I urge you to look over congregation president Ron Young's information about the call process. Read it carefully and be sure to respond to the questions about what is most important to you as you think about calling our next senior pastor.

In the weeks and months ahead those on the church council will put in a lot of time and energy in searching for the person best suited to lead our congregation in the years ahead, and their efforts will be aided by the thoughtful input of all of our members. That’s because in our church body it is the people of the congregation who exercise their right to vote in determining which particular pastor will receive the Divine Call. Your thoughtful and prayerful input is important, as is the expression of your goodwill and encouragement to the call committee as they go about their work.

This is both a human process and a divine process. The human part of it involves people expressing their feelings about what type of person is best suited to the challenges and opportunities of our congregation. We use our heads as well as our hearts to participate in the process of expressing our opinions and beliefs about particular candidates. What skills are most important? What type of personality, style and energy will insure the continued success of our congregation? What about this person’s spiritual maturity and integrity? How well can he articulate the gospel in his teaching and preaching? What about people skills or administrative activities? These and other questions are now in front of all of us, and we have the chance to let our opinions be known.

This is also very much a divine process. We believe that if we take our responsibility seriously and seek the Lord’s guidance, He will ultimately provide us with a pastor who will make a decision based on the belief that God is calling him through this church to become our new pastor. We all need to keep this process in our prayers, asking the Lord to bless us and give us wisdom to discern His will and intentions for our future. This divine process therefore requires of us patience, faithfulness, and above all confidence that the Holy Spirit will be at work among us, and that it is our job to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and listen for the blessing that is to come.

God has promised to provide faithful shepherds for the sheep of His flock. With the beginning of the new year we will all have the opportunity to let our voices be heard. Let us express our appreciation to and support for those on the call committee who will be giving of their time and energy to serve the congregation as the search for a new pastor begins. And let all of us remain faithful in our worship life and support for the mission and ministry of our congregation so that we don’t simply limp through this time of the interim but use it as a wonderful opportunity for spiritual renewal and growth.

Rev. Ron Nickel is Vacancy Pastor at Saint John’s Lutheran Church. You can reach him in the church office, by email at nickel@StJohnsFC.org or at 970-482-5316.