MNO Synod Bishop's Message

Dave Daubert, in his book, Living Lutheran, suggests there are three keys
to finding a Lutheran voice for our work together as a body of Christ in the
world today- Pray; Study scripture; dialogue.

“Lutherans believe that reading scripture shapes our faith and helps our eyes
to see and our ears to hear what God continues to say and do in our world.
In other words, scripture gives us the lens to what God is doing.”

“Lutherans believe that prayer connects us with the living God. In prayer we
speak to God but we also have to listen to what God is saying to us. Prayer
is time in which we lift issues and struggles to God and then provide time to
listen and reflect on what God is staying to us.” Some of this is basic
confirmation teaching.

Lutherans gather as the faithful in worship. The priesthood of all believers, the community gathered, is to listen to God and is “charged with the task of regularly speaking to God on behalf of others but also with speaking to others on behalf of God”. It is through this gathering together that we listen and speak to one another so that we can discern what God is saying to all of us as church.

When the MNO Synod gathered in convention this past April we did more than business and pleasure. We spent time together in prayer, scripture and dialogue. Our facilitator, Kelly Fryer, lead us through an intentional time of praying together, reading scripture and then engaging each other in dialogue. It was a refreshing time of discernment of God’s mission in the world but it shouldn’t stop at the convention site. We were charged with using these practices in our congregations, to use them in all decision making and planning as congregations.

It is a big challenge for the church- to be an instrument of God in the world- to be used by God to bring about God’s dream of a world of righteousness, peace, justice and love. And we could get caught up in the anxiety about this challenge. We could talk about it- create task forces to talk about it. We could blame other levels of our denomination for the state of the church- national for “allowing conversations and votes” on same gender blessings; synod for using its resources to take pastors out of congregations and put them in synod office as consultants and facilitators; or congregations using resources to renovate or maintain buildings.

There are challenges facing the unity of the church today. But, rather than spending time isolating ourselves, writing unhelpful letters and reading “interpretations” of what people think the church, the ELCIC and the bishops are thinking and saying, I hope we are spending intentional time together in our communities doing what we Lutherans do best- asking the questions, and living out our faith. “What does this mean?” “What is God saying to the church in this time and place?” “How should we live out our faith?” I hope that this sort of dialogue is happening within community, and not just in the pursuit of personal agendas.

In this challenging context, I believe we need to go back to our Lutheran roots. Just as God used Martin Luther to transform the world in the 16th century, I believe God is calling the priesthood of all believers to transform the world in the 21st century through intentional prayer, reading of scripture and dialogue TOGETHER to discern God’s mission for the world and for the church.

I believe God has placed faith in us to accomplish this- but do you believe it?
Do you believe in God’s grace, God’s ability to use you to make a difference in the world, to make God’s dream of a world of righteousness, peace, justice and love? Can you imagine what a congregation praying together, reading scripture together and engaged in dialogue can do? Can you imagine the changes that could take place in our world, when we go to God’s word for insight and direction and hope?

Beginning in September, I hope you will join me on the Bishop’s blog to engage in dialogue, prayer and scripture as we look at the weekly lessons together.

To view Bishop Elaine's blog click on the link below:
mnosynod.wordpress.com