Grace and Peace to You from God and the Risen Messiah.
20 years of Lutheran Ministry:
As opposed to Homer's Odyssey of Greek literature, my 20 year journey is one of Christo-Centric belief, based upon the Judeo-Christian faith. The lessons and Gospel readings today represent a few of the Biblical texts which have informed my ministry for 2 decades. I have been surprised by where God has led me and what God has done through the people of God. You know much of what I believe, what I‘ve learned, what I've experienced and hold to be true. No doubt you've speculated upon and inferred certain other truths about my pastoral proclamations.
While I cannot encapsulate 20 years in less than 20 minutes, I'll give you a few insights on the faith I lay claim to for you and me. My faith is in God first and foremost, and would be so whether I had been called to ordained ministry or another calling in this life.
It was in my first 6 months of ministry, I was at the hospital with the parents when the news was delivered and that week my first funeral as a pastor was for a stillborn baby. I officiated my first wedding and baptism that first year. In 20 years I've presided at over 75 weddings, close to 100 funerals and over 70 baptisms, and I hope in the next 20 years that baptisms will outnumber the rest 3 to 1. Be it baptism or funeral, the message of hope and new life is preached. I have held the hands of the living and the dying, I have journeyed with them through tragedy and triumph.
I am sure that without an honestly child and youth friendly church there will be no church in the future. I am convinced that as the emerging church of the New Testament we also must reach out in new ways that remain faithful to our Christian beliefs, through new music, new liturgy, new song, new technology.
I am a Lutheran Feminist Pastor and student of theology, so I advocate the biblical pronouncement you heard from Genesis, that we are created in the image of God, male and female and in the same breath from St. Paul, we are neither male nor female, but a new creation in Christ. To speak of Yaweh and Elohim is to respect the name of our creator as surely as God and Lord are used.
We are in covenant relationship with God and as Luther phrased it, simultaneously saint and sinner (simul justus et peccator). I champion the notion that Divinity connects Faith with Science, Politics and Economics, evidenced in a universe of infinite time and distance, greater than all of humanity. As such I agree with Albert Einstein in the existence of God. Theorems seek proofs, the mechanics of the what and how. Faith seeks the why and the possibility of what supersedes the cosmos.
As an ordained Lutheran Minister I'm called to Word and Sacrament ministry first and foremost, to preach and teach and administer the sacraments of communion and baptism. I am called to be a shepherd, a faith guide for a holy people, children of redemption, saved by grace through faith, liberated to do good works. I am to encourage and nurture the spiritual growth in God's children of all ages.
I state that faith and doubt are inextricably intertwined and a necessary condition for one another. I learned this from certain pastors of my home congregation, Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Austin MN. To them and to my initial family of faith I am deeply indebted.
I affirm that conflict is inherent in a faith family and the mark of a healthy congregation is one which deals with conflict in a just manner, which sets boundaries of Christian behavior while remains boundless in forgiving all repentant sinners, pastors and parishioners alike. I am heartened by the Lutheran church which brings together divergent theological approaches. I cherish our ability to agree to disagree, to establish consensus, as much as being in full agreement with each other.
I am blessed to be called as pastor among you at Peace Lutheran. I am thankful for all of the supportive church members I've served these past years and the support I've received from my spouse, my family and friends. I thank my brother Wade in particular, who as a youth was there the
day I moved into the Seminary, the day I graduated and the day I was ordained. (I was surprised and overjoyed to have wadE and his wife Michelle, along with my cousin Julie and her husband Joe at the worship service today). I am further blessed with a parish nurse that makes possible the ministry I perform. I'm thankful for supportive staff and council members and all of you who pray for me, as I do for you, every week of the year.
I am grateful for my religion teachers at St. Olaf College, a Lutheran Liberal Arts "university" and the faculty who taught me at Luther Seminary.
I continue to hold myself and all Lutheran Pastors to a high standard of Biblical inquiry and theological acumen in accordance to the precedent set by Martin Luther.
I believe that neither Rev. Lovejoy of the Simpsons nor televangelists are true representatives of the faith. I am intolerant of poor theology and seek to quell Biblical illiteracy with the aid of Sunday School teachers and Adult Education within the parish. I boldly preach Christ Crucified. That is, I preach the grace of God which sets us free from sin and death and brings new life. This message is one we have to offer the world and is of utmost importance. It is of a God who loves all creation, values each one of us as spiritual beings of immeasurable worth, delivering salvific hope.
I'm beholden to the Lutheran tradition of opposing "Cheap Grace", the "Prosperity Gospel" and other such contortions of God's Word and I counsel you to eschew such false teachings.
I am called to support and encourage you to be faithful stewards of the Good News, to follow Jesus even when the cost of discipleship exacts what appears to be a heavy toll.
I embrace inclusivity, the use of inclusive language, ecumenical partnerships with those who uphold religious equality. I reinforce that Sunday worship is the beginning of the week for all Christians. Sabbath is the most important time for all Christian households and we honor the 3rd Commandment by worshipping together as a family of faith. Christian people have many reasons for not attending church – I've occasionally felt the same on a Sunday morning – yet few offer validity.
Our calling as the priesthood of all believers is to be diligent in our servitude and reconciliation to God and one another. This begins and Sunday and strengthens us through the week.
I advocate weekly worship, daily prayer, love and care of neighbor, tough love of enemies, reading the Word, discerning Biblical texts which at times are comforting, perplexing, exasperating and inspiring, and thanking God at all times.
- There are Lutherans and non Lutherans I admire:
- The Lutheran Feminist I admire most is my wife, Kara Johnston.
- I have great admiration for my youth group workers, Bruce and Sue Bee.
- My favorite corporate steward of creation is founder and Chairman of Interface Inc., Mr. Ray Anderson.
- Some of the People of Faith I genuinely respect are:
- The Old Testament Prophets
- John the Baptist
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther and his Wife Katherine Von Bora
- Mohandas Gandhi, who followed the teachings of Jesus
- Fellow Swedes, Nobel Laureate Dag Hammarsjkold and Rev. Dr. Krister Stendahl Soren Kierkegaard
- Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Rev. Kelly Fryer
- Rev. Peter Steinke
- Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu - in particular his Reconciliation Commission of South Africa
- As for Lutheran Theologians - my New testament professor and presider at my ordination Dr. Rev. Paul Berge and the late Rev. Dr. Gerhard Forde, an extraordinary Luther Scholar and my seminary advisor. It was Dr. Forde who supported my senior thesis at Seminary, Pastor's as Prophetic Voices of the Gospel.
- The Church historian of our time and Lutheran treasure, Dr. Martin Marty.
- Synodical and National Bishops Wayne Weissenbueler, Herb Chilstrom, Mark Hanson, H. George Anderson and Michael Pryse.
- I feel privileged to be in the ELCIC and have Susan Johnson elected as the First Woman Bishop of the ELCIC and of all the Lutheran Denominations in North America. This is indicative of the ELCIC, which has vowed to welcome people of all races, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender and sexuality. I hold that as Lutherans our tent is big enough to shelter all who seek God. God will provide for us.
When it comes to stewardship, the majority of those church people who give generously, by a percentage of their income, are those on the lower end of the North American Socio-Economic Scale. In North America, the average giving of Lutherans, to the church, is just over 2% of income. As a congregation I believe we can better that mark. The Old Testament calls us to tithe (which Kara and I do our best to observe).
Jesus calls us to sacrifice all. To be honest, I'm still working on that one. How about you? I say let's start with gracious giving and we'll venture forth from there.
While we strive to be stewards of God's creation most of our world continues to pollute and lay waste to the earth. Individual and societal greed abounds while we offer our times and our talents to serve the Lord. When Corporate CEO's resign with payout packages of $200 million dollars (Exxon, Home Depot), televangelists and self proclaimed faith healers as Benny Hinn can fill the Air Canada Centre 3 consecutive nights and bring in $200 million a year and live in a $10 million dollar gated community
home, when governments squander millions upon millions of dollars while billions of people eke out an existence on $1 dollar a day or less, your voices must be heard.
You who live your lives by being good stewards of God's creation, you must encourage your neighbours, corporations, believers and government to do likewise. As you are well aware, after the kingdom of God, Jesus teaches most about stewardship, with special emphasis on bringing Good News to the Poor.
While we are a gracious, generous people we can always improve upon our stewardship and excel in honoring what God has gifted to all people.
In worship we will persistently wrestle with numerous difficult issues pertaining to God's justice. In our walk of faith together, we will address those issues which affect children, the disposed, the poor and the marginalized: endemic violence, terror, poverty, starvation, curable illnesses which we neglect to heal, prisoners of faith and conscience we neglect to visit or support, rampant injustice, racism, sexism, human trafficking and modern day slavery, indifference to human suffering, greed and corruption. Jesus spoke out against and actively worked against such injustices, so shall we as a community of faith. The prophets spoke most harshly to God's people concerning this. We can do nothing less than to do justice through the help of the Lord. With God nothing is impossible, everything is possible. The prophets believed it of God's People and so do I. I believe in you.
So with all of this I look forward to the next 20 years. I am hopeful. I am rejuvenated by the Holy Spirit, I am enlightened by the will of God, and I celebrate with you the way, the truth and the life. It's been a good 20 years. What's in store for the next 20?
Finally, for you baseball fans: Carmen, the wife of baseball legend Yogi Berra, once asked him something like this "Yogi, you're from St. Louis, we live in New Jersey and you played all your ball in New York. If you happen to go before I do, where would you like me to have you buried?"
Yogi replied: "Surprise Me." May it be the same for me the next 20 years of ministry. God, surprise me.
Grace Be With You.
AMEN
