Gospel-sharing culture

John Malol (left) and Koang Nhial (second from right), both from Moorabbin Dandenong Lutheran Church, Victoria, and Joshua Mao (right), from Queensland Asian Congregation, took a break during last month’s CrossCultural Ministry Conference in Melbourne to check out some news from around the LCANZ with Local Mission Executive Officer Dr Tania Nelson (second from left). You can read more about the conference in The inside story on page 27.

People like YOU bring love to life

Sharon Ghalayini

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Ringwood Vic

Manager of Good Shepherd Retirement Village Ringwood Vic

Most treasured Bible text: Numbers 6:24–26

‘The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.’

Russell Briese

St Andrew’s Lutheran Church Brisbane Qld

Director Chaplaincy & Ministry development Lutheran Services Qld

Most treasured Bible text: Acts 9:15

‘The Lord said to Ananias (about Paul), “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel”.’

Rosslyn May

Lobethal Lutheran Church SA

Manager of Valley of Praise Retirement Village Lobethal SA

Most treasured Bible text: Luke 6:31

‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’

Let the light of someone you know shine through their photo being featured in The Lutheran and LCA Facebook. With their permission, send us a good quality photo, their name and details (congregation, occupation and most treasured text) and your contact details.

Most long-time members of a church probably know what it’s like to be without a pastor to lead and serve alongside them for a time. Large or small, many congregations experience pastoral vacancies, even for short periods.

It can be a testing time, as lay people take on extra volunteer roles in the provision of worship services and pastoral care, and any staff often have extra duties added to their workload.

Church attendances often decline during a vacancy, too, as can the morale of the faith community, so the pool of willing helpers may seem to run dry. It can even be a cause for grief or despair for those congregations whose calls to prospective pastors are declined again and again, and for those whose financial situation means they can’t afford an ordained minister.

And with an ageing pastorate reflecting the demographics of our LCANZ membership, the level of pastoral vacancies in our churches, schools and aged-care services is on the rise.

But, as the stories we are privileged to share in these pages suggest and, as my own experience of times without a pastor has confirmed, this shift in church worker supply levels is no reason to throw in the towel. I believe that, with Jesus as our chief shepherd and guide, we can be a creative and resilient lot. The LCANZ, its districts and parishes are working together to find different and complementary ways of ‘doing’ ministry.

I am often heartened to hear how God’s people are using their gifts to further his kingdom, whether they are lay or ordained. And I’ve witnessed the way some people can blossom in their service once given the encouragement, opportunity and responsibility.

The expressions we carry as we face this changing landscape come back to trusting God’s core promises. As The Living Bible translates Matthew 28:20: ‘“And be sure of this – that I am with you always, even to the end of the world”.’ And in Psalm 34:10b, we’re reminded that ‘those who seek the Lord lack no good thing’.

God will give us what – and who – we need. Assisted by resources, training and support from our wider church family, he will equip us for his co-mission. Then, when we do have the gift of an ordained pastor serving with us, we can avoid the danger of reverting to sitting back and letting him do everything.

Besides our themed content, as always, your churchwide magazine also includes faith-life resources and news of what’s been happening around the church.

And, as a further bonus for our print subscribers, you’ll find inside Australian Lutheran College’s annual Saints Alive publication. Digital subscribers can access the same content on ALC’s website at www.alc.edu.au/connect/publications/saints-alive

Our cover: iStock.com.

Design by Elysia McEwen

May God bless your reading, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following pages may contain images of people who have died.