LM-A Communications spoke with Pastor Andrew Neumann and his wife, Heather, about their experience of suffering and how it affects their faith.

How have you experienced suffering in your life? 

Pastor Andrew: Just common suffering for 50 years, including some generalised anxiety managed by lifestyle. The last 5 years I have been housebound (no driving, wheelchair outings) with severe ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). This means that “the Spirit is willing, but the Flesh is weak” (both physical and cognitive fatigue). I feel like I’m trapped in a 100-year-old’s body. I must carefully manage my energy (known as pacing, with no ‘pushing’) to avoid energy crashes. Google it for more detail. 

Heather: Having children with extra needs introduced me to suffering. Seeing Andrew suffer now is painful. He misses much of our kids and grandkid’s lives, so they suffer too. Being too unwell for travel means he’s missed family events including our son’s wedding. My carer responsibilities challenge me, particularly carrying the mental load and responsibility by myself.  

There is a lot of talk in the church about sanctification, about following Jesus and being His disciple. There is not a lot of talk about suffering. But the two go together. The Bible describes the Christian life as a life of suffering. The TV preachers describe the Christian life as a life without suffering. Which is it? 

The “Health and Wealth” teachers and the “Prosperity Gospel” take this to the extreme. Sickness, poverty, too many red lights on the way to work are signs of a lack of faith, a lack of God’s blessings. If you are suffering, then you show yourself to be a false disciple of Jesus. This is a horrible and disastrous false teaching.

But there is a subtle “sanctification-means-less-suffering” doctrine in all of us, an inner Buddhist that thinks that our suffering means that we are far from Jesus, our troubles are indications of God’s abandonment. Which is why, I suspect, troubles always stir up questions about God’s location. “Where is God in the midst of trouble?” We ask the question because we think (without thinking) that God must keep suffering at arm’s length, and if we’re suffering, God must keep us at arm’s length. 

This is wrong, totally wrong.

First, God is not a stranger to suffering. The cross shows us this. The prophet Isaiah even gives the name “Man of Sorrows” to Jesus (Isaiah 53:3). No one suffered like Jesus suffered in the garden and on the cross. There all the sins of all humanity and the wrath of God that goes with them is piled on Jesus. When we see Jesus crying out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” then we ought, at least, to know that God is not a stranger to suffering.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

John 20:21-23

This past Sunday I had the privilege of installing Pastor Lee van Rossen as pastor to Wistow Lutheran Mission. It was a great joy for the congregation and one that was clearly shared by others as we heard greetings from LM-A members from around the country. So what is it about the installation of a pastor that brings such thanksgiving and joy?

Perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on the answer to this, but your gut tells you it’s a good thing. If that’s the case, your gut feeling is correct. You see, the Office of the Holy Ministry into which pastors are called and ordained is not something a bunch of people dreamed up because they thought it would be a good idea. Rather it is an Office that our Lord Jesus established so that we might receive all the benefits of His life, death and resurrection.

On Sunday, 6 July, Pastor Lee van Rossen was installed as the pastor of Wistow Lutheran Mission in the Adelaide Hills. Pastor Lee was installed by LM-A President, Rev. Dr. Matt Anker, with the assistance of Rev. Dr Greg Lockwood. The service was held at the Wistow Community Hall, where the Wistow congregation has been worshipping since it began in December 2024. Over 100 people, including members of Pastor Lee’s family and visitors from other congregations, attended the service, which was followed by a community lunch.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16

The rich young ruler asked Jesus ‘what must I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ (Luke 18:18ff.). That is a good question. It was the key question asked at the time of the Reformation. How can a sinner be justified before God? How can I be saved? It was the question that Luther asked as a young monk, ‘How can man stand before God and not perish?’ And it almost drove him to despair.

Original sin is the source of all sin; it is the universal human condition. We are all conceived and born that way, bent away from God, curved inward on ourselves. It is the absence of righteousness and holiness, and the presence of lust and evil desire. Of ourselves, we do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Opposing His will, we are competitors against God, being ‘like God’ instead of ‘in the likeness of God’, gods in place of God. This is succinctly articulated with Paul’s opening statement in Romans 3:10: “None is righteous, no, not one.”

Luther did not doubt that there was a God and a righteous one at that. But he felt himself unable to fulfill the will of God and thus he was condemned because of his inability to conform to the Law’s demand. It was only when Luther understood the words “the just shall live by faith” in Paul’s letter to the Romans (1:16), that he found consolation and freedom.

G’day. How’s it goin mate? (I very much miss not being able to greet people like this)

The first academic year here in St. Louis has recently come to an end. It’s been a long sprint of three terms, starting in late August, and finishing in the middle of May, with just three weeks break over Christmas. Surprisingly, the biggest difference I have noticed between ALC (Australian Lutheran College) and CSL (Concordia St. Lois), is that when you are in term, they work hard, and due to changes in the schedule, we are in class a LOT. At ALC we had a generous split of twenty-eight weeks of classes per year, and twenty-four weeks of holiday, at CSL, this year I will be surprised if I have more than eight weeks of break, total. Now do not mistake this observation as a complaint. This rigorous culture of academic study and practical formation activities has been wonderful to be a part of. President Anker was kind enough to share that he has noticed a significant positive change in me in the ten months since I have been here.

My classmates and I were sitting in the chapel the other day and saw the first-year Greek students enter, and it dawned on us that we are now second-year students. The year has flown by, and I have learnt a lot. I am currently taking summer classes (Hebrew 1 and Hebrew 2) so no rest for the wicked really!

People often describe the academic experience here as trying to drink from a fire hose - and after a year of study I can concur. When the quarter starts you know you have 10 weeks of intense learning, trying to take in and learn as much as you can, all while balancing academic life with your field work commitments and family.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:11-12

I have a friend who enjoys restoring old cars. Just about anything with a motor and wheels will do, but he especially values old FX Holdens. Some of the cars he has found have been beaten up, full of dents and rust. Unlike modern cars, you can’t just go to a repairer, replace a panel, get it sprayed, then drive off. The panels that are dented are no longer in the shape that was intended, so they need to be beaten back into the designed shape. They need to be reformed so they are once more like the designer intended.

The Christian Church is a little like an old car that every now and then gets out of shape. Sometimes it is due to wear and tear, other times it is the result of a bingle. Whatever the reason, the car needs to be repaired, restored, or reformed into its original shape.

Once it is as good as new, it continues to be driven down the roads the driver chooses. The roads in our communities today would be so different to the roads of the 1950’s when FX Holdens were new, yet the restored cars still transport people from point A to point B. They aren’t trying to be something they weren’t designed for. What’s more, they are more likely to turn heads today, simply because they don’t look like every other car out there.

This week we celebrate the 495th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, which was presented by Philipp Melanchthon and others to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg on the 25th June 1530. The Roman Catholic Church of the 15th and 16th centuries was moving further and further away from God’s Word and would have been unrecognisable to the first century Christian Church, which promoted the Gospel and served those in need.

Luther and the early reformers saw that the mediaeval church was in need of reforming. It needed to get back to the Word alone, Christ alone, Faith alone, Grace alone. The Augsburg Confession was the opportunity to put those corrections before Charles V. Rather than create a new church, the intention was to reform the existing church, returning it to the teaching of the Apostles and the Early Church.

The church festivals of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost celebrate key events in the history of salvation. Holy Trinity Sunday doesn’t. In fact, the word ‘trinity’ doesn’t appear in the Catechism, the church’s regular liturgies, or Scripture.  So why is Trinity Sunday a major church feast?

Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-17) is one place in the Bible where the Triune God is alluded to. A voice from heaven (the Father) said: ‘this is my beloved Son’ and the Spirit of God descended like a dove. Galatians 1:1 makes it plain the Father is God, Romans 9:5 that Jesus is God and in Acts 5:3-5 Luke equates God with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, Genesis 1:26, Matthew 28:19-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 hint at, or proclaim, a three-person Godhead. However, according to Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:4, Scripture also teaches that God is one – that there aren’t three Gods, only one!      

In this article, based on the first session of his seminar ‘Before Christ and the World’, Dr Stephen Pietsch explains why Christians ‘confess’ our faith.

Confessing?

Confessing literally means to ‘say the same thing.’ 

In the New Testament, the Greek verb, homologeo is used when a solemn public declaration is made of what Christians believe [John 1:20; 9:22; 12:42; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:12; 1 John 2:23; 4:2, 3, 15; 2 John 7]. The noun, homologia, denotes either an act of confession of the gospel, or a liturgical form of confession in the community [2 Corinthians 9:12-13, 1 Timothy 6:12, 13; Hebrews 3:1; 4:14; 10:23].  

Scripture calls us to confess our faith in Christ, which includes all of Scripture’s witness concerning Him [Matthew 10:32-33].  

The English word, confession, comes from Latin, confessio [I confess], which can mean the admission, acknowledgment, or public declaration of something. On one hand it is used in the sense of a confession of sins [e.g. Psalm 32:5; James 5:16; 1 John 1:9]

On the other hand, it is used in the sense of a confession of faith, a confident declaration [Acts 4:13, 31] of what a person believes and stands for [Romans 10:9, 10; Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 12:8, 9; Philippians 2:11].  Confession in this sense means ‘to state what you believe’ (what God says). The Lutheran Confessions are statements of faith that Lutherans use to declare to the world, ‘This is what we believe, teach and confess.’  

The Christian church has then been confessing its faith from the very beginning. Jesus confesses and teaches the truth all through his ministry. The Apostles confessed the faith in their ministries, many of them losing their lives as a result. 

On 7-8 June, Dr Stephen Pietsch led a wonderful weekend of learning and mutual encouragement at the ‘Before Christ and the World - What it means to be a confessional Lutheran’ Seminar, which was held at St John’s Lutheran Church in Tanunda SA. The event was attended by approximately 100 people, with a large number of people viewing the livestream.

The seminar began with an opening responsive prayer service, led by Pastor Lee van Rossen, and a warm welcome on a very cold, wet day from Pastor Mathew Ker, who acted as MC throughout the weekend.

Dr Pietsch began the seminar by exploring why Christians have confessed their faith since the very earliest days of the church, what confessing actually means, and why “confessing the faith clearly and openly teaching the doctrines of Scripture is an essential calling of all Christians, and is according to Luther, a ‘mark of the church’, that it teaches, confesses and proclaims the word of God.”

After a sumptuous morning tea, provided by Barossa Lutheran Mission who were our hosts for the weekend, participants returned for the second session, in which Dr Pietsch focused in on the Lutheran Confessions, discussing the context in which they were developed and why they continue to be the confession of the Lutheran church almost 500 years later. As Dr Pietsch explained, the Confessions “clearly express the whole witness of Scripture which is the rule and norm for our teaching and practice.” He emphasised that the Bible is the “norm of norms” - the overarching authority under which the Confessions sit.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:1-4

That first Christian Pentecost must have been something to witness. Rushing wind, tongues of fire and the proclamation of the gospel in many languages formerly unknown to those who spoke. It is such an extraordinary event that it is easy to fall into the trap of celebrating Pentecost as a memorial to an event that is long past.

But the true miracle of Pentecost continues today, and we do well to celebrate the impact of Pentecost in our own lives. I’m not referring to talking in gibberish, falling down in hysterics or other oddities that are blamed on the Holy Spirit. The true miracle of Pentecost is far more spectacular and it continues in every place that the Word of God is proclaimed to this day.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21 

They probably thought that we had lost our minds. I guess it was partly true. Maybe not lost, but certainly a seismic change was happening in our lives, and it could not remain hidden. What could our families think as we were buying dozens of Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, and with excitement beaming from our faces, handing them out to our extended family and friends? What has happened to this couple?! 

That was our first experience of partaking in the Great Commission as that well known fisherman John recorded for us: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21, see also Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and Acts 1). At that time, we didn’t even know much about the Great Commission, we didn’t know that we were called and sent to proclaim repentance and forgiveness, to make disciples, or to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. But we had just heard the Gospel, the Good News, the amazing news. Something that was turning our lives and world upside down.  

Pastor Guntars Baikovs reflects on his own experiences and how God calls every member of his body to the Great Commission.

On Saturday, 17 May, LM-A President Matt Anker delivered the Commencement Address to the graduating students of Concordia Seminary St Louis. During the ceremony he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity in recognition of his “outstanding service to the church” …

…Speaking to the students and all assembled in the Main Quadrangle of the 186-year-old seminary, Pastor Matt said:

You are all about to begin a divine adventure that will unfold before you in the coming years and which you will look back on in astonishment as you see the twists and turns it has taken under God’s fatherly and divine providence. Having sat at the feet of faithful professors and heading out into a church body that, for all its flaws, remains a beacon of hope for confessional Lutherans worldwide, you can take these steps with confidence. For you do not embark on a journey of your own making or on your own authority – but you go as one who is sent by the Lord through His church. Ambassadors of reconciliation and bearers of hope.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:34-35

This is an intriguing verse to reflect on.  “Love one another!” As Lutherans, we read the Bible through a Law and Gospel paradigm. The Law is what God demands of us. The Gospel is what God has done for us.

We hear the word love, and we often leap straight towards the gospel. Surely to love is gospel. Yet it is the law in the strongest of language, at least when it applies to that which we are to do. So legalistic is love, when Jesus summarises the Ten Commandments, he does so with a focus on love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Jesus makes it clear that to love God and to love your neighbour is going to be work, and lots of it – heart, soul, mind, and strength!  It sounds daunting and some might think, “I’m not sure I could keep the commandment to love God, or to love one another.” Let me cut the suspense – you won’t be able to keep this summary commandment any more than you can keep any of the Ten Commandments.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

John 21:4-6; ESV

Did you have an enjoyable Easter? For most Christians it’s a wonderful time of year, celebrating the joy of Jesus’ resurrection and the hope it brings us with hymns, fellowship and food. But what happens now? How has Easter changed you? Has it changed you?

Gone fishing

It seems somewhat ironic to me that, shortly after the first Easter, the disciples are to be found back at the Sea of Galilee fishing for fish (and unsuccessfully at that). This is ironic because, when Jesus first called those who were fishermen by trade, He told them they would fish for people (see e.g. Luke 5:1-11). Yet, in today’s reading it appears that Easter had not changed the disciples. Instead of “fishing for people” by sharing the Good News of the Resurrection, as Jesus commissioned them to do on Easter Sunday (John 20:21-23), they return to the comfort and familiarity of their old life in the backwater of Galilee.

Now, while this reaction is understandable due to our common human frailty, it isn’t what Jesus had called the disciples to do. For the sake of the people yet to be “caught” by the Gospel, He needed the disciples to leave their old life behind and tell others about the resurrection. But note how Jesus doesn’t berate them for their choices. Instead of criticism, Jesus comes to the disciples a third time and equips them again for their calling. He instructs them (showing, in the process, that His Word can be trusted by providing a miraculous catch), feeds them personally with breakfast, and then commissions them anew to tend and feed His sheep in turn (John 21:15-19). (Note that this text is also one of the reasons Lutherans like using the title of “pastor”, which comes from the Latin for “shepherd”.)

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

John 20:11-16

Over the last six weeks of Lent, our focus has been on spiritual disciplines, including repentance, prayer, reading God’s Word, fasting and good works. Throughout these weeks, we reflected on God’s incredible grace to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God is continually at work, serving us, loving us and redeeming us because of his great love for us. Love so great that he sent Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16).

As Lent draws to a close and the events of Holy Week consume our focus, it can seem like we are walking further and further into darkness, as we see the corruption of the temple, the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and the crowds, the betrayal by close friends, the bloodlust and brutality of the crucifixion, the sealed tomb.

But that’s not the full picture! Walking with Jesus through this week, we see that the One who set His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) is at work, fulfilling scripture, cleansing places of worship and human hearts, bringing light in the darkness of our souls, saving us despite our continual failures, defeating the powers of this world, overcoming death and the devil.

However, like Mary rushing to the tomb on the day of the Resurrection and failing to recognise the risen Lord standing in front of her (John 20:11-16), our eyes too are often blinded by the griefs and worries of this life so that we cannot see Christ’s victory and the hope it brings.

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Lutheran Mission - Australia takes mission very seriously. First and foremost, we want to fulfil Jesus’ Great Commission - to help in the great work of all Christians to make disciples, sharing God’s love and grace with all the world.

Even though we are just beginning our journey as a church, we are conscious that we have been richly blessed as a church and as individuals with support and material goods. Just as we have received wonderful support from our brothers and sisters around the world, we want to begin as we mean to go on - by passing on those blessings to others, both here in Australia and overseas.

The LM-A Committee of Management has voted to become mission partners of a remarkable group of Lutherans serving the Lord in Burundi. Burundi is a land locked country in East Africa which has suffered from its own internal conflicts, as well as the being severely impacted by the fallout from conflict in surrounding countries such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This has certainly contributed to the reality that Burundi has long been one of the poorest countries in the world.

In “Thank, Praise, Serve and Obey”, Pastor Will Weedon explores the joy of piety. This extract encourages us to look at good works with fresh eyes.

“If you think back to your childhood, perhaps you remember excitement on Easter morning. Not just a basket of goodies, ready prepared with chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs and marshmallow chicks. Those were great too, but what I am talking about is the hunt on Easter morning! The hunt for Easter eggs. Picture yourself for a moment again as a little one, with a basket in hand, toddling off. Can you hear yourself squeal in delight when you spy a coloured egg peeking out from under a bush? You run to get it, put it in your basket, and then, eager-eyed, you search the horizon for another one. And another. 

Have you ever thought of good works like that? They are wonderful little surprises that God has strewn all around us to delight us and give us Easter joy as we do them. Is not this how St Paul describes good works in Ephesians 2? 

There are several methods and plans for Bible reading. We are encouraged to read God’s Word regularly, to feed and drink from the Source of Life. We are nurtured and strengthened in faith, and the Holy Spirit causes us to grow in our Christian life and witness to stand on God’s truth and share it. We need to be reminded always that tools are just tools. These are useful as long as they bring us into God’s Word. Jesus says: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Methods of Bible Reading

There is not just one way of studying God’s Word. Methods vary greatly. Some people choose to simply read portions of Scripture regularly; some take notes about the reading; others write down personal applications and prayers related to the day’s reading; and still others develop a more comprehensive practice as they survey the contextual, exegetical, and doctrinal elements involving the text.

… There are many right ways to study Scripture. But there is also a wrong way. The wrong way is to approach the Bible without reverence and humility, relying more on your own understanding than on the power of the Word itself. The wrong way is when you distort God’s Word - for example, by taking a historical prophecy and assuming it’s personally about you. The wrong way is when you try to make Scripture say more or less than what it actually says—when you force it to accommodate to your worldview. God’s Word says what it says. It cannot be changed, added to, or subtracted from. It is God Himself speaking to us. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).