The Lutheran October 2022 Sneak Preview

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF

Addressing the big issues

EDITORIAL

Editor Lisa McIntosh

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Executive Editor Linda Macqueen

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LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

The Lutheran informs the members of the LCANZ 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 and New Zealand.

Participants in the Grow Ministries 2022 Young Adult Forum enjoyed a session with LCANZ Assistant to the Bishop, Public Theology Nick Schwarz (third from right), during last month’s gathering in Adelaide – and took a look at the coverage of the big social issues in The Lutheran. Among 24 young people from around Australia who took part were, from left, Noah Hahn (SA), Eloise Quinn-Valentine (SA), Guinevere Sellner (WA), Ben Huckel (SA), Stefan Volejnik (Qld), and Georgia Maroske (Vic). Read more about the forum on page 25.

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People like YOU bring love to life

Stephanie Swift

Rockingham Mandurah Lutheran Church WA

Law and society student at the University of Western Australia and works at Kmart

Most treasured Bible text: Romans 8:37–39

‘Neither death nor life … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.’

Christian Hansen

Our Saviour Lutheran Church Rochedale Qld

Civil engineering student at the University of Queensland

Most treasured Bible text: Philippians 3:20,21

‘Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour … the Lord Jesus Christ, who … will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.’

Hayley Simons

Trinity Warrayure Lutheran Church Vic Works in construction as a civil project administrator

Most treasured Bible text: Philippians 4:7

‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

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letter

Growing up in a Christian family, with the influences of regular worship, Sunday school and Lutheran schooling, naturally I was familiar from a young age with the Ten Commandments.

The First Commandment sets the tone. ‘You shall have no other gods.’ It was spelt out even more clearly through Luther’s Small Catechism explanation: ‘What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.’

All the other Commandments flowed from it. If we put God first, if he is the Lord of our lives, we shouldn’t have trouble keeping the other 9/10ths of God’s law.

It sounds simple enough. Don’t put your trust in other ‘gods’, or idols, like those recalcitrant Israelites did. The Golden Calf (Exodus 32, 1 Kings 12) and Baal (Numbers 25, Deuteronomy 4) are just two that spring to mind. Or like those first sinners, Adam and Eve, who were tempted by the prospect of being God.

Of course, in addition to not judging others, we need to be wary of putting our faith in things like money and possessions, success and power, and passions, including sport. And then there are music and movie celebrities and sporting ‘gods’ all vying for our adoration.

But, as Rev Dr Michael Lockwood and Pastor Mick Hauser point out in our theme features, the greatest danger we often face when it comes to breaking the First Commandment is even closer to home: the Idol of the Self.

In God’s eyes it’s not wrong to love ourselves – in fact, we should. But not more than God. And not at the expense of loving and serving our neighbours.

It’s worth remembering that examples of material plenty aren’t the only idolatry traps. Elements of our faith lives can be, too. We can make idols of the saints, the church as an institution, the ordained ministry and even Scripture. The list goes on.

Indeed, most of our idols are good gifts from God. They become a gateway to sin when we rank them above him, and they interfere with our relationship with him. Jesus offers the alternative in Luke 10:27, when he says: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.’

As well as looking at idolatry in this edition, we begin the build-up to February’s in-person sessions of General Synod and, as always, are privileged to share encouraging stories, resources and devotional materials. I hope you’ll be blessed by what you read, as I have been as I’ve prepared these stories for you.

Special features

The Idol of the Self … in our church and our world

The idol factory Ordination on the agenda

The power of the humble lentil

Regulars

Because we bear your name: Bishop Paul’s letter

Dwelling in God’s word

Go and Grow Going GREYT! The inside story Your voice Sudoku Directory Prayer calendar

5 8 12 14 4 10 15 22 24 27 28 29 30

Our cover: iStock.com

3The Lutheran OCTOBER 2022 October Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following pages may contain images of people who have died.

Because we bear your name

‘So, you’re a bishop? Good job! …’

In 2023, three of our LCANZ District Bishops will be handing on the work of bishop to another. In Western Australia, Bishop Mike Fulwood will be concluding his service as bishop. In the South Australia – Northern Territory District, Bishop David Altus will be concluding his service. Finally, in the Lutheran Church of New Zealand, Bishop Mark Whitfield will be concluding his service. In all three cases, these ‘Servants of the Word’ are asking the Lord to guide them as they consider what service they will next undertake in the Lutheran Church.

What does a bishop do? In our church’s constitution and by-laws, both for the LCANZ and its districts, there are extensive guidelines to answer this question.

The repeated words you find there, are that a bishop shall ‘exercise oversight’ with specific reference to doctrine and practice in the church. There are also descriptions of the various administrative responsibilities of a bishop, and this includes the expected list of meetings he must attend.

The opening duty listed for a bishop in our church is significant. It declares that the bishop shall, ‘preach, teach and administer the Sacraments in accord with the Confession of the Church, exercising this ministry in congregations in consultation with the congregation and pastor concerned’. As people of the Lutheran witness to Christ Jesus, we expect our bishops to be busied with our God’s means of grace. We expect our bishops to be preaching and teaching, and administering the sacraments, that they would be active in the mission of God to bring life, salvation and the forgiveness of sin.

In St Paul’s first letter to Timothy, chapter three, we are taught a simple expression about the work of a bishop. In the King James Bible of 1611, verse one of this text reads, ‘This is a true saying, “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work”’. More modern translations read, ‘desires a noble task’. There is a potential hidden danger with that translation ‘noble task’. A church leader ought not suppose that the service of

BISHOP PAUL’S LETTER

REV PAUL SMITH

bishop is somehow elevated above, or more ‘noble’ than the service of any other sisters and brothers in Christ. There is a profound key for us to properly understand the work of a bishop in this very scripture passage. This is something you discover in the two words in the Greek New Testament that are translated as ‘noble task’ or ‘good work’. Those two words appear together in another place in the New Testament.

Matthew 26:6–13 tells the story of the woman who pours expensive ointment on our Lord Jesus when he is in the house of Simon in Bethany. The disciples criticise her, calling her action a waste of money. But our Lord defends the woman and declares that ‘she has performed a “good work” for me’ (Matt 26:10). These are the same two Greek words we find in 1 Timothy 3.

A bishop serves his Lord. This is the good work. Like the woman at Bethany, the bishop is focused on the revelation that our Lord Jesus is the promised Messiah. The story of the woman in Bethany occurs just before the crucifixion of our Lord.

A bishop of the church is busied with preaching Christ and him crucified, for the salvation of the world.

So please pray for our three districts of Western Australia, South Australia – Northern Territory and the LCNZ, as they ask the Lord to provide them with a man to undertake the ‘good work’ of serving as District Bishop from 2023. Please also pray for the pastors who are nominated for this role, that they would know how to best offer their gifts in service to their Lord in the cause of the gospel, listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd. Finally, please ask for the Lord’s blessing on our bishops who are continuing in 2023: Bishop Robert Bartholomaeus, Bishop Lester Priebbenow, Bishop Mark Vainikka and Assistant Bishop Neville Otto.

Bishop? Good job!

In Christ, Paul

Lord Jesus, we belong to you, you live in us, we live in you; we live and work for you –because we bear your name

AS PEOPLE OF THE LUTHERAN WITNESS TO CHRIST JESUS, WE EXPECT OUR BISHOPS TO BE BUSIED WITH OUR GOD’S MEANS OF GRACE.

Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand

One bite isn'tenough, is