Here is the second round of my approval essay, as found in the ELCA Candidacy website. ELCA Approval Essay Prompt
Dan Nelson
Approval Essay 2016
Grace and peace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, one God, now and forever.
1. The idea of mission in the world implies a certain assumption of the movement and character of God. To be missional, or mission-oriented, one must be focused on the needs of a specific community where one feels called to serve. God created the world into being in Genesis 1, and then calls us as co-creators with God for God’s sake in Genesis 2. Mission is, therefore, speaking or testifying God’s will into the world, and to trust in the agency of God to act in spite of our own best efforts. While we recognize God’s salvific action through Jesus Christ on the cross, and his glorious resurrection on that first Easter morning, our faith lies with the Holy Spirit, swirling and moving throughout the world wherever God pleases. To me, God’s mission is to save humanity from their own depravity and sin, through faith in Jesus, his only son, who was crucified for the sake of the world. Therefore, we are called to be missionaries, or to testify to what God has done, is doing, and will do. This is informed first by the scriptural witness to the Christ event, and then by our own intersection with the divine. My own Trinitarian theology comes from the biblical witness, where Jesus promises the Spirit of God in his absence in the Gospel of John, as well as the fulfillment of that promise on the day of Pentecost. Martin Luther writes in the Small Catechism that faith comes only through the power of the Holy Spirit, and this assertion and understanding helps me to lean further into the trustworthiness of God, and that when God promises, God delivers. My understanding of God’s mission is informed through the action of the Spirit, calling us into faith, and then helping to create and sustain a more loving and trustworthy world for the sake of the Gospel. We see God’s activity in this direction throughout the Bible, and then take seriously are calls through the power of the Holy Spirit to also work in this direction. We know our salvation does not rest or depend on this action, rather this action comes in response to the Christ event; where God became human and died on the cross. All we do stems from this event, that we cannot earn our salvation, or justify ourselves; but that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and calls us off of our own mountain tops and into the world.
A community of faith that was essential prior to seminary was my time spent at Briarwood Retreat Center in Argyle, TX. I served in a variety of staff positions over the summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012; from an entry level camp-counselor to day camp coordinator. One of the most striking aspects of my time spent in that community was the authentic love for God that my coworkers and I displayed, and attempted to spill that zeal into the lives of the campers we interacted with each day. We hoped to foster an environment where young people could grow into their faiths through the witness and example of ourselves; attempting to not create some formulaic, “come to Jesus”, alter-call, fear-based faith, but one that was rooted in the love of God, lived out in a safe community of believers. This was an extension of the mission of God: to speak to the power of the divine and let it permeate into every aspect of our lives. I feel that we succeeded. I have subsequently met with former staff members that I served along side, and there is still a deep compassion for each other’s spiritual well-being. We were not only planting seeds of faith in the lives of our campers, but investing deeply into the lives of our friends; pushing one another to lean into God, and to listen openly to what God was doing in our midst. Specifically, I developed skills for pastoral-care through listening to co-counselors one-on-one in prayer partner-ship, as well as preaching at worship, and leading studies with the campers. These gifts are informed by a missional understanding of testifying to the resurrection of Christ and then equipping those around to speak to the Gospel in their own lives outside of Briarwood. This experience was crucial in my spiritual discernment towards seminary and pursuing a call as a Word and Sacrament Minister.
An outgrowth of my personal gifts for missional leadership is my special ability to meet people where they are and bond with them. I am very personable, friendly, and a faithful listener. It is not uncommon for strangers to open up to me and to share their stories, and then to create a space for me to speak about the love of God in their lives. This plays out in the professional realm in the office of Word and Sacrament to proclaim the Gospel, and the forgivingness of sins, announcing the freedom of others to love and serve each other as God loves and serves them. This comes through worship, preaching, Bible studies, distribution of the Sacraments, and through building relationships with those in the church and the communities where I am called to serve. This then positions me to identify other’s spiritual gifts for serving the Kingdom of God, and equipping them to live out their baptismal promise through their vocation and craft. Luther wrote famously that a cobbler doesn’t profess Christ by affixing crosses to each shoe he makes, but by making the best shoes possible for the glory of God. I see this playing out in relationships with members of the church where I serve, by assimilating into the community or tribe as a spiritual leader, and commissioning or patronizing each local other tribesman in their own vocation. This is as simple as visiting members of the church as they can be your dentist, barber, etc., and getting to know their day-to-day lives and love them as children of God. Then, I will have authentic relations with the community where I am serving, and will testify to power of the risen Lord.
2. Throughout my growth and development as a candidate for Word and Sacrament Ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, several verses and themes have stuck out and informed my missional understanding of the world to which I am called to serve. The primary insight has been that of being united in Christ, as Paul writes in Galatians 3: 28. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (NRSV)”. This was my internship site’s theme verse, that as the body of Christ we are united as community and the divisions and labels that the world places on us have no place in God’s kingdom, for Christ died for all, without distinction. This permeates my ministry lens because I try to see others the way God sees them; as beloved children who are in need of grace. So, no matter where I meet someone, be it in my office, at a coffee shop, at the gym, or on the street, I try to see them in God’s eyes, knowing that I am incapable of loving them as God does, but trying to, nonetheless. Furthermore, this is shaped by a Christology from the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (John 1: 1 – 3). Recognizing first the incarnation and the unity of God in John 1, the divinity of Jesus and the sacrifice on the Cross becomes life-changing. In Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus in the night, we are told that, “In this way God loves the world, that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3: 16 & 17). The translational difference in v. 16 indicates a reading of the Greek that places this text, as well as Jesus, as another extension of God’s effort to save the world, and not as is popularized in modern theological discourse as the final capitulation of God’s love. The actualization then of the Christ event; the death and resurrection, becomes a hinge-point for our faith. The language of faith, juxtaposed with the word believe, is then gifted by the Holy Spirit through Pentecost. Here, my Lutheranism shines proudly; once more lifting up the Small Catechism. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified me and kept me in the true faith… (Luther’s Small Catechism, The Third Article Of Sanctification). This is how we know of our faith, through hearing the Gospel preached and encountering the risen Christ in the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. These become the tangible manifestations of divine grace, which we are then called to proclaim. Proclamation then becomes the mission of the church, as the mission of God. We are invited into this call as co-creators with God.
Another Lutheran confessional witness is the distinction between the Law and the Gospel working within the world. While 21st-century Christendom doesn’t often recognize these distinctions, it is helpful for understanding how the Spirit is laying the Gospel on the hearts and ears of those within the Church. The first use of the law being the one that informs behavior, stemming from the first command of God, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it… (Genesis 1: 28 NRSV).” God commands us to be stewards of the earth, and invites us into the creative process. This is the first use of the law; informing behavior to propel society. The second use of the law is the pedagogical use, in which we recognize our own broken nature and need to be forgiven through the Cross of Christ. It is the feeling we get in the pit of our stomachs when we know we do something wrong. This is in direct contrast to the righteousness of God. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3: 22-24 NRSV). Recognizing then, our own shortcomings and need for God’s grace, we are affirmed by the promise of God lifted up in John 3: 17, “So that the world might be saved through Him”. When God makes promises, God comes through. The Lutheran hermeneutic of Law and Promise then works to free us into living into our baptismal promise, that we are beloved children of God, called by the Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. We celebrate these words, and we use them to inspire our congregations to actively participate in God’s activity in the world. Our call is to brand these words on our hearts, and then to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey what I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you until the end of the age” (Matthew 28: 19 & 20). This is the great commission; or even the final commission. We feel Christ presence through the power of the Holy Spirit, and trust that when we make mistakes and fail to obey the commands of God, that we are comforted by the promise of the forgiveness of sins.
Another verse that speaks to this is Ephesians 2: 8, where Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of your own doing; it is the gift of God” (NRSV). This giftedness, this radical grace that we confess and believe in becomes a missional catalyst to offer that same grace to the world around us, the world where we are called to serve. I find the language of the gift of grace helpful for mission; because it isn’t something that you can ask for. It is merely something that you receive; and even that language implies some action. God’s grace is really something that happens to you; through faith. The Spirit of God allows you to hear the gospel, and for faithfulness to grow in your core. When we frame faith in this way, as something that God does to and for us, we can speak openly and honestly about how Christianity, Jesus, or theology doesn’t come from our own quest for righteousness, because we are incapable of such satisfaction. Rather, the love of God, perfected in Christ Jesus, becomes known in our lives through the hearing of the Gospel and it being given to us. We find fellowship in this, that no ones faithfulness came of their own accord. If it did, we would be constantly bickering, like the disciples, about who is more worthy. Simply put: Jesus worthiness is superseded to us by God’s grace.
All of these pieces come together in a life of faithful witness to the resurrected God in creating and equipping leaders for the mission of God. They function as tools; and once we have the tools we can get to work on the problems of the world; namely of sin, death, and the devil. We are comforted by scripture in the face of these realities. All will die; yes. But, all who believe will be united with Christ in resurrection of the flesh. All have sinned, yes; but all sins are forgiven by the grace and promise of God. Evil is real and takes on many forms in the world; but Jesus promises his disciples in John 16: 33 that he has overcome every force in the created world, including evil. This theology of the cross, where God experiencing our suffering, shame, and ultimately our death through Jesus Christ replaces any glory we might wish to bestow on ourselves. Rather, it is God who is acting, in spite of all brokenness and sin, for the sake of the world. We then trust in this promise, and live into who God created us to be: beloved children. This makes sense practically because we are now free to love as God loves, and commands us to love (John 13: 34-45). In a society full of warfare, illness, sickness, and strife, we live our our vocations by acting out the law in response to the promise of God. We care for the sick, the orphan, the widow; because that is what God calls us to do. This illustrates to the world what the power of the risen Christ is, a tangible force of love and justice in the world; of believers washing the dirt off of the world’s feet, reflecting the love of God through advocacy; and voicing the breaking in and dwelling of the incarnate God, the word made flesh, here to take away the sins of the world.
Finally; in the ever changing context of the 21st-century church, we are faced with death in a variety of ways. Whether it is a culture that no longer sees the relevancy of Sunday morning worship services, or a shifting social-political tide that demonizes compassion and care; the church has always been in the business of death and resurrection; for it is only out of death that we can have new life. Paul writes in Romans 6 of the old, sinful self passing away, and a new creation being born. We lift up in Revelation 21 a new heaven and a new earth; a new Jerusalem descending. In the church, we are not to fear death because we trust in the promise of new life. This doesn’t mean that death is pleasant, or comfortable; rather that God meets us in our discomfort and leads us through the valleys of death’s shadows and into green and new pastures, as the Psalmist affirms. As the church reflects itself and assesses which components are no longer serving the larger body, we mourn each little death. If ministries are failing, it is a noble hospice endeavor to lead them into death; and then to utilize the remains to re-purpose them for God’s mission and glory. It can be painful, but it can be done beautifully. The people of God have the promises of God to be present with them in their suffering, and though life on this earth does end in death; this is not the end of the story. We are called as leaders to testify to new life; to God’s new creation, and the love of God working in the darkest places in the world. We are resurrection people.
3. My personal faith in the Triune God is shaped in the mission of God through relationship. The perichoresis, or the movement, dancing, relational trinity informs the way that we are called to testify to the presence of God in the resurrected Christ. God calls us into relationship. We are called to be in the world, off of our spiritual mountain tops and into the muck and mire, modeling our lives after Jesus. We know that we are imperfect people, but God calls us to love each other, imperfectly. God’s mission for the church is within the Great Commission text in Matthew 28: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey what I have commanded you” (NRSV). The mission of the church is therefore discipleship: to educate and equip disciples to carry out the love of God and the hope of the Gospel into every part of their lives. This is done by modeling ourselves after the Triune God in relationship with others. We form into communities of faith and exist in the world. The church is not in a vacuum, isolated from the experiences or the pain of the world. Rather, we are instructed to care for the worlds and other communities where we live.
Using the component of creation listed in the last question, we are called as co-creators with God. We affirm the sacredness of the world in which we live, and are instructed to steward it properly. Our bodies, our finances, our relationships: these are things that God entrusts to us to care for, for the sake of God. God called the first humans to be a part of the created world, naming and instructing within Genesis. Furthermore, we have been created in the image of God, and we recognize that prior to Original Sin, that God has declared us “very good”. Trusting then that we are capable of love, though not for our own salvation, we advocate and care for the neighbor. This calls me to try to be the best version of myself that I can, not only for my own sake, but for the sake of others. Part of my vocation as a seminary student is to reflect God’s goodness in what I do. While this seems small, the impact on a personal and relational level speaks volumes. In the first question, I wrote of my experiences at Briarwood working on summer staff. One of the compliments I received throughout my summers were how kind and loving that I was. This is an example of stewarding relationships for the sake of God. It becomes hard to minister to the the needs of others if there is no existing relationship.
Another way I see myself as a missional leader is my ability to tell stories. Preaching is a crucial aspect of Word and Sacrament Ministry, and my ability to tell and re-tell in approachable ways has often served the body of Christ and the mission of God. It is certainly one thing to be able to stand in front of a group of people and proclaim the resurrection of God and the forgiveness of sins, as well as declare that one is a beloved child of God, sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever, and to declare that Christ body and blood are “given and shed for you”; it is an altogether different matter to sit across from someone and listen to the hurt in the heart or wounded-ness from the world and to tell them in their own language that they, too, belong to God and are invited into the Kingdom. To pull from life experience and relate with people from many walks of life: blue collar or white collar workers, children of all ages, retirees, addicts, CEO’s, youth, and military personnel; this requires finesse, poise, and confidence. I was blessed on internship to get to experience ministry and proclamation to and with people from every walk of life. This occurred in a number of settings, including the Office of Preaching, leading Bible studies, a men’s-retreat, youth mission trip, hospital visits, pastoral care appointments, Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, office hours, coffee shop meetings, and bar ministry. Within these contexts, to name a few, I was invited to proclaim what God has done, is doing, and will do. I was invited to hear and listen to specific needs from individuals and communities, and to testify to the resurrection and the mission of God. This built relationships to make disciples and send them into their own vocations with the knowledge that Christ died for them and for the world, and that they are called to live loving lives for the glory of God. This is informed by the Galatians text cited earlier about unity in Christ, as well as Jesus’s new commandment to his disciples to love each other as he loved them (John 13). We embody the Gospel in all that we do, unashamed as forgiven and beloved children of God. This relationship grants that we can not only show the love of God to the neighbor, but experience that fully from the neighbor as well. In Las Vegas, I was asked to do a house blessing for a man who was experiencing what he described as an evil presence in his home. The senior pastor thought it would be a good experience for me to then bless his house and pray with the man. It was clear that he was unemployed, and had some mental instability. None-the-less, I responded to his call and arrived at his home with water, oil, the Occasional Services book, and an open mind and heart. After sitting with this man for the better part of an hour, as tears filled his eyes, he recounted a childhood of abuse, trauma, and abandonment. The spirit he was feeling was that of his late-father, from whom he had suffered so much. We went through the service, sprinkled water, and anointed the man and his girlfriend with oil. What he needed to hear was that he was loved by God, no matter what had happened to him. What I learned from that situation though was that his faith was in the promise of God, and that our relationship was for me to proclaim that to him. I was humbled by his faithfulness and his trust in the presence of God in his suffering, and was invited to speak that love into his life.
Another component of missional leadership that I feel called into is that of innovation. While being theologically trained, and experienced in a variety of worship styles, I am willing to experiment with different ways of connecting with people, both within the structure of worship as well as the fluidity of life within community. God works in out of the way, and ordinary places. Scripture is full of God showing up in new and unexpected ways. Moses met God in a burning bush. Elijah met God in the silence after an earthquake. Job met God following disaster. But, God did show up, as God promises to do. Therefore, we as a missional church have a chance to get creative with how we introduce or proclaim God to others. This is not static; and while we focus on Sunday morning worship, and doing the best that we can each week, we also allow for the Spirit of God to lead us out into the world and to encounter the neighbor. My internship project was an attempt to create a worshipping community in an unexpected place. After discussion with my supervisor, and prayer, I ended up doing ministry at a local dive-bar called the Double Down Saloon, not far from the Las Vegas Strip. While a traditional worshipping community did not successfully take-off, I was able to position myself in a group of people that otherwise wouldn’t have come into my office or church walls and declare that they, too, were loved by their creator. I was invited into their lives; to events with their families, to concerts, movies, to hear their stories of sin, loss, and brokenness. People would even ask the staff when I would be in because their friends had told them that I was able to help their circumstances. I always kept in mind though that it was not what I was doing, but what God was doing and allowing me to be a part of.
Being a missional leader is to proclaim the gospel: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world, and then to be open to the movement of the Spirit of God to go into the world and love as God does. There is no formula for this, but it is organic, raw, sometimes messy, and never certain; but we can trust in the promise of God to speak on our behalf, and to lead us into ventures unseen, and we can know that we are not alone, or forsaken.
4. Sermon – May 24th, 2015 https://vimeo.com/128735184 (sermon at 23:20) (typed from an audio recording, preached from notes)
“Good morning! Hi, 11:00! I am Dan Nelson, I am the Intern Pastor here at Community Lutheran Church, and it is a blessing, and a privilege to get to speak with you and to get to worship with you all. I want us to take a moment to wave to the cameras, and to say ‘hi!’ to the people online. ‘Hi, people online! We are glad you are here, too. The church is more than just those of us in this room.’ ‘Let us pray… loving and gracious God, thank you so much for this day of Pentecost. Thank you for the time to come together in this space to worship you and receive your Holy Spirit. Be with us now, be with us always. We love you lots. Amen.’
‘Our story this morning comes from the book of Acts, the second chapter, beginning with the first verse. Let’s read this together, ‘when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.’ (Acts 2: 1). So, the celebration of Pentecost is actually an old, Jewish holiday called ‘Shavuot’, which is the Festival of Weeks. It takes place fifty days after Passover. It is a celebration of when Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai. And so, Jesus’ disciples were gathering together to celebrate this festival. They were upstairs, in the room, waiting, and celebrating when all of the sudden… This happened. ‘Suddenly from Heaven came the sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting (Acts 2: 2).’ So, as they were sitting there, minding their own business, maybe drinking a bit of wine or having a nice meal together… this violent wind overcomes their space. We can imagine the tumultuous wind and napkins going everywhere, the disciples hair in their faces… It is not unlike those of you who might have felt the earthquake on Friday. Right around midday? Do y’all remember that? Perfect. I was sitting in my office across the street, there, working on this sermon; Kelli, Bruce, and Phillip were all over here working on worship stuff. Kelli came back across the street and she looked like she had seen a ghost. Apparently the sanctuary was moving so much.. and Phillip was sitting over here on this organ, which is not secure and it was moving back and forth, and back and forth. I imagine that is not unlike when God sends the Spirit. I want to draw your attention to the second and third word [here]. They say, ‘From Heaven’. This theological claim that the writer of the book of Acts is saying is that every time that God is in action in the world, and this is a promise that God is in action in the world is that the direction is from God – to us. Every time. There is nothing we can do to draw ourselves closer to God… rather, we become in tune through he power of the Holy Spirit, that God is present and at work among us. Like a violent, rushing wind… The writer here is echoing back; if we remember from Genesis 1 at creation this Spirit of God moved over the waters… like a rushing wind.. And then, the reason many of us are wearing red. Let’s read this together, ‘Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability’ (Acts 2: 3). Fire descended upon the disciples! Now, the disciples are some of my favorite characters in the Bible because they followed Jesus around for a solid three years, and saw him do miraculous things. They saw him raise Lazarus from the dead. They saw him feed thousands of people all at once. Not only that, they saw him crucified; resurrected, which is impressive in and of itself. Not only that, but a week before they saw him ascend into heaven! You would think they would not be surprised by very much of this. Lo and behold, as they are gathered together celebrating this festival… God shows up in tongues of fire that rest among them. Tongues of fire.’
‘I also want to draw our attention to the fact that then they began to speak in other languages: every language that is known across the land. In seminary, we had to learn ancient Greek and ancient Hebrew so we could work on translating the Bible together, and then in High School I also learned German and French. I am imagining all of these languages and the difficulty it took me to learn that. I am not too bright of a guy, let me level with you here. (laughter) But! The Spirit then allowed every person to converse and to testify to what God has been doing. And people from all across the known world at the time understood and heard about the resurrected Christ. This is the fulfillment of what Jesus said moments before he left the disciples, as we talked about last week. Let’s read this together from the first chapter of Acts. Jesus says, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1: 8). What Jesus is calling us to do; both the disciples 2,000 years ago, and every one of us here today, is to bear witness to what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do. The call of the Gospel is to testify on God’s behalf. We are called to be witnesses.
And this might be sending up some red flags.. I found this online. “Oh no! Not Evangelism!” Is that what I am asking you to do? Absolutely. I thought it was a cute cartoon. We get so hung up on that ‘big E word’; which is ironic that we are a part of the E.L.C.A… The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. What we are called to do is to testify to God’s action in the world. We are each given different languages with different people who we interact with; and the places we dwell, do work, do ministry, and do life. Many of you might not know this, but every intern who gets assigned to different places has a specific project that they are working on. Something that interns get to discuss with their supervising pastor. They meet with them every week and check in, having progress reports and write up evaluations, and paperwork, and all that good stuff. Well, my project, which Dr. Mark and I discussed before I even got here was to work on starting a church outside of Community Lutheran Church. So, I have spent a good portion of every week for the last six months or so out in the world trying to discern, understand, and testify to what God is doing in out of the way places. I was out one night supporting our sound man, Sam, as his band in this venue. And in this venue, God spoke to me, saying, ‘this would be a good place to do ministry.’ It is this tiny, hole-in-the-wall dive bar called the Double Down Saloon. Many of you have heard of it; it is somewhat… notorious. It is in not the nicest part of town. So, I was sitting there; I went there one evening, and I sat down and a woman down at the end of the bar starts complaining the band that was there the night before, and how the lead singer started to go on and on about politics, about the democratic process, and just complaining. So the bartender says, “Alright. Two things you don’t talk about here are politics, and religion.” So, I am sitting there, Intern Pastor Dan, minding my own business, listening to what is going on around me and I think, “Okay”. So, I get my business card out of my pocket, and on my way out I hand it to Butters, the bartender, and I say, “Hey! Nice to meet you. If you need anything, give me a call.” And I left. Well, the next day I went back. I wasn’t sure, because of this standing rule that if you are going to talk about politics or religion then they tell you to ‘Shut up and drink.’ So, I come back. I sit down and said, “Hey Butters, did you look at my card?” He says, “Yeah.” and then he starts introducing me to all of his friends. All of the locals: the regulars, the burlesque dancers, the prostitutes, the drug dealers, the homeless people. He says, pointing to me, “This guy, the Reverend… he is good people. Treat him well.” So I became one of them. To talk, and do life in ministry together. One evening I was sitting there down at the corner, and there was only one open seat and a woman comes in. She is about 30 or 35, right in there, and she has a seat next to me. She orders the house special, which I cannot tell you the name of what it is; if you’re curious you can go look it up… Anyway, she sits down and we exchange pleasantries, “Hello”, and I get back to my business.
Well, she says, “This is my last day in Las Vegas.” This is an invitation to conversation.
So I say, “Okay. Tell me more.”
She says, “Well, I am moving to Texas.”
(aside) I am from the great state of Texas, so this raises a flag of interest on my end. I say, “Oh, tell me more.” Well, back in February, Texas was hit with a variety of snow and ice storms, and she said, “My father was driving, and his car went off the road… and he died. So I am moving back to take care of my mother and my sisters.”
I said, “Okay.” And we began to talk more and more about what her life would look like now that her father had passed away. She told me stories, laughed, and cried… After about thirty minutes she said, “Well, what do you do?”
“Well, I minister to people inside of a bar.”
So we began to talk, and talk about her father’s salvation, and how he is now united with the resurrected Christ, in death.
This is not the only story I have like this. Every day it seems that I am there I meet someone else that God reveals Gods-self in their lives and I get to speak to their beloved-ness. To their chosen-ness.
I was sitting in there a few weeks ago and this woman came in and she had just moved from New York. She had a thick accent, which many of you can picture right now. She was having a hard time finding a job. And so, we exchanged pleasantries, and she began to tell me.. This was on Maundy Thursday. She began to tell me about how she hates the holiday of Easter. So I wondered, “Okay, what is going on with Easter? I mean, candy, eggs, Jesus… What’s not to love?” She said, “Thirteen years ago… I was getting married, it was my wedding day. As I waited there at the church, my husband, who I was going to marry that day… was killed by a drunk driver on his way to the ceremony. And I haven’t been to church since.”
My heart was breaking for this woman… For the closed off-ness for this woman, how she felt that anger and that energy against God. It took me having to learn the language of the Double Down Saloon, through the power of the Holy Spirit to then speak to God’s love for her. That it wasn’t God’s will to take her husband. That we are products of a broken society with broken people who make bad decisions that have consequences. Since that conversation, every time she sees me she says, “Hello!” and we sit down and begin to talk more and more about what her life will look like. About what role in her life faith will begin to play. But I had to tune in to what God was doing… Out of the way places with broken people.
But this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. God calls and equips every single one of us in other ways. I’m going to tell you another story. This lovely building behind me is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For those of you who aren’t that familiar with Minneapolis/Saint Paul, this church exists in the part of the neighborhood called North Minneapolis, and it is… not too dissimilar to North Las Vegas. There is a lot of poverty, a lot of homelessness, a lot of crime, a lot of drugs. The church leadership: Pr. Kelly Chapman and others began to see that the language that the Spirit was calling them to speak to was the language of opportunity. So, working with churches and other businesses, they began to brainstorm. Now, many of you know that Brian, Mark, and I have all lived in Minneapolis/Saint Paul in different areas of our lives, and it is a very green, eco-friendly, commuter friendly city which has a lot of bike trails. I imagine it was probably Pr. Brian’s favorite part of living there: riding his bike every chance he could get… Well, what the leadership at the church decided that they needed was a chance to provide an opportunity for people who needed job training. So, they worked with the local communities and they started what would be called Venture North. It is a bike shop that sells bicycle parts; that repairs bicycles, and gives people from the community who otherwise wouldn’t have a shot to get a job chances to work, to earn money, to learn skills. Not only this… A good friend of mine named Tyler, who was living in Saint Paul with his brothers and his mother… He had. Well, his mother was working two jobs; she was never quite around to be with the family, and so one night he went out with his knife because he couldn’t afford food for his brothers. And he robbed somebody. He took the money, went to the grocery store because it was that bad. That is what it took for him to feed his family. But, he was given a job through this place, through Venture North, which then he could learn these skills; to sell bikes, and repair them. And have more money to feed his family. And put this on his resume. I forget the name of the company he is at now, but no longer works at Venture North, and he has a much better job, and his family is in a much better place. It took the church discerning the Holy Spirit’s language to provide opportunities for those in their community, because the community was indeed suffering.
Another story like this: there was a woman named Margaret Kelly, who felt God’s call to be a pastor. The problem is, well, it isn’t a problem, is that she is a lesbian woman, engaged in a long term, monogamous, same-gendered relationship; but she felt the call before the church and said that was okay. She knew she was okay; but it took the church until 2009 to catch up with her. Well, after she went through seminary, she went through a discernment process; she knew that the language that God was speaking to her was one of radical hospitality. And so, she brainstormed with other churches. Actually, the church that gave the most generous gift to her was that of Saint Andrews in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, which is where Dr. Mark hails from.. so, yay, St. Andrews!
Well, she decided to take the money and start a food truck ministry. She goes to different kitchens, different church kitchens throughout the Metro preparing hand pies, which is like a calzone. She has a meat option and a veggie option. The thing is, when you show up, there is no charge. Every person who comes to the food truck gets a free meal. They have worship services available as well, if those, once they’ve eaten want to commune with the rest of the believers in God. And so, Shobi’s Table was started, and people know that on a certain day of the week at 12:15, she’ll be right there, ready to serve a warm meal, and pray, and listen to people, and to speak the language of radical hospitality, which was revealed to her through the power of the Holy Spirit. Her first worship service was actually Maundy Thursday, April 17th, 2014. It has been a thriving ministry ever since.
As we reflect on the message of Pentecost, it is one of the Holy Spirit working in the world 2,000 years ago arriving in fire and wind to the disciples in the room. But it is also the same Spirit that is working here today that calls and claims each and every one of us as beloved, children of God. And Jesus says, “I want you to witness to what I am doing in the world.” As we think in our lives of what God is calling us to do, and we think about the spheres of influence that we have in our lives, the tribes of people with which we engage.. Maybe you’re a computer programmer, and that is the language that God has taught you to speak. You can begin to minister and do life with other computer programers. Or maybe, God has called you to be a stay-at-home mom, and that is a blessed calling; but there are other people who might not have heard the Good News: the Gospel message, that God has created you, Jesus redeems you, and the Spirit empowers you. God is working in the world, and God is working at Community Lutheran Church, and as we prayerfully discern the directions that God is calling us to… May it ever be grounded in the message of Pentecost that we are called to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Thanks be to God. Let us pray…
“Loving and merciful God, we thank you for this day. Thank you for sending your Spirit to be with us. For calling us, and claiming us in baptism. May we, with the rest of your church throughout the world continue to testify to what you have done, are doing, and will do. In your holy name we pray, Amen.”
This sermon was preached at the 11:00 Contemporary worship service at Community Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, NV on Pentecost Sunday, 2015. There were around 250 people in worship during that service, minus the children that had left for Sunday School during worship. The core claim within the sermon was that the Holy Spirit, as on Pentecost, equips hearers of the Gospel with their own language to proclaim the good news in what ever tongue is needed. The goal was to inspire the hearers to imagine their own unique languages that they speak are called to speak the Gospel message into and how that extends the mission of the church into the lives of the hearers. Once the theological point is established, the move was to share stories and illustrations of examples of people using their own Spirit-given languages to live out the body of Christ in their own lives. My theological conviction concerning the text was that this was a way to share aspects of my internship project with the congregation and to hopefully inspire them in faith to assess the ways that the Gospel was working in their lives to proclaim the resurrected Christ, just as the disciples did on the day of Pentecost. The craft of the sermon itself was an outline given to my supervisor who gave me further direction and shaping, and then was preached from a half-sheet of paper with each Power-Point slide note written down, corresponding to each verse. There was no original manuscript, yet one was created for this document.
My hope for the sermon was to inspire the hearers to assess in their own lives the ways the Gospel message was calling them to testify in their own “language” to what God was doing in their lives. It seemed like a simple enough move to make. The feedback I received was kind in that it affirmed my work in ministry at the Double Down Saloon, which was new information to many members of the congregation; as well as informed me that others heard the call of God within their own contexts and felt compelled to share with their colleagues or friends what God was up to. This was a successful sermon, in my opinion. If I could re-preach this same sermon, I would shape down the the second story from the Double Down, leaving only one story from each context listed. The internship site where I was preaching was used to, and expecting 20-minute sermons with no manuscript, which this sermon fit the form for. I would further amend the sermon to identify other qualities which might be possible contexts in the Las Vegas audience for ways that they could share the Gospel in their own lives. The examples listed, while helpful and informative, were isolated to missional vocations by other clergy. I would lift up stories of lay-leaders to hopefully inspire those listening to share what God has done in their own lives in Community Lutheran Church.
My preparation for this sermon was shaped by a trust in the Holy Spirit of God, rooted in the incarnation and resurrected Christ, created by God, to inform me with the words that needed to be spoken. Each time I preach, I read the text and pray over the content, asking God to help me to discern what needs to be spoken. I wrestle with the text, trying to discern what the audience might need to hear for their own lives, trusting in the risen God to inform me in the ways I am unfamiliar with their needs. Immediately prior to the text, I would pray throughout the song or hymn leading up to the message, and then give an “amen” fist-bump to the associate pastor, as I know he was praying for the message as well.
I consider this a missional sermon because it calls into question the role of the church and the Gospel message in the lives of the hearers of the message that was preached. My hope was that this message inspired many to assess the ways that God had moved in their lives and then to consider sharing that message with their co-workers, colleagues, or peers. That, through the language of the Spirit and Pentecost, that hearers might feel called to testify to the power and salvation of the risen Christ. I envision my role in the process to be that of a shepherd who speaks to what God is doing, and leads from the center, careful to not let folks stray too far, but giving them freedom to question and grow. I never wish to hinder anyone’s faith development, but rather to inspire and instill the confidence and the language of the divine that has been raised form the dead to call others to speak to what God is doing in the world. We are lucky, as God is not dead, God is working and moving through relationships in the world, calling us into relationships with others to speak to this very nature of God. I carry out this role by leading those, both in the church and in the communities where I am called to serve, and I hope and pray that God continues to use me as a vessel for God’s mission and message to all people I meet. I trust that the resurrected Christ is moving and working through the Holy Spirit, and that every person I meet will be able to hear some aspect of this message of God, and to be called into the faith to speak further to the Good News of Jesus Christ, our savior and Lord.
Thanks be to God.
dan miglets nelson 