Fill… Spill… Thrill…

Pastor Martin Russell
Assistant to the Bishop
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Writing on this Inauguration Day, I am grateful to live in a nation where there is a peaceful transition of power, decided at the ballot box. A presidential inauguration is a time to offer thanks to God for the gift of liberty and the right to choose our leaders. Let us pray that God will bless our new president and Congress with the gifts of wisdom, discernment and honesty, so that they may lead us faithfully in justice and peace, according to God’s will.

It is certainly an intriguing time to be the Church. At the inauguration, evangelical pastor Rick Warren offered the prayer of invocation. The choice of Pastor Warren came as a surprise to many. Advocates of gay and lesbian rights marched outside his Saddleback Church in California in protest. Because of his selection, however, there has been productive dialogue between him and those concerned about his beliefs. Our ELCA is in the midst of its own dialogue and study on human sexuality. In February, the proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality and the Report on Rostering Recommendations will be released.

Not only in the Nebraska Synod, but congregations of all denominations worry about the impact of the economy on their ministry spending plans. People find themselves with job cutbacks and decreased savings accounts. Some even lose their homes. The bad economy has led to prolonged discussion at congregation council meetings and annual meetings. Like other institutions, the Church is affected by the economic climate and should be realistic, even as it moves forward with faith and trust in God’s good providence.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, none of us can read or hear this news and not be affected. Some respond passively because much of what is happening in the Church today does not seem to directly affect them. Others tend to be unsettled by the news. They fear for the future of the Church and its role in our culture and society. I am reminded that the church has been here before, dealing with difficult choices.

From the beginning the Church has struggled with how it should live in a culture that was often hostile to what the Church valued as a result of its faith in Jesus Christ. Whether Gentiles could be members of the Church, eating food offered to idols, the role of women in the Church, proper sexual behavior, and whether a Christian be a member of the Roman army were all issues faced by the early Church. They resulted from the Church’s attempt to be faithful in those situations where faith intersected with the world. From what I read in the Bible, those issues generated as much emotion and anxiety back then as issues we face today.

Martin Luther reminds us that faith always needs secular life, just as secular life in turn always needs faith. Believing is not something we do alongside our lives in the world but rather in it – in each and every act of living. That being the case, we in the Church should expect to have to make difficult decisions about what it means to be faithful. We also should anticipate the emotional and spiritual turmoil that often accompanies such decisions.

It seems to me that as we respond to the challenges before us, we are in danger of two things. On the one hand, we are in danger of forgetting that it is not our Church, it is God’s Church. God is the one who called us together as the Body of Christ. He is the one who fills the Church with the Holy Spirit and the power and presence of the Spirit will lead us where God will take us. That does not mean we should abdicate our efforts to lead the Church to do what we think it needs to do. It is to say, however, that such leadership is not simply something we generate from our own wellspring of knowledge. It flows, instead, from the presence of Christ in our midst.

On the other hand, I fear we are in danger of losing hope. So many of the issues we face are difficult and complex. Lives will be affected by the decisions we make and such decisions should never be taken lightly. The overwhelming nature of the challenges we face has the potential to be the seedbed of hopelessness. Yet, if the Church really is God’s then we can be certain that God does not leave us to our own devices as we make difficult decisions. Through faith in God’s presence we will find the hope and courage we need.

It is an intriguing time to be the Church. It is a time to witness to the love of Jesus Christ. It is a time that matters to the world. And, it is a time that matters to God.