2007 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly
Called Into God's Marvelous Light...To tell the story!
2007 Synod Assembly > Bishop's Report

Bishop Harold Usgaard's Oral Report to the 2007 Synod Assembly

Bernhard M. Christensen was president of Augsburg College from 1938 thru 1962. I have only recently come to know of him through the work of former Luther Seminary president, David Tiede, who now holds the Christensen Chair in Religion and Vocation at Augsburg. As Tiede has given voice to the lessons that Christensen taught over 50 years ago, I have been struck with their relevance for the church even today.

His first lesson: the Christian faith liberates minds and lives. The Lutheran church was given birth on a university campus…perhaps you have seen some of the t-shirts…”Martin Luther was a campus pastor.” That is why Lutherans have been there for the last 100 years. We believe not that education is a threat to our faith, but that it goes hand in hand. Lutherans speak of faith and reason together.

These past 4 years I have had the opportunity to serve on the task force that is formulating the ELCA Social Statement on Education. The very first portion of that work places education in the midst of our calling as Christians… the necessity of education for our lives of faith, and the necessity of education that we might be good servants in the world. It is part of our vocation.

Our God is a great and awesome God…Martin Luther constantly reminded us that there remains a hiddeness to God…in other words, we still have so much to learn about this God. I am troubled when minds are closed…when comments seem to indicate that we know it all…or at least we know enough. Is it not at the center of our hope that God is constantly making all things new?

I am excited that the ELCA is soon entering into a renewed focus on the Scriptures. How do we as Lutherans read the Bible? How do we use it every day? But again I remember the comment of one person at the Churchwide Assembly in Orlando when this study was being proposed. He objected saying, “I already know what the Bible says. I don’t want anyone else telling me what is in there.” He was obviously frightened that he might still have more to learn. I think that is tragic.

Our faith liberates us…frees us to ask questions…challenges us to discover ever new aspects of our God…and of our place in this creation. And in the process, we discover an even deeper appreciation for the greatness and wonder of our God.

Lesson 2 : Vital communities are strengthened by diversity. Too often I hear this word “diversity” being attacked these days…as if it is a cover for a sort of “anything goes” mentality. And along side of such reactions a parallel thought that we are the norm…that we have it right…whoever we are. And that folks are invited to join us…if they are like us.

Have we forgotten the word of St. Paul in the 12th chapter of 1st Corinthians: “Indeed the body does not consist of one member but of many…if all were a single member, where would the body be?”

I was sitting in the airport in San Francisco, waiting for another to join in a visit to our seminary there. When he came, a white, male from Ohio…two things struck me. I had been sitting there for at least ½ hour, and he was the first white European type I had seen in that time…and the second thing that struck me is that until I saw him, I hadn’t thought anything of it. I think of our community of Austin…and how the faces of residents there have changed in these recent years. And I know that many of your communities are the same.

I hear many concerns about evangelism and welcoming new members into our congregations. And that needs to be an area of attention. We have been so excited with the financial report of 2006…synod income above our budget. Yet at the same time, in the past 6 years, half of our congregations have lost members…and two thirds of our congregations saw a decline in worship attendance. Friends, we do need to focus in this important area, but we need to remember that the new residents in our communities do not look like us. If our congregations are going to grow, our churches are going to take on a new look. Does that frighten us…or excite us?

Already, some of our congregations have welcomed our newest residents…are providing social services and space for worship services…developing exciting relationships…welcoming new disciples into the faith. But it is sporadic. We as a synod need to focus on this ministry together.

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson has reminded us that we are an immigrant church. And then he asks…are we able to be as welcoming to the new immigrants in our midst?

Lesson 3: Inter-faith friendships enrich learning. It used to be that “inter-faith” meant Catholics…or in some places Missouri Synod. Today it is about Islam and Jewish relations…and a host of others. The world has become very small. Again, does that threaten us…or offer new opportunities for growth?

I like the way theologian George Lindbeck says it…”I hope and pray…indeed expect…that in the consummation God will see to it that everyone will learn the Christian language well enough to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord and ultimately the only way. But as for penultimate ways…in other words, but as to other ways in the meantime…anyone who takes the Old Testament seriously will grant they exist.”

What of our God and Judaism… and Islam? Does witnessing to the faith mean that we treat them as enemies to be conquered? Can God teach us new things through them…and in turn can they learn from us? Let me be very clear…inter-faith relations is not about watering down ones faith so that it can sort of merge with the other. Inter-faith dialogue demands that we stand for what is best as Christians, and expect the best from those with whom we speak. Some of you heard Herb Hafferman, one of our retired missionaries, still so very active in Tanzania, speak of the number of conversions he has experienced of Moslems becoming Christians. And it has happened through conversation with respect. It has happened with invitation and hospitality.

We in Southeastern Minnesota have unique opportunities for such inter-faith friendships. They offer special opportunities for growth…and perhaps a means to temper the fear that too often colors conversation regarding other faiths. These “other” faiths are strange to many of our people…and as so often happens, if strange then filled with suspicion. Who better to host the conversation than those who together claim Abraham as a forefather?

Lesson 4: The love of Christ draws us to God. Lutherans are very clear about this…it is not the law that saves, but the love of Jesus Christ…crucified, died, and risen. Ours is not a faith based in law…but in a relationship. You have heard Paul’s words…”God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself…and he has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”

We live in a culture so divided…with so much concern for ourselves (remember the Bible calls that sin)…and so many suspicions of those around us. We are too busy building fences and walls to even think about reconciliation. We are so ready to respond to people with what they deserve rather than what they need. And then we are brazen enough to believe that is how God relates to them as well.

The Christian faith, the message of Scripture, does not focus on what we are to do…but rather on what God has done for us. We live our lives then in gratitude and filled with thankfulness…in response to the grace we have received. That is as Lutheran as one can get.

It is the love of Christ, then, that draws us together…that draws us to God. It is that story that awakens faith in folks. That is why we are focusing on such story telling in our synod this year. Such wonderful stories we have heard even in this assembly…and I have heard others in your worship services…and read them in devotionals you have published. Such stories can’t help but stir us, causing us to reflect on Christ’s place in our lives, causing us even to form our own stories. And maybe, just maybe, if we dare to share those stories with sisters and brothers of the faith, maybe we will dare to share those same stories with the folks we meet outside.

And finally lesson 5: We are called to service in the world. It doesn’t end with us…it never has. Remember the verse from the story of Abraham…”we are blessed to be a blessing.” It is what the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is all about…”Marked with the Cross of Christ…for the sake of the world.”

I have been so very gratified these past years to see the synod come together around our strategic plan. You may or may not remember that it began with inserts in your Sunday bulletins asking how congregations working together could inspire and increase your faith. Thousands of you responded, and one Saturday, still others of you sat down at Assisi, read through the responses, and identified areas of focus for the synod. Out of that came a strategic plan emphasizing joyful witnesses, Christ centered disciples, and strong leaders. As part of that we have had a theme each year…first focusing on prayer; last year on Bible study; and this year on telling faith stories. All of that has been meant to offer disciplines for faith…opportunities for growth in the faith.

But now it is time to do something with it. We strengthen our faith for love of God…and our neighbor. We live out our faith in God as we serve our neighbor. We glorify God by making a difference in this world. That is what I hope we can do in these coming years, identify areas in which people of faith can make an impact.

You have already heard about the focus on hunger for next years assembly. Experts tell us that we as a world are positioned to wipe out hunger. The resources are there…public opinion for once is united. It can happen. You have already dealt with a resolution calling for us as a synod to focus on hunger…and in fact to increase our giving to world hunger in the years ahead. I personally think that is too slow…and too small a goal. This synod can do greater things than that. 130,000 disciples of Jesus Christ…congregations gathered in worship, Sunday schools, Bible classes, women’s groups, youth groups, men’s groups, lutefisk suppers. If we focus our efforts in 2008 on world hunger…I have no doubt that this synod can raise $1 million dollars to combat world hunger. In fact I challenge you to do just that…to offer with a strength of faith a witness to folks in Southeastern Minnesota. That is making a difference.

Bernhard Christensen: A Christian faith that liberates minds and lives…vital communities strengthened by diversity…inter-faith friendships…the love of Christ drawing us to God…called to service in the world. Those might be old values, but I think they very much apply today…and to us…as we consider opportunities for future ministry here in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod.