I Believe

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I am on my way to a Northern Illinois District Pastors Conference. Pastor Warren and Deaconess Suzanne will be joining me later. After all the excitement of yesterday’s Confirmation celebration, I thought it appropriate to ask Pastor Warren to guest blog with some of his thoughts…

On a weekend when our scheduled Gospel message talked about Jesus speaking plainly to His disciples, twenty eighth graders confirmed the faith given to them in their baptism by simply saying “I Believe.” On this day, they not only confessed their faith in Jesus as their own, but did so as the Body of Christ.  Hundreds of family members and friends came to worship and witness this very special moment in our confirmands’ journey of faith.  They also came to support, encourage, and celebrate these wonderful young people.  So it is fitting that we all together confessed our faith by saying “I Believe!”  It was a simple as that… we joined together as the Body of Christ, proclaiming our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Confessing God as our Father, believing in Jesus as our Savior, and confirming our faith through the Holy Spirit, we join together as a family to celebrate what God is doing in our lives.

As I told the confirmands, this celebration is normal in the church, but it is not normal in our world today.  As Christians, we must not conform to the normal patterns of this world, but we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind in Christ. In order to strengthen our faith, we must intentionally go about our days remaining close to Christ through His Word.  For if we do what is natural, we will slowly become weak and drift in our faith.  So today, I encourage you to not be normal, and be intentional in your faith.  Start by praying for these twenty confirmands on a continual basis.  Remember them in your prayers, asking that God would strengthen them as their journey of faith continues.  Finally, remember to keep your faith simple and just say “I Believe!”

God’s peace,
Pastor Warren

Today’s Church | Confirmation 2012

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Eleven very nervous and anxious confirmands sat before me during the confirmation service. This was probably one of the few times they wished I was delivering a typical sermon instead of leading the promised “discussion” with them before the actual ceremony. Students who usually carry on daily conversations with me now avoided eye contact. The solemn tone of the occasion began to affect these normally-carefree teens. Rather than drilling the students with questions immediately, I invited Missionaries George and Shary Frahm to step forward. Back on medical leave from Cambodia, they presented Immanuel with a beautiful wood cutting in the shape of the country of Cambodia with an inspired artistic rendition of “Jesus” embedded in the center of the ‘country.’

Thanking Immanuel for their support while standing in the front of the about-to-be-confirmed students truly meant something to me. The message was unmistakable. “You are today’s church,” I said. Today you are confirming the faith in which you were baptized. Today you pledge to carry out the mission of our church. Standing before the students were two missionaries, real life examples of our mission. Finally, I reminded the young people of the pledge they were making that day:

“. . . to conform your life to the rule of the divine Word, to be diligent in the use of the means of grace, to conduct yourselves worthy of the Gospel of Christ, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to the Triune God”

Speaking to everyone present (those who spoke similar words at their own confirmations and those who haven’t been confirmed), I carefully unpacked the words and invited the students to consider their meaning before simply agreeing to follow them. The challenges of life await each of these young people. Some of those challenges will test them as never before. They will need God’s Word and the Sacraments to remain true to their God!

Perhaps some in attendance that evening reflected back on other confirmation services including their own. Maybe others will consider taking similar steps themselves.  I am privileged to recall scores of confirmation services from the Philippines to Wisconsin, Minnesota and of course Illinois. Each time the occasions were packed with emotions as the serious nature of the occasion became obvious. Faces of hundreds of young people come to mind. It is my sincere prayer that they all continue to serve their Savior as they pledged. To God be the Glory!

See you in church,
Pastor Tom

P.S.  Be sure to read Deaconess Brenna’s words on confirmation if you haven’t already!