THE LUTHERAN July 2017

N A TIO N A L M A G A ZIN E O F THE L U THE R A N C HU RC H O F A U STRA LIA

JULY 2017

A time to

mourn

or a time to

dance?

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VOL 51 NO6

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8

What does the future hold for our churches?

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

On top of the world

EDITORIAL Editor Lisa McIntosh p 08 8267 7300 m 0409 281 703 e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au Executive Editor Linda Macqueen p 08 8339 5178 e linda.macqueen@lca.org.au

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Daniel Pietsch and Pastor Ben Hentschke had all the necessary supplies for a trek to Mount Everest base camp – including a copy of The Lutheran! They left the magazine at the first village down from base camp for others to read. Braving –20°C with a –20°C wind-chill factor, the pair had photos taken by Pastor Ben’s wife Kelly and their guide, Sagar Paudel. Ben is pastor at Ipswich Queensland, while Daniel is a member at Bethany Lutheran Church and works at Redeemer Lutheran School Nuriootpa, in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.

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The Lutheran informs the members of the LCA about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

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JULY

Special features EDITOR'S

Letter

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Ecclesiastes tells us ‘there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens’, including that there’s ‘a time to be born and a time to die, … a time to tear down and a time to build … a time to mourn and a time to dance’.

If you’re anything like me, reflecting on that opening to Chapter 3 will have you singing along to the hit folk song Turn! Turn!

Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season), which set many of those words to music in the late 1950s and is still well-known today.

But when a loved one dies, a relationship breaks down, a business folds, or a natural disaster hits, is it comforting to know it’s just one of life’s seasons? Or does true comfort come from knowing God’s promises to be with us through every season?

In this issue we share the heartache of a church which has closed its doors for the last time. There are other congregations in our LCA/NZ struggling to survive, too.

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Is the Doomsday Clock really ticking for our church? Is the dial on our cover set at a few minutes to midnight or a few minutes from a new day?

Through God’s word we come to understand that while life is fragile and, ultimately, fleeting, we know who holds all life – and time – in his hands. We know who is in control even when the world around us seems chaotic, confused and catastrophic. Also ‘we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him’ (Romans 8:28). After all, that is the story of Easter.

For while only he knows the future, we can be assured it is not all gloomy. As I write, one of this week’s readings is Romans 5:1–8 – a wonderful message of hope – and even happiness – in the face of suffering. God is in control and he is with us through it all.

This issue, we also are privileged to share the encouraging stories of people involved with the New and Renewing Churches initiative, as missionaries to their own communities. And we have previously featured the reflections of those who are planting churches in our LCA, such as at Pakenham, in Victoria, and Murrumba Downs, in Queensland.

Sent to sow in our own backyards

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Mission focus challenges mindsets

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Closing doors on a community

12

Regulars Heartland

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Going GREYT!

8

Go and Grow

15

Inside story

21

Directory

26

Your voice (Letters)

26

Notices

27

#youngSAVEDfree

28

Reel life

29

Coffee break

30

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For even though seasons will continue to draw to a close, God is not nearly finished with us or among us. He wants to continue to use us – whether our church is growing or shrinking, open or closed – to bring his hope to a forlorn world.

And as Julie Andrews says as Maria in The Sound of Music, ‘Whenever the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window’.

I pray that when passing time seems to bring only despair, we lift our focus to Jesus as that window to new opportunities and new life.

Lisa

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JES U S I S G OD'S LOVE. HE G IVES U S NE W HE ARTS TO L AY AS IDE O UR OL D WAYS, TO B EL IE VE AND FOL LOW HIM, TO L IVE WI T H HIM E VERY DAY.

heartland

REV DR ANDREW PFEIFFER

Assistant Bishop Lutheran Church of Australia

SAVED FOR – NOT BY – G OOD WORKS ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no-one may boast’ (Ephesians 2:8,9 NRSV).

This year of Reformation commemoration offers an opportunity for reflection. What do we, as Lutherans, consider to be our core theological offering to others? And what do we need to learn from others, or rediscover in our own teaching?

The first question seems straightforward: we want to be known for faithfully confessing and proclaiming the gospel.

Ephesians 2 teaches us we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. Article 4 of the Augsburg Confession says:

Salvation by grace through faith is seen by Lutherans as their ‘big-ticket item’.

There are, however, various answers to the second question. One possible answer is to study again what the Lutheran Confessions say about good works. Our focus is on God’s grace alone in Christ – not our works – as the basis of salvation. That focus we need to sustain.

However, is it possible we sometimes forget what the Confessions teach about the place of good works in Christian life?

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‘… faith should yield good fruit and good works and that a person must do good works as God has commanded for God’s sake but not place trust in them as if thereby to earn grace before God’ (Kolb Wengert, 40, see also article 20, ‘Faith and Good Works', the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, and the Formula of Concord, article 4, especially paragraph seven).

St Paul says that we are created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS, which God has prepared ...

‘Human beings cannot be justified before God by their own powers, merits, or works. But they are justified as a gift on account of Christ through faith when they believe that they are received into grace and that their sins are forgiven on account of Christ, who by his death made satisfaction for our sins’ (Kolb/Wengert, The Book of Concord, p 39–40).

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St Paul says that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared for us already (Ephesians 2:10). The Augsburg Confession says,

Good works are inevitable when a person is in Christ.

Vine branches need the life-giving sap of the vine to produce fruit (John 15:4). The life of the true vine, Christ, nourishes Christians for their life of faith. Christ remains in us as we live in our baptism; as we are forgiven; as we hear and receive faithful preaching; as we read, study and meditate on God’s word; as we receive the true body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

One challenge for Christians is to keep faith and works in their proper place. We are not saved by our works, but by the work of the triune God for us.

However, we are saved for works which God has prepared beforehand.

So as baptised children of God we pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace that has saved us. Alert us to our callings and to the works you have prepared for us to do. Help us faithfully to serve you and other people; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rev Dr Andrew Pfeiffer was Acting Bishop of the LCA during Bishop John Henderson’s leave last month.

SENT TO SOW in our own backyards A missional communi ty is a team of people from a congregat ion which works among i ts local communi ty and social net works to sow the gospel, reap the harvest and engage new converts in the ini t ial stages of discipleship. There are approximately 80 missional communi t ies in around 40 LCA congregat ions from across Aust ralia and New Zealand.

This is the story of just one of those communi t ies.

by ANDREAS MAYER None of us felt like an evangelist when we started.

But after 10 months of being part of a missional community – also known as a 'Love Life Community' – we’re starting to see its fruits. This is both in our own faith and understanding of Jesus and in the lives of the friends and colleagues God is connecting to us.

The basic idea of a missional community is simple.

Instead of everyone in a congregation trying to serve in ministry and do a little evangelism on the side, one or more teams of between three and eight people are intentionally released from serving in other areas to focus their energies on local mission.

This means having time to meaningfully connect with individuals, not run programs. While doing so, the team members continue to worship with and be pastorally supported by their congregation.

As people come to faith, the missional community connects them into the mother church for ongoing discipleship. All of this is done with faith that our gracious God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is already at work in the lives of not-yet-believers, drawing them to himself, and that our role as a missional community is to prayerfully discern how God is at work and where we can join in.

In our case, our congregation – Immanuel Lutheran Church, Woden Valley, in Canberra – is one of the ‘Sending Churches’ in the LCA, supported and trained

by Church Planting Mentor and Mission Facilitator Dean Eaton.

As Dean trained us in evangelism and local mission, some of us were challenged by God (and our pastor) to step out of our comfort zone serving in church and be part of a missional community. Our congregation now has three missional communities representing three different age demographics.

It’s now been 10 months since we took up that challenge and, while God hasn’t worked through us in quite the ways we were expecting, we have grown in recognising the prompts of the Spirit and being faithful in following them.

So what does a typical month look like for us as a missional community?

During the working week

We’re learning to intentionally include not-yet-believers in what we’d be doing already. We might catch up with friends at the markets each Saturday, or invite a couple of people over for dinner or board games, again aiming to build the connection and taking the opportunities God provides to talk more about him.

We don’t try to artificially push these situations towards God, but we look for what he is doing in them and where he prompts the conversation. We also go along to a monthly board games session at the local library, as a way to connect with people outside our work – or in a ‘third space’ – who have a shared interest.

Once a month or so we go on a prayer walk around our local community – letting the people and places we see shape our prayers.

One of t he most excit ing t hings … was really start ing to understand t hat SERVING in local mission is about being a part of what God is doing, rat her t han t rying to force t hings to happen.

We work in our normal jobs, open to opportunities for conversation that come up throughout the day.

Sometimes talking about our weekend we get to share a lesson from the sermon on Sunday and discuss that briefly; another time a conversation with a nominally Catholic colleague will turn into a discussion of baptismal anniversaries and what baptism means. Often, the conversations won’t go anywhere near God, but it’s a chance to build a deeper connection and get to know the person more as a friend.

There are a couple of people we’re intentionally trying to connect with and with whom we will catch up weekly for lunch. In a month we might have two lunches where we discuss life, work and shared interests, one where the conversation briefly turns to God before moving on, and one where a throw-away mention of the Holy Spirit or asking the question, ‘What’s wrong with the world and how would you fix it?’ turns into a half-hour discussion of church and sin and faith.

One of the missional communities from Immanuel meets for a weekly debrief. From left to right, Aiden, Andreas, Jacob and Kate

On evenings and weekends

Debrief time Each Sunday morning before church we meet up at a local coffee shop to debrief about how our week is going.

We bounce around ideas about the next steps to suggest to the people we’re connecting with to help them see God. We also spend some time dwelling in the word, and pray for one another and those we’re trying to reach.

Every six to eight weeks we meet with our pastor to share with him how we are going and to get his support and insight.

So, all in all, a typical month for us probably doesn’t look that different from a typical month for you. We’re just being intentional in connecting with people and taking the opportunities God provides to share about him in the activities we’re already doing, and meeting up each week to share how we’re going and encourage each other in this.

The past 10 months have been a slow journey of discovery for us, both in growing to understand more what we are doing and growing to discern how God is at work.

One of the most exciting things, seven months in, was really starting to understand that serving in local mission is about being a part of what God is doing, rather than trying to force things to happen ourselves.

This has freed us up to not be worried about whether we’re doing enough, and instead to be open to God using us when and where he chooses.

We’ve also learned the importance of recognising where people are at on their journey to God and offering them stepping stones to step closer to God, rather than just seeing evangelism as presenting the gospel to people. It’s about encouraging people into relationship with Jesus, not simply presenting them with truth. For those ready to investigate, a gospel presentation is helpful. But for those further away from God, it’s too much too soon.

Below: Two of Immanuel’s missional communities get together at the church for prayer and mutual encouragement.

Dean Eaton’s book, SENT: Seeking the Orphans of God, has been really helpful in giving guidance and practical examples in this. Finally, we’ve seen that evangelism is really just sharing Jesus – not only telling people about him, but seeking to live him out to our friends and colleagues too.

Bottom: Playing a board game with some of the people Andreas’s missional community is connecting with

We still don’t feel much like evangelists – we still feel more like a bunch of ordinary Christians trying to muddle through and hoping God will use us.

Thank God that he has a long history of using ordinary people to grow his kingdom. Perhaps he’s challenging you and some friends to form a missional community, too …

Andreas Mayer is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Woden Valley, in Canberra, along with his fellow team members Jacob, Kate and Aiden.

For more information and resources for local mission, go to http://www.lca.org.au/sent – including the free PDF book SENT: Seeking the Orphans of God. You can also buy a softcover copy of the book through Openbook Howden and Amazon.

What is SENT: Seeking the Orphans of God? •

The result of two years of ‘road testing’ with church communities, SENT is a set of evangelism resources, including a book, videos and promotional tools.

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The book not only describes how to form missional communities and the people within them, but also describes how a missional community does relational evangelism together.

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It provides small group Bible studies and activities, introduced through online video interviews with experienced evangelists. The activities help encourage discussion and decision-making on how to approach the task of relational evangelism among family and friends.

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There are two supplementary bonus resources included in the book. The first is the eight-week small group Bible study RENEW Love Life Communities. This is designed to enable the formation of a team within a congregation or church planting team to engage in relational evangelism. The second is RENEW Missional Leadership, a series of 10 devotions for church leaders. These are designed to help congregations develop evangelists and facilitate training and support for the church to reap the harvest.

What they say about SENT

‘ SENT Seeking t he Orphans of God and t he accompanying Love Life Communit y st udies are qui te possibly t he spark t hat could bring your church alive.' Dr Andrew Menzies, Principal Stirling Theological College - University of Divinity ‘T his book … will help you cul t ivate an inclusive loving communi t y t hat invi tes all to live into t he divine dance of t he Fat her, Son and Spiri t.’ J.R. Woodward, National director, V3 Church Planting The Lutheran JULY 2017

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I n Goi ng GREYT! we feat ure stories o f some o f our ‘more experienced’ people wi t hi n t he LCA , who have be en called to make a posi t ive cont ribu t ion i n t heir ret irement. We pray t heir examples o f service will be an i nspirat ion and encouragement to us all as we look to be Christ ’s hands and fe et wherever we are, wi t h whatever gif ts and oppor t uni t ies we’ve be en given.

Wit h God, are

by HELEN BER INGEN The beguiling warmth and swaying palms of the tropical north paints a picture of paradise, God’s own country. But amidst this serenity are communities which face the same societal challenges as in southern climes, people simply in need of love and support.

And just as God has called us all to shine his light in the world, he has placed a veritable lighthouse of his love in one little congregation in Queensland’s northern outpost of Townsville.

For the past 13 years, Townsville retiree Ann Hudson, 64, has prayed with and ministered to hundreds of local individuals and families as a volunteer with the Family Support Ministry (FSM) of St Paul’s Lutheran Church.

Practical help is combined with a friendly face and a quiet prayer over a cuppa at the suburban Mysterton centre, in the heart of the 200,000-strong city.

‘It has been an amazing blessing to me! So much joy and fun in the things I am privileged to be part of, a sense of purpose and joy at being able to tell others of God’s amazing love for us all’, Ann says.

At the clothes exchange, it is about so much more than the well-arranged racks of clothing and accessories.

‘There is also a need for people to be able to meet with others and to encourage and support each other. This is especially so for young mums, who just need to be able to talk with other adults for a while and have the chance to

The Lutheran JULY 2017

‘Some people come in who are struggling with financial, family, or other worrying issues. We have no professional advice to offer but, by God’s grace, we can listen and offer to pray for them if they would like us to.

‘Through the clothes exchange there is the opportunity for us to pass on to others some of what we have been blessed to receive. There is a need for everyone to feel that they are loved and cared for. I know that I am just so privileged to be able to have this opportunity to share God’s love with others who come in, and I am blessed by their words of encouragement, wisdom and insight.’

‘We do nothing in our own STRENGTH, but with him all things are POSSIBLE.’

The ministry includes a clothing exchange, weekly morning teas, baby baskets, meal bank and, most importantly, a prayer ministry, which aims to help people who may be disconnected from family, or who are lonely or in need.

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see that they are not alone – to know that others are facing similar challenges’, Ann says.

The intergenerational mingling of FSM brings many joys for the mother of two and grandmother of four, who has been married to Allan for almost 44 years.

Ann, who was born in Clermont, in Queensland’s central highlands, says the centre provides a place where young and old are able to meet in a safe, non-threatening environment.

‘There is no pressure to spend money or be anything other than who God made them to be – themselves’, she says. ‘Some young mums have actually told us that they tell their friends to meet them at the clothes exchange for a coffee! How wonderful is that? Praise God that they feel so comfortable there!’

Ann, a former preschool teacher aide, cleaner and stay-athome mum, has lived in Townsville since the age of 11.

d Allan, has been tured with husban Ann Hudson, pic Church’s Family n Paul’s Luthera St th wi r tee lun 13 years. a vo in Townsville for Suppor t Ministry

Family Suppor t Ministry volu and Jackie ar nteer helpers e part of the Lola team which se families and rves local individuals th rough the St Paul’s centre

‘It is a humbling experience having others share some of their heartaches and joys with me’, she says.

‘I believe that God, in his love, has placed each of these areas of ministry on my heart. (He has) used the gentle encouragement of some wonderful, committed people to nudge me into the areas where I was too timid to venture, except with the reassurance that we do nothing in our own strength, but with him all things are possible.

‘Because it’s all about God, He is the centre of it all. Without him nothing would have meaning or purpose. Any efforts on my part would be futile and amount to nothing. It is only

by God’s grace and love that I am able to do what I do or be where I am.’

Ann is quick to acknowledge the ministry’s team effort involving committee work, financial and material donations, cooking, as well as jobs as diverse as preparing baby baskets for young mothers at Townsville General Hospital, and packaging, delivering and shopping for meal bank supplies which go to needy youth. ‘And last, but not least is Pastor Steve Cronau, who pops in most weeks to say hello to the ladies and is available if someone needs to talk to him’, she says.

And the fuel for this passion to serve? Ann’s favourite Bible verses provide a glimpse: keeping a focus on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1–3) and praying about everything and rejoicing in the Lord (Philippians 4:4–8).

Helen Beringen is a Townsville-based communications advisor who has been richly blessed through a career as a wordsmith. She is inspired by the many GREYT people who serve tirelessly and modestly in our community. She hopes by sharing stories of how God shines his light through them, others will be inspired to share his light in the world.

Know of any other GREYT stories in your local community? Email the editor lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au

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