August 2007

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19&20
As I write this article, I am at Luther College in Decorah, IA with Lara Dohner, Sara Ernster, Sydney Kueter, Kim Wild, and Sarah Wlochal. We are part of WIYLDE or Wholly Iowa Youth Leadership Discipling Event. I am serving as a small group leader at the event, and the aforementioned talented young women are participants learning leadership skills that can be used in their home congregations. The first year participants (Lara, Kim, and Sarah) took spiritual gifts inventories and discussed how their spiritual gifts could be used to help their home churches and in their future vocations to serve the world. The second year participants (Sydney and Sara) have been trained to lead the Bible study for the first year students. Together we’ve been exploring God’s call to church leadership. Most people, who have felt a sense of call to leadership in the church, whether it be ordained or lay, know that following God’s call can be a very frightening and confusing thing. At our opening worship on Saturday evening, Pastor Jen Henry, our event chaplain, told a story from the Cherokee tradition. On the occasion of his son’s entrance into adulthood, a Cherokee father took his son into the wilderness for an overnight. The young man was blindfolded and left to sit by himself all night in the forest. The young man felt scared and abandoned while he sat alone listening to the sounds of the wilderness all around him. After a restless and anxious night, the sun rose. When light streamed through the blindfold, the young man knew his test was complete, and he removed the barrier to see again. As he adjusted to the light, he saw an image of another man. When he had clear vision, he recognized his father and realized that he was never alone in the wilderness because his father had been with him the whole time, even though he did not know that his father had been there. As disciples of Christ, we are called into the world to serve God’s people. We are called to cross boundaries and to leave our comfort zones. It can be a frightening time where we may feel lonely and anxious, but as God promised Moses, Jeremiah, and Mary, God is with us in our struggles, failures, and successes. God is with us even though we forget or cannot see God’s presence. We are never alone. When Lara, Sara, Sydney, Kim and Sarah return, they will need their family at HTLC to help mentor them as they stretch themselves to serve the church. They will need their church family, as do all the youth, to help them grow into discipleship. With God helping them, they will be able to lead us, and with God helping us, we can be mentors and encouragers. It will be a rewarding journey together. Sara