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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  • Living Under Christ in His Kingdom

    Ezekiel 20:11 I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live. John 14:23 Jesus answered, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” The issue of obeying God’s word is…

  • Jesus and the Lutheran

    Psalm 106:3 (NIV) Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.  John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  For many years, I have leaned heavily on the Good News of Jesus’ love and salvation given as a gift of his grace, received…

  • Evelynne Bahn + May 30, 2016

    Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;     we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are…

  • Thank You Jesus!

    Psalm 74:21 Lord, do not let the downtrodden be put to shame. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Whenever I read some of the more desperate Psalms, I’m not able fully to embrace them. These Psalms express dire need for God’s intervention and help…

  • Two New Good News Questions

    Isaiah 12:4 Make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Mark 16:15 Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”  When I was in college I encountered the “Kennedy Method of Evangelism.” Named after Dr. James Kennedy, this method is…

  • Don’t Cross the Streams!

    Isaiah 10:1–2 (NIV) Woe to those who make unjust laws to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed. 2 Corinthians 6:14 What partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness?  You might be familiar with the movie Ghostbusters, and the line from it in…

  • The Lost Art of Honor

    Leviticus 19:32 (NASB) You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged. Romans 12:10 Outdo one another in showing honor. If we are to honor others we must do the very opposite of our natural (sinful) inclinations: we must put others before ourselves. We must put others’ interests before our own. We must…

  • Today’s Psalm

    Psalm 112:1, 4 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. My mother is in the hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She fell again the other day, injuring her head, and my…

  • Truth, Creation, and Love

    Exodus 23:1 You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. Ephesians 4:25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors. When I was a boy I was truth-challenged. Most often it was because I had done something I should not have done,…

  • Withering Grass and Eternal Words

    Isaiah 40:6,8 All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. It got a phone call last night at 1:19 AM.…