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Weekly Devotional

May 19, 2008
 

Titus 1:7-9  ⁷ For a bishop, as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain;  ⁸ but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled.  ⁹ He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.

It is an honor to announce to you the news from the SC Synod Convention. Rev. Herman R. Yoos, III, has been elected as our bishop for the next six years.  The final vote came down to him and Mel Amundson , with Pastor Yoos receiving the most votes.  Ron, Liz, and Sydni can tell you what a long and arduous process this vote was.  On behalf of the congregation, I want to personally thank them for being willing to sit through this process.  I hope they had a little fun and also learned a little about how the larger church works.

As a congregation of this synod, and I as a pastor of this synod, it is our responsibility to help uphold the office of Bishop.  There will be times that we may or may not agree with what our Bishop says, or with the way that he is leading the synod.  But at the same time, he is our Bishop, and deserves our respect and support.  I know that the convention of delegates put their trust in the Holy Spirit when it came to their voting, and therefore we must trust that God has raised up the appropriate person to lead us for the next 6 years.  I am confident that the transition will be a smooth one and that exciting days are ahead for the synod. 

            Bishop Donges will officially retire on July 31, 2008, and our new bishop will take the helm the following day.  Will there be some changes in terms of the Synod?  I would expect it.  With a new person comes a different style, different ideas, and different leadership.  And so I ask you to do something that you have already done.  Be open to ideas of different leadership on a synodical level, just as you have done on a congregational level.  Not only did we elect a bishop, but we also elected a new vice president of the synod.  Our vice president elect is Michael Kohn, who is an architect in Lexington, SC.  He is a member at Zion Lutheran in Lexington and has been very active in his congregation and in the synod. 

For the next two and a half months, please hold our leaders-elect and our retiring leaders in your prayers.  They all have a lot to accomplish and prepare for in the next two and a half months.  Please keep them, the synod, and its staff in your prayers during this exciting time of transition.

In our prayers this week:  Alma, Linwood, Gail, and Gail’s mother, Doris and her mother, Deborah Steed.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Judson