November 2000
Page 1 - If the Ship is Sinking... By Paul Anderson
Page 2 - Give Me the Desires of My Heart! By Mary Ann Herzan
- Page 3 - Restoring the True Stronghold - Is God Your Mighty Fortress?
By Dr. Joe JohnsonPage 4 - Association of Renewal Churches (ARC)
Page 5 - Director's Note
It's a new day at Lutheran Renewal. We've not felt this kind of momentum yet in the five years I've been here. We came off our August Holy Spirit Conference feeling like we had just won an Olympic gold. We're grateful for the awareness of God's presence and blessing. Though we are small, we (the staff, board, and renewal advisory team) are convinced that Lutheran Renewal is being called to change the face of the church. Two major projects before us now are:
- Helping to establish a leadership training school. A team has been meeting to launch a school that would train people for leadership in the Lutheran Church and beyond. (More about this in our next newsletter.)
- Building a network of renewal-minded pastors and congregations (see article). We have seen in these critical days that pastors and churches need support and encouragement.
People have been generous to Lutheran Renewal, and our financial condition continues to be stable, for which we are grateful. As we continue our congregational missions, our leadership conferences, our consultation with pastors and seminarians, our international ministry, and our seminars, plus starting up new ministries, we need to broaden our financial base as well as to bring in some major gifts. Please pray with us about the part you might play.
Here are some present office needs which could use funding: printer, new phone system (our old one continues to break down), copier (the one we were given two years ago is dying), and office furniture.
We just finished with two days of board meetings, in which our aggressive new stance in Lutheran Renewal was affirmed by the counsel of mature leaders. I am thankful that we are not alone. Many have told us, and we continue to hear it: "Thank you for being there. God has raised you up to be a strong and clear voice in these days of uncertainty in the church."
Rejoicing in the empowering presence of His Spirit,
Paul AndersonP.S. A reminder to pastors: Our Timothy project allows pastors to travel with our Lutheran Renewal team so that you can experience a renewal weekend. Lutheran Renewal will pay one-half of the transportation cost. Contact me if you're interested.
