 He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem In but a few days we will experience one of the great turns in the Church Year. That turn will be from Epiphany to Lent. The day that actually makes that turn for us is The Transfiguration of Our Lord, the last Sunday of Epiphany. Many sermons have noted how this is a climax and turning point in the synoptic Gospels and the telling of the story of our salvation. Up until this point the focus has been upon Jesus’ appearing and the revelation that he is the Christ. The transfiguration is the apex of that revelation. As Jesus comes down the mountain he again tells of his forthcoming death and the focus of the Gospels turns toward the cross. While Luke 9:51 is not read on Transfiguration it is connected. The first half of vs. 51 (“When the days drew near for him to be taken up”) may put some time between this event and the transfiguration but the placement of the verse only 21 verses later makes it clear there is a connection. This is a turning point! Jesus, the Father having revealed his divinity in the transfiguration, now “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” To set one’s face toward something is to be determined. Luke 9:51 is actually part of the periscope read near the beginning of the season of Pentecost (Proper 8, Series C). And what is the focus of that periscope? Jesus’ teaching on the cost of following him. Jesus says, “Follow me” and “leave the dead to bury their own dead” and “no ne who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”. The point is that Jesus’ determination for our salvation is the same stuff that our discipleship is made of. It is quite clear that we can never live up to the standard Jesus set in his life and for discipleship. We are never the disciples we ought to be. But that doesn’t mean we are not continually making the effort and steeling our determination. Yet even that is not the point. How is our face set toward discipleship like Jesus’ was set toward Jerusalem? Ash Wednesday and Lent give us the answer. We die to self and live in Christ. On Ash Wednesday and in Lent we die to self and the flesh. We are nothing. There is no hope to be found in ourselves. We confess our sinfulness and hopelessness. We are dust and to dust we shall return. We remember our baptism and how we were buried with Christ only to be raised with him to new life. Christ lives in us. So, it is Christ in us that gives us the determination we are looking for. Let’s not miss the turning point. Epiphany and the miracles of the divine Christ are marvelous to contemplate and believe. The story is incomplete without them. They are necessary. But so also, as we turn the corner, is dealing with sin and dying to ourselves. Remember Jesus also said about our lives of discipleship that he who would save his life must lose it. Here is what we set our face toward. There is an uncanny symmetry between Christ and us. Warning: sharp tun ahead…. Note: Some of our smaller churches may find it hard to host their own Lenten midweek services. Why not provide for your people by joining with a nearby sister congregation? You could ride share and even pastor share! The service and sharing can be a great blessing as we die and rise with Christ. Life Rally Last month I introduced to you the new Life Rally and March for Life in Trenton on September 26, 2024. At this time, I am suggesting two things:
 Since parking will be limited, buses will be scheduled to leave from various locations throughout the state. These buses will take participants to the rally and return them afterwards. The times and places of pickup will be announced in the upcoming months. Visitation for Convention Resolution Evaluation Visitors have now been trained and assigned to visit each congregation in the NJD to share with leadership resolutions passed at the 2023 Synodical Convention that pertain to congregations. These visitors are our DP, VPs, Circuit Visitors, and Convention Delegates. Visitors will share a list of the resolutions so leadership will have a chance to review them before the meeting. At the meeting the visitor and the leadership will have a chance to discuss the resolutions and how they may or may not fit into the ministry plan of the congregation. It is a given that each congregation cannot address all of the resolution but some will prove to be very helpful. The discussion is meant to reveal these helpful resolutions and the resources Synod has to offer congregations as they seek to do ministry. In the near future the visitor will be calling to ask for some time during an upcoming leadership meeting to have this discussion. I ask that you receive this call, welcome the visitor, and enthusiastically participate in the discussion. Strategic Plan This past month, assisted by Billy Brath, LCEF Ministry Solutions VP, I had the opportunity to present to our NJD Board of Directors the next development in our NJD strategic plan. Because of the limited space here in this newsletter I will only present the first part of the presentation which highlights the Ministries District provides (District Services). Next month I will more fully lay out the developing strategic plan. The first part of the strategic plan centers on Worker Support. The District Services offered to our Church Workers are in the following areas Worker Wellness
Call Process
In the coming days the Office of the President and the Board of Directors will be working together to develop goals and tasks for new ministry in these two areas as well as setting goals and tasks in two new area of the strategic plan. More on that next month! For now, I hope that this presentation gives you a better sense of how much the District is currently doing and an anticipation of the additions that are coming. Initiative for Ministry Development (IMD) Phase 3 of IMD, the Advanced Studies phase, is beginning this month!
Growing Young One of the concerns that I hear over and over again from our churches is that their membership is growing older and that they have few children. It doesn’t take much thought to understand this is an unsustainable trend. But how does a congregation reverse this trend? Dr. Dave Rueter, trained and tasked by the LCMS, has put together a process whereby congregations could learn about and reverse this aging trend. He went to Fuller Youth Institute and learned about the Seven Core Commitments of Congregations that are growing younger. He then teamed that with the LCMS’s Seven Practices for Youth Ministry to come up with a comprehensive program to help congregations connect with younger generations. One question that may immediately come to mind (and frankly is the first question I had) is “Will this work in small and medium sized churches?” The answer is “Yes!” The principles and practices that are a part of Growing Young have been tested in churches of various sizes and have been found to be successful in all sizes! That is good news for us in NJ. Few of our churches are of the larger variety. We need solutions that work for medium and especially smaller congregations. Dr. Rueter will be coming to NJ to speak to our Spring Pastors Conference in May, 2024. Pastors will be able to hear and evaluate Growing Young to see if it is something that will be helpful for their congregation. After speaking with their congregational leadership, pastors and their leadership who want to know more will have the opportunity to gather with Dr. Rueter for further conversation. Then those congregations that are interested in joining a cohort of NJD congregations to implement Growing Young will be able to do so. The cost per congregation for participating in a cohort is reasonable and the NJD hopes to be able to subsidize those costs to some extent. My hope is that you can begin to have leadership conversations about this possibility over the next several months. Also, please see the separate article about the Pastors Conference in this month’s Grapevine. Congregations
 Ordination and Installation of Rev. Borbor Zolue  District Short Clips
Official Visits have resumed in January and I am currently scheduled through mid-February. At that time, I will need to take a break as I recover from a scheduled double knee replacement surgery. I ask for your prayers for this surgery and recovery. Pastors Wives. The next NJD Pastors Wives retreat will be held on Friday-Saturday April 26-27. These are early plans so mark you calendar and look for more details soon. Educators Conference. The NJD Educators Conference will be held on Friday April 12th at Somerset Hills Lutheran Church, Basking Ridge from 10:00am – 2:00 pm. All teachers and directors from our schools are encouraged to attend. Continuing educations credits will be awarded to participants. More details regarding speakers and times will be published in future Grapevines. Reconciler Training. Five members of our District completed the training last month to qualify as Synod Reconcilers. They will be added to previously trained reconcilers and available for Synod and local reconciliation cases. We will be blessed to have this resource in our District to help us live as the children of God. Convention Management Training. Yes, it is time to start thinking about the 2025 District Convention! It seems like a long way away but planning for the convention is starting now. On February 3rd I was off to St. Louis for convention management training that was tacked onto the front of the COP meetings. This intensive training is intended to introduce new DPs to the knowledge and skill set required to prepare for and conduct a successful convention. Here we go! Conclusion It is not uncommon to see a curved black arrow on a yellow sign that warns us of a sharp turn ahead. When we see that sign we know to slow down because the way is a bit more difficult. Luke 9:51 can be that kind of sign for us as we move from Epiphany into Lent. There is nothing to fear if we but heed the sign, slow down, and take the more difficult path seriously and in faith. May both the season of Epiphany and Lent in their distinct uniqueness be a blessing to you as you worship and serve in your congregations. The LORD with you, President/Bishop Gewecke |