Lutherans have always valued education
from our very beginnings. Martin Luther our “founder” called and worked for the
education of all child, both male and female. He believed that a rudimentary
education, particularly literacy would make for a better Christian, citizen and
a better nation. His belief in education is one that is still held by Germans
today.
Luther also believed in the education of clergy so that those who were
called to lead churches had the intellect and training to do the Gospel justice
and so today we have some of the best educated clergy in the world. In the
United States, Lutheran have run and continue to run universities, high school
and grade school of high caliber. However what about the education we provide
here at St. John? How might we join in the tradition of educated and equipping
Bellville in order to serve God and serve our neighbors?
Certainly we have a strong Sunday school
program and faith formation for our adults and young adults, but I am dreaming
beyond that. Might we offer a series of insightful speakers to come to
Bellville and talk about current topics in the church and the world? Might we be a place that offers ESL (English
as a Second Language) classes for our growing immigrant population? As
Bellville grows, could we be the place for another quality preschool or day
school that helps provide education and faith to our youngest residents? We could
create the space for these programs with our present buildings.
Might we even
be an outpost for solid theological education for adults? I don’t mean a bible
study. I mean full-fledged courses on Christian theology, church history or
spirituality. Something open to the whole community and worth the time and
money needed. There are surely more ideas, but that’s all I have for now. What
about you? How might you connect our heritage of education with St. John
Lutheran today? How can we strengthen our current reality with our dreams of
the future?
Let
me ask you again this month. What is your dream for the future? I’d love to
hear it sometime over coffee or lunch or in my office. For my part, I will
continue to share my dreams for this church, in this newsletter and on my blog.
Some of those dreams will seem very easy. Some of them may cause you to wonder
what I put in my coffee when I write. However, as a pastor, I am called to
dream big even if in the end that dream is impossible.
Dreams after all are not
a list of demands, but a way of exploring what God may be calling us to. I
encourage you to share your dreams, with your group of friends, in Sunday
school, or with the church’s leaders. I believe we can help find an amazing
future for our church, and most importantly start to see God’s plan played out
in our pews and in our lives. So keep dreaming big people of St. John and God
Bless
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