Sunday I was privileged to preach at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. Redeemer is a vibrant church, over three thousand members, and occupies one city block. The street sign at one corner of that property caught my attention, the intersection of “Dale Drive” and “Lazy Lane.” That’s my vision of retirement, but before I settle into “Dale and Lazy” I have a few things I pray God to accomplish, including...
…increasing enrollment at Concordia Seminary. It’s been too low for too many years. As my classmates and I check into retirement and then check out of retirement, projections indicate a serious shortage of pastors in our denomination. Think of this personally. When your grandchildren and great-grandchildren need baptism, a wedding, spiritual guidance, a hospital visit, will their church have a pastor 10, 20 or 30 years from now? More heart-wrenching, should they walk away from church, as many young people are doing, will there be a pastor to lead a congregation into outreach to win them back? Mainline American denominations are in serious decline, and low seminary enrollments is one symptom.
Oswald Chambers, that penetrating spiritual writer, was principal of a Bible college. “One student a year who hears God’s call would be sufficient for God to have called this College into existence. This College as an organization is not worth anything, it is not academic; it is for nothing else but for God to help Himself to lives.” Today’s Seminary is God’s instrument for the future. Without iron determination now, our secular culture will seduce more and more people to live and die eternally without Jesus. When I leave “Dale and Lazy,” I believe Jesus will take me to heaven. What young person do you know who could lead people to know Jesus after you’ve left retirement?
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