Happy Fathers Day and greetings from the Mayo Clinic! Jan and I are here for a few days as she undergoes some further treatment. At this moment, I sit in the corner of her room with my handy laptop which, in communion with the Mayo Clinic’s free wireless internet service, affords me the ability to compose this epistle 205 miles from home.
Before I subject you to my monthly verbosity, however, I’d like to express once again our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your prayerful and varied outpouring of support during these months of Jan’s illness. This journey is not over yet. Indeed, it will exist until death do us part, but we are learning as a family how to “live with cancer” instead of cowering to the fear of “dying from cancer.” Meanwhile, may we all be gracious with the energy God provides us to reach out in equally nice and wonderful ways to all the folks in our congregation or community who face their personal manifestation of cancer.
We thank God for you all! I hope and pray that my ministry among you has not been severely diminished as a result of all this. Ah yes, it is that you’ve ministered to us, and continue to do so.
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THIRTY years ago, on August 12, 1979, I was ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament. This journey of faith and service, of following God’s call has led me to serve six congregations in five synods and five states. My family and I invite you to join us for a day of praise and thanksgiving to God on Sunday, August 9 of this year, as we mark the 30th anniversary of that blessed day when my father, two brothers and a few other pastors laid upon me their hands of blessing in the name of our triune God.
Recently, as I began to seriously reflect on three busy decades of ministry, I was going through some old boxes of stuff from my seminary days (I still have most of the notebooks and textbooks from Wartburg Seminary). One ragged set of notes was from a senior-year course entitled “Church Administration,” in which the beloved old professor sought to impart his wisdom to us. We were eager to get out of the classroom and into the parish somewhere. His lectures were often long and dull - but time has proven that much of what he said would be useful and true.
One of his lectures provided some teaching points which impressed me right from the beginning, and have impacted me ever since. He was talking about our sense of call. He wanted to impress upon us how our discernment of God’s call informs our identity and sense of authority (among other things) as church leaders. “This is still good stuff, ” I thought to myself. I’ve applied his advice in each congregation I have served - to myself as well as church council members and other congregational leaders. This wise and tenacious teacher leaned on James 3:1 to provide the scriptural foundation for his lecture. In the NIV it reads like this:
“We who teach will be judged more strictly.” (NIV)
There were three components, or “Three Questions for Leaders” which are as relevant today as they have ever been: 1) Accountability, 2) Priorities and, 3) One’s personal faith journey. These three have served me well over the years. They guide me today just as they have for 30 years.
Here’s what my wise, old, and boring professor told us, according to my scribbled old notes: “If you're a leader in God's work you must constantly ask yourself three questions:”
1) Am I ACCOUNTABLE to anybody? If you think not, if you operate as thought you are not, then you'll find yourself on dangerous ground. This is because only God (who is the source of all authority) can handle unquestioned authority. Who knows you well enough to pray with you? Do you have guts enough to surround yourself with those who can advise you and strengthen you in your vulnerable areas? We keep discovering that authority without accountability leads to disaster.
2) Are my PRIORITIES in order? Priorities have a way of sneaking out of position when we're not paying attention. Too many of us only become successful at the cost of broken homes or failing health because our priorities shifted somewhere along the line.
3) Is my personal WALK WITH GOD up to date? If that doesn't prompt a quick yes, or if you have to think about it for a while, then you're too close to the edge. He warned that “a disciplined daily walk with God is your best protection,” using Psalm 119:11 as a verse to stand on: “I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you” (RSV). “If you're not spending time with God, you're spending it on whatever has become more important to you than Him.”
“Pay attention to that word ‘treasure,’” he would say. “It means to protect something, to let nothing threaten it. You must discipline yourself to spend time in God's Word and guard that time from interruptions. Give God your mind each day when it's fresh. As a Pastor, your first calling is not the building project, the board meeting or the budget, it is to heed Jesus' call to '... Feed my sheep' (John 21:16). ”
“So, if Saturday finds you anxious because you've nothing prepared for Sunday, then you better make some changes. Start delegating. ‘Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task.’ (Acts 6:3-4) Empower laypersons to know that they are ministers too. Practice what Luther taught us about the ‘Priesthood of All Believers!’
So, there you have it. A lesson plan which has shaped the life of this pastor. 30 years worth and more. Soon, you will receive a letter about what’s up on August 9. We’re going to begin a ministry project to help the hungry. Our theme for the day leans on the same scripture passage that my teacher gave me long ago, found in John 21:15-17.
There, Jesus says to Simon Peter and us: “. . . If you love me . . . Feed my sheep.” Start thinking, “$30 for this, and $30 for that . . .) Pastor Sherer
