Ten Takeaways from the Lutheran Leadership Conference

Our church is dying. The numbers don’t lie: People are leaving. But why?

The problem is not in God’s Word. God’s Word is powerful. The problem is not in doctrine. Though a scary term, it teaches God’s Word. It’s powerful stuff, too!

Is the problem something “out there”? Sure, many choose to reject God’s Word. Many people think they’ve found something better than Jesus.

But… could it be, maybe, possibly, that how we share God’s Word has been less than faithful?

Are there better ways to connect God’s Word to the people Jesus came to save?

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The WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership was held January 21-23, 2020, at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago. I was there! It sought to give tools and have honest discussion about how we can share Jesus better. I’d like to share ten takeaways I had.

Before I do that: These are ten takeaways I had. If you were there, you might have carried away something very different. I’d love to hear what you’re mot excited about from the event!

Also, again, this is what I got out of it. I won’t be directly quoting any of the presenters because I took notes, not a digital recorder. So please forgive me if I misrepresent what anyone says; it’s not my intention to do so.

Okay! With that out of the way…

#1 Wow all the people!

I’m not sure what the organizers were expecting, but they ran out of space, and there was a waiting list to get in. You know what that tells me?

There’s a lot of people who really do want to move forward in our church body while still remaining faithful to God’s Word.

#2 Look at all the laymen!

I’d guess roughly one-third of those in attendance were laymen – everyday congregation members, both men and women, who were excited to participate. Called workers are not the only people looking to lead in the church. We heard repeatedly that one of the biggest things holding back our church body was the dominance of the clergy.

I’ll note that clergy were never made the enemy. It’s simply the culture in many congregations: The pastor is the one who does stuff. The laymen support him.

It was pointed out more than once: A much better model for ministry is the pastor supporting the people in doing the ministry. The pastor equips and empowers and sends the people out. (I’ll note that the pastor sends himself out with his people as well; he’s not a general hiding back in the safety of his office, but leading by example.)

#3 This ain’t the worship wars, buddy.

It’s always easy to say, “Well, this will fix it!” Most of the presenters said up-front that there were no magic bullets. I was gratified that no one villainized any kind of worship style, either. That kind of invective can come so easily. Instead, we talked about how to effectively share Jesus. Presenters talked about what worked for them and how they went about it, giving tools so we would be able to do the same.

#4 Leadership is a gift of God’s grace.

Prof. James Tiefel preached, “A love for the past is a gift of God’s grace; but the ability to chart the future is also a gift of God’s grace!” (Please forgive me if I’ve slaughtered that quote!) A church body that prizes tradition often scoffs at the future. I was gratified that here, preached before hundreds of people, a man who really does honor the past spoke bluntly about another gift: looking ahead.

The past is not the enemy; being mired in it is an enemy. Looking ahead is also a gift God has given his church.

#5 Listen to the body much more.

More than one presenter talked about how our church so often nullifies half the body of Christ.

Women are part of the body of Christ.

Yes, there are roles of men and women. God outlines those roles in his Word! They are good!

But so often we calcify the application of those roles much further than God’s Word tells us to. We often shout, “But it could go badly!” instead of asking, “How could God bless us?”

One presenter put it this way: The man is to be the head. But if the head doesn’t listen to the body, there’s going to be a lot of problems, aren’t there? And the body serves in many ways. In the same way, men need to actually listen and work with women. We are one body!

#6 Small groups matter.

I heard a statistic that said the average person can have at most 150 deep relationships. There’s a reason a church often maxes out at around 150 members: Their deepest spiritual relationship is with their pastor. He can’t establish any new relationships!

The thing is: we need to have deep spiritual relationships. We desperately need safe places where we can confess and be encouraged with the Gospel. We need places to be vulnerable, and our pastors cannot be the primary place for all of us.

But when a church fosters small groups that can provide that safety and foster those relationships, it “frees up” the pastor to be able to build new relationships with prospects and new members.

Beyond that, so many people are looking for those close relationships, but our Sunday morning events typically don’t foster such relationships. We need a new place for them. Small groups is a great way to do that.

#7 The new hymnal looks AMAZING.

I am honestly so, so excited for the new hymnal coming out.

Look, when a presentation includes several moments of spontaneous applause from the conference participants, you know it’s highly anticipated!

When I got back home, a Bible study was meeting at the church. I was able to join for the last ten minutes and then talked about the new hymnal. My members are excited, too.

Check out www.christianworship.com for more specifics.

#8 You’re not a member here.

Two of the presentations I attended made an interesting point: The word “member” might not be a good word for those who belong to congregations. After all, how do you use the word “member” in most of the world?

You’re a member at Costco or the golf club or the gym. You give money to get certain benefits, whether or not you use those benefits.

You don’t give money to become a member of a church. And you’re not a member to “get benefits.” At least, I hope not. When we belong to congregations, it’s because we celebrate a unity in doctrine. It’s because we long to hear Christ crucified for us. And, beyond that, we want to support that ministry not just with money but with our time and talents as well!

One session recommended “partners” instead of “members” but I’m not entirely sold on the alternative. I do see the problems with “member” though. Any thoughts on alternatives?

#9 You’re not welcome here.

This is not aimed at any specific person at the conference, but I did notice that a large number of the illustrations assumed those listening were married. What about single people? It was pointed out to me a while ago that in my sermons I did the same thing, and since then I’ve attempted to make sure I include single people in those illustrations and applications!

Similarly, at least a few times I thought the presenters were aiming at pastors, forgetting the large number of laypeople we had present.

And even beyond that, I attended one presentation that assumed everyone in attendance was attached to a Lutheran school. I was very interested in the subject matter, but by keeping applications to Lutheran schools, I got far less out of the presentation.

Look, none of that is wrong, but it’s helpful to remember who’s in the audience so they can get the most out of it.

#10 Yer a golf course, Harry.

I heard a fantastic analogy that helped me grasp a truth:

Imagine that you don’t like golf. You’ve played it once or twice, and it simply didn’t appeal to you. Now, a local golf course sends you fliers every week. They advertise what a great golf course they are. They talk about their perfect greens. They tell you that they’re different from every other golf course.

Doesn’t matter what they put in their advertisements, does it? You don’t care about golf. You’re not going to go.

But a close friend tells you, “Hey, I’d love to take you golfing.”

You’re still not interested in golf, but because this friend wants to take you, you’re way more likely to not only entertain the idea but also actually go.

For a huge segment of the population, that’s what church is like. Church is simply not something they’re interested in. They find it irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how it advertises itself or reinvents itself. They don’t care. It’s like advertising a golf course to someone who doesn’t care about golf.

If the person doesn’t already know how awesome Jesus is, no matter what your congregation does, they’re not going to be interested in going.

But you can lead them to Jesus.

Because if a friend invites… Because the relationship is valued, they’re more likely to not only entertain the idea but also actually go.

And yes, I’m talking to you. You. You’re a leader. You have been called to lead people to Jesus. So lead.

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So those are ten takeaways from the Lutheran Leadership Conference! Did you go? What did you get out of it? What did you think? I’d love to hear your takeaways!