This month the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is celebrating its 10th birthday, and it's time to ask ourselves the same question. After consulting with many people and reading your suggestions, I'm proposing seven initiatives to our Churchwide Assembly this month. If we focus on these areas, we will be able to grow into the future that God is offering us. Deepen our worship life.
Worship is to the Christian life what breathing is to our body.
Every congregation should examine its worship practices to see whether they offer the power and presence of God to believers and seekers. Teach the faith. New and old members need solid grounding in the Bible and the basic insights of our Lutheran heritage. Witness to God's action in the world. We need to turn outward in our thinking.