A Lutheran pastor shares his experiences and thoughts with his flock, family, and friends.
Every night at bedtime the kids get to pick a song to sing. Several nights ago Andrew picked a random hymn from the hymnal, “Our Father, Who from Heaven Above” (CW 410), Luther’s hymn on the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t fight him on it.
But since Hannah can read well enough to sing hymns that she hasn’t seen before, I really enjoyed singing several stanzas of this hymn with her.
Since school has been in session for over a month now, I've been thinking quite a bit about Lutheran schools in general and ours in particular. I've been thinking about the strengths of our schools (as opposed to public schools as well as to other Christian or private schools). I've also thought about the relationship between our churches and our schools.
I could go on and on about these two topics, but let me just share some observations from this title page of on of the books on my shelf. It's from a music book (copyright 1894) that I got from my great-uncle George after he died.
If you can't read German or Fraktur script, the title page explains that the book is a mixed collection of songs, sacred and secular, German and English, in various parts. But then it states the book's intended use: "for our schools."
Observation #1: Our schools are a part of our churches. The mission of our schools flow from the mission of our churches. That is reason for supporting them.
Observation #2: Lutherans have been at this for a long time. Yes, things have changed over the years. But Lutherans (all the way back to Luther himself) have always seen Christian education as a key part of our work.
Observation #3: Music has an invaluable place in our Lutheran schools. It has a place in education because it's a good teacher. It has a place in Christian education because it proclaims the gospel to our students and it gives our students the opportunity to proclaim the gospel to others at worship. And then it also prepares them for a lifetime of gospel proclamation through music—for themselves and for others in corporate worship.
Regarding this last observation, I am very excited to use a new resource video that was recently published called Children Making Music. I hope that things like this go a long way to building interest in children and music in general. But I believe that is a step in the right direction to help build awareness of the role music plays in the proclamation of the gospel.
Like I said, I could go on and on about these things. But it is a topic that is dear to my heart and a big part of my current role.
Yesterday at Trinity we observed the minor festival named for the tax collector-turned apostle Matthew. Since it fell on a Sunday this year and since it is year A in the three year lectionary series (and I've been preaching on the gospels), it seemed good to take this opportunity. It was a little refreshing to switch to red paraments during this long green season. But it was especially interesting to think a little about Matthew's perspective in writing a Gospel account. We don't hear really anything else about Matthew except that he was a tax collector (something Matthew always makes sure to point out). In recent weeks we've seen God's generosity in the parable of the workers in the vineyard, God's complete forgiveness in the parable of the unforgiving servant, God's concern for any one sinner who goes astray in Mt 18. I think studying the call of Matthew helps explain why Matthew would write these things. Jesus had shown this same concern, forgiveness, and extreme generosity to Matthew.
We started school here on Monday, which means that I began catechism classes again this week. On Tuesday, I started with my intro to catechism class. I basically try to impress on the students that our study of the catechism is bigger than them. I tell them about my grandfather, who studied the same catechism before he was confirmed in 1922. I show them some of my old catechisms, the oldest of which is copyrighted 1881. I tell them about how seriously he took that catechism instruction when he and his wife were deciding which church to join after they moved to their new farm, away from their home churches. He made his decision based on the church's adherence to the teaching he learned from his catechism instruction. I tell them about how his study of Scripture and his familiarity with the catechism even into his old age made an impression on his grandson who spent quite a bit of time with him. I show them pictures of Grandpa and me when I was a toddler, on my 7th birthday, at my own confirmation, and at my high school graduation. But my
pictures from college and Seminary graduation, my ordination don't include Grandpa since he died before I reached those milestones. But to a large degree, the reason I am where I am now is because a 13 year old was taught Luther's Small Catechism, and because he took that instruction with him into life. I tell the kids that I pray that what we learn in this class will last long after 8th grade, even long after their life is over.
Yesterday we went with the kids to explore a little of New Mexico. We drove up to Alamogordo, which is about an hour and a half northeast from here. There we found a nice playground, a model train ride, and a zoo. From there we drove to the White Sands National Monument and got to see and play in the sand a little. It was quite a hot day, so we couldn't do as much as we would have liked. We'll have to go back that way sometime when the weather is a little more comfortable. This was the last chance we'll have to take day trips like this for a while, since Hannah starts school on Monday. If you want to see more pictures from the day, take a look at our album on Picasa or MobileMe. I'm writing this from my phone, so I'll come back later and add links to the sites.
For some years now, I have been interested in technology. This is not a surprise to those who know me. Part of it, I'm sure, is just a fascination with new and shiny tech gadgets. It's something that I like and something that I enjoy. But I've always tried to make it more than just a hobby. I have always tried to evaluate each technology for its usefulness in the things that are really important to me. And then I've tried to make the best of use of the technology for those things.
The past several weeks have opened new doors for me in this. After waiting for months, on August 1st I received my iPhone. I could write about how close I came to getting one on the first day, or how the phone arrived just after I left for Minnesota, or how complicated and convoluted AT&T makes the whole process. Or I could write about how much I love the phone, how well it works for me, or all the fancy and fun features.
But let me just tell you about today. Today I visited one of my shut-ins for the first time. I had never been to her house and she lives on the west side of El Paso. So I simply pulled up her contact info on my phone, tapped on her address and instantly had directions to her house. On the way there, I stopped at Target to pick up something for my wife. The item on the store shelf was not what I was supposed to get, so I used the camera's phone to snap a picture to email it home, called home and had Sara see for herself. Once I arrived at the house, I visited with the member. When I was telling her about my family, I was able to flip through some pictures of the kids on the iPhone's screen. On the way back around the mountain, I plugged in the iPhone to the car stereo and listened to an episode of Issues, etc and the WELSTech podcast. When I'm in the car, I use a bluetooth headset for phone calls. If a call comes in, the music pauses and I can take the call with a click. Today I spoke with a classmate on the way home later in the day. This evening I drove up to Chaparral, NM, for another shut-in call. I make most of these appointments while I'm in front of my computer at church. But all of the contact details and calendar events automatically sync with the iPhone. So when I'm out and about, it's all with me. On the way home from this evening's visit I gave my Mom a call and we chatted about the day.
My point is that this phone has already proven to be an extremely valuable tool for me. Like I said before, my goal is to use the technology for the things that are important. Visiting the sheep is important for a shepherd. The phone numbers and address of the sheep is a nice thing to have at my fingertips, as well as my plans to tend to them (calendar). It is true that many other devices also perform many of the same functions as the iPhone. Here, again, I could mention things about simplicity, design, user-friendliness and reliability. But the point really is that it is a tool that helps me to do the job of serving these people with the gospel. I think it's a good tool. I'm thankful for it.
Late last night I returned from Minnesota, where I spent the week at the Nation Worship Conference. For several days now I have been thinking about how I could possibly describe the event. It’s so hard, because the experience of being at this event is really quite overwhelming. It was more than I could even take in while I was there. How could I capture it and put it into words? I can’t re-create the powerful sermons. Even a recording couldn’t reproduce the sounds of the instruments and voices. It’s hard to summarize the content of the many interesting and informational presentations.
A Shepherd's Story 