Nebraska Synod ELCA

By Deacon Timothy Siburg

Happy Reformation Day! On this day 506 years ago, Martin Luther famously posted his 95 Theses on the door in Wittenberg, and what was meant to be a conversation with the hope of leading to some reforms and changes instead launched what we would commonly remember as the Reformation. At the heart of this, were questions. Consider this. In The Small Catechism, the most common refrain that Luther writes is not as many might assume (“This is most certainly true”) but the question, “What does this mean?” This question and the art of questions are at the heart of the Reformation and the heart of constantly discerning and discovering who God is calling the church to be as God’s people.

It’s in that Spirit, and as sort of a culmination of the October focus to “Go and Ask,” that I offer 9.5 Questions in the spirit of Luther’s 95 Theses.

Question 1: What does this mean?

Any list of questions and the Reformation, has to start with this four-word question, right? When asked genuinely, this question is all about making sense, learning, and growing as a disciple.

Question 2: What might God be up to?

This question moves us from thinking in terms of church-centered questions to God-centered questions. It invites us to wonder, imagine, listen, and witness. To see how the kingdom of God might just be breaking into the world bit-by-bit, here and now.

Question 3: What might God be inviting next?

Building off the previous question. This invites us to wonder, imagine, and listen, but also to potentially respond and even experiment. To join in with God in some of God’s on-going work here and now, and to witness and experience how through God in Christ, “all things are made new.”

Question 4: What does the data suggest?

For the numbers and data people, like me, this is a good question. It’s never the first question nor the last question. But in conversation, it is helpful because it grounds us in our vocations in reality. For instance, what are the needs of the neighborhood around which your congregation lives and serves? What does the data suggest? And from there, what might God be inviting?

Question 5: What might the right metrics be?

For too long the church has relied on two main metrics. Worship attendance and financial giving statements. These aren’t necessarily bad things to measure, but if they are the only main measurements, do they really tell the story of what God is up to? I don’t think so. Not in this day especially where regular attendance and engagement doesn’t look like it used to. But also, because I don’t think they actually answer the question that should be at the heart of these metrics. What might a metric look like that asks, “how are lives changed?” This may lead both new quantitative and qualitative questions and metrics, that hopefully might start to tell a bit more of the story of what God might be up to in, with, and through the church.

Question 6: What’s next for the church?

This question is pretty self-explanatory. There isn’t an obvious answer. There are theories that based on data, the church is changing rapidly. I suspect this is part of how it is always forming and reforming as we remember with the Reformation. In asking this question, I don’t ask it with fear and trembling but rather with hope and trust. Because it’s not all about us. The psalmist reminds, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold” (Psalm 46:1 & 46:11, NRSV). God is with us. As long as this is Christ’s church, it’s not all up to us. Thanks be to God.

Question 7: What are the things to which we must hold fast and tightly?

As the church changes, we may be called to reevaluate why we do what we do. This is good and right. But amid flexibility and pivoting, there are things to which we hold as central. Perhaps a good starting place to distinguish between essential and adiaphora is to revisit Luther’s five solas: word alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and Glory to God alone. Beyond that, maybe we can hold on to things a bit more loosely?

Question 8: What are the things to which we ought to hold more loosely?

This may be context dependent, and the answer may vary from congregation to congregation and disciple to disciple. But in this time of change, I do wonder how we might answer this. And how might the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church be discerning about this very question too?

Question 9: What else am I wondering about?

I’m not just a Deacon, on synod staff, or the spouse of a Pastor. I’m also the dad of  two wonderful girls. With that in mind, I wonder quite a bit. How can I be the best dad for these two? What might God be inviting them to be a part of in their lives ahead? And in the words of the poet Mary Oliver, what will life bring for them (and continue to bring for me) as part of this “one wild and precious life” that we each are so blessed to receive and be entrusted with?

Question 9.5: What are you wondering about?

Now it’s your turn. What are you wondering about? What are the questions that are on your hearts and minds this Reformation? Join the conversation with the Nebraska Synod by commenting on the synod’s Facebook page or by emailing: goand@nebraskasynod.org. We’d love to hear your questions as we move from “Go and Ask,” to “Go and Be Honest,” and continue to “Go And…” in ministry together this year. (And if you need more food for thought this Reformation, here’s another reflection from a year ago that may also be helpful.)

Happy Reformation Day Church! Soli Deo Gloria!