Pastor David Maier - Forward in Hope

Forward In Hope

This post is to make sure that my old Blog - "Fighting Forward" renamed "Pastor David Maier - Forward in Hope" ... is UP and WORKING.

Since I have been identified as one of three candidates letting our name stand for the Office of President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, this blog will allow me time and space to communicate with the member of our beloved church body. Of course the three candidates agree on a number of things. Of course, there are also differences between us. While we celebrate out unity - especially in doctrine - this blog will allow me opportunity to share the “living hope” I have through the “resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3) not only for my life, but also for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, its constituents, and its future. This hope is fixed “completely on the grace to be brought to” us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 1:13) for which we should always be ready “to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence …” (1 Peter 3:15)

I look forward to doing this with you here, on a regular basis. Thanks for tuning in!

Lent and Easter: Invitations to Honesty, Transparency, and Healing … for ALL

(As found in the May, 2011 issue of Michigan In Touch)

After listing the great heroes of the faith in chapter 11, Hebrews 12 begins with this grand encouragement:  1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Ah, yes, “the sin that so easily entangles.”  (All sin has that germinal propensity.)  The worst part about repeated sins, or even addictions, is the gnawing sense of unworthiness and guilt over failure.  We feel cast aside from God’s use and God’s love.  With a self-loathing that comes from our inability to meet the expectations of ourselves and others we get stuck in guilt.  Wallowing in shame we shrink from the healing and forgiveness that God freely offers.

Philip Yancy wrote of a prostitute’s shameful confession that she had wanted to rape her own sons.  She told of her rescue from that lifestyle and sexual addiction by those who loved her unconditionally and shared God’s love with her.  She later recounted that God’s grace can heal, but after a moment’s reflection added, “It isn’t easy to be healed.”

Change Your Life: THINK (... on These Things)

(As found in the March, 2011 issue of Michigan In Touch)

Imagine with me, if you will, that you are in fact an Olympic caliber athlete. You are in training for 1,600 and 3,200 meter events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. With just a little over two years left for training and tryouts, how many of you would begin the Twinkies diet between now and the Games?

As I write this, The North American International Auto Show is taking place in Detroit, Michigan (1.11). From what I’ve heard (I’ve never been there), it’s a glitzy display case for the newest in automobile design and technology. If you were fortunate enough to be able to buy one of the display vehicles, would you fill the fuel tank with water, or Gatorade, or your favorite beer?

The food we eat or the fuel we use will ultimately determine the performance and well being of our bodies and our vehicles. Everyone would agree with this. From Atkins Bars or wheatgrass shots to octane boosters and synthetic oils, companies which help us determine what to put into our bodies and into our cars are multi-billion dollar industries.

What could be more important than what we put into our bodies and into our cars? Unfortunately, it is an area that we rarely deliberately consider, or if we do, it is with a “whatever” nonchalance. What you “fuel” your bodies or cars with really pales in comparison with what you feed … your minds.

Christian Care Concert - March 6, 2011!

In March, under the theme “Touching Lives, Giving Hope,” Michigan District congregations have the opportunity to celebrate, participate, and proclaim God’s love and care for those served through their local outreach ministries and three Recognized Service Organizations (RSOs): Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan, Lutheran Homes of Michigan, and Project Compassion Ministries, Inc.

To kick-off this month long celebration, a benefit Christian Care Concert is being planned for Sunday, March 6 at Faith Lutheran Church, 37635 Dequindre, Troy, Michigan.  This concert features seven Metro-Detroit area choirs: Billy D. Brooks Memorial Lutheran Choir, Concordia University Ann Arbor Arborsong, the former Detroit Urban Lutheran School Choir, Lutheran City Ministries Girls and Boys Choir, Lutheran High School Association Combined Choirs, The Mosaic Singers (presented by the Ford Motor Company Fund), and St. John (Rochester) Choraliers.

Come, Let Us Worship the Lord our Maker

The following is the President's Article in the December/January Michigan in Touch District Magazine.  It written to serve as "An Introduction and Invitation to the Michigan District Theological Conferences on Worship in early 2011."

In the first stanza of a hymn recently penned by Rev. Steven P. Starke of Michigan, we read these words:

O sing of Christ, whose birth made known The kindness of the Lord,

Eternal Word made flesh and bone, So we could be restored. 

Upon our frail humanity God’s finger chose to trace

The fullness of His deity, The icon of His grace.¹  LSB, #362

Having come to know the Word made flesh by God’s grace through faith, we joyously sing, praising our God for His great kindness in giving us a Savior from sin.  We read the Christmas accounts in the Gospels, marveling at the angelic announcement to the shepherds and their response of wonder, joy, and proclamation. (Lk. 2:8-20)  We celebrate God’s leading of the Magi by star which enabled them to see God, worship the Word made flesh, and present Him with gifts. (Matt. 2:1-12)

2010 Maier Family Christmas Letter

December, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,     

Merry Christmas!

As we marvel at the great gift of God in our Savior Jesus Christ, we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.  We thank our gracious God for the gift of YOU, the gift of each opportunity to share or be with you (or at least exchange Christmas greetings each year!), and we wish you God’s most awesome and excellent blessings this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

This past year held lots of changes for our family, not the least of which was our move from Lansing, which had been our home for 20 years, to the Ann Arbor area in southeastern Michigan. (Please note the new address!)  Dave is now 15 minutes from the District Office – and he does not miss the 2 ½ hour commute at all!  Spring was busy with Joel’s graduation, helping move Leah, Joel, and James from apartments/dorm rooms to new apartments/back home, attending call services at the seminaries in St. Louis and Ft. Wayne, and looking for a house.

A Season of MIRACLES - YES They Still Happen ... and We Need Them

MIRACLES … perhaps because of the age in which we live, have taken on the cloak of the fantastical, whimsical, or the special effect in a movie.  Maybe because of the very tough times in which we live they impossible.  Rarely, for many, do “miracles” embrace the category of “possibility” because of something supernatural, much less because of God.

Even those who “believe” in miracles have romantic notions of how and where they take place.  Too often we suppose that supernatural miracles only happen in special or splendid circumstances.  But part of the great Good News at Christmas is that God clothes Himself in the ordinary – and does amazing things!

Not Then, Nor NOW, Can We Avoid the Cities

One of the great challenges for the Church today, and perhaps in particular for The Michigan District, is how to carry on vital and vibrant urban ministry.  More than half of the churches that were thriving in the mid 1950’s in Detroit are now closed, with those remaining  very challenged in their ministries and even in worship attendance.  It is possible that there will no longer be any Lutheran Schools in Detroit by the end of this year.

I’ve heard some excuse this as just the normal turn of events for a city.  Others have recognized the horrible economic plight of our entire state and how it has ravaged Detroit.  Still more have said that “Lutheranism” can no longer impact Detroit like it once did because of Detroit's multi-nationalism and multi-culturalism.

What Are You Doing This Summer? SPIRITUAL GROWTH: MY JOB OR GOD'S?

Psychologists say one of the primary causes of conflict in households involves disputes over what's generally called “division of labor.” If the bed goes unmade, if the dishes go unwashed, if the diaper goes unchanged, who is responsible for getting the job done?  We’re all aware that many households have never had a calm, rational discussion about who is best equipped to do what.

I’d like to ask this question:  Whose job is spiritual growth?  (This really deals with what is known as the doctrine of sanctification.)  For many Christians there is confusion about the division of labor as it relates to spiritual growth or sanctification.  "Is it God's job, or is it mine?"

Aim At Perfection (as found in the June, 2010 Michigan In Touch)

Think about it.   Most of us our average, right?

Of course it depends on what we’re talking about.  I want to emphatically state, however, that there is no correlation between being average athletically, academically, and socially, and being average spiritually.  In fact, if anything, we have an advantage.  One of the most important elements of being a healthy, holy, useful Christian is knowing how much sin has corrupted you, how much you need the Lord Jesus Christ, how inadequate you are of yourself, and how only by God’s grace can you be sufficient for anything.

The Cross in Easter

“The Cross is … to those being saved, the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18

Many of us, including myself, have heard, numerous times, the historical account of Jesus last few days before His crucifixion.   Even so, there is still for me the twitch of conscience, on Maundy Thursday, when one by one the disciples ask, “Is it I?”  Their query is a response to Jesus’ announcement that one of them will betray him. (Mark 14:19)  In contemplating their question -- my question -- it is easy for me to reflect upon my own culpability in Jesus’ suffering and death.  “My sin, Lord Jesus, caused your crucifixion.”

This We Believe

One of the blessings of being a District President (I'm learning) is the privilege of being able to read books and other materials prior to their publication (with the opportunity also of being able to suggest and submit possible 'improvements').  President Hoesman shared one such resource with me in August of 2009 during a transition meeting.  It is entitled This We Believe with a subtitle of Selected Topics of Faith and Practice in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. (The underlined title/subtitle are dynamic links that will take you directly to the order page at Concordia Publishing House [CPH].)

This We Believe is a outstanding resource that I've already referenced many times.  Whether sharing information and suggestions with pastors questioning how to respond to challenging questions and situations or discussing some of the LC-MS's doctrinal stances with laity, it is a most useful reference tool.

The following are a few excerpts from the Preface of This We Believe explaining its purpose and content:  "What is the position of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on ...?"  This is

ASH WEDNESDAY (Beginning the Lenten Journey) - May God Cleanse Us “Through and Through”

Numerous translations or interpretations of the Bible exist today.  As do many pastors, I love those versions that, although sometimes awkward in their English translation, most accurately reflect the original.  It is then up to the reader and studier of the Scriptures to determine what the Holy Spirit was inspiring the Scriptures writers to pen in those sections for God’s people to understand and apply to their life.

The King James Translation of Psalm 51:2, if read correctly, is surely awkward, accurate, and anything but ambivalent.  As the reader studies King David’s sincere prayer of repentance, with the Holy Spirit’s help and the sure voice of other Scriptures, the awkward rendering of the King James, once understood, is pregnant with meaning.

SUNDAY! 6 pm - January 31 Christian Care Concert - Faith Lutheran Church, Troy, MI

"Touching Lives, Giving Hope" A Christian Care Concert will be held Sunday, January 31, 2010 at Faith Lutheran Church (37635 Dequindre) in Troy at 6:00 p.m.

This Christian Care Concert will feature:

• Billy D. Brooks Memorial Lutheran Choir
• Detroit Urban Lutheran School Choir
• Lutheran City Ministries Choir
• Lutheran High School North Concert Choir
• Arbor Song Concordia University Ann Arbor

The Manhattan Declaration

In December of 2009 I began receiving emails and calls seeking information regarding The Manhattan Declaration.  During the last month questions have increased not only from individual pastors but also from circuits asking whether they could sign the Declaration.

The authors of The Manhattan Declaration (Robert George - Professor, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University; Timothy George - Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; and Chuck Colson - Founder, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview (Lansdowne, VA)) have labeled the Declaration ‘A Call of Christian Conscience’.   It seems to be born out of two recognitions: