One week after announcing call

I wrote last week about receiving a call. When a pastor or other called worker receives a call to serve another congregation, it is a difficult or trying time. I have to say, it has been that way for me and Penny this last week. It was Holy Week, a blessed time. That is a week when we focus on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. For a pastor and his family, it guides the entire week. No matter what he does, the pastor has one more service to prepare, one more sermon to write. At no time does he really have time to relax. You finish one, you start the next one. There is no time to relax.

Then throw into that mix the call to another congregation and the week becomes chaotic. Penny and I tried to stay focused on Holy Week but it was difficult. Was this the last time we would celebrate Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday with the folks at St. Paul's? We didn't know. The Lord hasn't shown us an answer yet. But it sat in our minds. We talked about it. We prayed about it. And we pushed through the week.

Ministry. What ministry does the Lord want to use me in at this time. The ministry here at St. Paul's is still alive and well. There is Word and Sacrament ministry taking place. What you need to understand is that the focus of the pastoral ministry is Word and Sacrament ministry. Taking the Word into the lives of the members. Sharing the gifts of Baptism and Lord's Supper with the folks. No matter what else takes place, that MUST take place. Without Word and Sacrament ministry, there is no church. Where is the Christian Church to be found? It is found where the Gospel is preached in its purity and the Sacraments are rightly administered according to the Word of God. Everything else comes from Word and Sacrament.

As I prayerfully consider the calls I have (to St. Paul's and to Immanuel), I am asking the Lord to give clarity. Clarity of vision for me as pastor. Clarity of vision for St. Paul's. Clarity of vision for Immanuel. And then, how do the pieces fit together? How does He want to use these different pieces to reach folks with the message of life and hope.

What does that Word and Sacrament ministry look like here at St. Paul's? Does it entail more Bible study? Does it continue to focus in the 3 services each week? Does it mean that we will continue to support the Christian Day School? Does it mean that we will be able to grow our Daycare? How do all those pieces fit together? How does the Lord want us to move forward in the Word and Sacrament ministry?

Added to this equation is the struggle that we are facing at St. Paul's. How do we fund the work that we are doing here in Troy? The Board of Stewardship and Finance are actively working, working hard, to try to figure out this puzzle. How do we take the dollars that we have, and distribute them through the various arms of the congregation? And when there is not enough money to go around, what do you need to cut back on? How do you continue to move forward with the work of the congregation when the funding is extremely tight? Hard questions. Questions that play into the discussion of Word and Sacrament ministry of St. Paul's. What is the answer? That hasn't been shown us yet.

At the end of this week, Penny and I are going to visit the congregation in Lindenwood, IL to see what Word and Sacrament ministry they have in their congregation. At that time, we will be asking hard questions of them as to what they see the congregation doing and how we fit into that picture.

Through this all, we continue to pray for clarity. Perhaps this blog hasn't given clarity. That is because nothing is clear in my mind at this time. Please keep us in your prayers. Pray that the Lord's will shall be done. Pray that He will give guidance to us. Pray that He will show all of us the direction that He wants us to move at this time.

Nope. No answers yet. Nothing. Nada. Still praying.