The
Pastor's Desk
A GOD OF STEADFAST LOVE
Dear Partners in Ministry,
When I was in seminary some 38 years ago I had to take a class titled, “systematic theology” taught by a renowned theologian by the name of Robert Jensen. Dr. Jensen is a prolific author and I have a number of his books lining my library bookshelves. He was also known for being a little absent minded and asking strange questions. I remember well my final exam for my systematic theology course. It was one question: Who is God? I, along with my classmates, filled one exam book after another attempting to answer this question. When the exam was returned many of us had comments such as “not what I wanted,” “you have said too much,” or simply “wrong.” The answer our professor wanted was simply this: “God is whoever or whatever raised Jesus from the dead”. This was the only answer Dr. Jensen wanted in our blue exam books. Most of us were stunned by the simplicity of the answer and nearly all of us missed it. Luckily, we all passed the course.
Yet, such an experience taught me that we humans at times make things more complicated than they need to be. God is defined, for Lutheran Christians anyway, as the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our faith and what defines us as Christians. Simply put, without the resurrection there is no Christianity. There is no church called Christian. There is no faith. The foundation of our faith is the simple fact that God raised Jesus from the dead.
This is the basic message of the church that we are called to proclaim. It is the message that we are called to take to the entire world. It is the message that we are organized to share.
During the next number of weeks and months a small group of faithful members will be gathering to discuss and plan how we at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church should be organized to share this foundational message of faith. One of the questions I will be asking our task group to consider is do we want to be a religious “Wal-Mart” that covers all basis or a boutique store that specializes is a few items. This question may sound as odd ball as my question on my final systematics exam, but it is an important question to answer for it will form how we go about sharing the basic message of the Christian faith to the community around us.
It is no secret that our lives continue to change each day. It is no secret that individuals want more from their communities of faith today than they did say thirty years ago. All of us have high expectations of our leaders and our institutions than in the past. Many of us have needs we want the church to meet that we may not be organized to meet. This will be the task of our Long Range Planning Task Group in the weeks and months of ahead, to determine how best to share the good news and proclaim the gospel which is the mission of the church.
As your pastor, it will be my task to see that this group never loses sight of our mission – a mission to share the message of who is the God we worship and serve - a message that makes clear the foundational proclamation that God is defined as the one who raised Jesus from the dead.
I end this epistle the way I began it with a question: Who is God? The answer we give defines who we are and the mission we fulfill.
God’s blessings to each of you. See you at worship.
The Rev. Bernard W. Carl
Pastor
It is no secret that our lives continue to change each day. It is no secret that individuals want more from their communities of faith today than they did say thirty years ago. All of us have high expectations of our leaders and our institutions than in the past. Many of us have needs we want the church to meet that we may not be organized to meet. This will be the task of our Long Range Planning Task Group in the weeks and months of ahead, to determine how best to share the good news and proclaim the gospel which is the mission of the church.
As your pastor, it will be my task to see that this group never loses sight of our mission – a mission to share the message of who is the God we worship and serve - a message that makes clear the foundational proclamation that God is defined as the one who raised Jesus from the dead.
I end this epistle the way I began it with a question: Who is God? The answer we give defines who we are and the mission we fulfill.
God’s blessings to each of you. See you at worship.
The Rev. Bernard W. Carl
Pastor
