Report on the LCMC Annual Gathering

Here is a brief summary of what went on at the LCMC annual gathering in Fargo written by Pastor Larry Lindstrom, Chair of LCMC Board of Trustees

Sunday: Our opening worship service got people excited and inspired. Dale Wolf (host pastor) preached, and the music was a blend of contemporary and traditional tunes. The visitors (about half the crowd) were amazed to see how positive and uplifting the tone of the evening was.

Monday: Walt Wangerin spoke on God’s invitation to “receive” the gifts of grace. He is dealing with cancer, and he spoke openly about preparing to die. His comments brought the house down (actually, he got standing ovations at the end of each speech).

At lunch, the Board met with representatives of the immigrant churches in the US. We had Sudanese, Chinese, Ethiopian, and other pastors who told us about their determination to leave the ELCA after the August decision. They represent about 100 US churches, made up of immigrants. We had a good conversation, and they seemed very interested in possibly affiliating with LCMC.

The afternoon included the “State of the Association” presentation, which the vice chairman and I gave. Then we did our business, which consisted of only two resolutions (one giving permission to the Board to have conversations with other Lutheran groups). Again, the visitors were amazed to see how simple and transparent the business session was.

Tuesday: Our keynote speaker was Marilee Pierce Dunker, daughter of the man who founded World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. She gave a passionate speech about the need for global outreach, and people were really touched by what she had to say.

At lunch that day, the Board met with a campus pastor who gave us an update on things. He reported that campus ministry programs are facing major cuts, and we talked about how LCMC congregations in college towns might work to either add campus ministries or support the existing ones (that are still Christian).

That afternoon, we received greetings from several individuals and groups. Jaynan Clark from Word Alone spoke to the crowd, as did Erma Wolf from CORE. They both pledged their support for us and said they would encourage congregations to come our way.

Wednesday: The speaker for the day was Walt Kallestad from Community Church of Joy in Arizona. He commended our association (of which he is now a member) and encouraged us to continue in the Word. Our closing worship service included a sermon from Paul Braafladt, the outgoing vice chairman of the Board.

A few things are clear after the gathering:

·  LCMC is about to grow by leaps and bounds. The ELCA visitors who were with us were mostly beat-up and wounded, and many of them found the experience of the gathering to be like “coming home.” So we can anticipate dozens of new member churches. In addition, it seems pretty clear that the immigrant churches (African, Hispanic, and Oriental) will look to affiliate with us very soon. So we may double (or even triple) in size during the next 12 months.

·  That will pose some challenges for the Board of Trustees. We need to anticipate what type of infrastructure a larger group will need, while keeping things at the top as flat and simple as possible. One of the visitors compared it to a small town taking in refugees. If a town of 250 takes in 1000 needy people, some adjustments have to be made. Otherwise, everybody suffers.

I hope this gives you a sense of what went on in Fargo.

(via LCMC)