There is excitement in the air—not only because we hopefully saw our last snowfall of the season. The final couple of weeks of the semester are filled with the buzz of the Luther community completing the last things. Final papers, projects, interviews for calls to various ministries and the occasional celebration marking the conclusion of a journey with a group of friends and colleagues. We are blessed with the privilege of walking with students each year as they discern what God’s call for them may look like.
It is a bit strange because I will be absent from the community the next two weeks and will miss most of the frenzied activity of this time in the academic year and the many celebrations of our seniors. Prof. Dirk Lange and I will be participating in the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Assembly—a once every 6 or 7 year gathering representing the 77 million Lutherans worldwide. We will be in Windhoek, Namibia. Prof. Lange and I will return just in time for commencement weekend.
In recent weeks I have been reminded of the global impact our graduates are making in the public proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. One of our recent graduates, Pastor Lydia Posselt, was selected from young adults across the globe to preach the final sermon at the conclusion of the LWF Assembly. Another alum, Rev. Dr. Musa Filibus, has been nominated to serve as the next president of the LWF. I invite you to follow along on the web to watch the assembly at lwfassembly.org. Tap the free resources which deal with the theme of the assembly: Liberated by God’s Grace — Salvation – Not for Sale; Creation – Not for Sale; Human Beings – Not for Sale. There is a small booklet with each of the sub-themes which includes a bible study suitable for youth and adult forums, and the resources are free.
One of the assembly sub-themes, Creation – Not for Sale, was the topic for the biannual Rutlen lecture on stewardship of creation. This year our own Prof. Kathryn Schifferdecker hosted Prof. Ellen Davis from Duke and Krista Tippett of public radio fame. It was an electric evening of conversation and deep engagement with Old Testament texts that bear witness to God’s care for the land.
The impact of our soon to be graduates and alums and the kind of nimble, innovative and adaptive leadership they will bring to a changing culture and changing church is more critical now than ever.