Pastor’s Perch
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
“I love pizza. I love ice cream. I love sunny days. I love autumn.” We throw around the word “love” at almost everything in this world. Unfortunately, this kind of love does not always last. Or sometimes we equate our love to feelings which can become dangerous. Then we love because someone or something makes us feel good. The danger comes when the things we love make us feel good and it overshadows what the Father has done for us.
It becomes easy for us to pick the things in this world that fulfills the craving of our sinful hearts and desires for short term gratification. The danger lurking around the corner will trap us in this mode of short-term gratification in place of the eternal glory of heaven. The devil knows that if we become fixated on the short-term gratification, the love of the Father will no longer be something we want and therefore lose eternal salvation.
But our confidence is not in our love for the Father. Our confidence is in the love the Father has for us. Even when we run after and seek the things of this world, our Father chose to give up his best for us to prove his love. He did not wait until we loved him. He loved us first and sent his Son to die on the cross for all of our sins, including loving things in this world more than him. His love changes our love. The more we deep dive into his love for us through his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, the more we will put him first in our lives. Our hearts will be set to love him more than any person or thing in this world. This is why we need to hear about the Father’s love every day. We need to hear about Jesus constantly. By remaining in the Father’s love, we will love him more than this world or anything in it. Our focus will be on him and his love and on the world to come. In his love, there will be no more sin or death, and we will live with our Father forever and ever!
Dear heavenly Father! Keep me connected to your powerful love. Let me never love anyone or anything more than you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!
A Servant of Christ,
Rev. Patrick Feldhus
Grace’s News
We are offering a Family bible study on familiar Sunday school stories, after worship on Sundays. Our current study is on Exodus.
Our online bible class will continue Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm. We will discuss the topic of Christian freedom.
Our next Jesus Cares program will be on October 9th at 6:30 pm.
The council will meet on 10/5 to discuss the meeting with Pastor Gaertner. This will also be discussed at the Voter’s meeting on 10/26.
The joint Reformation service will be at MLC in New Ulm on Sunday October 26th at 3 pm.
Synod News
WELS schools are back in session!
This is the time of year when schools begin a new year. Parents have been shopping for school supplies and clothes, kids are saying goodbye to summer vacation, and teachers are ready to put their summer preparation to work in the classroom.
This should be a time when all members of our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod pause to reflect on the amazing blessings of our Lutheran schools. Our synod operates one of the largest private school systems in the country, operating 340 early childhood ministries, 276 elementary schools, and 30 area Lutheran high schools. In addition, we are blessed to have two synodical prep schools that prepare students for a lifetime of service in the church, a college of ministry, a seminary, and a Lutheran college that prepares laypeople for Christian vocations. These schools serve nearly 48,000 students.
Our schools are a blessing because of what happens in them. They offer many of the things that public schools offer, but they also provide something that public schools can’t: daily instruction in the truths of God’s Word and classes that are taught from a biblical and Lutheran perspective. Our Lutheran schools certainly do not replace the vital and primary role that parents play in bringing up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord, but they do offer our children years in which the foundation laid in the home is built upon and supplemented. In our schools, children grow in their faith and learn to know their Savior better.
WELS schools are also a blessing because of what they do for the students who eventually graduate from them. They produce young adults who are ready to enter a world in which they will live as children of God, serving him, serving others, and being the salt and light that God intends them to be.
With WELS school enrollments experiencing significant growth over the past few years, we are facing the challenge of a shortage of qualified teachers. That situation is being addressed by a special task force, or “think tank,” comprised of representatives from the WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools, Martin Luther College, area Lutheran high schools, elementary schools, and members of the Conference of Presidents. We ask for God’s blessings on their work.
New long-range strategic plan in place
The delegates to the convention in July adopted a new long-range strategic plan entitled “Christ through us.” This plan outlines the priorities of what we as a synod and as congregations have adopted for the next ten years. This plan was adopted not as a “top-down” directive of what the synod will do and how we will conduct our ministry. Rather, it is an outline of the prayerful priorities and goals we have as we work together to carry out the mission that God has entrusted to us.
The title of the plan, “Christ through us,” emphasizes the focus and center of this plan, which is completely on Christ and on what He has done for us and for a world of sinners. But it also emphasizes the truth that God in His grace has chosen to work through us, His people and His ambassadors. The plan, which you will hear more about in the coming months, has four basic components: culture, congregations, commission, and calling.
• When addressing culture, the plan stresses the importance of developing a culture in our congregations in which all our members recognize that they are Christ’s ambassadors, each with the personal privilege and responsibility of communicating the message of Christ to the people they know. It will guide us as we work to make our congregations places where people are welcomed and participate in the life and work of the congregation.
• When addressing congregations, we will work to engage all members in the mission and ministry of the church. We will provide support and resources for ministry enhancement efforts in congregations. We will work to expand the synod’s gospel outreach through strategic church planting. We will elevate the home as the first mission field and provide sound Lutheran resources in discipleship, worship, outreach, and planning.
• When addressing commission, we will foster international ministry partnerships to expand the gospel’s reach. We will equip a global missionary force, not only by sending WELS missionaries but also by training pastors and evangelists from global sister churches and establishing confessional Lutheran seminaries in key global locations. We will foster robust mission collaboration with church bodies in full doctrinal fellowship with WELS. We will expand multi-language mission efforts and explore mission work in high-risk and unreached areas.
• When addressing calling, we will address the shortage of called workers by carefully expanding pathways into gospel ministry. We will establish innovative recruitment efforts for future called workers. We will maintain the long-term stability of our ministerial education schools. We will adopt a strategy for the professional development of called workers and will support their spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being.
The “Christ through us” plan depends on all of us. We encourage you to read more about the plan at christthroughus.net.
Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder