplish through his death and resurrection, and give to us to fulfill, as difficult as it is for us to accept and to do. Jesus taught us the Greatest Commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37-40). Without God’s grace in Jesus Christ, I would not be able to even try to live out these greatest commandments in my life.
Every Sunday I do my best to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I have no illusions that everyone agrees with everything I say, nor do I make the mistake that I can make anyone believe or do anything that they don’t want to. This church is full of people who believe and do all sorts of different things, some of which I am OK with, and some I am not. But I can no more make someone a Christian than I can make it rain or the sun shine. That is up to God and the Holy Spirit to do.
It is the responsibility and burden of the Christian disciples/members of Christus Victor to interpret and apply what the Bible says to our ministry, mission, and shared life together. This was given to the Church by Christ Jesus himself, referred to as “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16: 18-19 and Matthew 18: 18-20). What is black and white to you is not black and white to other Christians who take the Bible as seriously as you do. What is not open to interpretation for you is open to interpretation for others. The most important thing in the midst of our disagreements is not who will win and who will lose in our disagreements, but where is God leading us through the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ?
No one can make the members of this church do or believe anything. Not the government, not the ELCA, and most certainly not me. In fact the ELCA resolutions give it back to each individual church to make their own decisions on the blessing of same-sex relationships and the calling of homosexual pastors. It would not be by a simple majority either, but a 2/3rds majority to make any changes to our constitution, or even in the calling of a pastor. So, I personally see no reason to hold a church vote to make any changes to our constitution at this time, and we are not going to be calling a pastor any time soon either.
However, it is clear to me that a significant number of our church members do want to have a vote on these issues, both those that agree and those that disagree with the ELCA resolutions. A growing number of our members want to “take a stand,” and I can tell you with great certainty that there is not a 2/3rds majority on either side of this issue! Therefore, at some point in the near future it will come back to you and all of the disciples/members of Christus Victor to state and vote on what you believe. And after the vote everyone will have to decide whether they will stay at Christus Victor to work and serve together as disciples of Jesus Christ, or seek another church to join. Either way, it seems pretty certain that we will lose members and their gifts of service, leadership, and offerings, which will damage all of the ministries and mission of the church that we have worked so hard to build and grow.
So I am trying to listen to the Holy Spirit, trust in God to lead and guide us, hold onto the love and grace of Jesus Christ, and leave this in the hands of the disciples/members of CV to decide.
This is probably more than you were expecting, but your letter brought forth a lot of the things I have been dwelling on and struggling with these past few months.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Kent Claussen Gubrud
Christ the King and Consecration Sunday
It seems almost ironic that we would be celebrating Christ the King Sunday and have the consecration of our pledges on the same day. On this Christ the King Sunday we acknowledge that Jesus Christ reigns over all; that Jesus is our King; that all of the powers, nations, and rulers of the earth will both bow down to Him; that no power, nation, or ruler will come before our Lord, Jesus Christ in our lives. This includes money.
Money has a huge power over us. We need it to buy the things we need to survive from day to day, and subsequently, whether we are conscious of it or not, instead of believing and trusting in God to give us our daily bread, we look to our job and even ourselves as the source of all we need. Instead of Jesus ruling in our lives, money and the pursuit of money rules instead. Such a subtle temptation to idolatry.
But when we intentionally give our money to God through our offerings, we are making a faith statement. It is God who gives us our daily bread, it is Jesus to whom we own our life and give our allegiance, and our offerings, our pledges, are a sign and symbol of our faith and fidelity to Christ our King.
So on this Christ the King Sunday, when we bring our pledges forward to the altar, be thinking of what this means as a real sign of you faith in Jesus Christ.
Listening to each other – Listening to God
After two informational meetings regarding the ELCA CWA resolutions, I am struck by how hard it is to listen to each other, especially to try and understand a different point of view, interpretation, or belief from our own. Part of the challenge is internal as we mull over our own views, beliefs, etc. in an attempt to come up with a rebuttal, and some clarity in our own minds about what we believe and why. In any case listening is hard work, and it is not something we do very well.
I am also struck by the parallels in our difficulties listening to those that are right in front of us, speaking in a language we can understand, about ideas and information that are not totally beyond our comprehension, with our difficulties listening to God. Listening to God is complicated by the fact that God, though with us, is not literally in front of us, nor speaking a language we can understand (and no I am not referring to the original languages of the Bible, nor necessarily the Bible itself – but prayer and listening to the “still small voice” of God), added to the fact that God is beyond our comprehension and understanding (seriously, who fully comprehends and understands the divine mystery that is the Trinity, the Incarnation, let alone the Resurrection, without faith?). Yet that is one of the central statements of the Bible and of the Christian faith: God is constantly communicating with us and we can “listen” and respond.
In the midst of our congregations conflict over the ELCA resolutions (not the first conflict nor the last), a significant number of people from both informational meetings want to gather together to study and discuss the Biblical and Theological issues underlying our differences. This desire to learn, discuss, and struggle with these serious issues of faith and our common life, gives me great hope for our church. And while I am working on a number of opportunities for people to study and learn, it is also clear to me that we need to learn together to listen to God. If Christ is at the center of our church (and I know He is), and the Holy Spirit continues to lead and guide us (because Jesus promised), then we had best learn how to listen to God to find our way through these challenges into the future God is calling us into. Therefore I am looking for a group of people that will commit to meeting with me for six months, starting in January, as part of an international, ecumenical journey of discovery in listening to God. If you’d like some more information of what this might entail, please check out the materials on John Ackerman’s website. He is my spiritual director and will be leading and facilitating this discovery process. This group will be separate from the study groups that I will be offering. If you are interested, please contact me at church so we can talk more about this opportunity to grow in faith through listening to God.
Informational Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 8 between services
Sunday, November 8 at 9:45am – join us as we gather for an Informational Meeting on the ELCA Church Wide Assembly votes in August. This will follow the same agenda from the first meeting on October 29:
- Opening Prayer and Scripture Reading
- Reading of the resolutions
- Time for questions and answers regarding the resolutions
- Next steps suggested by the Thursday group – input and suggestions for next steps from the Sunday group
- Closing scripture reading and prayer
The 3rd and Final Informational Meeting will be held between service on Sunday, November 29. If you, or people you know, have not participated in one of these meetings, please encourage them to attend.
The ELCA Church Wide Assembly Votes and our church
This past August the 1045 voting members at the ELCA Church Wide Assembly considered a number of resolutions on the subject of allowing congregations who choose to, to find ways of blessing same-sex committed relationships and calling ordained pastors in same-sex committed relationships. Those resolutions were approved. You can find the exact wording of those resolutions and accompanying documents at www.elca.org.
The ELCA has been struggling with these issues over the last ten years, if not dating back to the 1990 approval of ordaining homosexual clergy as long as they, like single heterosexual clergy, remained celibate. However, while the current presenting issue focuses on homosexuality and homosexuals, there are deeper and broader concerns and questions underlying the present controversy in the ELCA. Among them are:
- How is the Bible God’s Word for the Church? Are we revisiting the old conflict between an understanding of the authority of the scriptures between Biblical Inerrancy as opposed to Biblical Inspiration?
- How does our Lutheran Theology and Confessions inform and shape how we interpret and understand the scriptures? For instance, how do the principles of Law and Gospel, or the Canon within the Canon, inform our interpretation of scripture?
- What is the article of faith upon which the Church stands or falls, and how does that inform our understanding and interpretation of the Bible? The assumptions we start with are determinative of our interpretive conclusions.
- How do we interpret and understand scripture, and what do we do when Christians disagree with one another? Can there be more than one faithful interpretation of the same Bible text without dividing the church?
These are but some of the deep and broad issues that I see underlying our present controversy, and I hope to address these questions with the members of Christus Victor in the coming weeks and months.
On October 29, 2009, over 50 members of Christus Victor gathered for an Informational Meeting, to ask questions and share their concerns. And while the ELCA resolutions do not require congregations to change their beliefs or practices, not everyone is satisfied with that, so out of this meeting came four next steps:
- About half, if not a little more, of those attending the meeting want the members of Christus Victor to eventually vote on where we stand on the ELCA resolutions, with possible further steps involving withholding our benevolence dollars to the ELCA, and/or leaving the ELCA all together. According to our constitution, a special congregational meeting may be called by the pastor, council president, church council, or with a written request by 10% of the voting members of the church. No meeting has been officially called… yet.
- We will hold a few more informational meetings with the same agenda as the first meeting, so more church members can be informed, ask questions, and share concerns. (specific dates and times have yet to be set and announced, so stay tuned).
- It was also determined that we should hold a series of forums/study discussions regarding the issues and decisions facing the church. (Again, specific dates and times have yet to be set and announced).
- Pastor Laura and I will seek ways to guide this congregation and keep us focused spiritually in Christ. Some thoughts include daily prayers on the website, prayer vigils, and time for silent centering prayer in worship on Sundays. Your thoughts on what would be helpful to the congregation, and how you might like to help, would be appreciated, please call or email me at church.
I have been reflecting at length over the implications of the above steps for our church. First and foremost, I think this is an opportunity for us to clarify what is at the core of our ministry and mission as a church? Who are we? What do we believe? What is our purpose and mission? While we have a clearly defined mission of “Serving Christ and Community with Faith, Love, and Open Arms,” we do not have a single shared understanding and interpretation of the Bible and our Lutheran Theology undergirding our mission and identity at Christus Victor Lutheran Church. Instead we have a diversity of interpretations, assumptions, and understandings of scripture and theology and what that means for our church, that will, without a clear shared vision of the unity of our shared life in Jesus Christ as forgiven sinners, divide us and undermine our ministries. In light of the diversity of opinion among us, and the strong feelings and deeply held beliefs on all sides, I will do my best to listen to all, keep Christ at the center, speak the truth in love, and preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I do not want anyone to be naive, and know that whatever course the members of Christus Victor choose to take into the future, it will be a difficult and challenging course. And this makes it all the more important that we all pray and keep our attention firmly fixed on Jesus Christ, for truly, only God can lead us through.
Family Conflict – the first generations
I’ve been thinking about Family Conflict as a way for me to understand the dynamics at work in a church family.
It’s family reunion time, and all of the members of the extended family are getting together for a celebration. Everyone who is coming is somehow related to the original patriarch and matriarch of the family, Ole and Lena Olafson. Their marriage was a scandal to both families, for it was a dreaded mixed marriage! Ole was Norwegian and Lena was a Swede! To make matters worse, Ole came from the Pietist tradition, and Lena came from the orthodox state church in Sweden. It is not clear whether their families disowned them, or Ole and Lena beat them to the punch by immigrating to America in 1883.
They ended up joining the Uniting Lutheran Church, for neither the Norwegian Lutherans nor the Augustana Lutherans would take this sinful mixed couple. Ole and Lena also became rock solid members of the Bull Moose party, partly because Lena had a crush on Teddy Roosevelt, and partly because Ole liked anyone who’d take on those he disagreed with on both the left and the right! Through the years, things would get awfully tense in the Olafson household, for their son, Sven, had the gall and nerve to marry a German girl named Helga. Ole threw Sven out of the house saying, “I won’t have any mixed marriages in my family! I disown you!” But one year later Sven and Helga were back because Lena couldn’t bear not seeing her first grandchild. And when they named the boy little Ole, well, big Ole kind of melted.
But Ole’s heart was hardened again when second son, Ivar, both became a Democrat and married a Dane named Pia. To make matters worse, their daughter Ingrid married a Swede, Peder, who was an Augustana Lutheran. Some say Ole died of a broken heart. Lena just said he ate too many meatballs and sausages.
The Olafson clan now had four different kinds of Lutherans in the family, and a number of mixed marriages, which everyone tried so hard not to talk about at family gatherings, especially when Lena was around. ”You are all my precious children and I love you all,” is how she would scold them when they got into any arguments over which Lutheran church was the True Lutheran church, and thereby who were the real Lutherans, and who were the dirty heretics. Once Lena died, the families kind of drifted apart.
Sven and Helga moved to South Dakota. Ivar and Pia stayed near the homestead in Minnesota. Peder and Ingrid moved out to Oregon.
Only after the depression hit did the family start coming back together again. Sven and Helga lost the farm and moved back to Minnesota. Peder and Ingrid went bankrupt when the Herring market collapsed, and they too moved back to Minnesota with dreams of starting a lutefisk factory. Some people just never stop dreaming. All of Ole and Lena’s grandchildren started attending the same schools and got to know each other in the years that followed. Added to this were the mergers starting to happen between the different Lutheran churches, though the old Norwegians and the Missouri Synod Lutherans still wouldn’t talk to anyone outside their faith. Christmases would become fraught with crying children when the uncles started yelling at each other calling the other, “Spawn of Satan” and “Hellbound Heretics!” Needless to say there were a few Christmases when Peder and Ingrid would not come to Christmas with their kids and everyone missed their lutefisk with cream sauce and delicious lefse. It seems Helga couldn’t get the hang of either dish, but everyone felt bad for her because she couldn’t help it, she was German after all.
God alone is our Rock
I’m reading a book called, “Transforming Congregational Culture,” by Anthony Robinson. It was recommended to me after reading and discussing a few other books on church ministry and addressing the changing culture while on my sabbatical. So the learning and growing goes on. As I read through this book, I will be posting some thoughts, reflections, and questions to ponder as we continue to address the need to change and be changed by God for the sake of our souls and of the world.
We don’t need anyone to tell us that the mainline churches in America are facing many challenges and changes from without and from within. This shouldn’t be new or surprising to folks, although how these changes and challenges are manifesting themselves may be new and surprising, if not disconcerting. Nor should it be surprising that there continues to be steady change in how Americans think and behave where religion is concerned. This is not just a mainline issue!
In times such as these, and we are not alone in the story of God’s people on earth of having “times such as these,” I am reminded of the church camp song, “The Rock!” The words come right out of Psalm 18: 46 - The Lord Lives! Blessed be my ROCK, and exalted be the God of my salvation!” I need a rock to stand on, a firm foundation when life is so shakey and uncertain. If it feels like you are on ever shifting sands, perhaps what you are relying on for stability is not God, but something else that has become a substitute for God. Power, possessions, and prestige in one form or another often are the substitutes we go to instead of seeking God. God wants to take away any and all substitutes that we have put in place of God, so that God can be our Rock, our center, our very life.
Change is actually the point. God wants to change us, save us, and transform our lives. So, I end with the beginning of Robinson’s book on transforming congregations, it begins with a question: what is our God given purpose? Who is God calling us and changing us to be, and from that, what is God calling us to do? This is not a one time question, but the guiding question for us as Christians in community, keeping us focused on God our Rock!