David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 5:18-20
As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

I am at the Texas District Convention of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. During a Q&A session with LCMS President, Matthew Harrison, someone asked about plans for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Pres. Harrison answered, with some energy and animation, that there are plans to get Luther’s Catechism online in several languages, that there are several initiatives connected with the Wittenberg Project, and in general also expressed the reality that little substantive thought had been given to date toward this important anniversary in 2017.

Fair enough; with all the energy required for the restructuring of Synod, and the current press of District Conventions across the nation, I understand that not much substantive thought may yet have been given to this event. Furthermore, the publication of Luther’s Small Catechism online in many translations is a good thing. And to have study opportunities in Wittenberg is a good and salutary thing.

I would wish, however, for a level of passion and energy toward already-established goals toward evangelism and church planting that our church body embraced in our National Convention of 2010, and before. The “Ablaze!” initiative had identified two significant and God-sized goals. One goal is to share the Gospel message of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, received through Holy Spirit-inspired faith with 100,000,000 people worldwide. The other goal is that of starting 2000 new churches and revitalizing existing churches for faithful Gospel proclamation.

These God-sized goals express as best as I can imagine the reality of God’s heart for the lost. These goals are the kind that capture my heart. These kinds of goals are those which I would hope and pray could capture the attention of all God’s people in the USA, and around the world. This is not a uniquely Lutheran goal, but it is at the center of the truth we confess: Jesus died for all people, “so that we may be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness” (Luther’s Small Catechism, the Second Article of the Creed).

Pres. Harrison was gracious (as he always is) and seemed to acknowledge that the Ablaze goals are still the goals adopted by Synod. I don’t know if it will make any real difference in the public witness and emphasis of our church body. To that end, I wrote to Pres. Harrison yesterday.

Dear President Harrison,
I hope you received my comment today at the Texas District Convention in the spirit it was given: as my personal expression of encouragement toward a strong forward-looking emphasis on evangelism and mission. Although I like Ablaze, I care less about the name than I do about the goals. To plant and revitalize churches, and to share the Gospel with people whom the Lord would call into his kingdom by the Gospel are very compelling goals. I urge you to make these kinds of goals the most prominent focus of our celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

I would greatly appreciate such an emphasis.

There is also the matter of another anniversary – that of our 37th wedding anniversary on June 21 – personally, this is even more important to me. Our marriage and ministry partnership is a means by which we are seeking to live and serve as disciples of Jesus Christ. We don’t always do that as well as we would wish. But I thank God for the life partner He has given me in Diane. I’m thinking that we may want to plan on some God-sized goal as we celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary in another 3 years!