Pastor Dale's blog

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They will come, and you will see them. They will ask questions like, "Where do I pay?" and they won't know where to sit. They'll scout the place out before bringing their kids. They'll look around constantly to make sure they're doing what everyone else is doing. They'll check what you're wearing to figure out whether they're overdressed or underdressed. And they'll be terrified. But they'll also find themselves in awe and wonder of a God who can love them, a Supreme Being greater than the universe that wants to be in a relationship with them, and a pure and just God Who at the same time forgives all sin.

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Last month, I found myself spending an unusual amount of time on family needs to the detriment of my work as a pastor. This bothered me like crazy. Even though I don't punch a clock, and while I spend many evening and weekend hours on church work on Monday through Thursday, I try hard to be "on the job" by 8 AM and get upset if I don't leave home until 8:03. I've installed software on my laptop to monitor my activities to keep me productive and avoid distractions. But then we became aware of a tiny premature baby who was fighting for her life and needed us to devote some time and attention to her in the hospital. God repeatedly tells us to care for the widows and the fatherless, and we believe He was calling us to care for that baby. But the situation was complicated by confidentiality laws, so I couldn't tell anyone where I was spending so much time.

Last week, at our Vision Task Force meeting, we received the instructions to begin the work of studying our community, congregation, and leadership in order to determine why God put these particular people in this particular place, or, "What does this church do better than 10,000 other churches?" This is a huge task, when we consider not only the amount of work to be done, but the importance of discerning the meaning of (Shepherd of the Ridge's) life.

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A number of years ago, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod underwent a transformation that led to tremendous stress, argument, and frustration. Proponents of the transition argued that the change was necessary to connect with the American culture, while their opponents argued that such a transition would inherently encourage false doctrine and destroy our identity as Lutherans.

What dangerous water did we so cautiously step into, and yet over a period of only 20 years jump into almost unanimously?