During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
Acts 16:9

Three years ago I was asked to go to the Lutheran Church in Australia to work with the pastors, staff and lay leadership of that Church. It proved impossible to go at that time and, with the move to Redeemer in ’06, the next year was not possible either. Now, I am honoring that request. When God wants something done, he doesn’t accept our initial refusals, does he? So, when Pastor Mark Schultz visited Redeemer last Fall, and he once again made the request and the time seemed right.
Christine and I will be journeying to Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney sharing the Discipleship Model. We will take Redeemer with us. How? You might ask. It’s simple: Redeemer is emerging as a model for those congregations that value traditional Lutheran liturgy but are willing to add other worship options along side of that for the sake of making new disciples of Jesus Christ within the Lutheran framework. Redeemer also shares the German Lutheran heritage of the Lutheran churches in Australia.
Unfortunately, we also share declining membership as a Church body. While we at Redeemer are privileged to be growing by the power of the Holy Spirit, the ELCA last year lost over 77,000 members and the average age went up by nearly a decade as a consequence. The Lutheran Church in Australia shares similar declining membership.
What is needed is not a “woe is me” attitude. What is needed is a new vision – just like St. Paul’s in the Acts text above. When nothing else worked, when his frustration had finally built up to the point of hearing God’s call, Paul had the vision of the Macedonian man. The results are astonishing – the most significant and successful of all his missionary journeys (see 2 Corinthians 8)! When we reach out in obedience to God’s call, the Holy Spirit blesses our efforts. We become a haven for those who seek a real faith for real life and an energy boost for those who are seeking a life that really matters. Now that’s the witness that we have to share and it’s worth all of our efforts.
Please pray for us as we extend our ministry to others down-under.
Lord Jesus, each of us needs a vision for our lives that is worth following. Thank you for the promise in Paul’s vision. Help us to respond with the same joy and Paul and his companions did. Amen