My mother sends me a text every February 14th reminding me of my baptismal birthday. While reminiscing, she likes to note that I screamed the entire time. I suppose Luther’s introductory words to his baptismal rite were appropriate for me …
“flee you evil spirit and make room for the Holy Spirit!”
A few weeks ago she sent me a text wishing me a blessed 30th anniversary of my ordination. I’m thankful she did. I didn’t remember to mark the day or pause to reflect on one of life’s sacred occasions.
And so I took the Lutheran Service Book off the shelf, turned to the Rite of Ordination and spent the remainder of the day reflecting on my ordination vows and the grace of God needed to be faithful to the end.
Eugene Peterson, in Working the Angles, has a wonderful metaphor for the ordination vows of the pastor. He equates them to the ropes that bind Odysseus to the mast of the ship so that he might not follow the sirens’ song that lures sailors to their doom.
He has the church saying to its pastors:
“We are going to ordain you to this ministry and we want your vow that you will stick to it. This is not a temporary job assignment but a way of life that we need lived out in our community. We know that you are launched on the same difficult belief venture in the same dangerous world as we are. We know that your emotions are as fickle as ours, and that your mind can play the same tricks on you as ours. That is why we are going to ordain you and why we are going to exact a vow from you.
We know that there are going to be days and months, and maybe even years, when we won’t feel like believing anything and won’t want to hear it from you. And we know that there will be days and weeks and maybe even years when you won’t feel like saying it. It doesn’t matter. Do it. You are ordained to this ministry, vowed to it. Promise right now that you won’t give in to what we demand of you. You are not the minister of our changing desires, or our time-conditioned understanding of our needs, or our secularized hopes for something better. With these vows of ordination we are lashing you fast to the mast of word and sacrament so that you will be unable to respond to the siren voices.”
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles
As we draw close to the Lord’s reappearance, the Scriptures remind us that the fury of the evil one will rage against the Gospel. Because his time is short, he acts with urgency and wastes no opportunity to attack, assail, and deceive the Church.
In the first two quarters of 2022, the Lord has helped me create two fierce and formative resources for our ekklesia community …
The Receptive Life (Daily and Weekly Practice)
and a study on the Book of Revelation.
The Receptive Life is the culmination of 30 years of pastoral ministry and its framework is built on the core foundations and spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith.
The daily and weekly practices help us …
- fight against the attacks of the “unholy trinity” (devil, world and sinful flesh)
- defend ourselves with the promises of the person and work of Jesus and
- receive all of the gifts that only can come from the Triune God
The study of the Book of Revelation was not my idea. It originated in our teen ekklesia group (tekklesians). The war in Ukraine, the pandemic and economic uncertainty, sparked all kinds of questions about the “end times”. And so we started to study the visions given to John in the last book of the Bible.
The adults heard about the study and they wanted to join in and that’s when the video series began. The tagline of the study provides a good summary …
- beware and be aware of the spirit and signs of the times
- be ready for the Last Day and the reappearance of Jesus
- be blessed and don’t be afraid because we belong to Jesus
The Lord is providing new opportunities to teach both The Receptive Life spiritual framework and the Book of Revelation in the Tri-County area.
This summer we will join Pastor Paul Monson and the saints at SALT (St. Augustine Lutheran Church in Troy, MI) for an in-person study.
Here are the specifics:
5475 Livernois, Troy, MI 48098
.from 6:30 – 8:00 pm on the following Thursdays
- July 7th
- July 21st
- August 4th
- August 18th
- September 1st
You can sign up for the Book of Revelation emails in the button below. When you sign up for the video vlog, you’ll receive the videos sent directly to your inbox. You can also access the video content on the “ekklesia” page.
Support for the Missionary at Large Position Deployed Through East Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Detroit
Thank you again for your generous support, encouragement, prayers and many kindnesses. If you would like to continue to support the Missionary at Large position through East Bethlehem you can either give a charitable donation by check or through electronic giving.
Here’s a link that will give you more information …
Come what may, we do belong to Jesus. We commend all into His hands,
Paul