Posted by Ted, 10:30 pm, Thursday, 11 June.
Tonight marks the last day of our tenth training event for this tour of Australia. In all, there have been 24 days of presentation, and thousands of kilometers traveled by air and ground. Our minds and bodies are weary from the whirlwind training tour, but filled with joy from the experience.
We arrived in Victoria on Monday, checked into our retreat center, and then were treated by Pastor Brett and Sylvia Kennett for an evening tour of the central business district of Melbourne, a lovely and spicy Asian/Australian meal, and a taste of Aussie beers. Sylvia is from Argentina, and I especially enjoyed visiting with her about my visit there last winter. Brett was also very engaging, and of course, we talked about reconciliation and the opportunities that arise in congregational ministry.
Over the last three days, we completed our final training for this tour. This event included about 11 or 12 lay workers together with the pastors of the Victoria/Tasmania District. So, we had a number of talented women grace our class. We had another fantastic experience as this group included a number of gifted church leaders. We have come to expect that we will meet talented and committed leaders where ever we go in this church body.
The worship times were especially meaningful, as the devotions were carefully prepared and delivered with grace. We have been truly blessed to hear songs of a more contemporary nature that are wonderfully Lutheran and yet fully rich in content. By now, we have learned some of them and several are now favorites of ours. These Aussie Lutherans have a rich storehouse of worship resources that are inviting in easy-to-use language, simple and yet profound in structure. I personally hope that we can introduce some of what we have used here in the US and Canada.
Several of the participants of this training expressed their personal appreciation of my book CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS, more so than I have received anywhere else in my travels throughout the US and the world. A couple of the pastors here have done their own extensive research on the subject, and told me how much they appreciated my book's approach on a subject dear to them. It became obvious to us very quickly that many here in this district have developed personal practices of private confession and absolution. Yet, they thanked us over and again for showing them so new ways to apply this gift of the Gospel within the family and in coaching situations.
As I reflect on the entire experience in Australia, I do not remember working with any other church body from any continent that has been so overwhelmingly positive and appreciative of reconciliation ministry. It is clear to all of us as presenters (Bruce, Kathy, Francis, and Ted) that God's timing was right for this extensive teaching experience in Australia. The LCA College of Presidents have modeled their support and leadership by all participating fully in the training, from Synodical President Mike Semmler to all the District Presidents. In addition, all the ordained staff of the seminary also attended the training. What a blessing to have such a modeling!
Bruce and Kathy should be home by now. Francis and Angela have a couple of days to play in Melbourne, and will leave on Sunday. I have one more important task -- On Saturday I meet with the College of Presidents for a full day to debrief this training experience and discuss where the LCA goes next in biblical peacemaking. Then on Sunday, I join Francis and Angela in returning home to North America.
I cannot begin to imagine what fruit this reconciliation training will bear throughout Australia and New Zealand. Never before in my experience has any church body participated in such an extensive training that included nearly all the active pastors, a number of laity and lay workers, plus educators and other ministry leaders. Lifestyles of reconciliation are being cultivated before our very eyes, as we have already heard about reconciliations that have taken place.
Because God promises that his Word will bear fruit (we may not see it or recognize it), I believe that hundreds -- actually thousands -- of relationships will be reconciled as the leaders of LCA teach and coach their people in biblical peacemaking. Marriages, families, church leaders, co-workers, school administrators and teachers and students and parents, aged care workers and residents, and more. What an awesome God we have!
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:33-36).
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