David Bahn – Reflections

Light from the Word and through the lens

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In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations. David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com. He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991. Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania. David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”

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  • When Good Things Happen

    Proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people.” Jeremiah 31:7 Jesus said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” Mark 5:19 What good thing could you add to this list? The weather during the month…

  • Saved and Healed – Thanks be to God!

    By his bruises we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. 1 Peter 2:24 This is the central reality of all of life: We have an eternally-terminal disease which is called sin. But God, because of his great love for us,has healed and saved us. All this…

  • No Longer Abandoned

    For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. Isaiah 54:7 God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Ephesians 2:4–5 A human being can go 3…

  • When God Whispers

    And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not…

  • Primary Caregiver

    Give generously to your needy brother and do so without a grudging heart. Deuteronomy 15:10 (NIV) If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward. Matthew 10:42 (NIV) Imagine you have a daughter…

  • Thumbprints and Handprints

    The Lord made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. 1 Peter 2:10 Photographers who are serious about their craft will develop a style. Look at a photo by Ansel Adams, and you…

  • The Impetuous Boldness of Faith

    Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark. Psalm 8:2 Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Mark 10:14 Imagine a gathering of a dozen or so people who have been invited to…

  • God’s Care for His Creation

    Out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man. The man gave names to all. Genesis 2: 19,20 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Luke 12: 6…

  • Partial Bondage

    You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great. Leviticus 19:15 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,the Lord of glory. James 2:1 I had never thought of showing partiality or being unjust as a  bondage from which we need to be set free. But the…

  • God’s Protective Presence

    Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2     He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3     He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness     for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,     I will fear…