“Since we’ve added the new staff, it sure seems like the church is growing. (It is!) Worship attendance seems p. (It is!) Dawn and Kristen are doing a great job.”

Those were some of the comments that came out of our Neighborhood Ministry gatherings on Sunday. About 100 members showed up to talk about our ministry at Bethlehem. I was very pleased with that turnout from the different neighborhoods. (And so many of you wore your neighborhood “colors”! Do we call that “church spirit”?) I would call the comments that were shared on Sunday “the view from the pew”.

Once again, we received such helpful feedback from the members. There was an overwhelming approval for the direction we are going with the new staffing. It is clear to many members that the staff additions have brought a new energy to Bethlehem. There is excitement about the new Household and Milestone Ministries. The concept makes sense to folks.

And there are questions and concerns. Some church members are still trying to understand what Natural Church Development is all about. How it is benefiting Bethlehem? Others are seeing the impact of NCD throughout the ministries. There was a lot of concern about our finances. We are not meeting our budget. Will this mean that we might have to cut back on staff next year? That would be such an unfortunate step backwards.

As always, there were many good suggestions. “Can we spruce up ‘The Star’? Can we use a better format?... The yellow announcement insert in the Sunday bulletin is too long. It needs to be edited better…Can we read the gospel together as a congregation?” The council and the staff and the ministries will look at all the suggestions. Some will be acted on, some won’t. But they all will be looked at and discussed. Your input is invaluable. And it will make a difference is this years and next year’s ministry.

Thank you for “the view from the pew”.

Blessings, Pastor Mark

 

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Reformation Questions

(This will be the last article in this series for 2008. Thanks for your questions from last Reformation Sunday. We hope to do something a little different this year.)

How do pastors incorporate the three uses of the Law into their preaching?

I will start by answering this question with a question. Does anyone know what the “three uses of the Law” are?

Lutherans have understood that “the Law” has three particular uses:

1. First there is the civil use of the law. Here the law is used to maintain order and discipline in our communities. We need traffic laws to maintain order on the roads, etc.
2. The second use of the law is to drive us to Christ. For Christians, this is the most important use of the law. The law shows us that we will always fall short of what God expects of us.
3. How many times a day do we break one of the Ten Commandments? (Taking the Lord’s name in vain, coveting, worshiping other gods, etc.) The law shows us how much we need Jesus and his saving cross.
4. Some folks disagree whether we need this third use of the law. Some would say that after one becomes a Christian they still need the law. Here it is used to establish a Christian pat tern of life. I believe in Jesus and now I will try to follow his commands. Some would say that is still the first use of the law.

So…does any of that make sense? Do you care?

I hope so. Paul talks a lot about Law and Gospel. The two go together. The law shows us our sinfulness and our need for Jesus. It reminds us, often painfully, that we can’t save ourselves. Like Paul says, I keep on doing those things that I know I shouldn’t. I just can’t seem to help myself.

As a pastor, I try to include that message of Law and Gospel in my sermons and teachings. But I am careful in how I use the Law. It is very easy to beat people up with it. Churches are very good at that. They love to point out other people’s mistakes and sins. Too often, Christians get stereotyped as hateful and judgmental. That’s because people only hear us preaching the law.

I would rather preach grace. We can never get enough of that. People need to be told that God loves them unconditionally. I may start with the Law, but I will always try to finish with grace and lots of it.

Pastor Peterson