Transforming Church

Dr. Guy T. Newton had tears in his eyes as he came into the exam room. He’s the vet in the mountain town nearby our cabin in Colorado. He’s been the family vet out here for years. Since I had called earlier, he knew why I was here. Our 13-year-old Keeshond, Wiley, was at the end of the road. That morning, Genie had said her goodbyes to him, before I took her to the airport. She was headed to Jacksonville, to wait for the end with her Mom, who suffered through a month in a strange hospital, and ended up in hospice in a city 300 miles from home.

I sat on the floor, comforting Wiley, with tears in my eyes, as the vet gave him the tranquilizer to calm him and bring on sleep, before administering the second drug that would end his suffering forever. He fell asleep with his head in my lap. He had deteriorated quickly this summer, and we new the end was here. That does not make it any easier to make that last fateful trip to the vet.

The TransformingChurch.org board was at our cabin in late July, working on plans for the start of the Transforming Leaders Initiative next year. In the midst of the gathering, we got word that Genie’s Mom had fallen ill while at the beach with family, and was in the hospital awaiting surgery. As the board left, Genie made plans to travel to Jacksonville. She spent eight nights at her mother’s side. We thought she had turned the corner and was on the way to recovery. Genie returned to Colorado, and soon Mom took a turn for the worse. Mildred Thran, beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother, died exactly a month after entering the hospital

As the month unfolded, it also became apparent that our timeline for the Transforming Leaders Initiative was untenable. The reality of planning a national event, while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and recruiting candidates and Signature Ministries for an April start came crashing down. My energy ebbed away like the falling tide.

I don’t have to tell you that grieving is hard work. The loss of my mother-in-law, who had been an integral part of my life since I was nineteen, was exacerbated by the loss of our pet, and further compounded by my failure to keep the TLi project moving according to timeline. They say bad things come in threes. Well, I had mine in the month of August. As Genie said, on the evening before Mom died, “This has been the worst day of my life. And, I hope it holds the record for a long, long time.”

This week, I am trying to get my head back in the game. Our board had a conference call to put together a revised plan and schedule for the TLi. We have another next week, and are working to regain our momentum. After a month of slogging through, I am trying to get back up to speed myself. In times like this, the faith of others holds us up and gives us the strength to carry on, even when we cannot sense the presence of God ourselves. My friend and colleague, Roger Ganzel, our newsletter editor, lives in Jacksonville. He visited the hospital to anoint Mom and pray with the family. The family got great solace from his words and the Lutheran liturgy he shared at bedside.

My network includes many pastors these days. We had more pastors praying for us than you could shake a stick at. Friends and family have surrounded us through this challenging time. Everyone encounters seasons of tests and trials, being tossed about on stormy seas. (see the article, Preparing for the Journey: Storms will Come). During these times, faithful friends from church give us the strength to carry on. I don’t understand people who think they are strong enough to walk through this life alone, without a faith community to stand with them during the storms. Sadly, many of them were at one time in the church and something happened that they did not experience the love and support I have been blessed to receive.

In a healthy church, the body of Christ comes alive in these times, serving the suffering ones in times of tragedy. Many churches themselves are sick and dying, and too worried and anxious to minister to the needs of those around them. It is the natural cycle of all living things; birth, growth, entropy, death. Many see denominations circling the drain. Yet, we persist in our hope for the future. And, that hope is in Christ, no human institution. Can renewal come to our Lutheran church? It can, if we believe and live out the promises of our Lord in Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

If we are willing to be transformed into disciples of Christ, we will find the will of God. In my own simple understanding of theology, I have come to believe that God blesses the churches that are listening and following in His will. I suppose that is why I give my life to the church, in my hope that it may one day become like the healthy body of Christ I see in my mind’s eye. I’ve never have had the chance to experience it yet, but I pray to God that I may see the day.

Then, maybe my hardcore unchurched friends will be blessed to find the love and support of being part of the body of Christ, as I have. Thank you to all my friends and family who have lifted us up in prayer during this last month. We felt those connections in the darkest times. It’s like the wind. I can’t see it, and it is hard to grab hold of, but I can sure feel it when it comes my way.