My wife and I would like to thank the members of Trinity for their prayers, cards, e-mail messages, telephone calls, and other expressions of support during my recent period of deliberation concerning the divine call to Messiah Lutheran Church in Independence, MO. They did make a tremendous difference!

I thought that I would visit this issue in more depth in this newsletter article. Some members who are new to the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod may not be familiar with the call process within our synod.

A working definition of the call is found in the September, 1981 document, “The Ministry: Offices, Procedures, and Nomenclature.”

A person is “called” when he or she is summoned by the church to the office of Word and sacrament or to an office auxiliary to it on a full-time permanent basis and by education, by certification, and by solemn and public act (eg., Ordination or commissioning) is brought into a unique relationship with the church (p. 29).

When a congregation seeks to call a professional church worker, it ordinarily invites its members to suggest names of potential candidates. These names are then shared with the District President who would then take them into account and perhaps remove or add names to the recommended list. The congregation would then consider that list, modify it if so desired, and call an individual from it. In my case, the District President added my name to the list of names that he sent on to Messiah Lutheran Church.

Upon receipt of a call, the pastor begins a difficult period of discernment. Most pastors will take a period of 3-4 weeks to prayerfully and patiently consider many issues. My experiences with various call committees here at Trinity have taught me the importance of honoring the call process and being open to the Lord’s direction even though I had not been seeking a call. I needed to consider the current ministry needs of Trinity. I asked myself the question, “Is my work finished at Trinity or does the Lord have more for me to do at this location?” With regard to the calling congregation, I had to further consider whether my ministry gifts and experience would be a “good match” with this other congregation. As you can understand, the thoughts of the membership of Trinity are very helpful in determining whether or not the Lord is calling me to a new position.

While I certainly considered the needs of my wife and children, our family has always understood that the Lord can lead us in a new direction according to His good and gracious will. Chris and I have always told the kids that the Lord will always be with us through every change in life, and “where God guides He always provides.” However, we fully recognize that Cape Girardeau is the only home that Sam and Abby remember. To move away would require very clear direction from the Holy Spirit.

One member of our community stopped by and said that her family would be praying that the Lord’s will would be done. She further stated that her prayer was that the Lord would make His will so obvious that either the door would be slammed shut and I would know that it was God’s will that I remain at Trinity, or that He would carry me through that door so that I would have no choice but to move on. These and all prayers continue to be greatly appreciated! Certainly, God’s will became very clear to me and therefore I returned (declined) the call.

The Word of God is a precious gift that the Lord has given to His people. Pastors and all professional church workers know the special privilege we have been given in proclaiming Law and Gospel to people of all ages and in a variety of settings. Once again, I appreciate your prayers and l look forward to many exciting ministry opportunities at Trinity Lutheran Church and School.

God Bless You!

Pastor Breite