Report of the Churchwide Representative
Lita Brusick Johnson
Associate Executive Director of the ELCA's Global Mission

Good afternoon!

I have been the churchwide representative at synod assemblies since 1988, the ELCA’s first year.  And each year I have counted it a privilege to bring greetings from our presiding bishop and your churchwide staff in Chicago and throughout the world.  Like St. Paul, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now”…your “witness together” in congregations and communities here in the Northwestern Ohio Synod and your sharing in the gospel throughout in our country and world.  To use the words of the folks in your video about your witness together, “That’s Amazing!”       

After 19 years of giving churchwide reports, I decided to cut to the chase this year and take a lesson from late-night host, David Letterman . . . and to simply share the top ten reasons why I am thankful for our churchwide partnership.  It would also be fun to do the Letterman “top ten” reasons for congregations and synods as well, because we live together in God’s amazing grace.   But given the time, I’m simply going to share my top ten reasons why I’m glad we work together in one church.    

Reason Number 10:  We get to see and shape the “big picture.”
You often hear “we they” language when we talk about the relationship between synods, congregations, and the churchwide organization . . . and that’s not all bad!  Our identity – our “we-ness” – is often shaped by both an understanding of who we are and who we are not, framed by the various contexts in which we find ourselves.  But what a joy it is when the diverse “we’s” in our church understand that each is a piece in the mission mosaic . . . and we catch a glimpse of the larger picture God is creating through the choices we make together.    

Our churchwide calling is to zoom out from our particulars and  discern how, together, we can make the greatest difference in the big picture . . . finding the points of leverage where energy, time, or money can propel the mission forward . . . identifying weaknesses that need reinforcing and areas of opportunity that cry out for immediate action.       

The relationship between the part and the whole is lived out in your deep and rich companion synod relationship with the Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.  Such relationships are a gift to our church, as we learn from our companions what mission means – and better understand  both the world and ourselves. 

But being part of one church, your relationship with Dodoma Diocese fits into the wider picture of all the ELCA relationships to Tanzania – and there are a whole lot of them, because of our long mission history and the size and accessibility of the growing Lutheran church there.  Indeed, over a third of our synods are in a companion relationship with a Tanzanian diocese!  As we zoom out further, we see how our church’s Tanzania activities fit into the wider African landscape.  So while you, in the synod, are tending to a specific relationship, we, your churchwide partners, are tending to the whole on your behalf.  We are working with other fast-growing African churches to bring new churches to birth in places where they haven’t existed, where there are no historical ties that connect people and generate resources:  emerging Lutheran churches in Rwanda . . . in Lesotho . . . in Angola . . . in Senegal.  We accompany churches in crisis, in Ethiopia and Malawi . . . and help churches like Madagascar to send French-speaking missionaries to Cameroon.   So even as you rejoice in your relationship with the Dodoma Diocese, through the mission dollars you send through your synod to the churchwide organization, you are also planting new churches and sustaining others in the most difficult of conditions.  We are making a difference together, and I thank you for your faithful support for both the part and the whole.   

Reason Number 9:  Some things are better done together. 
The obvious functions come to mind:  like managing our health and pension funds . . . or organizing our amazing ELCA youth gathering (with over 36,000 already registered for the two events in San Antonio -- 789 youth and 248 adults from your synod!).  But, we are also graced by awesome churchwide systems like Lutheran Services in America and our system of theological education, of which Trinity Seminary is a part.  That system is the envy of many other churches, for our church and its eight seminaries have chosen cooperation rather than competition – to work together to discern how best to train leaders for our church, while honoring different contexts and histories . . . and developing specific expertise by seminaries, whether in rural ministry, urban ministry, or youth ministry, that benefit the whole church.    

Reason Number 8:  We encourage each other to become what we are called to be.   
You’ve heard the old joke:  What do you get when you cross a Lutheran with a Jehovah’s Witness?  Someone who knocks on the door . . . and then stands silent.  We know it:  we are called to share the Good News in Christ.  That’s why we have a churchwide evangelism strategy.  But this requires a major culture change, more than superficial friendliness . . . or fear-driven programs prompted by shrinking membership.    

A colleague has suggested that our vision is one of centrifugal evangelism, which moves from the center outward to bear witness to the in-breaking of God’s reign of justice, mercy, and peace in our world.  We’ve got really good news – and when we share it, through the prism of our story, with neighbors, friends, and co-workers, each of us is at the absolute center of our churchwide evangelism strategy, supported and encouraged by synod and the wider church.  Your bishop mentioned some of the ways the synod is helping – and I’d put in a plug for a workshop scheduled for this afternoon, “How to Talk About Jesus:  It’s so DANG-PLANG Hard.”  [DANG-PLANG must be Ohio dialect!]

Of course, we know we cannot program renewal; renewal will come by the breath of the Spirit among us.  But we can encourage, prod, and support each other to be open to the winds of the Spirit – sharing new ways and rejoicing in old ways to share the Gospel.  The witness of individuals in congregations is supported by the partnership between the churchwide organization and synods in starting new congregations . . . and helping old congregations, like mine, Good Shepherd in Chicago, to transform themselves – and rediscover delight in sharing the Good News.

Centrifugal evangelism requires a confident identity that is centered in Christ, and I’d like to mention an important resource that we hope can help shape our Christ-centered Lutheran identity:  the new worship resources, which was the result of broad churchwide participation, of which some of you have been a part.  We’ll soon have the “red book” – Evangelical Lutheran Worship – that we hope will help our church to embrace a core of common practice in worship, surrounded by the marvelous diversity of expression that springs from our congregational contexts for ministry.  Worship, study of the Bible, and service in community will be key to building that confident identity from which centrifugal evangelism will naturally spring.     

Reason Number 7:  We move resources from areas of abundance to areas of need. 
When we see the big picture, we are able to link needs with assets, building on the strengths of existing Lutheran and ecumenical relationships, working effectively for long-term change.  For example, over the last 18 months, you have been part of an unprecedented outpouring of help for survivors of the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Pakistan earthquake through ELCA Disaster Response.  Bishop Lohrmann shared some information about your synod’s response.  $36.8 million was received last year.  Long after the cameras are gone, you will continue to be present as disaster survivors continue on the long path to recovery.    

But, as the Yiddish saying goes, what you see depends on where you look.  What about all the disasters that we don’t see because they don’t get a lot of press?  The need of a child who is not getting enough to eat in Malawi or Peru . . . or who faces violence in Sudan or the Congo . . . is just as real as the needs we see on the TV screen.  So day-in and day-out your churchwide staff and our faithful partners are looking beyond the press reports, using undesignated gifts to the World Hunger and Disaster Appeal gifts to make the difference between life and death and helping whole communities to break the cycles of poverty and violence.  I’m pleased to share that our church’s World Hunger giving totaled $17 million in 2005, exceeding its goal in this year of many disasters.  Thank you for your faithful giving. 

Reason Number 6:  Nationwide Choices Touch our Children’s Future. 
I had been reading about our churchwide plans to work with synods to start new congregations -- 48 new starts this year, plus 9 synodically authorized worshipping communities.  Some will be planted in areas where Lutherans are dense . . . like Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska.  But others will be in areas where the population is growing, in the South and West . . . and in ethnic communities that are making up an increasingly large proportion of the US population.  I noticed that there were a couple new starts in Georgia.  That was only of general interest, until my daughter told me that she was moving to Atlanta.  Her fiancé, a new teacher who was unable to get a full-time job in Lansing, Michigan, with its shrinking population, got two immediate, good offers when he applied in fast growing Atlanta.  In the midst of the Bible Belt, where our Lutheran grace note is truly a welcome sound, the wisdom of our churchwide choice to plant congregations in this growing area took on a personal significance.  In the cooperative work of synods and the churchwide organizations, we are acting together, with an eye to the present trends . . . and to future possibilities.

Reason Number 5:    We want to leave no congregation behind. 
There is no one model for what congregations should be:  big, medium size, or small.  Much depends on the context.  But the question for us in our churchwide-synodical partnership is:  how can we ensure that each congregation has what it needs to shape ministry most effectively where it is planted?  We have models of vibrant, mission-focused congregations of all sizes, in all of our synods.  We know what makes for health in congregations.  We know that strong congregations mean a strong church.  We know that helping to support and encourage congregations requires the best of all our efforts, synodically and churchwide, in our revitalized publishing ministry, Augsburg Fortress, in seminaries, through our  network of 28 colleges, and our outdoor ministries.  And we also ask two important questions:  how do we make sure that those who lack economic resources are not excluded from our fellowship?  And how can each congregation, like all expressions of our church, be more open to receive the gifts of persons of language and color?  Being together in one church means asking such questions . . . and then finding ways to make sure that none are left behind.

Reason Number 4:  We can learn from each other.   So much wonderful work is being done in congregations . . . in synods . . . in our agencies and institutions.  The great thing about being one church is that we have the structures and the means to share what is happening and to learn from each other.  When I served as Director of our World Hunger Appeal, I my job was to encourage our church in its commitment fight hunger and poverty in God’s world.  The most effective way I had of doing that was to share the good ideas I had seen springing up when faithful people in congregations and in synods catch the vision, people who, in new and exciting ways, were saying “no” to the scandal of widespread hunger and poverty.  Through the exchange of ideas through the internet, through visits of people with experience and expertise, through gatherings, and through resources, our whole church can be a learning network –  in this and so many other areas of ministry.

Reason Number 3.    We can make better decisions about things that affect both us and others.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Paul’s prayer for the Philippians (1:9):  “that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best.”   This is not warm and fuzzy “love light”  . . . but love-in-community . . . in a fellowship  where it’s not only OK but it is necessary for us to share out of our context and experience, to struggle together, to challenge each other, and to decide together what is best for the sake of the gospel.  I’m from Chicago; I know what is happening in my community.  You know what is happening here.  In our complex and fast changing society, the more we know, the more effective we can be in mission.   Add to the mix of geographic perspectives those relating to race and ethnicity, those of different ages and experience, and we have a wealth of knowledge that can help us “determine what is best.” 

Your voices are in the mix, through your bishop, as direction for our church is determined in the Conference of Bishops, and in the ELCA Church Council, where one of your pastors, Keith Hunsinger, is a member.  You participate in the efforts to shape resources and policy, and will send representatives to the Chruchwide Assembly that debates and decides on our behalf -- in 2007, for example, focusing on a social statement on education that Angie is heloping to draft.  In the important decisions that shape our future, all voices need to be heard.  But what prevents these from becoming shouting voices, struggling to be heard, is our common desire to “have the same mind that is in Christ Jesus,” our count others’ interests as more important than our own, as we seek to “determine what is best” for our whole church as it carries out God’s reconciling mission in the world.

Reason Number 2:    We can make a greater impact on  the world together.
The ELCA is the fifth largest church body in the US – part of a worldwide family of over 66 million Lutherans, in the Lutheran World Federation.  We have a strong voice, if we choose to use it; we have a significant presence, if we choose to be visible.  Acting together, in communities, in our states, and in our country, we have tremendous potential to be a force for good and to model what it means to live in a community shaped by the cross of Christ . . . to speak out for justice, amplifying the voices of our companion churches and those who have been excluded or who are oppressed.  We have access to information – for example, from our companions in the Holy Land, who tell us the future of the living church there is jeopardized by the extension of the Israeli Separation Wall being built on Palestinian land . . . or from companion churches in Malawi and Zimbabwe, who are dealing day-in and day-out with the deadly combination of chronic hunger and the HIV/AIDS crisis.  Here in the US, we have access to our legislators, who shape the government policies that affect all these people.  We have access to significant financial resources.  We have the processes to determine together how we shall respond.  We have commitments we have made together through our churchwide assembly to work for “Peace Not Walls” in the Holy Land, to Stand With Africa, and to join with other churches and people of good will in the One Campaign, to end chronic hunger in our lifetime.  The question that remains is do we have the will?  

Reason Number 1:  We can better carry out God’s mission – together. 
This is the one real reason that I hope is at the root of your lists and my list.  For, as the author of Ecclesiastes suggests, “Two are better than one...for if they fall, one will lift up the other” and “…A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”  In the ELCA, we have chosen to accompany each other in mission – congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization, pooling our strengths, sharpening our common vision, encouraging each other, and rejoicing together in God’s gifts to us, knowing that, as we live in God’s amazing grace we are making a difference in the world God so loves.  For in the end, it’s more than that “the church of Jesus Christ has a mission.”  Rather, the mission of Jesus Christ has a church.  We exist because of and to further God’s reconciling mission, marked as we are by the cross of Christ forever.  I thank you for your continuing partnership in that mission!  And now I invite you to listen to Bishop Hanson’s reflections on what it means to be the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world.