laboration through digital technology and other means of linking people in conversation and dialogue? It is a challenging time to be the church and do ministry in God’s world. The Spirit sends us into a landscape we often don’t recognize. Our congregations are planted in communities marked by growing cynicism, mistrust and polarization. We live in an era that no longer rec- ognizes the authority of the church. We confess that we don’t always do what God has called us to do, and for that we repent and seek to change. Perhaps we can learn by looking back to our roots and a time when the church also faced a complex, chang- ing environment. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul wrote to a squabbling church: “We are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s
building” (9). Paul saw the church as a living household—growing rela- tionships and giving witness to Jesus Christ in any and every context. He knew God gives the growth in God’s field, God’s building. Today people in our time are eagerly waiting and looking for signs of that growth. In The Essence of the Church:
A Community Created by the Spirit (Baker Books, 2000), Craig Van Gelder recalls how county extension agents planted “demonstration plots” along Iowa roadways. Although farmers were often skeptical about the new seeds, fertilizers and farming techniques, a fine harvest would lead them to accept the innovation. The church, Van Gelder said, is
“God’s demonstration plot in the world .... Its very presence invites the world to watch, listen, examine and
consider accepting God’s reign as a superior way of living.” We want all to experience the open door of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Those who come through our church doors are sent out again to be the church in God’s world. So imagine again:
n How can we enter the mission field in the neighborhood in which God has placed our household of faith? n In this new season, how can we imagine ministries in new ways? God has given our church an iden-
tity that informs what we do together and connects us to others. We get to live into the future the Spirit is open- ing up before us, thanks be to God! Hear God speaking anew that prom- ise from Revelation: “Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut” (3:8). M
through our faith LifeBalance
Reflecting on wellness
SM is an 8-week curriculum
offering a congregational-based approach to wellness education.
To learn more, contact Kelly Fitzgerald at 847/390-1432 or
at
Kelly.Fitzgerald@
LSSI.org.
1001 E. Touhy Avenue, Suite 50 Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
www.LSSI.org
32 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
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