18 January 2014

LCNZ Update 18 January 2014

Kia tau ki a koutou te atawhai me te rangimarie o te Atua
願 父 神 所 賜 的 恩 惠 和 平 安 與 你 們 同 在
Grace and peace to you from God

Happy New Year

LEFT: The photo I took of a firework at the beginning of 2014 at Mt Maunganui

Even though we’re more than halfway through the first month of the year already, I reckon we’re still close enough to the beginning of the year for me to greet you with the words, Happy New Year.

I hope that you had opportunity, together with your loved ones, to spend some time relaxing and basking in the joy of God’s Christ-mas gift to you and the world … and that maybe you were able to have some time away from the office, or the tractor, or the school books … some time away at a beach, or at a bach, or in the garden, or walking through the beautiful New Zealand bush … some time away from routine, just to relax and re-charge for the year ahead.

It’s going to be a good year ahead, because it’s God’s year.

Rather than a devotional thought this time, please let me enter the New year with you by leading you in a prayer –

God of mercy, you live in everlasting glory, and your name is eternal. We give thanks that you have revealed to us the name of your only Son, Jesus, our Saviour, the name above every name, the only name by which we are saved, the name in which we have been baptised, and at whose name every knee will bow.

We give thanks for all the blessings of the past year. You have helped us in the past, and there is no end to your mercy. In these difficult times, protect your church from the assaults of the evil one. Keep our pastors from false teaching, and keep your flock from indifference and shame.

Bless the nations of the earth with leaders who are wise and just, with public servants who are compassionate and patient, and with citizens who are honourable and respectful. Bless all the lawful actions taken by our country. Do not let us grow weary in well-doing.

Bless the resources of the earth and the labour of all workers. Bless our children. Grant that they may grow in virtue and faithfulness until the end.

Have mercy on those who are lonely, tired, anxious, or despairing; on those without home, employment, or family, those who have lost hope and those whose holiday joy has become sorrow for any reason. Remember us in our dark times, and teach us all not to worry about the future.

Merciful Lord, forgive us for the sins of the past year. As we look to a new year, we confess to you that we are anxious and uncertain, for we do not know what will come to us. Yet, Lord, we know that you will be with us according to your mercy. Bless the endeavours of your Church in New Zealand this year and help us to grow in your wisdom.

We pray for those who will be born this year, and for those who will die; for those who will be wounded and for those who will need healing; for those who will laugh and those who will mourn.

We pray for your blessing on the crops that are planted this year, on the harvest that will be gathered in, and on every new venture that we begin and everything that is brought to an end.

We pray for wisdom to see what must be torn down and what must be built up; for the courage to throw away the things we no longer need, and for the strength to gather in the things we need to keep close and dear.

We pray for times when we may embrace those whom we have refrained from embracing; when we may seek those that we have lost; when we may love those whom we have hated.

We pray for wisdom to know the time to speak and the time to keep silent; the time for war and the time for peace.

We pray for Aotearoa-New Zealand, and for all who live here.

Lord God, you have made everything suitable for its time; you have put a sense of past and future into our minds; yet we cannot know everything you have done from the beginning to the end. Be with us through all our days and years, for our times are in your hands. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers – a Life-Changing Event
A reminder that next month the Director of Reconciliation in the LCA / LCNZ, Pastor Bruce Zagel and his wife Kathy will be conducting Blessed are the Peacemaker seminars throughout the LCNZ.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers is a Bible study seminar on reconciling relationships and resolving conflict. In this engaging presentation, you see how God’s ministry of reconciliation can be lived out in daily life. You learn practical ways to apply your Christian faith in family, business, church, and even business and legal conflicts. Since all children of God are called to be peacemakers, this seminar is appropriate for every Christian. Church leaders with responsibilities for teaching and assisting others in their conflicts will find the seminar especially helpful for assisting others in responding to conflict in a biblically faithful manner.

Benefits of a Blessed Are the Peacemakers Seminar

As Christians living in a sinful world, we often respond to conflict in worldly ways. Although we may know better, we often respond to conflict by trying to escape or by attacking others. When we do, relationships are damaged and the witness of the church is weakened.

In Blessed Are the Peacemakers, participants learn how to change this problem. You study key Bible passages and acquire tools for applying the basic principles in everyday conflicts. Past participants report how they used these tools and concepts to resolve everything from family squabbles to complicated lawsuits.

You will be challenged to live, proclaim, and cultivate lifestyles of reconciliation in the family, workplace, and church.

As people practice new ways of addressing conflict, conflict does not disappear. In fact, initially you may have to deal with more conflict. As people become more sensitive to God’s call for peace, they stop covering up the conflict that already exists. They begin to discuss and resolve their differences more honestly and constructively, and old unresolved issues are brought to light and dealt with. They likely will need guidance from church leaders as they struggle to use new skills. These requests for help become opportunities for discipleship. As a result, time and energy wasted on escaping from conflict or attacking others is redirected to glorifying God, serving others, and growing more like Christ, giving a living witness to the unbelieving world.

Seminar Features

Stories shared by instructors demonstrate how the principles presented are not theoretical but realistic and practical. Blessed Are the Peacemakers covers the following topics:
  • Understanding conflict from a biblical viewpoint
  • Identifying worldly and godly responses to conflict
  • Describing three opportunities for Christians in conflict
  • How to confess your faults without justification
  • How to forgive others as God forgave you
  • How to achieve genuine reconciliation
Each person attending the seminar receives a 24-page study guide, along with an easy-to-use handout on ‘Announcing God’s Grace through Confession and Forgiveness’.

Please ask your pastor or local leadership team for a registration form or visit the Events page on the LCNZ website to download it, and plan on attending the seminar in your region –
  • Saturday 1st February, Christchurch
  • Monday 3rd February, Wellington
  • Monday 10th February, Palmerston North
  • Monday 17th February, Botany (Auckland)
And how about this? I’ve just heard that some members of Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Hawkes Bay are considering travelling to Palmerston North to attend the seminar there … and there has been a kind invitation from some members of the Manawatu Parish for these folk to stay overnight with them before returning home the next day.

I’m encouraged by this, and I hope you are too.

Acts 15:36 Tour
As I write this update, each congregation in the LCNZ is receiving a report from my “health-check” visit last September together with a pastoral letter from me.

Jesus – All About Hope 2014
An update from the Project Coordinator, Dave Mann –

Every home will hear in 2014

The initiators of the Hope Project have confirmed that every home in Aotearoa will hear of Christ this year, which is the bicentenary year of the Gospel in our nation. “Unfortunately, we didn’t raise the seed money needed to proceed with the full three-ad, three-booklet project”, says Hope Project coordinator, Dave Mann. “However, we are in a position to launch a one-ad, one-booklet project that can still connect with every home through television, letterboxes and internet. In addition, we’re able to create resources that can serve churches in New Zealand a little longer, such as the various equipping resources, the Gospel website, and the planned follow up website. We believe these resources will be an asset to our nations churches, helping many to better understand the faith, and learn as Jesus’ followers.”

Where to now?

The call is now going out to pastors and church leaders throughout New Zealand to actively prepare their members for the conversational opportunities that will come later in the year through this project. Mann says, “The Gospel bicentenary is an amazing opportunity and this project can help us utilise it to the full: sharing clearly the message those first missionaries risked life and limb to bring to this nation, and which many Maori later devoted their lives to spread also. There are positive stories from our history that have not been widely told, and this project can share some of them broadly. Every home will also hear of Christ, which hasn’t happened for thirty years. This is significant!”

The countdown is now on. However, Mann is hopeful that this project might be a beginning of sorts. “Projects like this come and go. The question is what we accomplish through them, and learn from them. We have content for three booklets and ads prepared. We’re hopeful that, once completed, there will be vision to use these on the following two Easters. The process of this could really help many of our churches that are struggling with evangelism to get it back out of the ‘too hard basket’. New Zealanders are spiritual people. They just don’t want to be preached at. If we can learn how to positively engage this conversation we’ll find that there are plenty of opportunities.”

The Lutheran Church of New Zealand made a financial contribution to the Jesus – All About Hope 2014 project.

Please find out more at www.hopeproject.co.nz

What the Bishop’s Up to …
Today I travelled out of Wellington for what will be the first of many trips away during 2014 to visit pastors, people, congregations, attend meetings, lead worship and preach, encourage, advise, listen, pray with etc.

Here’s some of what I’ll be up to through to the end of February –
  • Visiting Botany Lutheran Church – meeting with leadership and congregation, conducting a worship workshop, participating in worship, presiding at the Lord’s Supper
  • Visiting and meeting with the congregations of the Bay of Plenty and Hamilton
  • Leading worship and preaching at St Pauls Christchurch
  • Representing the Lutheran Church of NZ at the installation of the new Dean of Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
  • Attending a Finance Advisory CAommittee (FAC) meeting, a Lutheran Support Ministries (LSM) meeting and an LLL meeting
  • Attending the New Zealand Christian Network Congress at Paihia and at the same time attending the Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi (this is all part of the churches of Aotearoa-NZ preparing for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the first proclamation of the gospel in 1814 by Samuel Marsden)
  • Church Workers’ Conference in beautiful Upper Moutere
  • Council of Synod and Gateway Trust Board meetings
  • Attending the first College of Bishops’ meeting in Adelaide for the year
Many other servant-leaders in the LCNZ are also involved in these events and meetings. Please pray for us as this new year of meetings and opportunities for proclaiming Jesus Christ begins.

And While I Think of It …

Happy Wellington Anniversary this weekend as well. Maybe you could use this prayer to thank God for where you live (simply use the name of your own town or city or area in the place of Wellington); I think it will work wherever you are –

Lord, on this anniversary weekend, we thank and praise you for our city and province of Wellington with its unique beauty and grandeur, for its wealth and its resources. We thank you for your many gifts and blessings to us, for peace and prosperity, freedom and good government, education and culture, work and leisure. Help us not to squander our heritage, but to use it wisely and preserve it for our children. We thank you for the variety of people and cultures in our region, for the Maori and the early settlers, for our ancestors and their descendants, and for migrants from all over the world. Teach us to respect and value each other. We thank and praise you that by the preaching of the gospel you have planted and nurtured your church here in Wellington. Help us to promote the unity of your church in this place and proclaim the good news of salvation to our own people and our neighbours. We commend to you all those in positions of authority, our Mayor and her counsellors, the local governments and leaders in communities throughout the province, and the parliament of our nation. Help them to govern wisely and justly so that people may be restrained from wrongdoing and encouraged to live good lives. Amen.

Kia noho a Ihowa ki a koutou; the Lord be with you.

+MARK

Pastor Mark Whitfield BTh MSM

Bishop of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand / Pihopa o te Hāhi Rūtana o Aotearoa