Nebraska Synod ELCA

By Deacon Timothy Siburg

One of the greatest joys of ministry for me at least is walking with God’s people and being present with and witnessing the moments when a Child of God or another disciple has an Epiphany. You know an “ah-ha” moment, or the moment a lightbulb might go on. The moment when a connection is made. An idea is formed. When the Spirit moves, and we can’t help but pay attention.

I was meeting with St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Lincoln a few weeks ago, a congregation who has journeyed through the Nebraska Synod’s Vitality Initiative, and it felt like a true Epiphany had happened before my eyes. The congregation named its unique congregational vocation as, “Feeding God’s People.” This vocation had been something the congregation had been discerning with intention for a few years, but it was named so clearly and succinctly in a church council retreat that I couldn’t help noticing that God had moved, and a new discovery had been made.

There have been countless moments like this in walking with the Nebraska Synod’s Vitality Initiative for Congregations over the past four years. Deacon Sunni Richardson, Pastor Sarah Cordray and I have had the joy of many of these moments as the initiative’s steering team through two cohort’s journeys. We are excited to be walking with a third cohort which just began its journey together this week. But in walking with these congregations, I am reminded that these epiphany moments aren’t limited to one initiative or way of doing things. There are insights that could help cultivate love through epiphanies as an art and practice for any and all congregations.

Some things to consider:

• God’s Mission (The Missio Dei) is bigger than any one congregation. God is at work in the world and invites us in. When disciples and congregations sense and learn this anew, more lightbulb moments come, and more questions form. Questions like: What does this mean? What might God be up to? What might God be inviting us to be a part of next?
• Listening is Holy Work. It means truly being open to the Spirit’s movement, pondering, imagining, and sharing. It’s not always easy, but when intentional in listening, we might discover not our own will and desires, but God’s invitation and activity. We might even come to have an epiphany, discovering who it is God is calling us to be now and next, and with whom God is calling us to truly be in relationship with as neighbors.
• Pray without Ceasing. Even when we might not have the words, the work of prayer continues. To pray for God to open our imaginations and senses. To show us what our next most faithful step might be. To hold the work and needs of all God’s people together as signs of God’s gracious love.
• You have Permission! Perhaps one of the greatest gifts through the learning of the Vitality Initiative has been the discovery of the importance of permission giving. You as God’s people, and every congregation of God’s beloved, has permission to try something. To sit with hard questions. To rethink assumptions. To experiment and try some things. To learn. To pivot. To be a resurrection people that lets things die that have outlived their useful life, to lean in more fully to who God is calling us to be now in abundance.

What might these ideas look like for you? What questions or wonderings might they lead to for your faith community? These considerations aren’t limited to the Vitality Initiative. I invite you to imagine what they might look like in your context. If you would like to ponder this more, please reach out for conversation. And if you are interested, in what this might look like for your congregation, I’d be grateful to talk and wonder with you too.

Deacon Timothy serves as the Director for Mission, Innovation and Stewardship. Timothy is available to preach, lead worship (outside of the sacraments), workshops and discussions, and meet for conversation. He resides in Fontanelle with his wife, Rev. Allison Siburg (Salem Lutheran, Fontanelle) and their two daughters.