Pr. K. Craig Moorman, board member of Lutheran CORE and NALC pastor of River's Edge Ministries, Mt. Airy, Maryland

Editor’s Note: River’s Edge Ministry (REM) traveled to Pine Island, FL in January as part of Cross Country Mission (CCM) 2023. Pine Island was devastated by Hurricane Ian in late September 2022. Mary Bates, NALC Disaster Response Coordinator, did the necessary groundwork to find the work sites that matched our team’s skillsets. Lutheran CORE’s board provided funding that enabled REM to reduce the cost of the trip for the crew. Previous articles about Cross Country Mission and City Mission include The Potency of Missional Engagement, Igniting Renewal Through Mission and How City Mission Was Born, Part 1: Katrina, the Unwelcomed Reformer.

As a pastor-mission developer who has served for many decades, I believe we—those who are part of a so-called ‘mainline’ denominational church body—are facing a hard (and potentially devastating) reality: Who will be leading our churches, especially as a significantly large percentage of clergy retire and many others ‘step down’ because of discouragement and sheer exhaustion? AND, where is the ‘next generation’ of pastors and leaders? The intent of this article is not to answer these questions but to simply acknowledge and remember that we, as pastors and leaders of Christ’s Church, are called to grapple with such realities and then present hope in the midst of it all. These times press us to consider other, more general questions: “Lord, what are You saying to us?” and “Lord, how should we respond?” I desire to offer at least a glimmer of hope by sharing a hard lesson in fully ‘releasing’ the next generation into leadership.

This ‘hard lesson’ involved laying aside my leadership, unconditionally, and literally watching from afar as as the next generation took the reins and completely oversaw a very challenging disaster relief mission which we had been planning for months [...]

by Pr. Don Brandt, Congregations in Transition (CiT)

The current shortage of available pastors in the LCMC and NALC presents a difficult challenge for a great many call committees. This is especially true for smaller churches when their search process has extended beyond 18 to 24 months without success. In fact, such a scenario can result in nothing less than an existential crisis for their congregations. In these situations we are looking not only at burned out and disheartened call committees; we are talking about congregations where their members are beginning to lose hope for their future as a faith community.

    Thirty years ago call committees of smaller churches could reasonably take comfort in the conviction that it would “only be a matter of time” before they would be able to “call and install” their next pastor. However, in 2023 this is not a reasonable expectation. Why? Because with retiring Boomer pastors—and far fewer seminary graduates—our clergy supply crisis is only growing more dire.

    Here is the stark, unvarnished truth. [...]

by Pr. Steve Shipman, Former Director of Lutheran CORE and Dean of the Atlantic Mission Region of the NALC

I have appreciated Don Brandt’s wisdom and leadership in Lutheran renewal through the years, and I welcomed his article in the January issue of CORE Voice. He accurately diagnoses the biggest single problem that runs through all of our Lutheran denominations in North America — our desperate shortage of pastors. And I almost agree with his proposed solution.

As an NALC dean, I tell congregations  [...]

Pastor Jeff Morlock is Director of Vocational Discernment at the North American Lutheran Seminary. He may be reached at [email protected].

When God calls a person to a specific task or ministry, resistance is often the first response of the called. Jeremiah claimed that he was too young. Gideon feared he was too weak. Isaiah considered himself too sinful, "a man of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5 ESV). This resistance to God's call comes from two sources. The first is a belief that we know better than God what will be required, and a need to explain to the Almighty why we are not qualified.

Moses had a loving family and a quiet life as a shepherd when God's call came to him in "mid-career," as we might say. From a burning bush came God's vocational call that Moses should go confront Pharoah and demand the immediate release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. It's not unusual for God to ask things of His children that seem beyond our competency. But it turns out that the old trite saying is true: "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called."

[...]

by Steven Wagner, Gap Year Director

Introduction by Dennis D. Nelson: In this issue we will be featuring The Awaken Project (TAP), a nonprofit organization housed on the campus of Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, Minnesota.

The last (January 2023) issue of CORE Voice included the first in a series of articles about residential discipleship ministries for young adults. Here is a link to the article about Faith Greenhouse, which is affiliated with Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota.

 The fall semester is primarily  [...]

by Pastor Dennis D. Nelson, Lutheran CORE Executive Director

Here is a link to our You Tube channel. In the top row you will find both our Video Book Reviews as well as our CORE Convictions Videos on various topics related to Biblical teaching, Lutheran theology, and Christian living. You will find these videos in the order in which they were posted, beginning with the most recent. In the second row you will find links to the Playlists for both sets of videos. This month we want to feature a CORE Convictions video by NALC pastor Cathy Ammlung. 

A CRITIQUE OF THE WWW.ALTLITURGIES.COM WORSHIP RESOURCE

Here is a link to Cathy’s video. Many thanks to her for this powerful presentation.

Cathy writes, “A host of ‘alternative liturgies’ and worship resources are springing up on the internet. These resources provide rationales and examples for decolonizing, upending, and disrupting traditional liturgical theologies, practices, and language. They are based on social justice and intersectionality rhetoric and philosophy. One such resource, called alt.liturgies, comes from a Lutheran perspective and has gained notice and traction. It, as well as other resources such as www.disruptworshipproject.com, reflects and promulgates a theological and liturgical world-view that seeks to dismantle the (supposed) evils of racism, heteronormativism, ableism, and the like, which infest traditional worship and contribute to the material harm, even genocide, of vulnerable groups of people.

“I focus my critique of the alt.liturgies website resource centers through the lens of two ‘core values’ of the North American Lutheran Church: [...]

by Pr. Steve Shipman, STS, and Executive Director of The Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology (CCET)

We are excited to invite you to our 2023 Pro Ecclesia Conference June 5-7, to discuss the very timely topic in this post-Covid era: Life Together: The Communion of the Saints in a Time of Division and Disease.

If this piques your interest, you can find more information and/or register by clicking here.

Our purpose can be summed up in two words– Network  and  Voice. As  Network  for confessing Lutherans, we support and connect Lutheran individuals and congregations who seek to live in accord with Biblical and confessional teachings and practices. As a  Prophetic Voice, we advocate for Biblical authority and confessional fidelity among churches of the Lutheran community.