Taylor said this mission and message has never
changed and must not. “Our methods, however … must change constantly,” she added, “because this world does not stand still long enough to allow us to get too comfort- able in our old ways.” “We must reach out in the name of Christ” to those
who are hungry or in fi nancial ruin, to those who seek justice in the way this world is run, to the immigrants who are moving into our areas, to tired congregations that are “down to a handful of 80-year-olds,” she said. Taylor concluded: “We must reach out to congrega-
tions that are deeply embedded in their ruts and either don’t see a way out—or don’t want to. We need to be that earthquake that jars them out of the rut and back to being active members.”
Offering acceptance and forgiveness Attracting folks to hear Christ’s message of acceptance and forgiveness continues to be a challenge for even the most experienced pastors. Arthur Miller, a pastor for 60 years, remembers fi ve
successful building programs during his time in Missouri and Colorado. It was fairly easy to share the message of
faith by canvassing neighborhoods and advertising in newspapers. But today, as a pastor of 2-year-old Joyful Beginnings Lutheran Church, Tyler, Texas, he sees a dras- tically diff erent culture of people’s needs and desires. Young people, he said, aren’t turning to a denomina-
tion for their spiritual needs, though a local cowboy church is popular. He said traditional worship doesn’t attract people
as much as creating an atmosphere of welcome and care. “Today’s pastor must seek ways to be of service to families with children,” he observed. “If the church is to survive, we do need to nourish the older Christians but primarily reach out to the community needs of children. Yes, the work of the church has changed drastically. It is a challenge, and I pray that God will help us share the mes- sage of the gospel ... here in Tyler, Texas.” Miller and others who responded to T e Lutheran’s
‘Meals on Heels’
About half the kids on this summer’s mission trip reg- ularly attend worship, but they all know how to be the church. We carried heavy bags of supplemental food to seniors in Harlem with a program we renamed “Meals on Heels” since we had to walk the food to each house, a good fi ve miles. We were hot and tired, but the recipients’ thanks and smiles told us we had done the work of God’s hands. From left are Andy Tyrrell, Desiree Gomez,
Rachel
Knaack, Nick Albright and Hayley Shaver. Sarah Wilson, St. John Lutheran Church, Hebron, Ill., photographer
reader call continued a theme of spreading love, forgive- ness and grace. Michael Schaeff er, a member of St. John Lutheran Church, Grinnell, Iowa, wrote empathically about the world’s need for the reconciling, renewing news of the gospel. “I don’t think the core mission of the church has really changed: it has always been a mis- sion of love,” he wrote. “However, I think changes in our society mean that we may need to change the way we carry out that mission. T ere is a lot of pain in our world. Christ still has the hope that people are hungering for; it’s just that his church isn’t always reaching those people with Christ’s message of love. “We can’t do this by beating
people over the head with our politics or our self-righteousness; rather, we must fi nd ways of relating to their needs in a spirit of gentleness and compassion. We need to really understand the people we are trying to reach.”
Author bio: Oppermann is a free- lance writer and a mem- ber of All Saints Lutheran Church in Palatine, Ill.
January 2014 25
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