Claimed, gathered and sent

These are some thoughs for the second Sunday of Creation, when I'm focusing on the second lesson. This was sent electronically to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Philippians 2:1-8 2  If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2  make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4  Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6  who, though he was in the form of God,     did not regard equality with God     as something to be exploited, 7  but emptied himself,     taking the form of a slave,     being born in...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches on Sunday, Oct. 23. The text was Luke 18:9-14. At first glance, this is one of the shortest, most straightforward and easy to understand parables of Jesus. It's about two men and prayer. One man is the good guy and the other anything but. The gist of this parable is about how to pray, isn't it?-----or is it?   We don't understand this parable as those of the first century did. Because we know how the parable ends, we assume that the Pharisee must represent the one who put his trust in himself, that he was righteous and the one who despised others. The first century listeners would have had opposite impressions of these two men. Pharisees often prayed, went to the temple and did all the right religious things--so it would seem they must be trusting God, not themselves.    Tax collectors were traitors to their fellow Jews--so it stands to reason that they must be ...

"Our steps are made firm by the Lord , when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand" (Psalm 37:23-24). I could take that verse quite literally yesterday at Rural Lutheran as I assisted with the liturgy. It was one of those days of brain cramps and literal missteps. Part of the misstep issue is due to my height, or should I say lack thereof? I had to have my alb specially made because no one keeps my size (short, but big enough to go around me) on hand. So, the alb has not yet arrived and I am using one I borrowed from the seminary--the shortest one I could find. It still isn't short enough and I have to tuck it and hike it up...well you get the idea. It didn't stay hiked up enough yesterday though. I was carrying the full offering plates (which meant I had two full hands and couldn't grab the the alb to lift it as I ascended the stairs to the altar). I stepped on the bottom of the alb with one foot,...

My personal philosophy of leadership is Jesus-style servanthood. “You must know what you care about…Because you can only be authentic when leading others according to the principles that matter most to you” (Kouzes & Posner, 2002, p. 52). Jesus evidenced the “Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” (Kouzes & Posner, 2002, p. 13) in his leadership as he modeled the way, inspired a shared vision, challenged the process, enabled others to act, and encouraged the heart (Kouzes & Posner, p. 13). His impact was dynamic, embodying “Genuine acts of caring [that] uplift the spirits and draw people forward” (Kouzes & Posner, p. 19). The results: a small band multiplied (Matthew 11:28) . “Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world” (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2006, p. 5) meaning “It’s not about you” (Warren, 2002, p. 17). We play but a small part in God’s plan. Leading through dependence upon God is ke...

Jesus exemplified servant leadership, the name being coined from this statement, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26, Today’s New International Version). Lussier and Achua define it as “leadership that transcends self-interest to serve the needs of others, by helping them grow professionally and personally” (Lussier & Achua, 2007, p. 515). The lack of self-interest distinguishes it from transformational leadership (Winston & Patterson, 2005, p. 26). In challenging the process, enabling others to act or encouraging the heart, the only way to be sure of acting as a servant leader is to be in close communion with God, asking ourselves, “Whose approval are we seeking?” This morning in reading 1 Thessalonians 2, I was struck by these few words “approved by God” (1 Thessalonians 2:4, New Revised Standard Version). Paul’s focus was “pleas[ing] God who tests our hearts” (4b) (Gauvin, 2008). It must flow from relationship with God bec...