News

Youth workers focus on 'deeper, richer' meaning of 'remember'

San Antonio challenges its visitors to “Remember the Alamo” as they take in the legendary battle site there.

But when 237 participants gathered in San Antonio July 12-15 for the Synod’s 2013 NATIONAL youth workers leadership-training conference, they heard the challenge to focus on that event’s “Remember” theme as it relates to God’s blessings of grace and mercy through Jesus Christ.

The theme set the tone as volunteer and professional church workers from across the Synod took in keynote presentations, Bible studies and workshops, as well as previewing the 12th triennial National LCMS Youth Gathering that takes place July 1-5, 2013, in San Antonio.

“The word ‘remember’ in the Bible almost always has a deeper, richer meaning than it does in ordinary English usage,” said the Rev. Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, executive director of the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations, during one of the daily conference Bible studies that he led.

“It doesn’t just mean to think back on something in the past,” Lehenbauer told the youth workers. “It means to believe God’s promise that you are a part of everything that God has done in the past — that you are actually connected to it through the person and work of Jesus.”

Lehenbauer noted that the first five times the word “remember” appears in the Bible, “it is actually God who is doing the remembering. That shows it is a special word, because God doesn’t forget things and so doesn’t need to remember things — when it says He remembers. It means that He is getting ready to act in a saving way in behalf of the people He loves.”

Dr. Kurt Senske, chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services of the South and a member of the Synod’s Board of Directors, also applied the “Remember” theme in his conference keynote presentation. He used his book, The Calling: Live a Life of Significance — published by Concordia Publishing House (CPH) — as a springboard for challenging participants to remember the grace of God who blesses His people with interests, skills and abilities and gives them a sense of vocation.

Senske described vocation as the idea that God “calls us, one by one, to serve Him through our worship and service to our neighbor,” and said that “you and I are called to serve God in every distinct legitimate realm of our lives — family, profession, community and congregation.”

Synod President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison thanked conference participants for such service to their congregations and explained the church body’s three-fold emphasis of Witness, Mercy, Life Together.

Also drawing on the “Remember” theme was the Rev. Dr. Terry Dittmer, director of the Office of National Mission — Youth Ministry, which sponsors the triennial NATIONAL conference and synodwide youth gatherings.

Preaching for the conference’s Saturday-evening worship service, Dittmer challenged participants to “remember the ‘riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding,’ ” as he quoted the New Testament lesson, Eph. 1:13-14. The next morning, Dittmer commissioned participants to return home, “blessed by God” in their vocation of youth ministry.

Specialists in congregational youth ministry led some 25 workshops on a range of topics.

Some 30 youth at the conference participated in a special presentation from the leadership-training module of Lutheran Youth Fellowship (LYF), the Synod’s youth organization. Titled “Teens Answering Teens: An Apologetics Leadership Training Course for Young People,” that training module led by youth members of the LYF executive board was written by Brad Alles, based on his book, Life’s Big Question / God’s Big Answers (CPH).

Conference participants also became familiar with the city and the facilities that will host next summer’s National LCMS Youth Gathering — including opportunities to meet with 27 district coordinators for the Gathering who were at the conference.

“NATIONAL is always a great experience,” Dittmer told Reporter. “The participants are full of God’s Spirit. They love the Lord and they genuinely care about young people. It is so great to bring them together for worship, spiritual growth, nurture in youth-ministry skills and fellowship.”

Dittmer described NATIONAL’s fellowship and networking as “amazing” and said “the laughter and genuine joy is palpable. God indeed has lavished His church with these amazing people.”

Posted Aug. 17, 2012