LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 86

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86

CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against
another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so
you also must forgive . And above all these put on love, which
binds everything together in perfect harmony . And let the peace
of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in
one body . And be thankful . Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God . And whatever you do, in word
or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through Him .

Is there something the church should do?
Small-Group Reflection Questions

1 . Reflecting on Colossians 3:12–17, what are a
congregation’s responsibilities toward members who are
in conflict?
2 . Give an example of how one can apply “Let the peace
of Christ rule in your hearts” (v . 15) when serving
conflicted parties in the church .
3 . How should the Means of Grace (Word and Sacraments)
be used to help reconcile members of the Body of
Christ?
4 . How can lay leaders assist their pastor when he is a
party in conflict?

How Easily We Forget!
The Scriptures frequently instruct us to confess our sins to
one another, to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to seek
reconciliation with a brother or sister when our relationship
is impaired . Why then is it so difficult to do?
Although we confess in the Apostles’ Creed that we believe
in the forgiveness of sins, we don’t always live as we profess . In spite of our weekly Confession and Absolution in
worship, we sometimes use worldly ways to deal with our conflicts, even in the church . We allow bitterness to grow a wedge
between us . We eagerly meet with like–minded people to talk
about those with whom we disagree, but we avoid talking
directly to people with whom we have broken relationships .
There are times when we come close to confessing and forgiving, but we either forget or refuse to do what we profess .
Two cases contrast Lutheran leaders who failed to put their
faith into practice with those who did .

Case #1
“I’ve forgiven those people . But I don’t want anything
to do with them . I will never set foot in that church again .”4
These were the words of the pastor that had just resigned .
I had invited him to participate in a process for reconciliation,
but he refused . He blamed a certain group in the congregation
for forcing him out .
When I met with the lay leaders, I asked them why their
last few pastors had left their church after such short terms .
2010 Convention Proceedings

One person said, “It’s the district’s fault .” Another said, “It’s
the seminary’s fault .” The leaders felt that they were the victims in these disputes .
I warned both pastor and congregation that if they did not
work together toward reconciliation, they would likely take
their anger, raw hurts, and broken trust into new pastor/congregation relationships . While neither side could force the
other to reconcile, Paul writes in Romans 12:18: “If possible,
so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all .”
The congregation agreed to work toward reconciliation
through studying the Bible on peacemaking, mediating difficult issues, and eventually reconciling among themselves
through confession and forgiveness . That congregation was
revitalized and today is healthy and growing . They have not
had a pastor resign from ministry since . But their former pastor refused to participate in reconciliation, he denied that he
had anything to confess, and he would not meet with people to
offer forgiveness . Instead, he took another call to a new place,
and within months he resigned from that position as well .
Those who refuse to do everything possible to reconcile,
as far as it depends on them, sin against God’s Word and suffer the consequences of their decisions .

Case #2
Andrew,5 a sixth-grade student in a Lutheran school,
was caught by his teacher swearing on the playground . She
brought him into the classroom, scolded him, and took away
his recess privileges . As she turned to walk out the door, she
heard him mutter a swear word behind her back . So, she called
his parents .
Andrew’s parents were mortified . They served in leadership positions at the church . “I can’t believe he did that at
school! We’ve had problems with him doing the same thing
at home . Wait ’til that kid gets home . He’s going to get what’s
coming to him!”
A few days later, the teacher witnessed Andrew swearing
again . This time she sent him to the principal’s office, where
he was admonished and disciplined . But it wasn’t long before
Andrew was messing up again .
As the pastor walked through the school one day, the principal stopped him and asked if he would meet with Andrew
about his “problem .” The pastor agreed, and the principal
pulled the student out of class to talk to his pastor, who was
waiting in the principal’s office .
Andrew entered, head down, and said, “Sorry to be wasting your time, Pastor .”
“Andrew, you’re not wasting my time . I’m your pastor,
and I understand that you are struggling with a sin issue . Can
you tell me about it?”
Andrew acknowledged that what he had done was wrong,
but he added, “I can’t help myself, Pastor . I just get mad and I
can’t control myself .” He looked at the floor, waiting for what
he had come to expect—more Law .