God Wants What is Best for Us
It’s a great privilege and joy for me to serve alongside of you during this time of transition in pastoral ministry. Until the parish council makes arrangements for more permanent pastoral service, I will be leading worship and preaching on Sundays, teaching the confirmation class on Wednesdays, and available for urgent pastoral care.
Since my time here is limited, you will likely get a quicker answer to questions about routine parish events or other matters by contacting the parish secretary or one of the congregational presidents.
A brief note about my background. During my service as a pastor, I have served a variety of calls in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, most recently as interim pastor at First Lutheran in Fergus Falls. Those calls have included regular parish ministry, interim ministry, development of a new congregation, and service on synod and church wide staffs. I’ve also taught a New Testament Introduction class at St. Cloud State University.
I am a graduate of Valparaiso University (BA), Luther Seminary (MDiv), and the University of Chicago (PhD). Early in life I lived in Texas, Tennessee and Missouri while growing up in a Lutheran pastor’s family. I met my wife, Pastor Martha Halls, while we were students at Luther Seminary, and we are the parents of two sons. Daniel lives and works in Chicago; Andrew lives and works in St. Paul.
I want to add one more thing — something I shared at worship on October 14 and 21. When I preach, I begin and end with the words “In the name of Jesus,” and I invite the congregation to respond by saying “Amen.” I do so for three reasons.
The first reason is that when I am preaching I believe my responsibility is to speak a message that can be rightly spoken in Jesus’ name. It may be a fresh articulation of a promise of mercy that Jesus made. It may be a message of comfort or hope that can be rightly spoken on Jesus’ behalf because of the mercy he promised. In any case, it’s a message from Jesus. I’m not there to give you my opinions about moral disputes or public policy debates, my parenting advice or anything other opinion I may have. (If you’re curious about my opinions, let me know, and I’ll treat for a conversation over coffee and pie.) I know that only the promise that Jesus makes is going to sustain your faith and the life that flows from it. And I invite you to respond by saying “Amen” (that is, “Yes, let it be so”) as your way of saying, “Yes, that is why we are here and that is what we are hoping for — a message that can be rightly spoken in Jesus’ name. That’s what we want: Jesus’ word of promise.”
A second reason is so that we all know that speaking and hearing God’s Word is a shared responsibility among us. As a preacher I come to speak in Jesus’ name as best I can — prepared, rested, as healthy and alert as I can be, ready to use all my abilities and all I know about your lives to proclaim Jesus’ promise to you clearly and well. And you also come prepared to listen as best you can — present, rested, attentive and expectant of a life-giving word from Jesus. I encourage you (all of you) to take notes, because I know from experience that even from the worst sermons the Holy Spirit has a word from Jesus for you. You will more readily hear it when you have taken responsibility for listening as best you can.
The final reason is reminder to all of us that speaking and hearing the promise of Jesus is the heart of our life. It’s the reason why we can live in him, and it’s the reason why we exist as a community of faith. So let this — our speaking and listening for the Word that can be rightly spoken in Jesus’ name — be the primary basis for any evaluation or judgment that we make about our service of Christ together. I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve with you in Jesus’ name.
~Pastor Marcus Kunz