tion. Many people have died in the plague, including the old man’s wife. The doctor reflects: “He knew what the old man was thinking as his tears flowed and thought it too; that a loveless world is a dead world, and always there comes an hour when one is weary of prisons, of one’s work and devotion to duty, and all one craves for is a loved face, the warmth and won- der of a human heart.”


It is in these “loved faces,” in the midst of our challenges and crises, that we crave the incarnate presence of the church. In the way of Jesus, the face of our companions across the table is everything.


Here is why denominations still matter and why I love our flawed but beautiful ELCA: in the presence of loved faces of our companions, we look up from the various ground zeros of our lives and ministries and still believe that grace is all around us. 


A Bible study I


n the Gospel of Luke, Jesus preaches from the plain, close to the people. As he preaches, imag- ine his teaching about the reign of God as a stone thrown in the water. “He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples. ... And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God’ ” (6:17-20). After preaching about mission, he put legs on the sermon and lived it. “After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum” (7:1). There Jesus credentialed the teaching with mission that crosses boundaries and engages the most vulnerable: a centurion’s servant, the widow at Nain.


Rerooting in the community I


n Racine, Wis., pastors of all 14 congregations, as well as Bishop


Jeff Barrow and staff and the director for evangelical mission in the Greater Milwaukee Synod, recently met with ELCA church- wide staff. All agreed to begin a “rerooting in the community” mis- sion strategy. At the heart of this grassroots


effort is a process where they will listen: • To neighbors in the community. • To God in Scripture, prayer and witness. • To one another in the household of faith.


This listening process will be guided by training in the commu- nity organizing art of “one on one.”


Jesus repeats his vision for the reign of God and its mission to John’s disciples: “Tell John what you have seen and heard …” (7:22). He describes to them a mission of restoration and reconciliation, where the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.


Then the mission expands, lead- ership expands and the communal servants of the mission grow and are challenged and inspired by the accompaniment of Jesus. “Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bring- ing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities … ” (8:1-2). This is action reflection pedagogy—Jesus is showing them and taking them with him. The circles ripple further outward.


Next, Jesus takes the training


As many partners as possible will be invited to meet together, including Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis.; Lutheran Social Services of Wiscon- sin and Upper Michigan; and ecu- menical partners. At the same time, leadership issues will be addressed and a Racine-based school for lay mis- sional vocations will be developed as called for by the strategy—in Span- ish and English. All of the synods in Wisconsin are working together to develop this lay mission training model.


Additionally, the ELCA has been developing Latino lay leadership schools nationwide. This process will bring wider denominational conver- sations about leadership for mission


right to the discussions in Racine. Leaders agreed to initiate a pro- cess of local buy-in by church coun- cils. There is great hope that this pro- cess, led by their director for evan- gelical mission, Sandy Chrostowski, with coaching from the churchwide office, will be immersed in Scripture, prayer and witness.


This process will be a path to the future for each congregation, a context for building/merger/staffing issues to be brokered, and the place where new mission may be gener- ated. Concrete mission proposals— short and long term—will disclose the shape of Lutheran witness in Racine five, 10, 20 years from now.


Stephen P. Bouman February 2011 25


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