Nebraska Synod ELCA

By Deacon Timothy Siburg

As the story goes, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church doors 507 years ago. And the rest is history… Or is it? The truth is, the Church has always been forming and reforming. That’s part of what it means to be the Living Body of Christ together. Where the Spirit moves, and we as God’s people witness, wonder, join in, and follow along. It’s with that in mind, that I offer 9.5 Theses this year. I believe we are in the midst of a new reformation. God is doing a new thing. What that will lead to is anyone’s guess. But here is what I am wondering about and sensing this year:

1. The Script is Being Flipped
The way things have been done in the church no longer work in the same ways that they used to. Whether it be through the ways people engage (or don’t) and are engaged (or aren’t) through their faith communities. Whether that be witnessed through the death of Sunday School and the birth of new discipleship equipping and faith formation opportunities through Cross+Generational ministry practices. Whether it be through the size and scope of denominations. Whether it be through the reality that not every congregation has or will have a pastor (not that every congregation ever really had a pastor in the first place). Perceptions and expectations are being challenged and will need to be changed in order to faithfully enter into this new day and reality. Jesus overturned the tables and upended norms and expectations (like in Mark 11:15-19). Perhaps we might need to do this too with the way we are church in some ways.

2. All Things Are Made New
Amid what could be a cause for grief because of change, we are also reminded that it’s not all up to us. God is God, and for that we can and do say “thanks be to God.” The Apostle Paul writes, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:18, NRSV). The work of the Reformation continues, because God continues to bring grace upon grace, and new life out of death. Sometimes this reminder and experience is harder than others, because change (and often death) is involved. But amid all of it, there is a reminder for us that we are not alone in this. God is with us. God is for us. And God loves us. Always. Because of this, we know that because God is enough, we are enough for whatever the new day and challenges might bring as God is indeed with us, for us, and loves us.

3. The Priesthood of All Believers Matters
The Church, particularly the Lutheran Church, has a rich theology. It’s a theology which uplifts and celebrates every individual beloved Child of God. Martin Luther explained this concept in part through his “Priesthood of All Believers,” which draws especially from 1 Peter 2:5-9. Somewhere along the line, we as a church lost sight of this a bit and made the work of ministry largely about the ordained. The problem with that, is that we are all disciples, and really ministers of God’s love and grace in our daily lives. Some are called to certain offices – pastors, deacons, parish ministry associates, bishops, etc., and some are called to use their gifts in other unique ways. To truly be the church that God calls us to be, we all need to live most fully into whom God has created us each to be, and to celebrate and uplift each other for all of the unique gifts, passions, and responsibilities that each of God’s own might hold.

4. Every person has a unique vocation
Related to the above, God entrusts each person with unique gifts, passions, strengths, and vocations. All of these are gifts which God entrusts for God’s beloved so that life might go well for each of God’s beloved, but also so that all might live lives of deep meaning and purpose as disciples and stewards, in part through meeting our neighbors’ needs with what God entrusts, and through truly accompanying and growing to be in relationship with each other. Vocation is something that flows from our baptisms, where we are called to this life together and promises are made and affirmed (such as on ELW p. 228, 236, and 237). It’s where God might just show up through ordinary life, and through the way each of us shows up daily in the world. Because of this, each person’s vocation is and will always be as unique as each individual and beloved Child of God is unique.

5. Every congregation has a unique vocation
If every individual has a unique vocation, so too does every community and congregation. The Nebraska Synod has been seeing this articulated through the Vitality Initiative for Congregations. So far, 19 congregations of the synod have participated in this initiative and through it, each has discovered some sense of what their unique vocational calling and purpose is. Grounded in God’s promises and lived out in response to their neighbor’s needs in their particular context. What would it be like if the whole synod reflected on the questions: Who are we? Who are our neighbors? And what might God be up to and inviting? And through pondering those questions, together we discern our unique vocations which God is calling forth for this particular time and place.

6. Abundance is Real
Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves and a couple fish (like in John 6:1-14). We know this story. But it’s real. It’s lived out through the many feeding ministries of the synod- from the weekly drive through food distribution at San Andres in Omaha, to the weekly meals at Lakota Lutheran Center and Chapel in Scottsbluff, to the Little Pantries outside many congregations offering some small supplies for neighbors in need, to the various hunger relieving efforts your congregations participate in. Through what might seem like a little, so much good is being done. This isn’t just true for food. It’s true because God is a part of it, and because of that, we have all that we need to be the church which God in Christ is calling forth now today.

7. With God All Things are Possible
At the heart of the Reformation is a reminder that it’s not all up to us, and we can’t save ourselves. Nor do we need to. That’s God’s work. When the disciples ask, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus says, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible” (Mark 10:26-27, NRSV). When the Spirit is moving, things start happening. People have dreams and visions. Imagination is active. New creation comes into being in real time. This is what I believe is happening now, particularly in the congregations of the Nebraska Synod. Where some numbers and metrics might suggest the church is dying, I actually see an invitation. Because God’s work, and the promises of God’s Word are the same and just as true as they were yesterday and will be tomorrow.

8. We’re Being Invited now to be a part of it
Throughout God’s story there is an invitation. Whether it be from the psalmist to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8, NRSV), or from Jesus himself who invites the disciples to “Come and see” (John 1:39, NRSV). We too are invited. Phyllis Tickle is famous for saying that “throughout church history, about every 500 years there is a new Reformation.” We’re right on track for that now. Something new is emerging, and God is inviting God’s beloved to be a part of it. Whenever God comes near, we are invited to witness, wonder, imagine, join in, and respond. Now is one of those times. What might God’s invitation for you be today? What might God be inviting your congregation to be a part of? What (or who) might God be calling the Nebraska Synod to be? These are questions for us each to wrestle with and wonder about, in the deep hope and spirit of the Reformation.

9. God is up to something
With the invitation to come and see and witness, is the recognition of God’s activity. We sense this in prayer. We sense this in song. We sense this in nature’s beauty. Think about this. Over the past six months alone across the Nebraska Synod we have witnessed the mystery and awe of the Aurora Borealis (the “Northern Lights”), and a once in a lifetime comet flying over the western skies. These are signs and wonders of God’s creation. Are we stopping to take a few deep breaths, and to wonder about what God might be up to? The best gift I have as part of my responsibilities of my call to be your partner in ministry on the Nebraska Synod staff, is to be able to be out among you- the congregations of this synod- to say thank you for all of the faithful ministry that you do and make possible, to witness God’s love made real through you, and to wonder with you about what God might be up to and inviting next. In this past year, I have sensed an honest, earnest, and hopeful energy in ways I have not sensed in my prior years on synod staff. The timing feels right. There is an openness to God’s movement, and I am grateful for that and so excited to see what that might lead to and mean next.

9.5. What might God be up to and inviting?
This all begs the question and opportunity to turn it to you. Now, it’s your turn. What are your theses? What are your deep wonderings and longings? Where do you sense God’s movement and invitation? What might God be up to and inviting? Please share these with me and the whole Nebraska Synod- in written form, on social media, in conversations. And perhaps share this invitation and your own reflections with your own faith communities. If we are really all in this together, then we all have some work to do for discernment and experimentation. So, people of God, what might God be up to and inviting?

Ponder anew this Reformation and join in as God might just be doing a new thing.

Happy Reformation dear Church, and Soli deo Gloria!
Deacon Timothy

p.s.- If wanting to ponder some more, here is a reflection about 9.5 Things Nailed to the Door, and 9.5 Questions to Ponder that are also shared in the same spirit of the Reformation.