The Church of Christ, in every age...

I had the opportunity to volunteer for a few days at the 2011 Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's Churchwide Assembly, that took place last week in Orlando. I worn three hats during my time at the assembly: worship usher, page distributor, and wide-eyed student. I spent a few hours in service alongside the many volunteers who worked the countless hours needed behind the scenes to keep the gears of the assembly moving. I spent a majority of my time watching the ebb and flow of a church in action.

While I will not claim that the ELCA is the only embodiment of the church on earth, I do believe that we are a voice among the harmony of witnesses of Jesus Christ in our world today. We are a church beset by change, we are a church that is spirit led, as the old hymn goes, and we are working to move into the future together. The efforts 1025 delegates, lay and ordained, men and women, young and seasoned, and the countless folks on the churchwide staff, came together over five days, working and sweating for hours on end, swelling to the beat of the theme, "Freed in Christ to serve." Topics were debated, the Spirit’s movement was discerned, and decisions were made, all in an effort to be a witness of Christ in our world.

Paul writes in Romans 8 that we are to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and whole." In a society whose leaders often send a message of inadequate preparation and a proclivity to shift the blame to someone else, the ELCA, as a living witness of the Gospel, is taking strides to seek justice, embody love and mercy, and equip its members to bear Christ's life saving message to the world. While we are by no means perfect, we continue to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit in our world and roll up our sleeves to do the work of Christ. As a church, as a community of faith, as a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our world, we are striving to renew our minds, and ourselves, to be a better servant in our world. While we do not always get it right, because there are still those without a voice in our world, I believe that we continue to walk in the way of Jesus Christ.