Tag: school

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Honor Retired Called Workers

Lord God,
Many have dedicated their lives to the public ministry as pastors and teachers. Thank you for their willing sacrifices and for the ways you used their gifts to build up your church. Just as we honor veterans for their years of military service, let us remember to honor our retired pastors and teachers as well. Help our churches and schools to consider how their gifts and experience can continue to be tremendous blessings even in retirement. 

When our retired called workers struggle with finding their place after public ministry, remind them that their identity was never anchored in their ministry, but in their baptism, by which you called them and made them yours. Give them wisdom and discernment to distinguish between supporting called workers who have come after them and inserting themselves into a calling that is no longer theirs. Bless them in their later season of life to be able to see the ministry of the gospel continue to thrive in your church. Let their service in retirement – whatever that may look like – be a source of joy to many.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

The Needed Privilege of the Public Ministry

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(Luke 10:1-12, 16-20)

You never seem to have enough. Of what? While the answers may differ, none of us would have too much trouble identifying something in our lives that seems to be lacking; some area where we don’t have enough. We don’t have enough hours in the day to get it all done. We don’t have enough time together. We don’t get enough sleep. We don’t have enough money. We don’t get scheduled for enough hours at work. We don’t have enough gas, enough time off, enough rain, enough… the list goes on. We know the feeling, whether our feeling that we don’t have enough is backed by data or merely based on our perception. As ironic as it is for us who live in the country with the world’s largest economy, we’re not strangers to the feeling of not having enough,

But maybe that shouldn’t surprise us. After all, doesn’t it seem like the Lord delights in dealing with perceived deficiencies, in our not having enough? We have two very clear commands in Scripture: to trust God to provide and to be content. Each of these is put to the test when under perceived deficiencies, when it seems there isn’t enough of something. In other words, it isn’t as difficult to trust that God will provide when I have more money than I know what to do with, right? And doesn’t contentment seem to be much easier to achieve when I have plenty and am more than satisfied in every area of life? 

Therefore, when it appears that we don’t have enough of something, does God allow that to happen so frequently in our lives because, well… we’re half right? Maybe there is something we need more of?

Yes… but it isn’t what we think; instead, what we need more of is trust and turning to God. So he allows us to go without so that we look less within and more to him. Then, when we do just that, he shows himself to be the trustworthy God he has always claimed to be, delivering on his promise to provide whatever we need.

Jesus pointed to something that was lacking during his ministry, something there wasn’t enough of. What is that “something,” or better “someone”? Workers. People dedicating their lives to the work of the church, which we refer to today as the public ministry. Jesus was saying that there weren’t enough church workers in his day.

Not much has changed in over 2,000 years, has it? It appears we’re still short of workers for the harvest. We currently have around 120 pastoral vacancies and about the same number of teacher vacancies in our church body (WELS). Now, not all of those represent a single congregation without a pastor or school without a teacher; some have multiple pastors and are functioning with fewer than are ideal, as are schools short on teachers. But regardless, they are not at the full capacity they feel they need to carry out their ministry.

More important than the actual number of how short our churches and schools are is the solution to the shortfall. How would Jesus have us address this shortfall? He gives two pretty clear directives: “Ask” and “Go!”  

When you ask someone for something, it demonstrates two things. First, it shows you have been giving thought to whatever the topic of your request is. When we ask the Lord to send out workers, it demonstrates our concern for the important work of his church, the need to flood the earth with the good news of the gospel. To ask for workers shows the Lord that he and his church are on our hearts and minds. Second, it shows that we know he is the One who can do something about it. We don’t have to come up with clever gimmicks or try to make ministry appeal to others with attraction marketing. The Lord sends the workers. He just wants us to ask him.

Then immediately after the invitation to ask for workers, what does Jesus do? He sends out the seventy-two, telling them, “Go!” So when we ask, as the Lord directs us to, we also have to be open to being an answer, as the seventy-two were. If all of God’s people only ask the Lord of the harvest for workers, while at the same time avoiding any consideration of the call into ministry, there would be no workers! There would be no answers to the asking. So be open to both the asking and the answering, the praying for the workers and potentially playing the part of a worker.

Recall in the last post in this series, we had the opportunity to see what it looks like when one answers the call to go. While we focused on how undivided attention means complete commitment, we saw what that looked like in the example of Elisha. I want to return back to that incident to highlight two aspects of Elisha’s behavior that reflected that his heart was in the right place for public ministry. 

First, he cared about people. Yes, he went back to say goodbye to his parents. But he didn’t stop there. He threw a big party with a steak dinner for everyone! He cared about others and serving them – sacrificing his own plowing equipment and oxen in the process – which leads to his second ideal attribute for ministry: he trusted the Lord to provide.

I don’t know about you, but if I was asked out of the blue to make a big life change like that, facing all kinds of uncertainties, one thing I would want to make sure of is that I had enough in my piggy bank to ride out the rough times. Couldn’t Elisha have sold the plowing equipment and oxen and at least had a little financial cushion in his pockets as he went on his way into the unknown? Instead, Elisha made a clean break from that chapter of his life and followed God’s call, completely trusting that God would provide for him. He cared for people and he trusted in God’s providence. 

It has been my own personal experience that God often uses the one to deliver on the other. It shouldn’t just be on anniversaries or special occasions that a pastor gets to express his gratitude, so I am grateful for the care my congregation provides for my family and me. We have been blessed through our congregation’s generosity our whole time serving at Shepherd of the Hills. A pastor gets to take care of God’s people, and God uses his people to take care of their pastor. It really is a beautiful thing, and it’s right in line with the words Jesus spoke this morning. 

That kind of care allows the called worker to keep the main thing the main thing. Jesus made sure the seventy-two didn’t lose sight of that upon their return. “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name’” (v.17). They were like the kid in the world of superheroes who just figured out his superpower – only this wasn’t made up; this was real power they had been given to even put demons in their place!

Jesus then validated their abilities, reminding them that demons were real, in service to the very real Satan whom Jesus himself had seen “fall like lightning from heaven” (v.18). Then, Jesus raised the bar and foreshadowed more of the amazing abilities he would give them as they served in his name, along with the promise of safekeeping. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (v.19). 

Yet even in light of all this power and authority they would be wielding as they went out with the Word, none of it was to be the ultimate source of their joy. That ALWAYS must find its foundation elsewhere. Jesus made it clear where. “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v.20).

I can also relate to Jesus’ final words in these verses. Do you what I love about getting to be a pastor? My name is written in heaven. Is it written in heaven because I’m a pastor? Is God somehow especially pleased that I chose this path over any other? Of course not. He is no more pleased with this path than he is with the faithful gas station clerk. One is not better in his eyes.

But, every single day I get to spend time in the Word, and it reminds me that my name is written in heaven. And no, one doesn’t have to be a pastor to spend time in the Word every day to find that out. But it is just one of the many perks of the job that you take home a paycheck for reading the Bible, teaching the Bible, preaching the Bible, and studying the Bible with others. It’s a sweet gig!

I began this post by pointing out how often we don’t seem to have enough. But I have to conclude with the reminder that God also promises to provide more than we can even ask for. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21). Do you suppose this promise is limited to any one area of life, or could it be applied to workers for the harvest, too? Is God able to fill all of the current vacancies in our church body with pastors and teachers? Could he exceed that by providing even more than necessary?

Yes, in fact that was the case when I graduated from the Seminary. In contrast to not having enough pastors at that time, the concern was about not having enough spots for all the soon-to-be pastors. This need prompted the class ahead of me to come up with a plan for tent ministry, or bi-vocational ministry. While that class didn’t end up needing to utilize that plan, as all of the graduates were assigned to pastor congregations, my class did have an opportunity. And in fact, I was one of the two graduates assigned to a tent ministry mission field in Tucson, AZ. That is where I served for three years prior to arriving at Shepherd of the Hills.

So yes, God can provide more workers that we can imagine. Yet, rather than thinking in terms of shortages or surpluses, let’s simply be confident that the Lord will provide exactly what is needed. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Rest assured, this applies to called workers, too.

In fact, that is exactly what Jesus promises regarding the plentiful harvest and few workers, when he invites us to pray, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2). From our vantage point, it appears we’re short on workers, we don’t appear to have enough of something. So what do we do? Turn to God in prayer. Ask. And, while asking, consider the ways we can also go and be an answer to that prayer. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Christian Schools

Lord God,
Thank you for schools that provide a Christian Education. When congregations are able to offer elementary schools as a part of their ministry, both the congregation and the community are richly blessed. The standards are high and the flexibility of curriculum choices allows them to avoid certain controversial content. However, there is no greater benefit than Jesus that Christian schools are able to offer. To nurture and equip not just the mind, but also hearts of faith provides an eternal reward to students. For high schools and colleges that allow students to continue on this path of spiritual instruction, thank you. 

Through these schools, your impact often goes beyond the student into the home, so I pray that your Spirit stretches his reach into the hearts of not just students in school, but their families as well. And, because teaching young minds is no small task, I also ask that you equip teachers and professors in these schools with patience, wisdom, and compassion for their students. Let your light shine brightly in them, so that they put the love of Jesus on display for their students and other faculty members to see. Continue to use Christian schools to build up your church and equip believers for this life and the next.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Fifty Years of Seeing Jesus

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(John 12:20-33)

I recently attended our School’s 50th Anniversary Gala. It was a fantastic evening. Getting to dress up for a nice evening out is just plain fun to do. Doing it surrounded by those I get to do life together with in my church/school family made it extra special.

Yet, as enjoyable as the auction was, as fun as it is to win an item you bid on, or enjoy cocktails and a nice meal, or music and dancing, or an occasional laugh here and there, what made the night amazing was something else altogether. It left me in awe of the number of lives past, present, and future, who have been and who will continue to be so strongly impacted by our school. So this post is a celebration of our school. More accurately, it’s a celebration of the Jesus who is the center of our school. 

There are surely other verses in Scripture that summarize why the church exists, but we words from John 12 might capture it as simply and succinctly as any others: “we would like to see Jesus” (v.21). In the 1960’s, members of Reformation Lutheran, our sister congregation in Clairemont, saw a growing community in La Mesa that needed to see Jesus, so they established Shepherd of the Hills in 1965. About a decade after that in 1974, a school was established in what was essentially an effort to help more people see Jesus. That school has been doing just that for fifty years. We celebrated with a formal Gala, exceeding our goal of $40,000 to enable us to continue helping people see Jesus for future generations as we care for and improve what God has blessed us with for that purpose.

Five decades is no small thing! Most small businesses that start up fail within the first year or so! Being around for fifty years also means that we have outlasted the US space program, the Choco Taco, the Sony Walkman, and Blockbuster Video, to name a few. Sadly, during that same time, many congregations within our church body that operated schools have had to close their doors. By God’s grace, not only are we still operating, but in recent years we’re doing so at higher enrollment levels than we’ve seen in the past fifty years! That has allowed for more and more students to continue to get to see Jesus here. And what does that mean?

Jesus explained to Philip and Andrew what people looking for him would see. He used an agricultural picture to point to his death and why it was necessary. “Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (v.23-24). Some of you know what it’s like to have a fruit true that is so productive that it grows more fruit than you can even give away each season. It’s easy to forget how that tree started out. Just like every other plant, it was at one time just a seed. And if that seed had never been planted, it would never have become the tree that now produces such an abundance of fruit. 

Jesus’ death was necessary. It had to happen to bear a much more valuable kind of fruit. He had to die and be buried so that through his saving work others would be saved and blessed. Still today God is producing much fruit through that seed, through Jesus. That fruit continues to be produced where Christians gather around the Word of God and invite others to do so, so that through the Word others are brought to faith. This happens through the ministries that congregations carry out, including those with a school like ours. 

And those blessings come to those who embrace what Jesus said next. “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (v.25-26). But losing one’s life and following Jesus are not easy! Not in a world that encourages the exact opposite: love this life here and now and don’t bother with anything else. So we look for support and encouragement to help us along the way. And for fifty years, students and families have found that support and encouragement in our school to keep focused on the real target: eternal life. 

That help is needed. It is needed because we look around at the world today and we are troubled. Although Jesus himself asserted that wars and rumors of war would continue until his return, it still seems shocking that we see the astounding level of violence in the world between nations and among civilized societies. People lack both self-respect and respect for others. People brazenly walk in and out of stores grabbing whatever they like and stealing it in broad daylight. Attorneys promote divorce on billboards. We’ve contributed billions and billions of dollars to the pornography industry and wonder why sex trafficking is such an issue. We’re religiously passionate about politics while indifferent toward religion. And we aren’t only troubled because the world is this way, but also because we’re a part of the problem. We contribute to the very things that trouble us about the world. Our sin factors right into all the trouble we see, and so we are troubled all the more by our own role in it!

Does it help to know that you have a Savior who can relate to feeling troubled? “Now my heart is troubled…” (v.27). Jesus knows how you feel! Admittedly, the intensity of trouble/turmoil facing Jesus was on a level we’ll never come close to experiencing, but that makes us both more appreciative of him and connected to him. He has experienced any level of trouble we’ve faced – and then some! And because he faced the impending trouble of death by crucifixion and desertion by his Father, we’ll never have to process that crushing level of anxiety! Heart wrenching as it was, he knew he had to face it. “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour” (v.27). 

What compels someone to face that trouble and follow through with it? His love for and commitment to you. “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (v.31-32). Jesus was intent on destroying the enemy who pesters and plagues us with his hellish desires. Through the cross, he not only dealt a devastating blow to the devil, but also built the bridge necessary for all of mankind to have access God. Two birds with one stone! By the cross, Christ both destroyed and delivered!

How unselfish of our Savior! We live in a world filled with so many clawing and clamoring to get known, to use this platform or that to put themselves out there and secure a following. We’re used to it. We get friend or follow requests from people we don’t know because they’re trying to get known. And why? For themselves. They may or may not have a talent or skill that enables them to actually produce something good, worthwhile, or valuable to others, but it doesn’t matter. They want to draw people to themselves to suit their own purposes.

Not Jesus. Jesus desired to draw all people to himself not because his delicate ego needed validation, but because condemned souls needed salvation. And he provided it. 

For fifty years, faithful teachers have taken their place in the front of our classrooms declaring that truth. Have all the students who have ever graduated from our school gone on to graduate from prestigious universities? Have they all become hugely successful in their lives, because we churn out nothing but lawyers, engineers, doctors, and physicists with PhDs and other pedigrees? Have we equipped them so well emotionally that they’ll never have to worry about struggling with burdens like anxiety or depression? No. We can’t make such claims. But neither are any of those goals first and foremost why our school has existed for fifty years.

But here’s what every student who has ever graduated has heard and seen: Jesus. And you know what happens when people get to know Jesus? They grow. And others get to know Jesus through them. I couldn’t say precisely how many families have become a part of our congregation’s ministry directly as a result of one or more of their children having been enrolled in our school, but it’s a significant number. Because that’s what happens when people come to see Jesus. When Jesus changes a heart, he changes the whole life, and when others see the difference he has made in their life, they wish to see Jesus, too. And we show them – in church every Sunday and in our school Monday through Friday. We show people Jesus. It’s why we’re here. It’s what we do. 

A couple of weeks ago we had a videographer on our campus for two and a half days to gather video footage and record interviews to put together a high-quality video showcasing our school. We were looking forward to being able to share the finished product at our Gala. I say “were” because we never got the video. Unfortunately, as the videographer was putting the finishing touches on the video, his hard drive crashed and he lost all of the footage he had captured. It was a huge bummer to not be able to watch the finished product.

But the real reason it was so disheartening was not just because it would have been a snazzy, well-done, professional video. No, the real reason was because it captured our stories about the impact this school has had. It highlighted the difference Jesus makes in the lives of those who are here to see him. Even though there is no video, I did get to talk with the videographer after he had interviewed a number of our parents, and it was clear to him that our school was making a difference. That’s not surprising. That’s what Jesus does. 

And so that is what we’ll continue to do through our church and school for as many years as the Lord allows it. Show Jesus.