Friendship with Fellow Saints
Back Row, left to right: Pastor Mathew Ker, Dr Stephen Pietsch, Dr Adam Hensley, Pastor Michael Prenzler
Front row, left to right: Pastor Matt Anker, Dr Thomas Egger, Principal of Concordia Seminary, St Louis.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers
Ephesians 1:15-16
“We have heard your story and are praying for you all.” These are the words I heard again and again from brothers and sisters around the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod as we visited in January. Words spoken by people I had known for years and from others whom I had only just met. Words that I hope you hear as a reminder that we are not alone and that God’s people are bringing our needs to His throne of grace on a daily basis.
It was thanks to the generosity of the LCMS Asia Region that LM-A was able to send Pastors Mathew Ker and Michael Prenzler and I to the United States to attend the annual Symposia series at Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, and to engage in a full schedule of meetings to discuss theology, church fellowship, educational needs and to update our friends in the US regarding what God is doing through LM-A.
We were again reminded of the deep love our friends across the Pacific have for their brothers and sisters in Australia and their desire to support the efforts of LM-A to secure Confessional Lutheranism in our country. As they have emphasized in the past, they once again indicated that while they have no desire to insert themselves into our situation, they stand with us and support us in the cause of Confessional Lutheranism.
Leaving behind the height of summer in Adelaide, the ‘feels like’ temperatures of -29°C in Fort Wayne provided a stinging reminder of where we were. The Symposia series at the Fort Wayne seminary provide 4 days of thought-provoking and challenging theological presentations which this year focused on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. These annual events are designed to encourage ongoing theological reflection among pastors and church workers so that they are strengthened in their understanding and confession of the Word of God, and better equipped to serve their congregations and communities.
Left to right: Pastor Mathew Ker, Karl Jacobson, Corrie Steel, Pastor Matthew Anker
While in Fort Wayne we enjoyed the company of fellow Aussies, with Pastor Shaun Manning attending from Canada, and LM-A seminary students Corrie Steel and Karl Jacobson both on campus. It was a joy to spend time with both Corrie and Karl and their families and encouraging to see the way they have grabbed this opportunity with both hands and are diligently applying themselves to study of the Word. The communities at both seminaries (Fort Wayne and St Louis) have embraced them as their own and helped them to make this huge transition as smoothly as possible. Corrie and Dianne’s girls have all settled into their schools well and have enjoyed the novelty of being the students with a funny accent! It is humbling to spend time with these families who have sacrificed significantly to be properly trained to follow God’s call. Even more so when you realise the uncertainty of the future from a human point of view. Please do remember them all in your prayers.
Following the symposia, we travelled to St Louis where the national office for the LCMS is located. It was wonderful to catch up with Dr Stephen and Coralie Pietsch and Dr Adam and Joanna Hensley who are serving the seminary in St Louis, where their gifts and talents have been widely recognized and received with thanksgiving. While the week was filled with meetings and interviews, we still managed to celebrate Australia Day with all the Aussies along with President Matthew Harrison, Seminary President Tom Egger and well-known Lutheran author Dr Gene Veith (who happens to be Joanna’s father). We even managed to enjoy some good Australian lamb and red wine together, not to mention the Tim Tams...
The LCMS is committed to supporting Confessional Lutheran church bodies around the world and so they were keen to know how they can best support LM-A as we seek to establish faithful congregations across the country. This included:
· A visit with Concordia Publishing House (CPH) to discuss how they might make their excellent resources available in Australia at a more affordable price [1];
· Meetings with the Office of International Mission to discuss possible funding support for mission projects in Australia and the potential for congregational partnerships to be formed between our church bodies;
· Discussions with Church Relations and the Commission on Theology about the process of working toward altar and pulpit fellowship;
· Interviews with LCMS Communications regarding who LM-A is and what we are working to achieve with the help of God;
· And a significant meeting with the leadership of Concordia Seminary St Louis (CSL) to discuss the formation of a new seminary in Australia. While CSL is well beyond anything LM-A might need at this time, their president and others support seminaries in places like the Dominican Republic which serve small church bodies from whom we can learn a great deal. These connections are invaluable as we start to find our feet.
We are very much aware that some in Australia are promoting the false idea that LM-A is a puppet of the LCMS. I want to say very clearly that this is not the case. We absolutely thank God for the friendship of the LCMS and for their wise counsel and generous support, but they have never sought to call the shots. In Christian love and encouragement, they are walking beside us as we seek to be faithful to God’s Word and serve His people with the joy of the gospel. And it is in Christian love that we have received a great deal of pastoral care and godly encouragement for the tasks that lie ahead of us. I only wish it was possible to convey to you in writing the sense of solidarity and confessional unity that we experienced during our two-week visit, and the incredible sense of being part of a world-wide church that believes, teaches and confesses just as we do.
In all these conversations we were overwhelmed by the support, friendship and encouragement we received, and humbled to hear how the story of LM-A and its people has inspired and encouraged brothers and sisters across the LCMS. As insignificant as we might feel here in Australia, their words were very much in the vein of St Paul’s thanksgiving for the people in Ephesus (1:15-16).
So, friends, let us not tire of doing good for the sake of the gospel. Hold fast to the Word. Give thanks to God in season and out. Keep caring for your fellow saints and for those in your communities, remembering them in your prayers and serving them in love and faithfulness, so that our one, true and loving God is glorified.
The peace of the Lord Jesus be with you,
Pastor Matt Anker
[1] We are thankful that Creative Word Fellowship will continue to partner with CPH to make Confessional books and other resources available in Australia and grateful that they entrusted us with the task of bringing their needs to the leaders at CPH. Please go to https://cwfellowship.net/ in order to make enquiries about purchasing books