Lutheran Missions Workshop

     Zion hosted Pastor Jim Gerdeen on August 13 and 14 for its 2005 workshop on Lutheran missions. The workshop was entitled, “Seeking Disciples in the 21st Century, a Lutheran Perspective.” Lutherans and other mainline churches may appear to forget missions today, but the Biblical letter to the Ephesians reminds all Christians that they have been given a gift, a “measure of Christ.” In a real sense, missions means sharing that gift of faith. What does that mean in a “post-Christian era” when our country seems to be closing the door to even mentioning Jesus Christ in public spaces? Perhaps it means building new kinds of bridges to an unsaved world. Sounds like an engineering problem, doesn’t it? Engineers have the task of managing and connecting people and materials and technology. Pastor Jim Gerdeen is an engineer as well as a pastor. He has a background in “Home Missions,” and he is concerned with building those spiritual bridges to connect people with the Lord.

     Pastor Jim’s workshop welcomed all mission-minded people in the community to join Zion’s members on the weekend of August 13-14.

The schedule of activities for the two day event:

Saturday August 13:

9:00-11:30

Session I ~ “Working Missions from Within the Immoral State of our Nation”

11:30-12:30

Complimentary light lunch

12:30-2:00

Session II ~ “Finding Mission Relevance in an Irrelevant Modern Church”

Sunday August 14:

9:00-9:50

Session III ~ “The Most Urgent Mission Need in Our Church and Nation”

10:00-11:00

Sunday Sermon: “Christ’s Vision for Our Mission and Purpose in Today’s Church”

11:15-12:00

Potluck Dinner

12:00-1:15

Session IV ~ “Discipleship in the Mission of the Local Congregation”

     Pastor James Gerdeen from Immanuel Lutheran Church, Springfield, MO, is familiar with evangelism issues related to the local congregation, but also to “Home Missions” and “Foreign Missions.”

     An Engineer Turned Pastor? Engineers have the task of managing and connecting people and materials and technology. Our workshop speaker is an engineer by training who has a background in Home Missions in the AFLC. Think about engineering and connecting. How can we connect our society with Jesus Christ? How can we build spiritual bridges to connect people with the Lord? Sounds like an engineering problem, doesn't it? Here's Pastor Jim's background:

     Pastor James C. Gerdeen, received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Michigan Technological University, 1959), an M.S. in Engineering Mechanics (Ohio State University, 1962), and a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics (Stanford University, 1965). He was a Senior Research Engineer at Battelle (1959-1968) and a Professor and later Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Tech (1968-1989). He served as Professor and Chair in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado-Denver (1989-2002).

     How does a Ph.D. in Engineering become a pastor? Pastor Jim returned to school, this time a theology school, and earned a Master of Divinity from the Association Free Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1980. But even before seminary, he served as a Lay Pastor at Maranatha Free Lutheran in Chassell, MI, and at Grace Free Lutheran in Pelkie, MI, in the 1970s. He even served on the AFLC Coordinating Committee (1974-1977). He has served as Interim Pastor in ND, MN, and MI at various times since the 1970s. He currently serves Immanuel Lutheran Church in Springfield, MO, where he has been since 2002.

     Now, this pastor has a special interest in rejuvenating and innervating congregations and their views of mission. He is mission-minded and has much to share with our congregation.