Fill… Spill… Thrill…

Pastor Martin Russell
Assistant to the Bishop
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

An English author once observed “Death was Nature’s way of telling you to slow down.” One could easily say “Lent is the Church’s way of telling you to slow down.” This first Sunday in Lent we slow down to encounter the temptations faced by Jesus in Luke’s gospel. I am indebted to Richard Rohr (Radical Grace: Daily Meditations) for the ways in which he reminds me that all of us face the same three temptations as Jesus did.

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Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

It’s another busy week. (Aren’t they all?) And although it can be a budget-buster, we’ll probably go out to grab a quick bite to eat tonight before our kids’ evening activities begin. Sometimes running into a fast food spot seems like a real necessity, but here’s what I’ve found—eating quickly at various restaurants around town may FILL ME UP, but a meal at home with my family around our table is where I get FED.

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Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Can you see yourself in either of these scenarios?

A high school youth regularly helps with Vacation Bible School. You comment to the young man, “I can see you as an elementary teacher someday!”

A stay-at-home mom capably assists your congregation’s bookkeeper with recording income and expenses. You share with her, “If you ever consider working outside the home, I think you really have the gifts to be an accountant!”

In my opinion, people are usually very good at suggesting career paths to others as we see them exhibit their God-given skills, but here’s what I wonder—do we intentionally point out to others the gifts we see in them for the rostered ministry? I am not so sure that, even within the Church, people with gifts for ministry hear from trusted friends and mentors often enough.

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Jim Petersen
Assistant to the Bishop
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Sometimes life reminds me of the guy standing on the observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York. As he’s looking out over Central Park, someone comes up behind him, grabs him, and tries to throw him over the side. He struggles mightily but his assailant is stronger, so down he goes. As he’s zipping past the 42nd floor, he’s thinking, “Well, it’s going pretty well so far!”

Which illustrates two conflicting absurdities; the reluctance with which we anticipate change and, once it’s underway, the speed with which we adapt to it.

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Pastor Martin Russell
Assistant to the Bishop
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

At the invitation of the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, the Nebraska Synod recently sponsored a special vision trip to the Rukwa region of Tanzania. Rukwa is a relatively remote region of Tanzania that lies to the east of Lake Tanganyika. The two main towns in Rukwa are Mpanda and Sumbawanga. The Rukwa region is also a “mission area” of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania where the Northern Diocese is a leader in mission work.

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Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

There was a song I learned at Girl Scout day camp years ago. We sang it as a round, and the words were, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” Maybe because we sang it in a round—over and over and over—or maybe just because it had a simple message and a sweet tune, I can remember the words and melody like I sang this song just yesterday. Maybe I remember the song because it’s true. It is good to make new friends. It is good to remember old friends. Each has value. Each can add new dimensions to my world.

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Mitch McCartney
Director of Communications & Development
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Back in the day when I served on a church council, I remember the tough discussions we would have around this time of year.

Few things would cause more anxiety than conversation about where the congregation would spend money in its upcoming budget. Our church was typical: we had building expenses that had to be covered, staff obligations that had to be met, requests to fund ministries within our doors that various individuals supported.

There was always this feeling that “there was only so much to go around.” (As if we hadn’t read about feeding of the 5,000 lately.) So when it came to the end the process, there would always be a discussion about whether we could fund mission share to the larger Church at the level we did the year before.

I have a confession to make. I once advocated for cutting mission share from my congregation’s annual budget. At the time, I was a strong advocate for our congregation’s youth ministry and with all of the “brick-and-mortar” items having already been funded, I was worried that every dollar that we spent in mission share, ministry outside of our church doors, would mean one less dollar we would spend on ministry between our church doors.

I was unsuccessful, but not without some support, in making the argument to cut mission share. It’s good that I failed. I was wrong.

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Lisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Images are often the inspiration that I need to begin writing. I see something and it reminds me of a story I’ve heard before. Sometimes what I see has its own, new story that it shares with me and I try to pass it along to others.

Searching for an inspiring image to begin this article on a new stewardship project the Nebraska Synod is launching, I looked to Google Images for a source of inspiration, typing the word, “stewardship” into the search box. More than 6,370,000 images were found on the topic.
There were images of dollar bills peeking out from the pages of the Bible. There were pictures of various types of trees and photos of cupped hands holding a bit of earth and a growing seedling. There were images of church buildings and several pie charts, divided and labeled with how people spend their resources.

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