Creation | Nurturing contentment | Knowing the biblical Mary

Christmas traditionsThe gospels share what we need to know about

Jesus’ birth, but various Christmas traditions have developed through the years. Page 26

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FEATURES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Talking about MaryMary is such a wonderful example of faith. Yet so many add stories not found in the Bible.Michael Hartman

Origins: Two modelsWhen comparing the two models, we need to understand the funda-mental assumptions of both.Arthur A. Eggert

Confessions of faithAn atheist who disregarded the Bible discovers the saving message of theScriptures.Amanda M. Klemp

Heart to heart: Parent conversationsHow can we nurture contentment in our children’s hearts?

Did you ever wonder?What are the traditions and myths mixed with the Christmas we observe? John A. Braun

Mission stories: AlbaniaJohn F. Vogt

Thankful every dayA woman counts the blessings in herlife—from being adopted to finally get-ting the siblings she always wanted.Alicia A. Neumann

A larger purposeA National Geographic article about themigration of arctic terns teaches us animportant lesson about Christmas. Joel C. Gerlach

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCKDecember 2015 3

VOLUME 102, NUMBER 12

WHAT’S INSIDEHave you ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25? Or how many wisemen really did visit the baby Jesus? You probably have heard stories that try to answerthese and other questions about Christmas. Executive editor John Braun looks at someof those stories but also reminds us of the only place we can go to find sure answers—the Bible (p. 26).Stories and legends also abound about Jesus’ mother, the virgin Mary. God’s Word doesnot share much about the mother of the Savior. She only speaks four times in the entireBible. Missionary Mike Hartman explores those instances on p. 10. He also encouragesus to talk more about Mary because it is a great way to get people to open their Bibles to see what it really says about her and about her Son. A new WELS outreach movie, My Son, My Savior, also can help you start that discussion as it looks at our Saviorthrough the eyes of his mother, Mary. Learn more at wels.net/mysonmysavior. Sharing Jesus’ story of how he came to save us—from his miraculous birth through hisperfect life to his death and resurrection—is our mission in life. On our back page article,retired pastor Joel Gerlach gives us a unique example to remind us of this purpose.

Julie Wietzke

IN EVERY ISSUE

May the L OR D our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. — 1 KINGS 8:57

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FeedbackReaders share their opinions

DevotionBelieve the Christmas miracles

From the president’s deskSpeaking the truth . . . in love

Light for our pathTeaching morality contrary to Scripture

Teen talkMy life as a child of divorce

Bulletin boardAnnouncements from around the synod

2032333435

NewsWhat’s happening in WELS

Editorial commentThe failure of utopias

Bible studyReal people, real Savior

A thoughtLook, the Lamb of God

Interactive Bible studyGreat stories of the Bible

December 2015 5

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EDITORIAL OFFICE

Forward in Christ magazineWELS Communication ServicesN16W23377 Stone Ridge DrWaukesha WI 53188-1108Phone: 414-256-3210E-mail: fic@wels.netwels.net/forwardinchrist

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Rev. John A. Braun braunj@nph.wels.net

MANAGING EDITOR

Julie K. Wietzkejulie.wietzke@wels.net

STAFF WRITER

Nicole R. Balzanicole.balza@wels.net

SEMINARY CONSULTANT

Prof. Bill Tackmier

ART DIRECTOR

Karen Knutson

DESIGNER

Carianne Ciriacks

COPYRIGHT

©2015 by Forward in Christ. Printed in the USA. Forward in Christ grantspermission for any original article (not a reprint) to be photocopied for use in a WELS church, school, or organization,provided that copies are distributedfree and indicate Forward in Christ asthe source. Artwork may not be repro-duced except in the context of its article. For other copyright questions,contact Kristine Laufer, 414-615-5706;lauferk@nph.wels.net.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwiseindicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE,NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copy-right ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.All rights reserved worldwide.

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6 December 2015

FEEDBACK

LIFE OF A MISSIONARYWhat a beautifully written article bySarah (Westphal) Habben [“Where Iam from,” Aug.] giving us a look intothe life and faith of a WELS mission-ary’s child and her family. May Godcontinue to be with our missionworkers near and far. 

Lorna EhlkeSummerfield, Florida

Send your letters to Feedback, Forward in Christ,N16 W23377 Stone Ridge Dr, Waukesha WI53188; fic@wels.net. Letters between 100 and200 words are preferred. Include full name andaddress. Letters are edited for clarity, conciseness,and relevance. Not all letters received can beacknowledged or used. Writers’ views are notnecessarily those of WELS or Forward in Christ.

1. John 17:1-5 2. Jn. 17:6-19 3. Jn. 17:20-26 4. Jn. 18:1-27 5. Jn. 18:28–19:16 6. Jn. 19:17-37 7. Jn. 19:38–20:10 8. Jn. 20:11-31 9. Jn. 21:1-14 10. Jn. 21:15-25 11. Isaiah 1

12. Is. 2, 3, 4 13. Is. 5 14. Is. 6 15. Is. 7:1–8:15 16. Is. 8:16–10:4 17. Is. 10:5-34 18. Is. 11, 12 19. Is. 13:1–14:23 20. Is. 14:24–16:14 21. Is. 17, 18, 19 22. Is. 20:1–22:14

23. Is. 22:15–23:18 24. Is. 24, 25 25. Is. 26, 27 26. Is. 28 27. Is. 29:1–30:17 28. Is. 30:18–32:20 29. Is. 33, 34, 35 30. Is. 36, 37 31. Is. 38, 39 2015

DECEMBER2015

Read or listen online at wels.net/bible3.

December 2015 7PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

DEVOTION

Can you imagine the reaction as peoplefrom Nazareth listened to Joseph tell hisstory? No, he wasn’t going to divorceMary. Yes, he remained committed toher. She hadn’t been unfaithful after all!Her pregnancy was a miracle! The childin her womb had been conceived bythe Holy Spirit! An angel told him!

BELIEVING IN THE VIRGIN BIRTHWere there looks of pity in the eyes ofJoseph’s friends as they walked away?Did they shake their heads in disbelief?Did they think to themselves, “Josephmight be a good carpenter, but howcan he be such a fool? Everyone knowshow a woman gets pregnant. Marymust have cheated on him.” Despite what others may have thought,Joseph believed. He believed, not be-cause he was delusional or a romanticfool. Joseph believed, not because theangel’s message made logical sense.Joseph believed because the same HolySpirit who caused Mary to conceivehad created faith in his heart. People today still shake their heads indisbelief at Christians who confess thata virgin gave birth to a son in Bethle-hem on that first Christmas night. Theproud human mind sits in judgmentover God’s message and declares, “Itjust doesn’t make sense. You’d have tobe a fool to believe that ancient myth.” Yet, contrary to all logic, we continue toproclaim each Christmas that a virgingave birth. We believe, not because itmakes sense. We believe because Godhas spoken to us through the pages ofHoly Scripture. We believe because theHoly Spirit has worked the miracle offaith in our hearts too.

BELIEVING IN OUR SAVIOR We also believe the most astonishingpart of the angel’s message. The realmystery is not the virgin birth itself.The truly incredible revelation in theangel’s message is found in the childhimself, the son who was to be giventhe name Jesus.

Why should the holy God care about a world of sinful people who rebelagainst him? Why would Jesus, trueGod, humble himself and be borninto a world that despises and rejectshim? Why would Jesus willingly live

under the law knowing that his wholelife on earth was leading to the agonyof the cross? Would God really do allthat to save people from sin? It justdoesn’t make sense. But it’s true! Jesusdid come to save people from sin! Jesuscame to save you and me from sin. OurChristmas hope and joy is wrapped instrips of cloth and lying in a manger.Let the rest of the world scoff at our celebration of Christmas. Let peopleshake their heads and call us fools. Weacknowledge that the Christmas storyis incredible, but we also know that it’strue. We have God’s word on it. A vir-gin did give birth to a son. His name is Jesus. Jesus is our Joy. Jesus is ourPeace. Jesus is the One who came fromthe Father, full of grace and truth!

Contributing editor Michael Woldt is pas-tor at David’s Star, Jackson, Wisconsin.

We acknowledge thatthe Christmas story isincredible, but we also

know that it’s true.

Believe the Christmas miracles“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, becausewhat is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, andyou are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from theirsins.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commandedhim and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:20,21,24Michael A. Woldt

8 December 2015

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

Some would say that being “politicallycorrect” is simply taking care that yourwords do not needlessly offend peoplewhose political, social, or religiousviews differ from yours. Others, how-ever, would say that insistence on polit-ical correctness threatens free speechand silences those who disagree withthe “correct” views promoted by thosewho want to shape the culture.The apostle James certainly knew thatwords can hurt and do damage. “Thetongue also is a fire, a world of evilamong the parts of the body. . . . It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison”(James 3:6,8). Words can destroy trust.Words can be used to belittle a spouse.Words can destroy friendships. Wordscan dishonor parents. Words can dis-tort the truth and lead people to believea lie. Words can give life and energy tovile and wicked ideas. Words can en-tice and tempt others to sin.You might think that since words haveso much potential to do harm, the lesssaid the better. But words can also ac-complish amazing good. With wordswe express our love to one another.With words we teach our children val-ues and morals. With words we com-fort those who are sad and share in thejoy of those who are celebrating. Withwords we pray and sing praises to God.With words we admonish brothers andsisters who are caught up in sinful be-havior. Most of all, it is with words thatwe can share with others the beautifultruths that God has revealed to us inthe Scriptures.Yes, God wants us to speak. But he is also very clear how he wants us tospeak. Paul encouraged the Ephesiansto speak the truth. And he went fur-ther, saying that we are to speak thetruth in love.There are times when speaking thetruth in love is not easy—when fright-ened silence seems to be the path of

least resistance. What do you say whenyour coworker makes it clear that liv-ing with his girlfriend outside of mar-riage is perfectly normal? How willyou warn your friend when you knowthat he regularly views pornographyon his computer? What words do youuse when your college roommate ar-gues that every woman should havethe right to have an abortion? Shouldyou speak up when your neighbor ac-cuses people who are not in favor ofsame-sex marriage of being closed-minded, bigoted, and homophobic?When God gives us the opportunityto express our beliefs—and he will—we need to be ready. We need to beready to speak the truth. But we alsoneed to be ready to speak the truthnot with words that mock or belittleor boast. Rather we need to speak thetruth in love—out of love for the truthand with a loving attitude toward theperson who hears us. Even when we speak the truth in lovepeople will not always respond well.Sometimes the truth—even when spo-ken in love—is not what people wantto hear. We will often be condemnedfor our efforts. We will be accused ofbeing judgmental. We may lose friendsand suffer ridicule in return. When wespeak as a synod, other church bodieswill accuse us of being legalistic, cling-ing to old-fashioned and outmodedbeliefs, or just plain wrong.But that should not deter us. Whenthe truth needs to be spoken, we needto speak it. And we need to speak itwithout fear, without apology, and always in love.

Speaking the truth . . . in love

When the truth needs to be spoken, we need to speak it.

Light for our path

While there are certainly other contribut-ing factors to the situation you describe, asimple answer can be found in a church’sapproach to biblical interpretation.

DIFFERENT METHODS OF INTERPRETATIONThe most common method of biblical in-terpretation for churches under the um-brella of Christianity is the historical-criticalapproach. This approach has two underly-ing premises: Any account in the Bible thatcontains supernatural content is fiction andnot fact, and God did not inspire the writersof biblical books by giving them the exactwords to write down. Those who subscribe to this approachmaintain that miracles recorded in theBible are merely the reports of supersti-tious people with scant scientific informa-tion. They further assert that Matthew,Mark, Luke, and John did not write thegospels that bear their names, but individ-uals who never knew Jesus personally andwho lived decades after his earthly min-istry penned the gospels. The historical-grammatical method, onthe other hand, takes a drastically differentapproach toward the Bible. It treats Scrip-ture on its own terms: that all of it is truth(John 17:17), inspired by God (2 Timothy3:16), and centers on Jesus Christ (John5:39). The historical-grammatical methodexamines the words of Scripture in theirhistorical context and seeks to understandand apply those words as they were origi-nally intended—regardless of how unpop-ular the content might be today.

PUTTING THE METHODS INTO PRACTICEWith this very brief background of bibli-cal interpretation methods in mind, con-sider what I could do if I interpreted theBible according to the historical-criticalmethod. If I came across a Bible passage

with moral content I did not like—whateverit happened to be—I could amend it in waysthat appeared to be credible and legitimatefor me today. I could ask, “Would it be lov-ing to others to accept as truth and to im-plement in life what this passage is saying?Or would it be more loving to find a differ-ent meaning and application?” To somepeople, that could appear to be a sound andnoble approach to biblical interpretation.But you see what is happening, don’t you?People are approaching the Bible with theirminds made up regarding what Scriptureshould and should not say. And if Scripturedoes not agree with their opinions, then they believe they can—with self-assertedscholarship and stated sincerity—propose a meaning that lines up with their ideas.Is that how biblical interpretation is to work?Isn’t it to be just the opposite? King Davidimplored of the Lord: “Show me your ways,Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in yourtruth and teach me” (Psalm 25:4,5). Properbiblical interpretation approaches God’sWord with a student-like attitude, seekingto be taught by God and to have him replaceour ideas on subject matters—includingmorality—with his. When that happens and we profess whatthe Bible says, we may find ourselves stand-ing up for a message that is unpopular forsome. Does that mean we change the mes-sage to make our lives easier or to attractpeople who have itching ear syndrome (2 Timothy 4:3)? Not at all. We hold to theLord’s teachings (John 8:31) out of love for him and others.

Contributing editor James Pope, professor at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Min-nesota, is a member at St. John, New Ulm.

James Pope also answers questions online atwels.net/questions. Submit your questionsthere or to fic@wels.net.

QUESTION & ANSWER

Is there a simple answer why many mainline Christian denominations either remain silent or now actually officially teach morality contrary to Scripture?James F. Pope

December 2015 9ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK

Karla regularly attends a Lutheran church inLeón, Mexico, but like many Latinos, her pastholds strong ties to Mary.“I remember how much I enjoyed dancing in theparades,” she says, recalling a December festivalto the virgin Mary she used to participate in. “Every February, my father walks 80 miles to askfor the virgin’s blessing,” she continues. “In myhometown, each day in May a different profes-sional group parades to the virgin statue located in the church on the central plaza. May 3 was theday I was required to participate. Many carryheavy statues of saints on their backs as they jointhe parade to the church. When I was in college,we actually received course credit for participationin the ritual. We believed the virgin has the power to protect us.”Karla’s experiences are shared by many Latinos whocome to the Lutheran church as adults. On a recentSunday at Resurrected Christ Lutheran Church inLeón, Mexico, Bible study was especially crowded.The subject of the conversation for the day wastalking to others about Mary. During the study, thequestion was asked, “How did you come to believewhat you now know about Mary?” “I read the Bible,” those in attendance answered.

We are not surprised to hear someonelearned the truth about Mary by readingthe Bible. But it demonstrates a point. Peoplewho have misperceptions of Mary are rarely fa-miliar with what the Bible does—and does not—tell us about her. Countless myths exist aboutMary: that she was able to walk at six months;that she was fed by an angel; that she became en-gaged to Joseph after his staff blossomed and adove landed on his head; that she appeared to anAztec peasant named Juan Diego.In my experience, talking about Mary is often anopportunity to get people to open their Bibles.Many are surprised that Mary only speaks fourtimes in the Bible. When someone brings up thesubject of Mary, consider this response: “Thereare so many different ideas about Mary, whydon’t we let Mary talk for herself?” You can read everything Mary ever said in the Biblein less than 15 minutes. After reading each part ofthe Bible, ask these questions: What surprised you?What do we learn from Mary’s words? What wasimportant to Mary?

Mary’s conversation with the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38)As you read what Mary said when an angel appeared

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK10 December 2015

Mary is such a wonderful example of faith. Yet so many add storiesand legends not foundin the Bible.Michael Hartman

to her, you cannot help but admire the words ofa faithful believer. Like Abraham and other heroesof faith, Mary simply trusts God’s message eventhough she does not fully comprehend it. Her prayerof willing service and submission to God’s will is amodel for all believers.

In addition to her example of faith, we see her hu-manity. Many who read this section note how Marydid not have an inside track on what was going on.She, like all of us, needed God to reveal it to herwhen the time had fully come.

Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-55)One of Mary’s most important statements jumpsout at us at the beginning of her song. After hearingElizabeth’s blessing, Mary glorifies the Lord saying,“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Mary neededa Savior. Like all of us, she had committed innumer-able sins since her birth. Christ, her son, is her Sav-ior too. The remainder of her song is really hercarrying out her statement of rejoicing.

Mary’s statement is prophetic when she says, “Fromnow on all generations will call me blessed,” but lis-ten to what she says and we see why she is blessed.Mary is not called blessed because of her personalqualities, but because of the wonderful things Godhas done to her. We see a believer celebrating God’sgreatness and mercy. Her focus is on God her Savior.

Mary and preteen Jesus (Luke 2:41-52)Abraham treated his wife poorly. David murdereda faithful follower. Peter betrayed. Paul persecuted.The Bible is full of examples of heroes of faith fail-ing. I am certain Mary would not claim that thetime they lost Jesus for three days was an exampleof great parenting.

You can hear the relief of a mother in Mary’s wordswhen she finally finds her son. You also see a per-son who seems to have forgotten her son’s specialmission. Jesus respectfully reminds her, “Why wereyou searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to bein my Father’s house?” In Mary, we see a loving buthuman mother.

Mary at a wedding (John 2:1-11)Like the encounter in the temple, Jesus’ responseto Mary’s words lends insight into what she’s think-ing. When the wine runs out, Mary finds Jesus andtells him. Jesus’ respectful reply demonstrates that Mary was trying to do what she thought was best. Who of us has not at one time or another thought if only God would do this my way?

Mary pays attention to Jesus’ every word. Jesus’response, “My hour has not yet come,” did not

close the door completely. With the final wordsof Mary recorded in Scripture, she encouragesthe servants to do what Jesus tells them.

In this final section, we again see a human Mary.However, we also see a Mary who follows herSavior, paying close attention to his words.

These are the only times Mary talks in theBible. She does appear in plenty of other stories.In addition to Christmas and Epiphany, she waspresent for Jesus’ death and listed among the be-lievers after his ascension. But no other words ofhers are recorded for us. After reading throughMary’s words together, I encourage the person to look up the other places in the Bible where she appears.

When the subject of Mary comes up, remember,it is not a matter of winning a debate. The goal isto open the Bible. Let the power of the Holy Spiritwork as Scripture is read and studied.

When Karla spoke of her experience of coming toknow the biblical Mary, she stressed the impor-tance of patience. Latinos, especially, have a strongcultural connection to Mary. She’s the ideal motherfigure. Family festivals and bonds play a strongerrole than they do in most Anglo families. As an out-sider, one of the most attractive parts of the Latinoculture is the priority it places on relationships.

Coming to a biblical understanding of Mary’s roleoften has a significant impact on personal ties.

“Family events were especially hard when I stoppedfollowing Mary,” Karla recalls. “Parties and familygatherings are intertwined closely with holidaysthat incorrectly celebrate Mary. But I am so glad Icame to believe what the Bible teaches about Mary.When I used to follow Mary, I didn’t understandwhat Jesus did for me. What he did for the world.”

Karla now carefully teaches her children aboutthe Mary in the Bible. Like Mary, Karla wants topoint people to her Savior Jesus.

Missionary Michael Hartman, field coordinator forLatin America, lives in León, Mexico.

PHOTOS: XXXDecember 2015 11

The goal is to open the Bible

Talking about Mary is often an opportunity to get

people to open their Bibles.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK12 December 2015

When comparing the two models, weneed to understand the fundamentalassumptions of both.Arthur A. Eggert

We see them everywhere—on television, on the Internet,and in magazines. They are scientific claims that the earthhas evolved and that numerous events happened many mil-lions of years in the past. The claims sound so official. Withthe incredible advances of technology, it seems almost fool-ish not to believe them. Yet we need to understand both thebiblical and the scientific approach to truth before we aretaken in by them.

THE BIBLICAL APPROACH TO TRUTHThe fundamental assumption of historic Christianity—in-cluding WELS—is that the Bible is the inerrant, verballyinspired Word of God. Christians believe this assumptionis true because when they study the Bible, the Holy Spiritconvinces them that it is true. The Bible describes a super-natural being called “the LORD” and states that he createdand manages the universe. The Bible is studied through aset of principles called “hermeneutics,” which permits doc-trines to be properly formulated.All the teachings of Christianity about God and salvationare based on its fundamental assumption and hermeneuti-

cal study. If the Bible is indeed inerrant, then we can havefull confidence in the absolute truth of these teachings.But what if this fundamental assumption of Christianity isfalse, and the Bible perhaps only contains the Word of God?Then we can never be sure about any of the teachings of theBible. For example, was Jesus true God? Did he atone for oursins? Did God create the world? If the fundamental assump-tion is false, then no matter how good the hermeneuticalstudy, everything will be mere speculation, the teachings ofmen and not of God. Christian churches that abandon theassumption that the Bible is inerrant eventually deny almostevery biblical teaching. The human heart cannot, on itsown, discern the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). St. Paulwrote about the futility of false faith: “If Christ has not beenraised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corin-thians 15:17).

THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO TRUTHThe physical and biological sciences are different fromChristianity in that they cannot determine absolute truthbecause the universe is too big to study completely. Scien-tists can only create models—also called theories or laws—that explain events that have been observed in nature (forexample, an apple falling from a tree). To develop suchmodels/theories, scientists use what is called the “scientificmethod.” When they observe an event, they weigh, count,and measure whatever appears to be related to the event.

December 2015 13

After gathering data from several events (e.g., observingother objects fall), they develop a theory to explain the data.They use this model/theory, such as the law of gravitation,to predict what will happen in yet untested cases. Whenthey observe such cases, they refine their theory if the ob-served results are different from what it predicts.This cycle is repeated until they conclude their model/the-ory/law is good enough for its intended use. A good modelis the scientific equivalent of “truth,” but it is always subjectto change based on new observations.The physical and biological sciences are like Christianity inthat they are based on a fundamental assumption, namely,that all observed events can be explained in terms of the in-herent properties of matter, energy,time, and space. This assumptionmeans that there can be no super-natural interference with the work-ings of the universe. Consequently,no actively involved god can exist.Furthermore, without an outsideagent like the Lord to have createdit, the universe must have evolvedby itself. There is no other logicalalternative. Macroscopic evolution,therefore, is a forced conclusionthat follows from the fundamentalassumption of science, not an out-come of the application of the scientific method. Scientistscannot prove evolution because they have assumed it!But what if an active god exists? Then the fundamental as-sumption of science is false because of the existence of sucha god. Therefore, when scientists see an apple fall, they can-not know if it fell as a result of the natural properties of mat-ter or whether a god knocked it off the tree. In fact, everyobserved event might be a result of natural forces, of a spe-cial supernatural act, or of a combination of both. For exam-ple, if someone rolled dice, would the numbers rolled be theresult of random processes of nature, which can be statisti-cally modeled, or the result of divine intervention, whichcannot be modeled? No matter how faithfully the scientificmethod is applied and no matter how cleverly the theories—such as those of evolution—are developed, they have novalidity because they are based on a false assumption. Scientists make their fundamental assumption becausetheir work is meaningless without it. Even Christians whoare scientists use it as a general guide in their research, although they do not believe it is absolutely true.

EACH IS BASED SOLELY ON FAITH The conflict is clear. Both the fundamental assumptionsof Christianity and of science cannot be true because they

lead to opposite conclusions about the existence of a godand the origin of the universe. One or both must be false.The important thing for Christians is that neither of theseassumptions is independently provable; each is basedsolely on faith.Some will object, claiming that the overwhelming evi-dence gathered in numerous fields of science forces oneto accept the fundamental assumption of science ratherthan that of Christianity. In reality, however, this evidence isequally well-explained because the Lord is almighty. Thereason scientific models/theories often appear to work isthat the Lord is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:33). Heusually controls the universe in such a manner that wecan use our intellect to make reasonable decisions. We

call God’s usual management of theuniverse the “laws of nature.” Yet theLord exercises direct supervisorycontrol over everything, tweakingnatural processes so that thingswork out as he desires, withoutscientists ever being aware of this(i.e., things happen “under theirradar”). This can involve the out-come of rolling dice (Proverbs 16:33),the lives of sparrows (Matthew10:29) or the positioning of thestars (Isaiah 40:26).

The Lord can also act supernaturally through spectacularmiracles, such as those recorded in the Bible (creating theuniverse, sending a huge flood, or causing the sun to standstill). When he acts outside the laws of nature, scientistswill completely misrepresent the cause of their obser-vations because their models/theories assume that onlynatural processes occurred. God is not bound by naturalprocesses nor obligated to leave behind evidence of howhe acted. The psalmist wrote, “Our God is in heaven; hedoes whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3).To stay close to the Scriptures and avoid the evolutionarytrap, we must realize that it is only by faith that we acceptthe Bible and its teachings as the inerrant Word of God.The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “By faith we understandthat the universe was formed at God’s command, so thatwhat is seen was not made out of what was visible” (11:3). Simply stated, we believe the Lord made the world in sixdays because the Bible says so and for no other reason.

Dr. Arthur Eggert is a member at Peace, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

This is the first article in a two-part series on creation.

God is not bound by natural processes

nor obligated to leave behind evidence of

how he acted.

14 December 2015

An atheist who disre-garded the Bible discov-ers the saving messageof the Scriptures.Amanda Klemp

Brian Ralston went in ready for afight he was confident he’d win. Butwhen he started posing his surefiretalking points, the pastor always had a Scripture-based response.“I thought the perfect argument was‘you have to believe every single wordin that book is true, because if you don’tbelieve every single word is true, thenyou can’t tell me who is smart enoughto say what is right or wrong,’ ” says Ral-ston, remembering his skepticism be-fore that first meeting. “I thought I’djust cross my arms and wait for him toquestion his whole philosophy on life.”But that was before he really heardand studied the Word of God at St.Paul, Muskego, Wis.

ZERO INTEREST IN CHURCHRalston grew up with a father who is a confirmed atheist and a motherwho took her husband’s lead regard-ing religion, or lack thereof, in thehome. God and church were not part of Ralston’s life. Ralston says, “My dad is to this date a confirmed atheist. He has zero inter-

est and thinks anything church-relatedis about the want of your money ratherthan concern about your salvation.”Ralston followed in his father’s foot-steps in these beliefs. When he was younger, Ralston pur-sued an education in science and wasconvinced his understanding of thenatural world through evolutiontrumped everything the Bible saysabout our world and lives.He was in his twenties when he metJennifer, his wife of ten years. Jenniferwasn’t raised going to church either,and religion was not part of their lifetogether. After the wedding came twochildren, a son, Jacob, now 8, and adaughter, Madelyn, 7.

A DIFFERENT LOOK AT SCRIPTUREIt wasn’t until Ralston started to thinkabout school for his small children thathe even stepped foot into St. Paul a lit-tle over five years ago. A friend sug-gested to Ralston that St. Paul’s Schoolwas the best in the area and he shouldlook at it for his own children enteringpreschool. That interest in his chil-dren’s academic education eventuallyled to his own spiritual education.Ralston and his wife ultimately de-cided they wanted to send their chil-dren to St. Paul’s School. They alsoknew that if they joined the church,

they’d get a break on tuition. In what,he admits, was initially a purely finan-cial decision, they set up their firstmeeting with the pastor at St. Paul.At the time Ralston considered him-self an atheist, and he thought he wasgoing to turn this pastor’s world up-side down with his arguments. Ralston says, “In my pre-Christian daysI would use what were man-made mis-takes to disregard the Bible becausepeople couldn’t agree.“That’s what I used to reinforce myown thinking,” he explains. “Theycan’t even agree what’s in [the Bible];how am I supposed to live my life fol-lowing the principles they can’t evencome to consensus on as Christiansand people who have studied theBible their entire life?“I used that as a lot of justification fordisregarding [the Bible], and it tookthe cycle of events and the providenceof God that brought me here before Iunderstood that I was collateral dam-age of all those people who didn’t un-derstand and that I blamed the Wordof God, not the people who are mis-understanding it,” says Ralston. “Thenmy eyes were opened to sit down andlook at it more in depth.”Ralston has since studied the Scrip-tures and has a goal to read the entireBible. He finds himself particularly

BACKGROUND PHOTO: DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB

drawn to Jesus’ parables. “The rele-vance of Scripture today, despite itsage, reinforces that it is timeless,” hesays. “A lot of people think it’s anti-quated and old fashioned. It’s morecurrent every day than it was the day before, in my opinion.”Ralston doesn’t report a “life-changing”moment, trauma, or tragedy in his lifethat prompted him to look at Scripture.He’s a typical law-abiding family manwho grew up in a typical home. Butnow he knows that he’s a saved childof God. He has something more thanhe had before. He knows it happenedbecause the Holy Spirit worked in hisheart through the message of the Scrip-tures. God’s providence brought himand the Bible together. When he beganto look through the Scriptures, thingschanged.From the first one-hour meetingwith the pastor to the requiredmembership class, all the time theHoly Spirit was working in Ralston’sheart. After completing the mem-bership class, he had his childrenbaptized. But he and Jennifer didnot get baptized right away becausehe wanted to be sure he approachedhis baptism with the appropriatereverence. Eventually, in a conver-sation with his wife, Ralston said ifhis birthday landed on a Sundaythat particular year, he would get

baptized. It did, so he and his wifewere both baptized on his birthday a few years ago.

A NEW INTEREST IN OUTREACHRalston says he doesn’t necessarilyfeel like his life as a husband, father,and employee changed outwardly, but “it has changed the way I view myplace in the world more so than it haschanged how I view myself.” He ex-plains that he’s noticed a bigger ca-pacity for forgiveness, patience, andrecognizing the plank in his own eyebefore pointing out the speck in some-one else’s. He tries to take on a “whatwould Jesus do” attitude in all he does. “Once I realized the expectations thatas a Christian you should try to beChristlike—you should want to liveyour life in a way that reflects Christ—I knew there’s no way I can live that.But that’s why I need Jesus,” says Ral-ston. Forgiven by Jesus, he can forgive.Loved by Jesus, he can love self-lessly. He’s motivated by Christ to be Christlike.Since Ralston and his family joinedSt. Paul, they have shared the savingmessage with his wife’s parents, whohave also joined the church. His par-ents have not reached that point yet,but he says that he, along with hiswife and children, continue to sharethe good news with them. He prays

that one day his parents might knowtheir Savior as well.He says, “I literally thank God everyday for St. Paul’s and the understand-ing and trueness of what they teach—it aligns perfectly with Scripture.”

Amanda Klemp, WELS web contentmanager, is a member at Living Word,Waukesha, Wisconsin.

December 2015 15

Brian Ralston and his two children, Jacoband Madelyn.

One of the most remarkable things about myhusband and his family is their overwhelming sense ofcontentment in the Lord. Their attitudes have been sucha blessing and example to me. My husband and his siblings were raised in an openlyChristian family in communist East Germany. They hadfew material possessions and opportunities. How couldpeople raised in such an environment become such con-tent adults? His parents fostered this contentment. Although my children are in a country overflowing withopportunities and lavish excesses, the example of my in-laws still applies as I seek to encourage contentment inmy children.My attitude. Contentment is born of thankfulness. Believ-ers know that everything is a gift from our heavenly Father.I can look to God’s Word regularly. I will begin to know

Spoiler alert: This month’sauthors all agree that if wewant our children to be con-tent, we parents need tomodel contentment forthem. Groan. That’s hard forflawed parents—at least forme. Thankfully, as AnnJahns notes, we have aheavenly Father who for-gives us, thanks to his Son’ssacrifice. So, why read thismonth’s articles? Becausealthough we may not find asilver bullet for contentmentin these articles, we will findan all-powerful God whopromises to be with us andhelp us each day.

Contentment cannot be taught. If it were thatsimple and easy, we’d all have it all the time. Someonewould just teach us the logic of it, and it would stick. “Don’t you see?” we’d tell our kids. “Contentment makesthe same sort of sense as 1+1= 2.” And then they’d nodtheir heads in agreement, won over by our irrefutable logic. I’m pretty sure that’s not effective. Why? Because I knowme. And I know my daughter. And if the Scriptures aretrue, I know you and your kids too.If I’m going to tamp down the whirring, yearning, and chas-ing of my discontentment this Christmas, if I’m going tohelp my daughter do the same, there is only one force withboth the consistency and the power to deliver. His name?The Holy Spirit. He alone will allow me to walk past theApple store without a second thought. He alone will allowmy three-year-old daughter to walk past racks of Christmastoys without throwing a tantrum. That’s just honest.Keeping that in mind, here are a few quick thoughts onunleashing the Spirit:

In preparing to write about contentment, I issuedmyself a challenge. How long could I go without expressingmy discontentment in any way? Well, I think I made it aboutten minutes. Sadly, it’s not in our sinful nature to be content.Every day on this earth is a battle as we examine our posses-sions, home, looks, and situations, and find them lacking insome way. There will always be someone out there who ishealthier, richer, prettier, and more successful than we are.How can we cultivate a heart of contentment in our chil-dren—and ourselves—in that environment?The Bible gives some marvelous examples of godly con-tentment. Take the apostle Paul, for one. The self-pro-claimed “worst of sinners” endured some things in God’sname that would send most of us packing. He lived throughshipwrecks, floggings, hunger, a snake bite, and prison.Throughout all those situations, he “learned to be con-tent whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). Heeven gently reminded Timothy, “If we have food andclothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:8).

HOW

CAN W

E NURTURE CONTENTMENT IN

OUR CHILDREN’S HEARTS?

Join theconversation!

Visit wels.net/forwardinchrist and look for the Heart to

heart link. Read uncutversions of the articles,learn more about the

authors, and give us yourthoughts and reactions.

the character of God. This amazing God is on my side. My re-sponses to difficult situations or material wants can be filledwith God’s peace. I can turn all of my life’s challenges over tohim and obediently await his leading.My words. I can intentionally talk about gifts—spiritual andmaterial—from God. I can take time to thank God aloud. I canlead my family as we thank God for one another and the specialqualities that each family member has. I can memorize Bibleverses, knowing God’s words will truly change my heart. I musttalk often about the greatest gift ever given—that of the Savior. My time. I can enjoy Advent and Christmas worship with mychildren. Though it can be a challenge with small kids, I canenjoy extra opportunities for praise and worship.I can take time to enjoy family devotions. Our family especiallyloves to sing “Away in the Manger” together before bed.I can focus on the people parts of Christmas—get-togethers,

games, baking—rather than the present parts. We spend sometime preparing gifts for others, but I try to keep it at a minimumbecause I want this to be a small part of our celebration. I can serve. There are so many ways that I enjoy serving, andmy kids can sometimes serve as well.My actions. I avoid having my kids make Christmas lists. I usually recycle toy catalogs before the kids see them. Thiskeeps our “gimmes” down. We don’t buy, buy, buy. This isn’t easy and sometimes I fail, but I want them to see that we are good stewards of our money. So much of parenting is modeling. We can use ourwords, but in the end it is what our children see thatmakes the difference.

Wendy Heyn and her husband,Juerg, have three children.

• Unleash the Spirit on yourself. In the Word, you’ll find thisincredible, mind-blowing God who has met every one of yourmost basic and most profound needs in totally overwhelmingways. Did I gush enough to make my point? The reality is thatif we parents are not convinced we have everything we couldpossibly want or need in Christ, how could we possibly hopeto share that same news with our kids? My daughter can smella rat a mile away.

• Unleash the Spirit on your child(ren). See above. Justthink, it’s December! What better picture is there than thatmangy manger for teaching the love and promises of God?

• Live gratitude. Even shout it! I do, and I heartily recommendit. When I see another stunning Carolina crescent moon, mywhole house knows about it—and who put it there! Sometimesat dinner, I’ll very intentionally ask my girls, “What are youthankful for today?” We do that at bedtime too. At the tenderage of three, my daughter sometimes has a hard time gettingpast the zoo, but—hey—I don’t mind asking her, “Are youthankful for Jesus too? Why?”

• Ignore, squash, or redirect discontentment. Pray for wisdomon which of those triggers to pull in which circumstance andthen pull it. Don’t be afraid to let the Spirit convict through you.Whatever you do, don’t ever indulge it. The human heart is abottomless pit. One more thing will not satisfy. Only Jesus does.

• Finally, build these rhythms into your family life intention-ally, practically, and concretely all the time. The human heartdoesn’t magically heal from discontent after December 25 rollsby. Before we know it, 2016 will drop in on us, and once again inthe new year we will find our hearts in need of Holy Spirit-pro-vided contentment. I am also delighted, however, to tell you thatonce again in the new year you’ll reliably find the Spirit for your-self and your children in the words and promises of God.

Jonathan Bourman is a pastor at Peace, Aiken, S.C. He and his wife, Melanie,

have a three-year-old daughter.

Does my family have food? Yes. And we often waste it. Doesmy family have clothing? You bet. So much that we often puz-zle over our options of what to wear.So, at this time of year in particular, how do we as Christian parents teach our children to be content “whatever the circum-stances”? It might sound simplistic, but I believe it is critical forus to model godly contentment in our homes by what we say anddo. There are many ways to do this, but here are a few ideas:

• Guard our tongues. I’m ashamed of how often I express dis-contentment in front of my boys. Our kids are listening and pick-ing up on our attitudes—good and bad. How comforting that wecan confess our failings and be reassured of God’s forgiveness.

• Seek out situations where we can help others and learn tovalue our blessings. What an impact on a family to volunteerin a mission setting or help our kids donate their gently-usedpossessions to those who need them more than they do. Theseteaching moments will have a greater impact than just saying,“We are very blessed.”

• Set aside the first portion of our earnings or chore money to give sacrificially to our church out of gratitude for God’sblessings. We can model how to use our blessings to help ad-vance the work of God’s kingdom.

• At the dinner table or in the car, ask, “What are youthankful for today?” Big blessings or small, they are all a gift from our loving Father, bestowed upon his undeservingchildren. How humbling.As a parent, I constantly have to remind myself that by beingdiscontent with what God has given me, I am in effect saying,“God, you don’t know what you’re doing.” I pray for the strengthto model contentment for my boys. Although God doesn’t al-ways give us what we want, in his perfect wisdom, he gives usexactly what we need.

Ann Jahns and her husband, ad, have three sons, two in college and one in high school.

CAMPUS MINISTRY

I am a product of divorce. As a child, itdefined me. My parents were divorced—so, of course, I must be a troubledchild. At least that’s how everyonemade me feel.

Already as a first grader, I re-member being treated differ-ently than other students. So Iacted naughty. Maybe I played intothe assumptions. As school continued, I never talkedabout my parents and their divorce. Iwould get embarrassed when we wouldtalk about the Sixth Commandment inschool—“You shall not commit adul-tery.” “Divorce means adultery” wouldclick in my head. I’d sit there and notsay anything.When I was in the sixth grade, mymom got married again. He seemedlike a great guy. But later, we found outhe was a struggling drug addict. I wor-ried about my mom getting anotherdivorce. I wondered if my mom wouldgo to heaven. I look back and wonderwhy no one attempted to make it clearto me that I was okay, that my sisterwas okay, that my mom was okay. Thisman ultimately chose drug addictionover us, abandoning his marital duties.He deserted us. I avoided ever talkingabout my family.

When the Sixth Commandment camearound in class again, I remember notwanting to go to school . . . but I went.No one clarified anything for me orcomforted me. Maybe they didn’t knowI was struggling with such things, andmaybe I should have asked. But what12-year-old is going to raise her handand say, “Is my mom’s divorce okay?” I went to a Lutheran high school. Notmany people there had divorced or sep-arated parents. I had a serious boyfriendfor about two years, who ultimatelybroke up with me because my parentswere divorced. He said he “just couldn’tdeal with it and felt like he could nevermarry me.” Couldn’t marry me? Wewere just kids in high school! But itshowed me again how divorced per-sons are perceived. I got the feeling Iwas somehow extra sinful because myparents were divorced.

Why is divorce looked at as worsethan other sins? One sort of sinner isnot better than another. People who getdivorced can be forgiven. Our focusshouldn’t be on the stigma of certainsins, but on repentance and faith. Manypeople struggle with many challengesand sins. People who are judged fortheir circumstances can be turned offby such judgment.

I’m not saying to accept people in theirsins. Absolutely not. But we need toshow patience and understanding.Both law and gospel need to be ap-plied. Struggling sinners are forgivenbecause Jesus died for them.If you don’t know the story behind some-one’s situation, don’t make assumptions.Don’t assume everyone who is divorcedcame to that position by pursuing sin.Don’t assume you know someone’s heart.Approach people with support, with lov-ing words. That could be all they need tobegin healing. My point is not to complain about howchallenging my childhood was or howeveryone around me handled thingswrongly. That is not the case. I am writ-ing this to raise awareness of thingsthat could be happening if we are opento helping one another. Life is hard; weare sinful people. What is most impor-tant—in fact, the only thing of ultimateimportance—is what Christ did for us.We have a gracious God who forgivesall sins. Let’s seek to help and forgiveeach other, rather than making lifemore difficult for those who’ve beenaffected by hurtful sins.

Because of the personal nature of this arti-cle, the author’s name has been withheld.

My life as a child of divorceDivorce affects entire families. How can we support and encourage thosestruggling with the long-lasting effects?

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK18 December 2015

BULLETIN BOARD

December 2015 19

CHANGES IN MINISTRY

Pastors Bergenthal, Guy R., to St. Peter, Elmwood,Wis.Fleischmann, David C., to Trinity,Kaukauna, Wis. Krause, Brad D., to Fox Valley LutheranHigh School, Appleton, Wis.Langebartels, Matthew J., to Redeemer,Tucson, Ariz.Lewig, Daniel I., to St. John, Hillpoint, Wis. Lockman, Steven M., to Living Word,Petaluma/Christ, Windsor, Calif. Marquardt, Guy M., to IndiaMueller, Paul M., to Cross of Christ,Kingman, Ariz.Scharf, Nathanael R., to St. Paul, NewUlm, Minn.Schoeneck, Mark E., to Immanuel, Water-town/St. Mark, Watertown (Richwood),Wis. Schroeder, Allen K., to retirementSutton, Nathan O., to Our Savior, SanAntonio, Tex.Valleau, Dennis J., to Our Redeemer,Wabasha, Minn./Grace, Nelson, Wis.Zak, Benjamin P., to St. John, Milwaukee,Wis.

NOTICE FOR CONGREGATIONTREASURERS AND PASTORSWe thank God for you and for your sup-port of the ministry WELS carries out onbehalf of all congregations. We ask thatyou continue to mail your CongregationMission Offering (CMO) deposit and itsprocessing coupon to our bank lock box,which provides effective and efficient de-posit processing for the synod. e lastbusiness day of each month is the report-ing cutoff date for the CMO deposit. Forthe deposit to be included in reported re-ceipts for the month, CMO must be re-ceived in the synod’s bank lock box on orbefore the last business day. An exceptionis made for December offerings. Gifts re-ceived by the bank lock box up to and in-cluding Jan. 8, 2016, will be credited as2015 CMO, if accompanied by a 2015coupon. ank you for your assistance.

COMING EVENTS Living nativity—Dec. 4–5, 6-8 P.M.Christ, Eagle River, Wis. Presentationsrun every 20 minutes. 715-479-8307.Living nativity—Dec. 4–5, 6-9 P.M.; Dec.6, 4-7 P.M. St. Paul, Howards Grove, Wis.Presentations run every 20 minutes. Web-site, www.stpaulshowardsgrove.org. 920-565-3780.

Living nativity—Dec. 4–5, 5-8 P.M. Trinity,Marinette, Wis. Presentations run every 20minutes. Website, www.trinitymarinette.com.715-732-9868.Living nativity—Dec. 5, 4-7 P.M. MartinLuther, Oshkosh, Wis. Live nativity pre-sented in “drive-through” fashion. Web-site, www.mloshkosh.org/live-nativity.Live nativity—Dec. 5. St. Matthew,Oconomowoc, Wis. Performances at 5 P.M., 5:45 P.M., and 6:30 P.M. Hosted bySt. Matthew; Holy Trinity, Okauchee,Wis.; St. Mark, Ixonia, Wis.; St. John,Ixonia, Wis.; and St. Paul, Ixonia, Wis.WELS ministerial education schoolChristmas concerts—

• Dec. 5, 7:30 P.M.; Dec. 6, 4 P.M. MartinLuther College, New Ulm, Minn. 507-354-8221

• Dec. 13, 3 and 7 P.M. Wisconsin LutheranSeminary, Mequon, Wis. 262-242-8100

• Dec. 13, 3 P.M.; Dec. 17, 10 A.M. LutherPreparatory School, Watertown, Wis.920-261-4352

• Dec. 18, 7 P.M. Michigan Lutheran Semi-nary, Saginaw, Mich. 989-793-1041

Mid-term graduation—Dec. 17, 10 A.M.Chapel of the Christ, Martin LutherCollege, New Ulm, Minn. 507-354-8221“Men of His Word” conference—Feb. 20, 2016. Best Western, Oshkosh, Wis.eme: “Stand Firm.” Website, www.menofhisword.org. Pathways to Christ retreat—Mar. 11–13, 2016. Oshkosh, Wis. 920-233-1069.Website, www.pathways.martinlutheroshkosh.comChristian Woman Today retreat—Mar.11–13, 2016. Sheraton, Brookfield, Wis.eme: “Christ lives in me (Galatians2:20b).” Maureen, 262-784-0412. Web-site, www.christianwomantoday.org.53rd annual Lutheran Women’s Mis-sionary Society convention—June 23–26,2016. Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles, Ill.eme: “Christ Alone, Our Cornerstone.”Website, www.lwms.org. WELS International Youth rally—June28–July 1, 2016. Colorado State Univer-sity, Fort Collins, Colo. eme: “OurGod Reigns.” youthrally2016@wels.net.Website, wels.net/events.Women’s Ministry Conference—July21–23, 2016. Wisconsin Lutheran Semi-nary, Mequon, Wis. eme: “Mentors.”Website, wels.net/wmconference.Tour to Colorado—July 22–Aug. 3,2016. Join the Martin Luther CollegeAlumni Association’s 2016 tour to Col-

orado. Steve Balza, 507-217-1731. Web-site, http://mlcalumni.wix.com/tours.

JOB OPPORTUNITIESClinic administrator—The CentralAfrica Medical Mission is accepting applications for a clinic administratorfor the Lutheran Mobile Clinic (Malawi)for a three-year term of service begin-ning November 2016. e clinic admin-istrator can be a nurse, but teachers,business backgrounds, or anyone with a strong desire to serve in a business po-sition is encouraged to apply. Preferredapplicants are single females, due to liv-ing arrangements. Contact cammcontact@charter.net or call 262-677-3844 forinformation.Development director—for MinnesotaValley Lutheran High School, New Ulm,Minn., starting Jan. 1, 2016. ContactPrincipal Tim Plath for a job descriptionand application at 507-354-6851 ortplath@mvlhs.org.

NAMES WANTEDMilitary—congregations members, fam-ily, or friends, who serve in the ArmedForces and desire spiritual services.Complete an online referral form atwels.net/military-services. Include asmuch information as possible; e-mailaddresses are especially important. Special Ministries, 414-256-3241;csm@wels.net.College students—Register college studentswith WELS Campus Ministry so they re-ceive helpful college materials, includingForward in Christ magazine and Medita-tions. Website, wels.net/campus-ministry.

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTSWANTEDIn an effort to reclaim storage space, churchleaders often discard documents, not real-izing that they tell the story of God’s gracein the congregations and the synod. If youhave items related to the history of yourcongregation, even bulletins from specialservices, forward them to the synodarchives, which are housed on the semi-nary campus. Send documents to WELSArchives, 11831 N Seminary Dr, MequonWI 53092.

To place an announcement, call 414-256-3210;bulletinboard@wels.net. Deadline is eight weeksbefore publication date.

20 December 2015

“Even though Crown of Life has been located in New Orleans East for decades, there was still a disconnect between our congregation and our community,” saysJonathan Kehl, Crown of Life’s pastor since May 2013.

Kehl explains that most of Crown of Life’s members livemany miles from the church, so local outreach is difficult.

“Much of this was the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina,”notes Kehl. “Many of our local members were displacedby the storm and never returned, leaving the church astranger in our own community.”

With two lots of unused land in the back of its property,the concept of a community garden was proposed. In2014, Crown Community Garden was launched, with agoal of having 13 raised beds that community memberscan rent at a low rate for their own use. People can alsoparticipate in co-op gardening, helping to care for a largegrowing plot and some fruit trees.

To jumpstart the development of the garden, WELSChristian Aid and Relief gave a grant to Crown of Life tohelp the congregation build a large tool shed, hook up tocity water in the garden area, and send out invitations tocommunity members inviting them to join the garden.

As Robert Hein, chairman of Christian Aid and Relief, ex-plains, the organization has a twofold mission: “We respondon behalf of WELS members to offer aid and encourage-ment to people suffering from disasters and extreme med-ical and financial challenges. But we also partner with Worldand Home Missions to support humanitarian aid projectsthat help build bridges to share the gospel. As the missionsaddress community needs, they also open doors to tellpeople about Jesus.”

In the past, most humanitarian aid projects were carriedout in world mission fields. Recently, though, more projects

are being conducted in home mission settings, especially incross-cultural situations such as in New Orleans.

Kehl is excited about the interactions he’s having with com-munity members as they work in the garden together. In theyear since Crown Community Garden has started, one couple has joined Crown of Life and one more is currently in Bibleinformation class. The garden allows Crown of Life membersto build relationships in a more natural way than cold callingneighborhood residents and inviting them to church.

“Natural conversations arise about struggles and hopes,which present opportunities to share law and gospel andapply it directly to their lives,” says Kehl. “A common ques-tion is, ‘Pastor, what do you think about . . . ?’ People whowould never have considered walking into a church are excited to be part of something like our garden.”

To learn more about other projects supported by WELS ChristianAid and Relief, visit wels.net/relief.

Crown of Life’s community garden is bringing congregationand community members together in New Orleans East.

Congregation’s garden strengthens roots to its community

NEWS

The distribution of 450 tons of maize in Malawi wasthe largest disaster-related food distribution proj-ect in the history of WELS Christian Aid and Relief.

In January, Malawi experienceddamaging floods that destroyedor damaged the homes of manyfamilies who are members ofWELS’ sister synod, the LutheranChurch of Central Africa–Malawi(LCCA). Initial relief efforts in-cluded providing supplies sothese families could constructtemporary housing.

The floods also washed away the families’ crops.This has been devastating for the local people, mostof whom are subsistence farmers. To help families

get through until the next grow-ing season, Christian Aid and Re-lief worked with LCCA churchleaders to distribute maize (thestaple food of Malawi) to an esti-mated four thousand LCCA fami-lies in about 20 different areas.National pastors oversaw the dis-tribution and conducted devotionsand prayers with the families receiving the donations.

CHRISTIAN AID AND RELIEF SUPPORTS EFFORTS AROUND THE WORLD

From pulpit to big screen

December 2015 21

NEWS

Ten years ago when Jeffrey Schallert wrote the sermonthat he titled “The Advent Fairy Tale,” he never imaginedit would one day be turned into a feature film. Schallert,pastor at St. James, Cambridge/St. John, Fort Atkinson,Wis., was merely writing one of his “storytelling sermons,”popular with members of all ages.

As Schallert notes, “Usually you preach the sermon, sayyour ‘Amen,’ and get to work on next week’s sermon. But I was rather fond of this one, and so I kept coming backto it again and again.” Over the years, “The Advent FairyTale” was shared during a chapel devotion for students atSt. Paul, Fort Atkinson; on a local Lutheran radio program;and in bulletin inserts for Schallert’s churches.

A friend of Schallert’s passed the bulletin inserts on toSteven Zambo, president of Salty Earth Pictures and amember of St. John, Newville, Wis. Zambo was captivatedby the story, which is a creative parallel to God’s plan ofsalvation carried out through his Son, Jesus. Zambo wenton to write and direct the screenplay based on Schallert’ssermon. Now titled The Return, the film was released fordistribution in November.

“I loved the ‘once upon a time’ aspect to this story,” saysZambo. “The fantasy world is so popular today. It’s an ap-proach of storytelling that crosses ages and cultures. Weas Christians can use stories like this to reach people offaith and unbelievers as well.”

It’s the kind of story that Salty Earth Pictures exists to create.The production company focuses on sharing stories thatwill, as its mission statement explains, “challenge minds,lighten hearts, and strengthen souls.”

Schallert has enjoyed watching the journey his story hastaken from pulpit to big screen. He notes, “I hope viewersappreciate anew the poignant beauty of the love of Christand the power that love has to make us better people.” 

To learn more about The Return, visit saltyearthpictures.org.

The love story that develops between Leah and Yadid (playedby Heather Ricks and Simon Jon Provan) in The Return providesan allegory for Christ’s love for us.

Special Reformation 500 service being planned The synod is planning a special servicein downtown Milwaukee on Oct. 31,2017, to commemorate the 500th an-niversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

“The blessings that we enjoy today—knowing God’s grace and knowing thetrue God through the Word he hasspoken to us in the Scriptures—havecome to us as a result of what God didthrough Martin Luther. For 500 years,the gospel message has been preachedand proclaimed to us and through us.Those are blessings that we can’t helpbut celebrate in a special way,” saysMark Schroeder, WELS president.

The service will be the culmination oftwo continuing education opportuni-ties for WELS called workers held atthe Wisconsin Center in downtownMilwaukee on Oct. 30–31—WisconsinLutheran Seminary’s annual sympo-

sium and the Wisconsin Lutheran StateTeachers’ Conference, which will beinviting WELS educators nationwideto participate. The service, tentativelyplanned to start at 2 P.M., Tuesday, Oct.31, 2017, will be held downtown in avenue large enough to accommodatethe thousands of called workers at-tending the conferences as well as allWELS members who are able to attend.“Although worship is taking place at the end of these called workers’ con-ferences, it is intended as a service ofthanksgiving and celebration for allWELS members,” says Schroeder.

Choirs from all the WELS high schoolswill be invited to participate in the serv-ice. “With so many of the synod’s calledworkers present and choirs from all ofthe synod’s high schools, I can onlyimagine the closing service on Tuesday

afternoon, the exactday of the 500th an-niversary of the Refor-mation,” says PaulPrange, administratorof the Board for Min-isterial Education andpart of the serviceplanning committee.

Special gifts will fund the event. Ac-cording to Prange, the plan is to offerfinancial help to called workers whosetravel costs might exceed their usualfall conference expenses. 

WELS districts and conferences alsoare planning celebratory events in2017 on the weekends surroundingReformation day. The WELS website,wels.net, will be updated as informa-tion becomes available.

Grandpa V. (left) and Pastor Vijay.

In Forward in Christ, we report thenews but aren’t always able to followup. “Where are they now?” is our wayof giving you the rest of the story.

In January 2012, we shared a storyabout a mission opportunity in India.

HERE’S A RECAP:Do you remember “the man on thestreet”? He’s the man whose house ishis cot. He didn’t smile much, but hisheart was warmed a bit through acts ofkindness. The last we told you abouthim left you wondering whether or nothe’d join you in heaven.

SO WHERE ARE THEY NOW?The acts of kindness continued—morefood, snacks and fruit now and then;a sweater and a blanket at Christmas;small coloring books and crayons forthe grandchildren. Now the smilescame more frequently as he pressedhis hands together over his chest inthe typical Indian greeting. The iceseemed to have melted!

Then he asked one of the pastors for a Telugu Bible. We don’t know if hecould read it or not, but it seemedimportant to him. Then he got sick—very sick. Lung problems, trips to thedoctor, a short stay in the govern-ment hospital. He’d lie on his cot forhours, his breathing rapid and shal-low. He seemed unsettled; perhapssomewhat frightened of death. PastorVijay paid him a visit; then another

visit, then another. He was open toinstruction in the Word.

The Spirit worked, and Jesus found an-other straying sheep! Venkataswaru ishis name. He was named after a Hindugod. That name is now written in thetrue God’s heavenly book. Pastor Vijaybaptized him at Christmas of 2013.

There’s more to the story. Pastor Vijay’s“home visits” continued (sitting next tohis cot in a plastic chair). “Grandpa V.,”as we call him, loves to look at Bible Sto-ries in Pictures. If you walk past his cotat the right time, you can see GrandpaV. sitting with his grandchildren point-ing to the pictures in the Bible storybook, asking them to identify the char-acters in the story. Grandpa V. has be-come a teacher!

And Grandpa V. has become somethingmore. An older lady was seen the other day standing next to his cot, looking intently at a book. Guess which book? Bible Stories in Pictures! Grandpa V. has also become an evangelist!

One day when Pastor Vijay and I werevisiting him, I had the opportunity toask the man what his name is. He toldme, and I repeated “Venkataswaru.”Then I added in Telugu, “my brotherin Christ.” He grabbed my hand witha big smile as if to say, “Yes, we’ll betogether in heaven!”

Dave BeckmanFormer friendly counselor in India

22 December 2015

Where are they now?

NEWS

Mike Graff from Crown of Life, Hubertus, Wis., shares a Christmasstory that shows how anyone canshare their faith and make a dif-ference—no matter what their age.

For the past few years during Ad-vent, our congregation has part-nered with Institutional Ministriesto collect personal need items, cloth-ing, and Christmas presents for thepeople they serve.

Around the middle of November2014, I was approached by one of myfavorite “little people” and asked animportant question: “Mr. Graff, arewe going to have that Christmas treefor the things to help people again.”

I thanked Grace for reminding meand told her that the Christmas treeshould be going up soon. Little didI know she had a plan.

Grace’s mom e-mailed me moreabout Grace’s plan. She wrote:

“At the beginning of NovemberGrace asked me if church wasgoing to have ‘that tree for thethings to help other people’ again.I told her we could ask you about itnext time we saw you at church.

“A couple days later she asked if Ithought our family might want todonate things to put under the treeas well. I told her they probablywould love to do that.

“This led to her getting the idea towrite a letter to all of her closestfriends and relatives explainingInstitutional Ministries’ missionand asking them if they wouldhelp her collect items to donate.She offered to shop for those whodidn’t feel like shopping.

“She sent out her letters and alsotold anyone who would listen. Shecollected $240, plus numerous bagsof items. As she started receivingcalls and letters with donations, sheinsisted we make a shopping list ofitems that people would really need.She thought of everything from dia-pers to deodorant to warm blanketsto ‘Jesus’ books (‘so that they canlearn about Jesus too,’ she said). She

Let yourlight shine

Serving as a congregation presidentcan be a blessing—and a challenge.Whether it’s calling a new pastor orteacher, dealing with financial short-falls or windfalls, or making long-range plans, there is always work to be done.

“As a church president, sometimesyou feel you have the weight of theworld on your shoulders,” says Den-nis Behnke, congregation presidentat St. John, Woodville, Wis.

To help lighten the load, Behnkestarted an informal group of area con-gregation presidents who meet face toface every other month to talk about

common issues congregations andcongregation presidents face. Sincethe group started two years, membershave tackled topics such as compensa-tion packages, insurance, the relation-ship between a congregation presidentand the pastor, buildings and groundsissues, and how men and women worktogether in service to the church.

“It’s been fantastic for me getting dif-ferent slants and ways of looking at a situation,” says Behnke. “When you’re sharing with other people, you realize that you’re not in this alone. We’re a group. The Lord has placed us in this position, and he is going to help us through.”

Besides being a best practices forum,the group also has guest speakers. Mostrecently Joel Zank, Northern Wisconsindistrict president, talked to the groupabout the call process. “It’s really a neatthing to see these men work together,pooling their resources,” says Zank.“Pastors get together and have thosebrotherly conversations in circuits. It’spretty nice when the laymen do thattoo. It’s just good communication be-tween leaders.”Between 20 to 25 church presidents—some who have served for years andsome who just have been elected—area part of the group. “For a new churchpresident to sit down with the guys

who have been doing it for a while and to be able to draw from their experi-ence is just fantastic,” says Behnke.

Behnke encourages other congregationpresidents to start groups in their area.“As a congregation, we can only do thismuch. As a group of different congre-gations, we can do that much more,” hesays. “If we talk to each other, we cantake our different strengths and bringthem to every congregation.”

Want more tips on starting a group like this? Contact Behnke at dlbehnke@frontier.com.

Pooling resources

December 2015 23

NEWS

was amazed at how much she col-lected! She told me, ‘Wow, Mom,my little idea is going to turn into a lot of big smiles!’

“She also decided that she wanted to give something from her person-ally, so she chose to make fleeceknot blankets for babies. At onepoint, while making the blankets,she was getting frustrated because‘her fingers weren’t working well,’ so she stopped and said, ‘When I’mfrustrated I’m just going to think ofthe happy face of the mom wrap-ping her baby in this blanket andthe warm baby smiling; then I willhave perseverance!’ (Yes, she doesknow the meaning of that word!).When she was finished with theblankets, she asked if we could put a ribbon around them with anote that said ‘Jesus loves you!’ Of course, I said yes.

“She told me she did this becauseJesus tells us to help others, sothat’s what she did.”

When given praise for the work shehad done, Grace said she didn’t do it for that (meaning the praise). Shesaid she did it because she wantedall of these people to know that Jesusloves them.

Oh yes. I did forget to mention some-thing . . . Grace is six years old.

May our triune God keep the fire inyour heart for outreach that Gracehas demonstrated this Christmas!

Note: Grace, now seven years old, isexcited to help collect gifts at Christ-mas again this year.

Grace Leist gathered Christmas giftsand donations for the people servedby Institutional Ministries, includingmaking her own fleece knot blankets.

District President Joel Zank (front row, third from left) talked about the call processto a group of congregation presidents this past September. The group meets regu-larly to talk about common issues congregations and congregation presidents face.

24 December 2015

Upon reading the first few pages of The MomGod Chose: Mothering Like Mary, I had to wonder

what I, a woman who was referred to as being of ad-vanced maternal age throughout her entire firstpregnancy, could have in common with Mary. I am a30-something with a one-year-old! What could I learnfrom a teenager living centuries before me in a verydifferent setting and time? Nevertheless, I venturedfurther into the book and am glad I did.

Author Sarah Habben writes a book that’spart history lesson, part examination of contemporary motherhood, and part devotion for the modern mother.

As we follow the story of Jesus’ conception,birth, life, and ultimate resurrection, the au-thor examines the qualities that Mary pos-sesses as the chosen mother of the Savior.We see that these qualities are not wisdombeyond her years, nor a depth of experi-ence. Rather she has an unwavering faith in God’s promise and Word. Through hard-

ship and trial she remembers that it is her job to raisethe son of God, and that Jesus’ purpose is not for her ultimate happiness but to deliver the world from sin.

Through interviews with modern mothers facing a multitude of situations, readers gain knowledge andencouragement. Topics range from how to teach chil-dren to pray, how to raise children confident in their

faith, and how to deal with technology inyour children’s lives.

Each chapter concludes with a number of questions to ponder. And, finally, each chapter is wrapped in prayer.

Habben ultimately shows mothers that,though parenting can be a scary and in-timidating task, if we rely less on flawedhuman understanding and realize God’s ultimate control, we will be able to worryless and mother better—mother like Mary.

Kristen ZimmermanEden Prairie, Minnesota

NEWS

THE MOM GOD CHOSE: MOTHERING LIKE MARY

WELS news briefsMINISTRY OF CHRISTIAN GIVING800-827-5482; mcg@wels.net

e Ministry of Christian Giving haspublished a revised congregationalplanned giving manual to help con-gregations jump-start a program ofpromoting planned giving opportu-nities to members. e manual alsoshares how to start a congregationalendowment fund through WELSFoundation, how to set up a congre-gational planned giving committee to provide further manpower for carrying out this work, and how toadminister an endowment fund. Inaddition, it provides information onWELS organizations that can helpwith the process. Download a freecopy at http://mcg.welsrc.net/

The 2015 synod convention launchedthe “One in Christ” debt eliminationoffering through June 2016 to elimi-nate the remaining $4.7 million insynod debt. A new graphic (shown)has been developed to show WELSmembers how God is blessing the“One in Christ” offerings collectedthrough congregational and individ-ual offerings. Look for the graphiconline at wels.net/oneinchrist andin other publications to see how of-ferings are growing as we work to-gether to move forward in ministry.

Note: The graphic is just an example and not up to date due to publishingdeadlines.

Price: $13.99

December 2015 25

Ernst M. Lehninger1917–2015

Ernst Lehninger was born May 2,1917, in Plymouth, Neb. He diedSept. 10, 2015, in Wauwatosa, Wis.A 1942 graduate of WisconsinLutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis.,he served Winnebago Lutheran Acad-emy, Fond du Lac, Wis.; Riverview,Appleton, Wis.; Grace, Oshkosh, Wis.;St. John, Wauwatosa, Wis.; and Wis-

consin Lutheran Child and FamilyServices, Milwaukee, Wis.He was preceded in death by hiswife, Margaret. He is survived bytwo sons, four grandchildren, andtwo great-grandchildren.

Darryl G. Bruemmer1934–2015

Darryl Bruemmer was born June 10,1934, in La Crosse, Wis. He died

Oct. 8, 2015, in Newberg, Ore.A 1960 graduate of Wisconsin LutheranSeminary, Mequon, Wis., he servedZion, Eitzen, Minn.; St. Peter, Oronoco,Minn.; Grace, Oronoco, Minn.; andGethsemane, Tigard, Ore.He is preceded in death by his wife,Rochelle, and a son. He is survivedby one daughter, two sons, and ninegrandchildren.

District news

Obituaries

NEWS

WESTERN WISCONSINChrist, Merrill, Wis., dedicated itsrecent building addition and reno-vated space on Oct. 4. WELS ChurchExtension Fund, Inc., helped the con-gregation finance the project with alow-interest loan.

DAKOTA-MONTANAOn Oct. 25, members of Redeemer,Mandan, N.D., worshiped in theirnew sanctuary and dedicated theirnew building. The project was fi-nanced through WELS Church Extension Fund, Inc.

MINNESOTAOn Nov. 1, Shepherd of the Hills,Duluth, Minn., dedicated its new addition and renovated space, whichincludes a fellowship hall, two earlychildhood classrooms, and an educa-tion office. WELS Kingdom Workers’Builders for Christ spent many hourshelping with this project, which alsoreceived support from WELS ChurchExtension Fund, Inc.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!MN—Trinity, Belle Plaine, Minn.,celebrated its 125th anniversary onOct. 11.

NW—First German, Manitowoc,Wis., celebrated its 160th anniversaryin 2015.

SEW—On Sept. 20, Kettle MoraineLutheran High School, Jackson, Wis.,held a Celebration of Ministry serv-ice, which honored three men fortheir anniversaries in the teachingministry—Timothy Kuehl and Wesley Schmandt, 25 years; Darwin Schramm, 40 years.

On Oct. 4, St. Paul, Muskego, Wis.,celebrated the 25 years that DavidKuehl has served as the congrega-tion’s pastor.

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary,Mequon, Wis., celebrated Prof. BillTackmier’s 25th anniversary in thepastoral ministry on Oct. 16.

On Oct. 18, members of St. John,Mukwonago, Wis., celebrated theircongregation’s 125th anniversaryand their school’s 40th anniversary.

The district reporters for this month are:D-M—Dave Ruddat; MN—Jeffrey Bovee;NW—Dennis Kleist; SEW—Scott Oel-hafen; WW—Brett Brauer.�

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

On Sept. 13, St. Paul, Appleton, Wis., celebrated the opening of its early child-hood center with a formal ribbon cutting. The center opened on Sept. 1 and canaccommodate up to 72 children ages six weeks to five years old.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK26 December 2015

We have only a little factual informa-tion about Jesus’ birth from thosewho were there. Matthew and Johnwere among those who walked andtalked with Jesus. Many think thatMark was part of the larger group offollowers and wrote for Peter. Godguided their recollections so that theywrote what we needed to know.Luke was a physician who may haveknown Jesus before his ascension, buthe is most likely a later convert whotraveled with the apostle Paul andheard information about the birth ofJesus. But he “carefully investigatedeverything from the beginning” (Luke1:3). It is not a stretch to believe thathe talked with Mary and learned thethings she treasured and pondered inher heart (Luke 2:19). But so much of Christmas does notcome from the gospels. The Christiansof the first two centuries were contentwith the gospel accounts. They came toknow Jesus as their Savior and, like us,

treasured Luke’s account of his birth.With simple faith they learned of hishumble birth in Bethlehem. They re-lied on Matthew to tell them about thecoming of the wise men or Magi.But there are gaps in the story. Isn’tthere anything more we know about hisbirth? Curiosity lay sleeping in thosefirst centuries after Jesus’ birth. Chris-tians at that time believed, it seems, thatJesus would return soon and there wasno need even to celebrate Christmas.But as Jesus delayed his second coming,the curiosity awoke.

WHEN WAS JESUS BORN?We know where he was born, but dowe know when? That’s a fair question.Curious Christians who lived centuriesafter Jesus was born had difficulty de-termining the date of his birth. AroundA.D. 500, a monk named DionysiusExiguus created a dating system thatchose to make the birth of Jesus thebeginning of a new age—the time

What are the traditions andmyths mixed with the

Christmas we observe? John A. Braun

before Christ and the time after Christ.Unfortunately, the date chosen was notaccurate. Later searches for the exactyear proved that Herod the Great diedfour years before the dating system saidChrist was born. That makes our cur-rent dates at least four years—perhapseven six years—off. Remember thatHerod killed the boysin Bethlehem twoyears old or younger(Matthew 2:16).And what about theday and time Jesuswas born? No onecould go to the town clerk of Bethle-hem to find a birth certificate. Therecords, if there were any, may havebeen part of the Roman census, butthey were gone. Could anyone sug-gest the day he was born?Clearly, the answer to that question isno. But Christians in the third centuryfelt that the coming of Jesus occurred onthe day that God created the world. Re-ally? Who knew that? Well, the cycle ofseasons always began with the first dayof spring and the coming of new life. Sothe first day of spring was also consid-ered the day God created the world. Forthese people, spring began on March 25.Some adopted that date for the birth ofJesus, but others began to adopt that dayas the day that Jesus was conceived. Ifyou count nine months from March 25,you come to Dec. 25. Add one more thought from theseancient Christians. The shortest day of the year occurs near that date.From that day the sun grows everyday after that. It seemed to suggestthat the Son of God could be born in the darkness of that short day be-cause he brought light to the worldjust as the sun grew in intensity.The Eastern church settled on a dif-ferent day for the birth of Jesus. Itchose Jan. 6. Some still celebrate thatday, or the day after, as their Christ-mas. Watch the news on Jan. 6 or 7,and you may find a story on the or-

thodox Christmas. Others suggestthat Jan. 6 is the day the Magi cameto Bethlehem because they came andvisited Mary and Joseph “in the house”(Matthew 2:11), not in a place whereone would find a “manger.” None of this is necessarily true. Thegospels don’t give us such information.

We are free to follow the practice of theChristians who have come and gonebefore we were born. No one knows forsure when Jesus was born. Some sug-gest that these dates came into beingbecause Christians wanted to make useof the pagan festivals at the time. It’s in-teresting, but one has to read these asopinions and conjecture. We have noeyewitnesses to interview.

OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUTCHRISTMASCuriosity is difficult to satisfy. Who were these Magi, and how manyof them were there? In the middle of thethird century, one church leader sug-gested that there were three. It seemsthat his choice of three was based onthe three gifts the Magi brought withthem. But who were they? Their iden-tity and number remain hidden, butthat did not satisfy the curiosity of an-cient Christians. In the sixth century theChristians in Egypt gave them names.Those names have come down to us asBalthasar, Melchior, and Caspar. In mynativity, they represent three races. Oneof them is African, another Asian, andanother European. Nice thought, butwho knows? Others claim that therewere 12 Magi.And what about Mary and Joseph? Dowe know any more about them? Weknow their names from the gospels.Tradition suggests that Mary was about

15 or 16 when she gave birth to Jesus.That is only based on the age when girlsgave birth in that era. She was a virgin—a belief we hold because that’s what theScriptures clearly say. Was she always a virgin? Some Chris-tians believe that Mary did not givebirth to Jesus in the normal way. They

believe that Mary mirac-ulously delivered Jesus so he did not leave her body as all babies do. That left her still a vir-gin. Yet the Scriptures say clearly, “She gave

birth to her firstborn son” (Luke 2:7),and the simplest way to understandthose words is that she gave birth inthe normal way any woman gives birth.Did Mary have other children? Mat-thew records that the mother andbrothers of Jesus wanted to speak toJesus (Matthew 12:46-49). He latereven names them: James, Joseph,Simon and Judas—not to be confusedwith Judas Iscariot (Matthew 13:55).Were they sons of Mary and Joseph?The debate continues. Some believethat they are later children of Maryand Joseph. Others believe they werechildren of Joseph by a previous mar-riage, and still others believe that theywere cousins or other relatives. De-pending on which of these opinionsyou adopt, Joseph may have been anold man with grown children or a manwho loved Mary and had a normalmarriage with her after Jesus was born.Of all these opinions and traditions theonly sure information comes from thegospels. It may not satisfy our curiosity,but it is enough. We believe that JesusChrist, true God, begotten of the Father,and also true man, born of the virginMary, is our Lord (Explanation of theSecond Article of the Apostles’ Creed).We need no other information no mat-ter how curious we may be.

John Braun is executive editor of Forward in Christ.

December 2015 27

Of all these opinions and traditions the onlysure information comes from the gospels.

28 December 2015

“I would really like to meet someof my Albanian relatives, but I’m

too old to travel to Albania. Myonly hope is to meet you in heaven.”

These words and several gospeltracts sent to Albania from an elderly

American started a new life for Agronand Vitori Mece. The Holy Spirit usedthe letters and tracts of Robert Mauremof Kenosha, Wisconsin—who is nowwaiting for us in heaven—to lead theMeces to saving faith in Jesus. “We readall the materials with our children whowanted to become Christians too,” saysAgron. Since there were no pastors, Vitoribaptized Agron, who in turn baptized Vi-tori and their two children.“When we came to know about Jesus, ourlife began to be more meaningful,” saysAgron, now a pastor in our sister church inAlbania. “We felt that we have somethingprecious in our life and were sorry for thosewho didn’t have that treasure. Somethingfrom inside forced or urged us to share whatwe had learned with others and talk aboutJesus and the message of the gospel.”

Agron tells about the life they hadknown under the communist govern-ment of Albania—the only country inthe history of the world to outlaw all re-ligion. “Albania was one of the poorestcountries in Europe and totally isolatedfrom the rest of the world. Even worse,religion was prohibited by law. Thepenal code of 1977 imposed prison sen-tences of three to ten years for ‘religiouspropaganda and the production, dis-tribution, or storage of religious liter-ature.’ Dictator Hoxha’s brutalantireligious campaign succeededin eradicating formal worship, butsome Albanians continued topractice their faith clandestinely,risking severe punishment. In-dividuals caught with Bibles,icons, or other religious ob-jects faced long prison sen-

tences. Parents were afraid to pass on theirfaith for fear that their children would reportthem.“Vitori and I were teachers and fed a steadydiet of the government’s atheistic propa-ganda. Even our grandparents were afraid totalk about their religion or to celebrate theirrituals before us. We had never seen any re-ligious books. We didn’t know what Christ-mas was—the Christmas tree was called theNew Year tree. The only thing we knew wasthe fact that before communism people prac-ticed their faith.”In the spring of 1995, after communism fell,a WELS mission team led by Pastors KirbySpevacek and Harold Essmann found theMeces. “The first Bible studies were held inour house,” says Agron. “In 1996 we werelegally registered as Kisha Ungjillore Konfe-sionale Luteriane ne Shqiperi (ConfessionalEvangelical Lutheran Church in Albania). Iwas one of the founders who signed the doc-ument. The first Sunday there were 15 chil-dren in Sunday school and 22 attended theworship service.”During its 19-year history, the Albanianchurch has weathered some stormy periods.Three times the WELS missionaries werewithdrawn, once because of civil unrest, asecond time because of terrorism. On March13, 1997, after Missionaries Richard Russowand Kirby Spevacek and their families werenot permitted to board the last ferry to de-part the violent uprising, Agron huddled onthe beach with them overnight. The adultsused their bodies to cover the children whowere terrified by the guns shooting over theirheads. The next day they were rescued by awarship of the Italian Navy. When all hadboarded, Agron stood alone on the dock; hehad no intention of leaving his family or hiscountry. “You can’t imagine how we feltwhen Pastor Spevacek called us from Italy tosay they were safe and sound. Tears of hap-piness rolled down our cheeks as we thankedGod they were still alive.” Later Russow re-turned with his family, only to be forced—on

What God can do through one Christian’s witness John F. Vogt

WORLD ILLUSTRATION: DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB

one day’s notice—to evacuate after eightmonths when a threat against Americansfrom al Qaeda terrorists closed the U.S. em-bassy. This time the Russows’ departure waspermanent.

When no missionaries were present,Agron served as head of the Albanianchurch. Finally, after 15 years of interruptedstudy, he was ordained as a pastor in 2013.He and his fellow pastor, Mikel Bishka, faith-fully serve our sister church’s two congrega-tions in Tirana and Durres. One of Agron’sgreat joys is now helping to train a youngman, Nikola Bishka, to begin the next gener-ation of pastors for the church. When asked: “How have your 20 years ofleadership in the church changed you andyour family?” Agron replied, “Working in the

church and now being a pas-tor is a very great responsibilityfor me and for my family as well.I have to give my example in allaspects of life. When I preachhow God teaches us, I can’t act dif-ferently in my everyday life. I haveto show more respect for my wifewho is untiring in helping me in mymission work. I thank God for a wifewho is so devoted to her work for theLord and for her family.“We feel very happy that we have beenblessed by God and our efforts didn’t goin vain. We are glad to see the old facesthat have come regularly since the open-ing of our church, and we feel happier tosee each new face. We‘ll never forget theday when five old people after getting con-firmation classes became the first membersof our Lutheran Church. And thanks toGod this group of five has kept increasing,so that now an average of 111 people wor-ship in our two congregations each week.“We would like to express our gratitude foreverything which the people of WELS havedone for the ALC. . . . You have opened oureyes and our minds to something we didn’tknow existed, God’s love! You supplied uswith gospel-sharing literature which we’vetranslated and distributed widely. AndGod has used your support—financial andspiritual—to lead many Albanians to faithin the one Savior, Jesus Christ.”

John Vogt is WELS regional coordinator forEastern Europe.

Pastor Agron Mece preaching at his con-gregation in Tirana, Albania; Mece (left)presents Nikola Bishka a certificate signifying that Nikola has completed thefirst level of his preparations to be a pas-tor. Nikola’s parents, Pastor Mikel andPavlina Bishka, observe; Agron and Vitori Mece; children presenting aChristmas pageant.

CONFESSIONALEVANGELICALLUTHERAN CHURCHIN ALBANIAYear mission work began: 1995

Baptized members: 66Average weekly atten-dance at worship: 111

Congregations: 2National pastors: 2Pastoral students: 1Resident missionaries: 0Unique fact: The church’stwo pastors studied forthe ministry through theSt. Sophia UkrainianLutheran Theological Seminary in Ternopil,Ukraine. John Vogt, whothen served as rector ofthe seminary, spent threeor four weeks each sum-mer teaching the men inAlbania and then heldweekly online classes.

December 2015 29

30 December 2015

A woman counts the blessings in her life—from being adopted to finally getting the siblings she always wanted.

Alicia A. Neumann

I thank him every

It all started in 1948 with a young, pregnant woman goingthrough a messy divorce. “My mom wanted to get an abor-tion, but no one would do it. So she went to Flagstaff, Ari-zona; had me; left me there; and then went home,” saysSandy James, member at Hope, Chino Valley, Ariz. As Sandy got older, she wanted to find her biologicalmother—to thank her. “I wanted to thank my mother because I’ve had such an awesome life,” she says. “None of this would have happened if she hadn’t given me up for adoption, and none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for God.”

GROWING UPSandy was adopted when she was a few weeks old byHerb and Lil Bangert, who lived in Flagstaff and hadwaited 14 years to adopt a child. Sandy was baptized right away at Mt. Calvary, the WELS church that became a central part of her life.“When I was growing up, everything we did was con-nected to church,” says Sandy. “We went to church everySunday, and almost every weekend we did somethingwith someone from church.” She remembers her mother

helping teach vacation Bible school and Sunday schooland her parents always trying to make new church visi-tors feel welcome. “Anytime someone new showed up, my parents invited them over,” she says. “Mom always had a roast, potatoes, and carrots ready—and pie. Therewas never a Sunday that we didn’t have someone at ourhouse.” She says many of those people ended up joiningthe church and became good friends with her family.But even though her house was busy with people comingand going, Sandy says she prayed regularly for siblings.“By the time my parents’ names got to the top of theadoption list again, they were too old to adopt. I had awonderful life and I was happy, but I was lonely,” saysSandy, recalling how she used to line up her dolls at night and ask God to make them real. Even though God didn’t give her more siblings, he didgive her a large extended family with plenty of cousins to play with. He also gave her a lot of friends whom she met while attending high school at NorthwesternLutheran Academy in Mobridge, South Dakota. “I loved my years at Northwestern Lutheran,” says Sandy.“There were 18 in our class, and we were all very close.

PHOTOS: XXXDecember 2015 31

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

y day for all of it

We studied together, and we lived in the dorms together—we were with each other day and night.” She still keeps in touch with some of her friends, including one of herroommates who was in her wedding and became a god-parent to some of Sandy’s children. “Growing up wedidn’t have much money—barely enough to send me toNorthwestern Lutheran,” says Sandy. “But my parentswere willing to sacrifice to send me there, and withoutthem I wouldn’t have had that experience. I can’t thankthem enough for it.”

STARTING A FAMILY OF HER OWNSandy was almost done with school when she started dating Pete James, who went to her church. “His familywent to our church my whole life, so we always kneweach other,” says Sandy. “My senior year I was homefrom school, and we had a potluck. My mom forgot thecord to her electric skillet, so Pete’s mother sent him over to our house the next day to return it. Then my dad hadhim stay for dinner.” After dinner, Sandy and Pete wentfor a ride, and he asked her out. After a few more dates he asked her to marry him, “and we have been married 47 years now,” says Sandy. God blessed them with five children, including a set oftwins. “At one point I had a three-year-old, a two-year-oldand twin boys,” she said. It was a lot of work, she remem-bers—especially when the kids were young and her hus-band was out of town for his job. “But God was there forus all the time, and it was so special to see him working in my kids’ life.” Sandy says she made sure her childrenhad a Christ-centered education like she had, and all attended Arizona Lutheran Academy in Phoenix. Sandy is so thankful for everything God has blessed her with, especially her parents, her husband, and her children. “I’ve had a wonderful life!” she says.

GAINING ANOTHER FAMILYFast forward to 2008. Sandy found out that one of herfriends had given her son up for adoption many years ago and finally was going to meet him. Sandy was in-trigued and contacted the man who facilitated the re-union. He found out that Sandy’s mother was fromTacoma, Washington, and that she had died in 1998.“I went online and found Mom’s obituary,” says Sandy. “I read it and found out I had a sister and three brothers!My whole life I knew I was adopted, but I had neverthought about whether or not I had siblings.” Sandy found her sister’s information online and called her. “I told her my story, and I could tell she wasn’t buy-ing it. So she asked me to e-mail her my picture. Shecalled me back and said, ‘You look exactly like Mom!’ I almost fell off my chair.”

Soon Sandy was on a planeto meet her sister and broth-ers in person. She also got to meet her biological fatherbefore he died and learnedmore about the events sur-rounding her adoption. Sandy says the reunion wasgreat. “They didn’t have tolike me, but they acceptedme right away. I think it’s because they are Christians who know and love the Lord,” she says. Since then,they’ve kept in contact and even get together for a camping trip each year. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have anysiblings after I grew up!” she says. “Now I have a wholegaggle of them. It’s pretty neat to say, ‘My sister and mybrothers.’ ”Sandy says she’s seen God’s hand in every stage of herlife. “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t forhim; I thank him every day,” she says. “Throughout theyears I’ve had lots of questions about what happened, butI know God’s in charge and I’m not worried about it. Hehas always been there for me. Without him, I wouldn’t behere and I wouldn’t have any of this! My life is awesome,and I thank him every day for all of it.”

Alicia Neumann is a member at Resurrection, Rochester, Minnesota.

Sandy (front right), her bio-logical father, and her siblings:(back row, left to right) Grant,Brad, Sue, and Mark.

Sandy’s adoptive parents:Herb and Lil Bangert

Do you remember how socialism as atheory was totally discredited by thecollapse of hard-core socialism in prac-tice when the Soviet Union fell? A lot ofour fellow citizens apparently do not.Many believers also seem to need to bereminded of the fundamental problemwith so many once-and-again popularpolitical and economic theories, some-thing that we as Christians should beable to identify and understand betterthan anyone.Whenever pure democracy, small-scalecommunes, and even anarchism havebeen attempted, they have failed. In-evitably the individuals involved insist atsome point on what they want instead ofwhat’s good for everyone. Systems thatplace all power in the person or people atthe top—socialism, fascism, monarchies,oligarchies, even representative democra-cies—unavoidably find at least some lead-ers looking out first for themselves, nomatter how much they claim to be look-ing out for their fellow citizens. Though we can cite various politicaland economic reasons why theoristsand politicians have never produced theutopias they promised, there is one rea-son they will always fail. We confess itwith David: “Surely I was sinful at birth,sinful from the time my mother con-ceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Any system, promise, plan, or appeal isdoomed to fail when it is based on the ideathat if we just remove obstacles a, b, and cand make changes x, y, and z, then every-one will do the right thing and we willhave peace, equality, an end to discrimina-tion, universal prosperity, a healthy envi-ronment, and a lot of other benefits. Allthose ideas depend on human beings toperfect them, and human beings are uni-versally imperfect. So there can be no perfect system of gov-ernment, and the best systems, then, arethose that take the negatives of humannature—greed, bias, envy, among otherfaults—into account rather than ignoring

them or assuming they can be educatedout of us. A truly Christian approach topolitics will therefore value checks andbalances, accept that violence sometimesmust answer evil, and recognize that mil-itary and police forces will be necessaryfor even the most enlightened of nations.So if and when we are privileged to choosethose who govern us, we choose the wis-est, ablest, and the most trustworthy andleast self-centered we can, and we try toweed out those with weak character, self-ish ambition, and promises that rely toomuch on the right people doing the rightthings at all the right times.Still, even we Christians often put muchmore trust in people’s perfectibility thanwe should. We speak, act, and vote asthough once our party or candidate getsinto power everything’s going to be fixed.Too often we display a complacent confi-dence that the people of our society willsimply do the right thing even if we keepquiet.So remember that Scripture tells us thatthe purpose of government is primarilythe protection of the people and the re-straint of evil. Pray, and then pay close attention to candidates’ and parties’promises and principles, whether fromthe left or right or middle. Ask yourself:Are they pretending that people can beperfected, that given the right condi-tions, laws, funding, schooling, or pro-grams everyone will do the right thingand peace and prosperity will be justaround the corner? If so, then beware.We’ve seen that before. That will neverwork, and we always have known why.

Contributing editor Jeffrey Samelson ispastor at Christ, Clarksville, Maryland.

The failure of utopiasJeffrey L. Samelson

ere is one reason [utopias]will always fail.We confess it with David:

“Surely I was sinful at birth,sinful from the

time my motherconceived me.”

32 December 2015

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Though the terminal illness of sin affects us all, God uses daily eventsto draw us closer to him until we see him in heaven.All I want for Christmas is . . . a terminal illness. Wait. He wants what?!? Yeah, I’m guessing that a terminal illness isn’t likely to hitthe wish list for any of us this Christmas season. But that’sthe situation in which Hezekiah found himself.

HEZEKIAH’S TERMINAL ILLNESSHezekiah was a young man, probably 39 years old (compare2 Kings 18:2 and 2 Kings 20:6). He became ill, and it wasclear that his life was in danger. Isaiah was sent to him withthe message, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house inorder, because you are going to die; you will not recover”(Isaiah 38:1). We’re told that Hezekiah wept greatly. We’retold that he prayed, reminding God that he’d done his bestto serve God faithfully. Interestingly, we’re not told that Hezekiah asked for a longerlife. Perhaps he desired that. Perhaps he even did ask for it,but we’re not told that he asked for it. Regardless, God choseto add 15 years to his life, and Isaiah was sent back to deliverthe message. After his recovery, Hezekiahwrote, “Surely it was for mybenefit that I suffered suchanguish. In your love you keptme from the pit of destruc-tion; you have put all mysins behind your back”(Isaiah 38:17; read allhis thoughts in Isaiah38:9-20). As Hezekiahlooked at that illness,he could see God’shand of grace. God intended the illness forHezekiah’s benefit. Hedoesn’t detail how the illness was for his

benefit. We don’t know, but we do know that Hezekiah’sfocus became “you have put all my sins behind your back.”

OUR TERMINAL ILLNESS OF SINIsn’t that what Christmas is all about? Ultimately we needa God who is willing and able to put all our sins behindhis back. To put it more bluntly, we need a God who iswilling and able to forgive us. And as we gaze at the babeof Bethlehem, a descendant of Hezekiah, we see the Godwho was able—and willing—to come to this earth to winforgiveness of sins for us. That’s what we really need!Because whether we want it or not, we all have a terminalillness—the terminal illness of sin. Death will happen. Yes, it’s true that Hezekiah was blessed with 15 moreyears of life on this earth, but that only delayed the in-evitable. Fifteen years later, he died. But every indicationwe have is that Hezekiah was a believer and went toheaven. So, he didn’t really die! While his body ceased tolive, his soul lived on as he entered the glories of heaven! And someday so will you. You too will enter the glories ofheaven because of the Babe of Bethlehem, who lived, died,and rose for you. And as God postponed Hezekiah’s termi-nal illness to draw him closer, so God will use the events of everyday life to humble you and me, to focus us on theWord, and ultimately to draw us closer to him.

Even if it takes a terminal illness to draw me close to him forever, then

I’ll add it to my Christmas wish list. Or a gracious God will add

it for me.

Contributing editor omasKock, a professor at WisconsinLutheran Seminary, Mequon,Wisconsin, is a member atAtonement, Milwaukee.

This is the fifth article in a nine-part series on people in Jesus’ family tree.

BIBLE STUDY

December 2015 33

Matthew chapter 1 lists the ancestors of Jesus. You will learn more about your Savior as we trace through segments of his family tree.

REALPEOPLE REALSAVIORThomas D. Kock

34 December 2015

A THOUGHT

The words of John the Baptist echofrom the shores of the Jordan River to our Advent season. Seeing Jesus, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29).His words bring to mind a couple ofthings to remember at Advent andlong after Advent. The first is thatJohn points to the Savior “who takesaway the sin of the world.” I thinkthat’s important because all sinnersare included. Jesus did not come justfor those who flocked to hear John’sannouncement. Jesus came also forthose who did not come to hear John.John said, “the world!” His politicalsight included the Romans who occu-pied Judea and perhaps those whovisited Judea from other nations. Ofcourse, the world was more than whatJohn saw. It included those he couldnot have known in parts of the worldfar away—India, China, what wouldbecome the New World. I think hedid realize the world Jesus came forincluded people yet unborn.That’s important to us all because God’splan included every soul who would in-habit this world. Jesus paid the penaltyfor the sins of all people. All sins aretaken away! In grace and mercy, Goddeclared all humanity righteous andforgiven for the sake of this Lamb ofGod. It’s a gift of his grace to all. No exceptions. No exclusions. The sins of the world are taken away. No one else, except a perfect lovingGod, can do this. No man, woman, orchild is free from sin. And not one citi-zen of this world is able to do enoughgood to remove sin. No one can re-move his or her own sins, let alone thesins of another person. And certainlynot the sins of the world.Taking away sins is a gift God freely of-fers to any and every sinner. It can’t beearned. Faith in Jesus simply acceptsGod’s forgiveness. Sadly, many refuse

to receive God’s loving gift. They re-main in their comfortable homes inJerusalem, New York, Rome, Singa-pore, or your neighborhood. Theydon’t have time to be bothered. Butthose, like you and me, who turn toJesus trust God’s promise of forgive-ness and find peace, joy, and hope inhis promise.The second thought connected to John’sproclamation comes from an observa-tion of Christian churches and theirleaders. It frustrates me to see Christianleaders with high profile media presencefail to do as John did—point to Jesus. Alltoo often the message is about social is-sues like global warming, refugees, toler-ance for all, terrorism, and immigration.Not a syllable about Jesus. All these is-sues are important, but missing an op-portunity to say, “Look, the Lamb ofGod, who takes away the sin of theworld!” is inexcusable.Long after all of us are gone, a newgeneration will face other social is-sues. Our issues will seem old-fash-ioned. Only one thing remains—theLamb of God. He is loving, kind, andgenerous to sinners. But a word of warning: Advent re-minds us that the Lamb will return.Then he will invite those who trustedhis promises to shout, “Worthy is theLamb, who was slain, to receive powerand wealth and wisdom and strengthand honor and glory and praise!” (Rev-elation 5:12). The others will be re-moved from his presence; they did notaccept God’s gift and must go on with-out it as they did while they were here.John reminded the people on thebanks of the Jordan—and us too—“Repent, for the kingdom of heavenhas come near” (Matthew 3:2).

Look, the Lamb of God

God declared all humanity

righteous and forgiven for the

sake of this Lamb of God.

December 2015 35PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

BIBLE STUDY

To the east . . . the Red Sea. To the west . . . the powerfulEgyptian army breathing down their necks. How did thepeople of Israel get themselves between this rock andhard place? More important, what would they do now? Read Exodus 13:17–15:21.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?Culminating in the Passover, God sent a series of amazingplagues that loosened Pharaoh’s grip, allowing Israel to es-cape Egypt. With eye-popping excitement, an Israelitecould divulge details of how they arrived at the banks ofthe Red Sea. The frogs. The locusts. The darkness.But the plagues were in preparation for the trip. God’s pil-lar of cloud did not follow the GPS-recommended routefrom Egypt to the Promised Land. In fact, the most natu-ral, straight-line route didn’t require the crossing of anywater. God went out of his way to lead them to the RedSea. God knew his people. He knew what he wanted forthem. And God knew he needed to guide his people to apoint where they had no choice but to depend on him. God knows you. God knows what he wants for you. AndGod knows the easiest path is not always the best path to get you there. The Christian life is not lived in straightlines. At times God deals us detours. Sometimes those detours lead us right between a rock and a hard place.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?When the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptiansmarching after them, they wanted to go back. They thoughtbeing slaves in Egypt was better than the situation that Godhad presented. Wisely, their God-appointed leader, Moses,encouraged them to wait God’s delays are not denials. He knows what he’s doingeven when it appears that we are hemmed in or pinneddown. “Do not be afraid. Stand firm. . . . The LORD willfight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:13,14).Easier said than done. Like Israel, it’s so easy for us toblame God for leading us to difficult situations. It’s easy

to think, “If only I hadn’t followed the Lord.” Fellow Chris-tian, do not be afraid. “Stand firm. . . . The LORD will fightfor you; you need only to be still.” For the Israelites, God split the sea in front of them. Thesituation that once spelled doom now spelled deliverance.But notice where God was. He led them to the difficultsituation. But then the angel of God and pillar of cloudwent behind them (Exodus 14:19) to protect them. You can have that same confidence. When God leads youto a difficult situation and you’re too afraid to put yourtoes in the water, know that the Lord who brought youthere will move you forward and protect you. No matterwhat enemies pursue or what walls stand in front, knowthat the Lord already stretched out his hands to bringyou to the real Promised Land.

EXPLORING THE WORD1. Tell the story in your own words. Then read the ac-count. Which details did you omit or mistakenly add?

2. Why do you think this story is one of the most popu-lar stories included in children’s Bibles?

3. What does this account teach about the differencebetween fear and faith?

4. Read Psalm 27:14. Relate any biblical or personal examples when you’ve “wait[ed] for the Lord”?

5. “Move. Pray. Move.” Apply God’s directive in Exodus14:15 to your life.

Contributing editor Joel Heckendorf is pastor at Immanuel,Greenville, Wisconsin.

This is the first article in a 10-part series on the top ten stories included in children’s Bibles and how they apply to our lives today. Find answers online after Dec. 5 at wels.net/forwardinchrist.

Next month: The battle of Jericho

Joel S. Heckendorf

A larger purposeA National Geographic article about the migration of arctic terns teaches us an important lesson about Christmas. Joel C. Gerlach

*“Mysteries of Great Migrations,” National Geographic, November 2010

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Terns migrate from their arctic breeding grounds to theAntarctic each year. It’s 12,000 miles one way. Incredible! In a National Geographic* article about animal migration,writer David Quammen says, “Migrating animals maintaina fervent attentiveness to the greater mission, which keepsthem undistracted by temptations and undeterred by chal-lenges that would turn other animals aside.” He provides anexample: “An arctic tern on its way from Tierra del Fuegoto Alaska, for instance, will ignore a nice smelly herring of-fered from a bird-watcher’s boat in Monterey Bay. Localgulls will dive voraciously for such handouts, while thetern flies on. Why? . . . The arctic tern resists distractionbecause it is driven at that moment by an intuitive sense of something we humans find admirable: larger purpose.”

JESUS DIDN’T GET DISTRACTEDIt’s easy to get distracted in the Christmas season. Dis-tracted from what? From a “larger purpose.” The distrac-tions may cause us to forget that Jesus is the reason for theseason. He is God, yet “he became fully human” (NiceneCreed) like us to reconnect us to his Father. That, brieflyput, was his “larger purpose.” Jesus knew from early on what that “larger purpose” meantfor him. “When the set time had fully come, God sent hisSon, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeemthose under the law, that we might receive adoption tosonship” (Galatians 4:4,5). And then “when the time was come that he should be re-ceived up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem”(Luke 9:51 KJV). Jesus refused to be distracted. What hestarted when he was conceived in Mary’s womb, he fin-ished as our perfect substitute.

WE NEED TO STAY FOCUSEDOur identity with Mary’s child also gives us a “larger pur-pose” in life. From Genesis to Revelation God’s singularintent is to keep us mindful of that purpose. Peter outlinesour purpose in his first letter: “You are a chosen people, aroyal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,that you may declare the praises of him who called youout of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).“You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8), Jesus says to us whoclaim him as Savior and Lord. “You are the salt of the earth. . . .You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13,14)—twometaphors for what it means to be his witnesses. Salt can loseits “saltiness” and light can end up “under a bowl” because ofdistractions. Jesus intends that we, like terns, “maintain a fer-vent attentiveness to [our] greater mission . . . undistracted by temptations.” He wants us to remember that we are in-struments “for special purposes, made holy, useful to theMaster and prepared to do any good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).Our Savior’s singular determination to save us is now themotivation for our singular determination to serve him.So instead of being sidetracked by all the distractions ofthe season, let them be reminders to us of our “larger pur-pose.” Perhaps we could even adopt the arctic tern as an-other appropriate symbol for the season.God bless you and yours in this Christmas season with a renewed appreciation for that larger purpose to whichhe has called us all.

Joel Gerlach, a retired pastor, is a member at St. John,Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.