Some Thoughts on Synod Assembly

Saturday And Sunday, May 16-17th, the Northwest Minnesota Synod of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) met in assembly to do the work of the church.  It's like a convention because we do work but not like a convention because there is a focus on worship and pray, bible study, and the mission and ministry that we do together.  Plus there is good music, good food, fun, and support!

The theme of the assembly was "You are what you eat".  As Bishop Wohlrabe wrote, this year's theme "invites us not just to read or hear God's Word but to eat, to consume, to 'inwardly digest' it.  This Word is, first and foremost, our Lord Jesus himself, the Word-with-skin-on (John 1).  This Word is the proclamation of Jesus Christ through preaching and the sacraments... We are richly fed."  In order to be richly fed, we have to do more than just have "the book" on a shelf or in a drawer by the bed.  We have to open the book and begin to dip into it.  It is filled with amazing adventure stories, romances to rival any gothic novel, poetry, songs, prophecies, and sayings by which to live your life or embroider on a tea towel.  

The Bible gets used by a lot of people to justify many things - often very contradictory.   That's not the fault of the Bible but is instead a constant common characteristic of people.  We do like to disagree - some more vocally and louder than others.  The invitation given by this focus on the Bible is to begin to be acquainted with the book and through the book, with Jesus.  Although some people are intimidated by the thought of bible study with other people (too many years of worrying about having the "right" answer), the best way to begin study is to have conversation together about just one or a few verses.  What does it say to you?  What is the promise?  What gives you hope?  How would things be different if you live this out in your life today?  These questions are good ways to begin.  

Some memorable quotes from the meeting:

Brother Dietrich Reinhart on his terminal cancer diagnosis "Impossible but not hopeless".  He always did find his hope in Jesus.

Jesus' hope and our mission is to  care for "the last, lost, least, little, and lifeless" for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

On preaching and teaching the Word to stubborn, hard-headed people (do we know any?), then go "to your people, and speak to them.  Say to them, "Thus says the Lord God"; whether they hear or refuse to hear."  Ezekiel 3:11  

'What's important is that you know what's IN the Bible; you don't just thump it!'

"If you are what you eat, then I must be fast, easy, and cheap."  

This works both for our food intake as well as our intake of God's word.  How often do I (and you) resemble that remark?

We ate together, prayed together and spent a lot of time talking about the reports and recommendations from the Task Force on Sexuality.  What impressed me the most this year, is that although we have not yet gotten to a common agreement on matters over the last twenty years, (yes, we have been talking about this a LONG time), we have made progress.  While we still don't have a consensus, we have gotten much better at listening to each other, talking with respect even when disagreeing, and keeping our tempers and hate-filled tongues out of the conversation.  Perhaps at least as important as dealing with homosexuality, we are learning how to listen and talk together and deliberate with more calm.  I hope we can keep that lesson in mind as the churchwide meets in assembly in August and afterward.  We desperately need to stop fighting and taking our marbles and going home and tearing the church apart.

All in all, there were wonderful stories of mission and ministry that are happening; the Word was shared, and we were fed.  Just like any family reunion.  The only thing missing was falling asleep during the football game in the afternoon!