June 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

June 2013

            Isn't it interesting that those who would call you intolerant for sharing the gospel will not tolerate the gospel being shared in our schools or in our military or any other place that God's truth might be deemed offensive by the politically correct ‘thought police’? Christians all over our nation are shamed into silence and not tolerated by those who claim to be the most tolerant.

            Isn't it interesting that young earth creationists are excluded from the sanctioned scientific community, being told that their views are too exclusive and not inclusive enough of all possible views?  Their view is excluded from the conversation. They are not even allowed a seat at the table because those who do not hold the scientific, old earth, big bang view are "persona non grata" in those discussions. Young earth creationists are excluded from the public discourse because their position has been deemed unscientific and is dismissed without even being considered.

            Isn't it interesting that those who would encourage Christians who hold a biblical worldview to be more open minded are themselves very closed minded if you try to share the Gospel with them?

            Isn't it interesting that Christians are so often judged by others as being judgmental, while at the same time those who make this determination have no problem being judgmental themselves toward Christians?

            Isn't it interesting how those who hold a biblical worldview are often accused of forcing their morals on others, while in the very same breath the one making that accusation condemns the Christian for not holding to the ‘other’ moral standards of  pro-choice & redefining marriage?

            You will notice in any dialogue you have with someone who disagrees with you on what God's word has to say on a given topic that they will not say ‘that is not what God's word says’. They will either attack you for holding the position or attack the authority of God’s word.  When they say ’that is your interpretation’, they are addressing you, not the text. No one is out there saying God’s word says it is ok to abort babies, or it is ok to marry your own gender. Because they know God’s word clearly condemns murder including the unborn "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" Jer 1:5a, and they know marriage is clearly defined while all other intimate relationship variants are condemned.  Rom 1:27 a "In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men," Those who oppose God's truth actually affirm what it says when they attack the messenger or the authority of God's word. So at least we can be sure that they know what God’s word says and pray that the Holy  Spirit will work on their conscience helping them to come to a God pleasing contrite, reconciled relationship with God.

            In the meantime we will continue to plod on sharing His truth whenever given a chance, with His help and encouragement.  God never promised us that being a Christian would be fair, pleasant or easy but He does promise to be with us always unto the end of the age.

In Christ Pastor Portier        

May 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

May 2013

            I would love to wax eloquent on the wonders of spring or reflect on the busy nature of the summer that lies ahead of us all. However, a crucial decision is being made by the Boy Scouts of America on the 23^rd of this month that has far reaching ramifications for our way of life here in America. I am not talking just about the Boy Scouts. As you may know, I wrote an open letter to the organization which I published widely.  Sadly, I just read the proposed resolution and if it passes, we will no longer be able to charter a troop here at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Sevierville TN.

            The reason I feel the need to reflect on this is because it is just one more place where a battle between two different world views is playing out. If we do not stand with God's truth and speak the truth in love about what a biblical worldview is, we may soon find ourselves treated as second class citizens.  You may call me Chicken Little, but I am not saying the sky is falling. I am saying that if our society continues on its current course, it will go the way of all past civilizations that stopped making good bricks to build their society. By good bricks, I mean protecting the weak and innocent and fostering a strong natural family. If we continue to build with faulty bricks that dispose of the weak and innocent as costly, and sacrifice the natural family on the altar of self gratification, we will go the way of every failed civilization that has preceded us because faulty bricks build weak walls that eventually crumble.

            The American Family Association (AFA) is an organization that often does a very good job of speaking to these issues.  You may know them as the organization that produces those Christmas and Easter buttons we all love to wear so much. They also produce a number of other good resources for citizens to live out their Christian faith in a world that is growing more and more hostile towards the Gospel. They also produce a monthly Journal that highlighted the BSA issue.  The main article in the April issue by Ed Vitagliano made a number of good points and provided a good summary of this worldview conflict:         

           "It is Christianity versus secularism. Forget all pleasantries and appeals to fairness and tolerance and inclusivity, this is a war of ideologies – two mutually exclusive worldviews locked in a titanic struggle for supremacy.

           For the tolerance gurus there is a secular morality that is just as absolute as that preached by any Bible-thumper behind a pulpit. It is a pagan sexual ethic rooted in moral relativism with the taproot deeply embedded in Darwinian evolution. Its teachers have their own unbending laws cut into stone and pronounced from on high. Their prophets hurl jeremiads at the unrepentant, who are relegated to a this-worldly hell consisting of the drying up of corporate funding, the disdain and downright persecution of the civil state, banishment to the fringes on university campuses, and the sneering mockery of Hollywood.....

           First the humanists succeeded in routing religion out of the government sphere. Now they are attempting to drive it from the private sphere – by targeting an institution like BSA."

            We as Lutherans believe and teach a doctrine of two kingdoms where the church is in the business of loving and serving God and neighbor, and the government is in the business of keeping the peace and maintaining public property.  However social engineers are trying to give a little too much authority to the government right now. We as citizens of both kingdoms must do our best to be good citizens in each place. Being in but not of the world is not an easy calling, but it is our calling. So we must be active in our vocation as citizens to make informed votes and speak out against injustice and champion the weak, the sick, the unborn and the natural family at every turn. We need to do this in our work place, in our neighborhoods, in our families and in our churches. The church should remain silent on political issues that are matters of preference and opinion. But when the topic is morality and issues on which God's Word is clear, we must speak the truth in love. “Being in but not of the world” means being ready to take it on the chin when you speak this truth. It means publically standing by those who seek to reflect the last two words of the Scout Oath: "Morally Straight".  Lord willing, the decision from the 1400 delegates will be a God-pleasing one. Either way, He is in control of everything and works for the good of those who love Him. So be a good citizen of both kingdoms, do not worry, and have a blessed summer.

In Christ, Pastor Portier

SMR 413

Smoky Mountain Reflections

April 2013

            The Gospel is always under attack, such as "it is one among many", or "corrupted over time". These are two arguments that can be responded to with a simple examination of the mountains of ancient manuscript evidence.  This evidence affirms what the church has always held to be true, that Matthew, Mark, Luke & John are the Gospel.   

            The attack I would like to address this month is the claim that Christianity is a religious myth among many myths that have all evolved over time by sharing and plagiarizing ideas from each other.  This is actually a relatively young attack on the gospel. It did not even exist 150 years ago. It was first proposed by "The History of Religions School" in the 1800's. Albrecht Ritschl (1822-1889), one of the groups’ scholars, felt they were freeing Christianity from the tyranny of scholastic philosophy, but in so doing pulled the rug out from under scriptural authority. They did not care what the Bible said because in their minds Christianity was a product of religious evolution. Evidence of the weak nature of this particular argument is that there are no religious departments in any accredited institution of higher learning anywhere that are continuing the work of "The History of Religions School". However the group’s conclusions are sadly parroted in most comparative religion classes today. These conclusions are being stated as fact with no evidence to support such claims because there is no evidence.  Here are some clear reasons why no work is being done to assert these false claims:

1. Christianity pre-dates most of the "religions" it is supposed to have plagiarized or evolved from.

2. Ancient writings that pre-date Christianity are: the Old Testament, which is fulfilled in Christianity;   Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism which have no parallels from which to plagiarize.

3. There are however three examples, often sited, with parallels that do pre-date Christianity; the Baal-Mot epic, the Isis cult, and Mithraism. Here are some of the supposed parallels; Christ and (Mithras), Virgin birth (born from a rock), a teacher with 12 disciples (a leader with lots of followers), Crucifixion (sacrificed a bull), Resurrection (no record), logos (no record).  When you place these side by side they don't look very similar.

4. The nail in the coffin though is the faulty reasoning that parallels equal plagiarism and borrowing. This is known in the philosophical world as the "post hoc fallacy" also called false cause, coincidental correlation. It can be expressed this way: "A occurred, then B occurred. Therefore, A caused B." But correlation does not equal causation. You may ask yourself why scholars would use a method of argumentation that is so flawed.

Those who make these assertions do not care if it is logical because it suits their needs.  Here is a great example of how flawed this line of reasoning is. This example compares two well-known individuals, Lincoln & JFK. Both were: elected to the House in '46; to the presidency in '60; defeated the incumbent VP; their predecessors retired to Pennsylvania; their successors were Southern Democrats named Johnson born in '08. They both fought for civil rights, were shot in the head from behind on a Friday, a companion was wounded. Both had a son die during their presidency. Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre, Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln made by Ford, their last names have 7 letters, Booth ran from a theatre to a warehouse; Oswald ran from a warehouse to a theatre. This list proves nothing but, using this line of reasoning, in two thousand years someone could argue that JFK did not exist but was plagiarized from the historical accounts of Abraham Lincoln.

            The problem is there are a lot of people today who knew and witnessed all of the events that surrounded JFK's assassination. The same is true for the account of the crucifixion and the resurrection. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is an historical fact by all historical standards.  The empty tomb is an historical fact by all historical standards. There are post resurrection witness accounts by hundreds of individuals. The credibility of the witnesses and their accounts is without blemish. Most of the primary witnesses were martyred confessing Christ. They gave their lives as evidence of the truth of their claims. (people do not give their lives for what they know to be a lie) Christianity rose and grew in its first few hundred years in a hostile environment. The first witnesses to this truth were woman, in a society that did not value a woman's testimony. Some witnesses recorded these truths from outside the faith like Josephus, Suetonius and Tacitus. Why are so many things both good and bad in the record?...because that is the way it happened. God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to die and rise for you! Have a blessed Easter!

In Christ Pastor Portier

The bulk of this article is based on a lecture given by Dr. Adam Francisco Professor of History at Concordia University in Irvine CA. On the internet radio program "Fighting for the Faith" titled "Eyewitnesses accounts and myth" 8/3/12

SMR March 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

March 2013

            What is truth? Is there such a thing as truth? In a free and prosperous society, if there is a truth, does it really matter?  These are not questions one can answer in a simple little one page article.  However for the sake of brevity, let me start with Yes, Yes, and Yes to each of the three somewhat rhetorical questions I just asked. Take a little walk with me as I ponder and make assertions on each of these questions, but more importantly, as I consider how one might communicate these answers to a world that does not really care about truth. We live in a society that not only does not care about truth, it gladly sacrifices it on the altar of personal rights every day.

            First what is truth? The word has many definitions, but for this discussion, let’s go with two:  the body of real things, and transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality.  There is really very little real modern debate on the first one. For example, gravity is a universally accepted truth. Truth of course is not subject to our acceptance of it, but the point is that there are truths that everyone accepts and on which there is no disagreement. The second definition is under a state of great debate. Transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality is a truth that is equally unaffected by our acceptance of it.  However many act as if it does not exist. If you identify yourself as a Christian, your understanding of transcendent truth is in conflict with over two thirds of the world’s population.  While within biblical Trinitarian Christianity, there is a great divergence of understandings of that truth, the truth is not divergent—sinful beings are.             

            Is there such a thing as truth? This is a philosophical question, so I will offer a philosophical answer. Plainly I would state that since truth is a concept that is definable and observable, and since definable and observable concepts exist, then it follows that truth exists.    

            In a free and prosperous society, if there is a truth, does it really matter? This is where the rubber meets the road. Truth matters, and more importantly, transcendent spiritual truth matters.  Any student of history can tell you that time and time again throughout history, every society that has ever existed which upheld and lived by the transcendent spiritual truths that are contained in God's word or even if their truths mirrored God's word, those societies enjoyed decades or even centuries of peace and prosperity. On the flip side of that reality, the clear decline of every society that has ever existed was accompanied by their denial of clear transcendent fundamental truths.  Truths, like all aspects of society, need to foster and support the family unit as the basic building block. Killing unborn babies and same gender relationships are an affront to that truth and are a reality that preceded and accompanied the fall of all societies in history.  When we choose to define truth to suit our own desires, this leads to departure from truth and is the sure road to destruction.           

            Communicating this truth and the fact that it matters is difficult in a post modern society that specializes in dismissal of truth, avoidance, diversion and appeasement at the cost of truth and reconciliation.  In our society, the rights of the individual trump all truth claims.  This leads to illogical statements that defeat themselves and positions in life that are known as happy inconsistencies.

            Judge not..................   Is not the one who says this making a judgment?

            Be tolerant of all......    except of course those who are not tolerant enough.

            There is no absolute truth......  except of course that statement.

            Here are some examples of happy inconsistencies: "You do not have to go to church to be a Christian"

even though that violates one of the commandments. Over 80% of Americans claim to be Christians and over 60% of Americans think Christ is one among many paths to God.  This means that at least 40% believe themselves to be Christian while not believing Christ when He clearly said, “I am the way the truth and the life; NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME!” If I say I am a tree....that does not make me a tree?  The truth is that to be a tree you must have roots, a trunk, and leaves and you cannot talk.  In the same way, just saying you are a Christian does not make you a Christian. You must have saving faith in the Son of God, and if you have that faith, then your life will not be full of happy inconsistencies that ignore truth. Your life will reflect your appreciation of the free gift of Grace, and you will not hold on to your favorite sin and deny God's truth by saying it is not sin. You will love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and strength, not because you can or you have to.....but because through Grace, He equips and enables you to respond in the most God-pleasing way possible and where you fall short....Christ has you covered.  Have a blessed Lent.

In Christ, Pastor Portier            

SMR 213

Smoky Mountain Reflections

February 2013

            In the month where we celebrate St. Valentine (so that the candy and flower companies can peddle their wares), I thought it might be interesting to discuss marriage...the basis and building block for natural families. When families are healthy, then the civilization they are a part of is also in good shape. This is not just my opinion—it is a clear truth that history, social sciences, and even those with an agenda to the contrary must acknowledge if they want to be heard as an intelligent voice in the conversation.

            That being said, one of the loudest voices in this conversation does not care about facts.  That voice would be the media and entertainment industries. They so often say they are just producing what sells, but even in this, they are dishonest. Because if they were concerned with the bottom line, not their message (which always contains something other than the traditional family), then they would produce more of the films and other products that are most popular. In 2011, only 18 G-rated films were produced even though G films make on average three to five times more than R-rated films.      

            We as Lutherans believe and teach that the sixth commandment is about fidelity in marriage.  These are two concepts that our society and many of us do not fully comprehend.  Adultery is sexual activity of any kind with anyone that is not your spouse. Marriage is and has always been defined by every major successful culture and religion to be one man and one woman. Scripture records bigamy, polygamy, and all other forms of amorous activity outside marriage. It also clearly condemns them all as a violation of God’s plan for sex.  Our society has separated this act from God’s plan for reproduction, and that leads to some of the crazy ways some are trying to define marriage today. How long will it be before people start trying to marry their pets, or children, or multiple people, or their favorite piece of interactive electronic entertainment?  If we redefine marriage...where will it stop? ....or will it ever stop?  If you call an apple an orange, does that really change it?       

            Oh how I would love to say yes all the time! Any good parent knows that saying no is unpopular and will often be responded to with great rebellion and anger.  But we as the church, as Christ’s bride, must speak the truth in love to our neighbor and that sadly means telling unrepentant sinners no, you must not do things that God forbids.  It is not healthy for you. We don't do any favors for those who say their favorite sin is not sin, if we just smile and nod. We must smile and say let me help you deal with this in a God-pleasing way. It would be great if all the people I know and love would be on the same page with regard to this topic, but the truth is we all know and love people who are on the wrong side of this discussion either in word or deed.  If we all were of one mind, and agreed about important things like the intrinsic value of life, then the womb would be a safe place to live. If we all were of one mind and agreed about the importance of providing for and protecting natural marriage, then this most important building block of civilization would be safe. But the truth is this institution is under attack.  The sad truth is we are not all on the same page and in agreement on these and other important topics and out of respect and concern for all the people in our lives that are at risk, it is best to be honest and upfront about who you are, what you stand for, what you believe, and why you believe it.

            Now if you start speaking the truth in love, many will dismiss "your truth" as one among many, and tell you to be tolerant of their position while they are being intolerant of yours. We should seek to avoid conflict or confrontation, but it is also important for us to share the truth and seek to reconcile ourselves and others to God’s will.  Our modern world, with our nation at the center, worships at the altar of the rights of the individual. All other positions, philosophies, and world views must take second seat to the self-determined wants and needs of the individual. When proclaiming His truth, we will sometimes have to point out that sometimes people want what is not good for them or others. For asserting such a truth, you can expect to be called a "bigot" which according to Webster is a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.  With this name calling, they are seeking to marginalize you and the truth you stand for, while completely avoiding the topic at hand.  We do not and should not hatefully fight for our opinions but, we must stand with and for God’s truth no matter how angrily the word "no" is received...it is still sometimes the most loving and concerned caring thing to say.

In Christ, Pastor Portier  

January 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

January 2013

            Happy New Year......I guess we do not need the existence of a Mayan calendar because you are reading this, and the last date on that calendar passed weeks ago. As we enter the year of 2013, we do come upon a gloomy anniversary. For the past 40 years, we as a nation have been allowing for the legal murder of unborn children.  I can hear you saying it now...."Come on Pastor, not that topic again...it is so depressing."  I agree.  It is a depressing topic, but if we do not speak the truth in love to our neighbors on this topic....who will speak for the weak and vulnerable who cannot speak for themselves?

            It would be great if all the people we know and love could be on the same page on this topic, but the truth is we all know and love people who are on the wrong side of this discussion.  If we all were of one mind and agreed about the intrinsic value of life, then the womb would be a safe place to live. But the truth is we are not, and out of respect and concern for all those people and the lives that are at risk, it is best to be honest and upfront about who you are, what you believe, and why you believe it.

            This is important for two reasons.  First—life is a blessing and as such should be nurtured and cared for. We as a society must work to protect and care for the weak, and those who are in a position to protect them best—their mothers. Secondly, a whole generation of women have been lied to and told that their child was not a life, and so 30 to 40 percent of our society is suffering the physical and emotional scars of abortion.  We as the body of Christ must do everything in our power to communicate God’s love and forgiveness for these hurting men and woman who either directly or indirectly suffer from post-abortion issues.  

            It saddens me that we cannot get the truth from our media outlets, our government, our health care system, or any other public organization, because the "lifestyle left" has its hooks in all these places, keeping the public message in line with their abortion-on-demand agenda. Abortion is the most unregulated and most unreported medical procedure taking place in our country. The pro-choice propaganda machine says it is fighting for women.  What about all the future women that are aborted? What about the women who die because of botched abortions? What about those who suffer from post-abortion physical and emotional scars? What about the women who are coerced into making the choice for abortion by organizations that make money off that decision?  These organizations lobby against simple legislation including licensing and regulating abortion clinics, parental consent requirements for minors, 24-hour waiting periods and ultrasound provisions. The reason they fight all these things is because they know that when women are given all the information, women overwhelming decide against abortion and that cuts into their business. 

            There is another thing that puzzles me.  I noticed in the last election that the pro-life candidates have to clarify their position for the media: “What, if any, are the exceptions in your position?”  Being pro-choice also has many different positions, but the media asked no such question of those with a pro-choice position. You could almost put all these positions on a Life vs Choice scale and find that people and even leaders all lean heavily to the LIFE side of this scale. Here is a summary of those positions as I understand them:

            - Full Pro-Life no exceptions.

                        However even in this position, most would make exception to protect the life of the mother,                                 leaving that decision in the hands of the mother.

            - Pro-Life with the exception of rape and incest (The Romney / Ryan Position)

            - Pro-Life with the exception of rape, incest, and health of mother.

            - Pro-Choice (rare and legal) first trimester only.

            - Pro-Choice with all above exceptions plus welfare of the mother.

            - Pro-Choice abortion on demand for any reason but only in the first trimester.

            - Pro-Choice abortion on demand for any reason up to the day of birth (The Obama / Biden Position)

            - Extreme Pro-Choice if a child was intended to be aborted but is born alive.....let it die.

            There are even more extreme positions that would allow for euthanizing infants if there is anything wrong             with them that would give them a poor quality of life.  We must be well informed on these issues and as such, should take the time to educate ourselves.  So that we can be well informed members of the body of Christ, the human race, and as citizens.

            What can you do? Well, you can stay informed by visiting some of the following websites: www.lutheransforlife.org;  www.afa.net:  www.ruthinstitute.org; www.all.org; www.nrlc.org.  Listen to Issues Etc. online (www.issuesetc.org) as they often cover this topic.  You can also pray for and give of your time and resources to the Women's Care Center, and our county’s Right to Life chapter that is having a rally at Country Tonight on the 13th @ 2 PM.  See you there, and have a great new year!!

In Christ,

Smoky Mountain Reflection Dec 2012

            Greetings in Christ and happy Advent! as I ponder what pre Christmas reflections I should share with you in this, my final reflection of the year.  I find myself a bit excited and even eager to share with you about some of my recent travels.  Specifically a visit to All Saints Lutheran Church in Charlotte North Carolina and Kings point Resort in Storm Lake Iowa.  The purpose for both of these trips was a mixture of continuing education and resources and networking for our congregation.

            That being said lets jump into the first trip report.  The trip to All Saints Lutheran in Charlotte was about three and a half hours so I got up early on Saturday the 27th of October and headed over the mountains while catching up on my issues etc. programs.  The lecture series "How to Read the Old Testament: Jesus at the Center" started at 11 with Rev. Dr. Andrew Steinmann, Professor of Theology and Hebrew From Concordia University Chicago.  He is one of the worlds foremost scholars in Aramaic.  The title of His lecture was "The Messianic Promise in the Book of Genesis".  He walked us through many of the events in Genesis unpacking  the messianic overtones contained in them.  After a nice German lunch of brats and potato salad we went on to the next lecture titled "No More Peak-A-Boo Jesus" presented by Rev. Jeffery Pulse from Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS) Fort Wayne.  The reason for the title is that most modern scholars look into the old testament to see if they can find hidden glimpses of Jesus in the text, when in reality all of the old testament points directly and indirectly to Jesus. I also gained some keen insights on motifs and thematic threads that run through out Gods word.  Next we heard from Rev. Dr. Paul Raabe From Concordia Seminary Saint Louis, on "Reading the Old Testament: Jesus as the fulfillment." In this lecture he walked us through the many typological similarities between the life of Christ and many of the Old Testament narratives. Finally the Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer of  CTS Fort Wayne tied it all together in His presentation "Jesus: The End, Fulfillment, and Continuation of the Old Testament" He focused on how Christ is a complete fulfillment of the Old testament and connected the dots in essence from the previous lectures touching on the Gospels but focusing primarily on Luke and Acts. This was 4 hours well spent even though I spent over 7 hours in transit there and back and I look forward to applying these insights to sermons and bible studied in the coming months.

            Then the following week on November first I got up early in the morning and flew to Omaha Nebraska followed by a drive up to Storm Lake about two and a half hours away. The purpose for this trip was participate in The "National Rural and Small Town Mission Conference" This confrence was organized by our Synod Office of National Mission (ONM).  After opening worship led by the president of Iowa District West Rev. Paul Sieveking we then went into a Bible Study led by Rev. Dr. Brian Saunders, President, LCMS Iowa District East this was the frist of four sessions that covered the book of Ephesians, focusing on St Pauls use of the phrase "In Christ". We then went into our first plenary session. "In Christ for Church" this session was to be led by Rev. J. Bart Day, Executive Director, LCMS (ONM). but he was responding to Hurrican Sandy as part of our synod disaster response team so the opening session was presented by Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan, Interim Director, Rural and Small Town Mission (RSTM) and he did a great job of helping us understand how the (ONM) is working to support the work of (RSTM) congregations as we witness to the Gospel and share mercy in our communities.  I then attend my first sectional where I met with the staff of the newly forme (ONM) and learnd how RSTM, Urban ministry, 72 Partners, and Registered Servic Organizations (RSO's) now all work together in the (OMN).  I then attend my second sectional Rural Ministry 101 presented by Rev. Ray Smith, where we discussed the cultural barriers for those moving from urban areas to small towns and rural settings? the uniqueness of rural culture. After an evening buffet we went on to an evening session which was a group discussion on focusing on the many blessings and challenges facing small congregations in rural and small-town communities and our hopes for the future. 

            Friday's first plenary session was "It’s Okay to Be Small" by Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan, Interim Director, (RSTM) He discussed how Small congregations have exactly what they need and more importantly what the world needs. this session provided inspiration and encouragement for seeing our congregations in terms of what they have, as provided from God, rather than in terms of what they lack. This Gospel-centered perspective provides great encouragement for corporate witness and acts of mercy in our communities.  My third sectional was Rural Resources led by Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan, and Amy Gerdts, RSTM Project Coordinator in this session we Meet with the (RSTM) team and learned more about the array of resources available to help support our

congregation.. The next Plenary session was "Asset Mapping: Energizing Congregations for Ministries that

Matter by Luther Snow, Author of “The Power of Asset Mapping” this session alone in my opinion was worth the trip and I plan on using this methond at our next anual planng meeting. He shared with us new ways to strengthen our congregation for ministry.  He taught us a procdess that helps identify physical, institutional, individual and community assets that are already in place. we came away with tools and skills to energize our congregation in the planing process. Snow is the creator of Asset Mapping, the in-person method for positive group collaboration that is very popular. Snow is a nationally recognized speaker in the field of rural development and has worked with numerous Lutheran agencies.  Our next plenary session was "Country Strong:Tapping Hidden Strengths for Rural Congregational Development" In this session Luther Snow,

shared how to discover what works for congregations in rural areas and small towns.  Models of congregational development are often devised in urban areas and then applied, with limited success, in rural settings. But there are unique advantages and opportunities in rural life that are often overlooked or underappreciated. Snow, a positive rural development pioneer, helped us learn how to recognize our unique local strengths and tap them for appropriate and powerful impact in our own communities. Sectional four was a session on congregational partnerships led by Luther Snow, in this session we built on what we learned in the asset-mapping process, we  looked at how congregations can use their individual strengths to collaborate with potential partners and engage the community in new ways. There is great potential for congregations to work together for the purpose of serving communities and reaching the lost. Sectional five The Community of Christ: It’s More Than Just Me!

led by Rev. Gene Ernst, LCMS Pastor Emeritus from Columbus Indiana. This session examined community within and outside the chruch.  That evening we had a Banquet with the featured Speaker: Rev. Dr. Matthew

C. Harrison, LCMS President.

            Saturday, our final Plenary "Witness, Mercy, Life Together in Rural America" by Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, LCMS President. President Harrison presented the emphasis for the church and demonstrated its unique relevance for rural and smalltown congregations. I howeve had to head bact to the Airport misson the last few minutes of this presentation.  Although I missed the closing panel discussion and the closing worship I feel this trio was well worth the time and resoruces used to get me there. I look forward to making use of some of these great insigts and practical processes in our future together.

Have a blessed advent

Pastor Portier

I you would like to see St. Paul's News Letter visit this link: http://tinyurl.com/cxjjr5b