| Church of the Lutheran Brethren

The Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

Posted by: Tim Mathiesen

japan tsunami

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has left hundreds of thousands homeless while the death toll continues to rise into the thousands. We as God's Church have many opportunities to support those who are suffering in Japan. This tragedy reminds us of how small and vulnerable we are as human beings. More importantly, while many have lost homes and are without food, even more people in Japan are without the Gospel. Japan is a nation where less than 2% are Christian. Our missionaries first and foremost ask for your prayers as they reach out spiritually and physically to their neighbors. Below is information that will help you stay in touch with what is going on in Japan through Lutheran Brethren missionaries and the local Japan Lutheran Brethren Church.

Latest Update:

From Missionaries Dean and Linda Bengtson (May 17th-19th):
After working in Shintate for the past three weeks the doors to this neighborhood are swinging wide open! There's a new sense of hope in Shintate! Opening and cleaning the street gutters has opened this neighborhood...

It was another amazing day...we now have requests for help from 7 neighbors! And we've had chances to talk with many more! (I spent most of the day visiting with neighbors.) Today began with mucking gutters and power washing them clean, removing floors at one house, mudding out at two houses, helping a couple remove a washing machine full of two month old tsunami water (very gross job!). That was all followed by a neighborhood/volunteer lunch prepared by Mrs. Moriya and Co. & a mini concert by Miki Howard (Miki McKenzie who appeared on Nippon Television about 30 years ago. Miki is a Christian with a heart for Japanese people.).

I'm finding it amazing what God is doing in "Shintate"...we have a dream for this area to really be "Shin" (New)!

Click here to see photos and more about the work in Japan at the CLB Network.

(Visit Faith & Fellowship Facebook page for more updates)

This video was posted purely for informational purposes. The CLB is not associated with Operation Blessing, but the video gives us a good idea of the disaster and living conditions. We still ask that you pray for all relief efforts in Japan

How to Give:

The Church of the Lutheran Brethren has set up a relief fund. You can mail in your donation or give through our online giving program.

Click on the link below and look for the line titled "Japan Disaster Relief."

Or mail your donation to (indicate that it is for "Japan Disaster Relief"):
Church of the Lutheran Brethren
PO Box 655
Fergus Falls, MN 56538-0655

Resources:

Below are several resources, including a PowerPoint presentation with general prayer requests for our missionaries as they continue their ministry in Japan. Click on the link to download the presentation for your own use. Below that, you will see an example of some of the images that we have created for you to use as PowerPoint slides in church's worship service. We have heard from some churches who have used these images to create posters and prayer cards. Click on the image to visit the CLB Network where you will find these images. We will continue to add more resources as they become available.

Prayer Requests for Japan Missionaries

Click Here to Download this PowerPoint presentation

Our Missionaries:

Dean and Linda
Joshua, Christopher
Dean and Linda are cooperating with Sendai area congregations in the planting of a new church in the center of the city of Sendai. They have been with LBIM since 1989.

Arnie and Bonita
Arnie and Bonita are the lead couple in a partnership in a church planting ministry in Takanosu. They are using friendship evangelism and English classes to reach out into the community in order to meet people and build relationships. They have been with LBIM since 1978.

The Glimpse Project: Japan

Click Here to view all of the Glimpse Project: Japan videos

Whose Synod is This?

Posted by: Tim Mathiesen

A little over 100 years ago, 5 small churches in the Midwest which shared a common Lutheran heritage, theology and practice joined together to form a synod of churches for fellowship and so that they could send missionaries to China. Through the years, God added more churches to our number so that today there are 115 churches in the US and Canada; our international mission focus has shifted to Taiwan, Japan, Chad and Cameroon; and our synod has grown to encompass a seminary, church planting, youth ministries, publishing and pastoral care.

cont graph The synod that was created by those first churches has grown to become a denomination called the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. It is easy for us (even those who have been members of the CLB all of their lives) to forget that our synod is the creation, the child, of our local churches. It exists only to serve as the representative of our local churches in carrying out the Great Commission and has no mission, goal, or reason for existence apart from our congregations.

Many of our parishioners have no idea how their local church is connected to those people from Fergus Falls, Minnesota who occasionally bring a greeting on Sunday morning during their worship services. Perhaps it’s worth repeating the Vision Statement of the CLB: “We see God stirring in our church a fresh passion to reach beyond our own comfort to all people among whom God places us. We embrace God's mission to bring the life changing Gospel to unreached people in Asia and Africa, and we sense God convicting us to more intentionally reach out to people who live in our midst in North America as well.

So when you think about the ministry of your local church, please remember that your congregation is a member of the CLB Family and the mission of your congregation includes ALL that the CLB does. As children depend on the care of their parents, the CLB looks to you for your prayer and support.

Roy Heggland is Chairman of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren Council of Directors

(Originally printed in Faith & Fellowship Magazine, March/April 2011 - click here for online version)

The Church of the Lutheran Brethren is currently only 59% to the contribution goal with only a month and a half left in the fiscal year.

Join the discussion

Posted by: Tim Mathiesen

join the book club

We will be discussing two chapters each week out of the book Tactics by Gregory Koukl for the next few weeks. Click here to learn more about the book club and to purchase the book.

Short Review by Dr. Eugene Boe:

We all engage in conversations with people and often on a wide spectrum of topics. We may do this with a fair amount of comfort and ease depending on the person and the topic. But to engage in a conversation in a meaningful way about Jesus or the Gospel is often a different matter. I chose Tactics as one of my texts for the course in apologetics because of its helpfulness in teaching us how to engage in meaningful conversations and dialogues about Jesus and the Gospel. Greg Koukl puts his goal for the book in this way: “I am going to teach you how to navigate in conversations so that you stay in control – in a good way – even though your knowledge is limited. You may know nothing about answering challenges people raise against what you believe. You may even be a brand new Christian. It doesn’t matter. I am going to introduce you to a handful of effective maneuvers – I call them tactics – that will help you stay in control.” (page 20) And this is exactly what he does. You will enjoy this book and be helped by it.

Dr. Eugene L. Boe, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Lutheran Brethren Seminary

The Times Have Changed, The Mission Has Not!

Posted by: Tim Mathiesen

join the mission

From the very beginning, the Church recognized that they were on a mission. They existed for the very purpose of bearing witness to Christ and making disciples of all nations. So when they were told by the authorities to keep quiet about Jesus they declined. “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). It was what they were commissioned to do.

Think of it this way: imagine telling McDonald’s that they are free to exist as long as they stop trying to sell cheeseburgers. In other words, they could make cheeseburgers, just not try and get anybody else to eat them. They can have discussion groups in which they share their affection for cheeseburgers and the difference cheeseburgers have made in their lives. They can study the market for cheeseburgers, set up a headquarters and eat cheeseburgers till they come out their ears. But they have to stop trying to influence others. No cheeseburger evangelism.

Think McDonald’s would go along with that? Not a chance!
Getting people to buy cheeseburgers is the reason they exist, and as crazy as that sounds, that’s what the early Church was being asked to do - to give up its mission!

But notice this: The Church was still free to do everything that seems to be important to churches today.

Want to get together and pray?
Go for it!

Want to gather for worship?
No problem.

Want to have Bible studies in your home?
Study away!

Want to have meetings to vote on budgets and elect leaders?
Have all the meetings you want!

They could do everything churches like to do today. The only thing they were being forced to give up was their mission. The challenge that we in the Church face today is the pressure to turn inward. To come to church, sit in our pew, listen politely, then go home and say nothing! To hear the saving gospel of Christ but keep it to ourselves.

As a family of believers, the Church of the Lutheran Brethren senses “God stirring in our church a fresh passion to reach beyond our own comfort to all people” (CLB Vision Statement). The times have changed, but the mission has not! God is calling us to look beyond the four walls of our church, in the same way that he called the first Church. “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

“Burger anyone?”

Rev. David Foss is the lead pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, MN.

The times have changed, but the mission has not.
We ask that you prayerfully consider partnering with us as we seek, with God’s help, to proclaim the good news we have been given to the ends of the earth.

Join The Mission from Church of the Lutheran Brethren on Vimeo.

CLB Book Club. Join the Discussion!

Posted by: Tim Mathiesen

The seminars at the 2010 CLB Convention focused on reaching a changing culture. Postmodernism, whether you are familiar with that term or not, has permeated our culture. Not necessarily a negative worldview, but a different one. It has influenced the young and old alike, forcing the local church to seriously think about the way that it reaches its community. A common description of North America is that it is a melting pot of nationalities. It is also a melting pot of philosophy and religion. Christians can no longer expect their neighbor to understand the basics of Christianity, or care about attending church on Easter Sunday. So what can the Church do? First, the Church needs to understand its own culture.

Dr. Eugene Boe opened the seminar time with a session titled "Ministry in a Post-Christian World" (See video below). During the convention, he mentioned this book, Postmodernism 101 by Heath White. Heath White has also written an article in the current issue of Faith & Fellowship Magazine. We invite you to read this book and discuss a chapter each week, bringing us to a unified understanding of what kind of culture we are attempting to reach today.