by Mike Albers, President of Lutherans For Life of Missouri
The LFL Regional Conference Midwest 2024 was held on October 12 at Hope Lutheran Church, Shawnee, Kansas.
What a blessed, holy beginning we had. The Life Team from our host church, Hope Lutheran, gave a “concert.” That is how it was designated. It was a most worshipful, moving presentation of the conference theme: Life Shines in Darkness. It contained ten sections, each with a narration, Scripture, and music. Each section did a fantastic job of leading us through many areas of life, going from darkness to light. Here are the section titles:
- Darkness of Death
- Shadows of a Dark World
- Twilight of Repentance
- Dawn of Salvation
- Morning of Peace
- Hope of the New Day
- Joy in the Light of Christ (at which point the candles we were given were lit)
- The Son of Strength
- Alive in Christ
- Light of Eternal Life
Each narration gave examples from the life areas we encounter and war with, developing from dire, hurtful, seemingly hopeless situations to the blessed, happy endings that many who follow the guidance of the Lord experience and enjoy. The corresponding Scripture readings fit perfectly with the narration topics. The music—oh, the music. A choir of 16 singers (which sounded a lot fuller than that) gave us such uplifting and appropriate songs. Eventually, the attendees themselves joined in with these fitting, touching hymns: “Light of Light, O Sole-begotten,” “How Firm a Foundation,” and “The Church’s One Foundation.”
Saturday began with an opening prayer and several announcements. Then followed the first speaker of the day: Reverend Evan McClanahan. He is the pastor at First Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas. (At one time he served on the board of directors of Lutherans For Life.)
His topic was Biblical Manhood. He began with a talk about the differences between men and women. After mentioning several men most of us never heard of—the Tape brothers, the Paul brothers, and Jordan Peterson among them—he mentioned the book Bronze Age Mindset. In it there is encouragement for men to look to the world of the past, particularly before feminism. There are specific roles that men should fill, he proposed. He then discussed five areas that a biblical man should fill.
Bearing the responsibility of Leadership: This occurs in the home, in spiritual warfare, and in battle (when necessary). This “power” is to be used with bounds and without pride. Involved in the calling are protection, provision, and sacrifice.
Workers: Yes, women work too, especially in the family, but a man can never not work.
Strength: Not so much in the physical manner, but living with integrity and decency. He referred to Zacchaeus as an example. Not big in stature, his encounter with the Lord enabled him to do something unthinkable: he repaid fourfold what he had overcharged. There was no room for pride and arrogance.
Finally, the last two: building up others, especially the wife. This means never lording over people, always putting others first.
What would make more sense than following that presentation with Biblical Womanhood? This was led by Deaconess Rose Adle. She was a very lively speaker, beginning with a picture someone had shown her. It was the start of a race with three men and three women at the starting line. The men had a clear track, the women had many “things” in their lane: clothesline, washing machine, etc. Notice, she said, that some of the “hurdles” are actually conveniences. The problem is the premise: what is a woman’s goal?
She referred to Elisabeth Elliot’s book, Let Me Be a Woman. Perspective makes all the difference in the world, as a woman learns to accept limitations (true for men as well).
The biblical woman is to live the life created for her. This is not defined by a finish line. That is not a godly purpose. She is to give thanks for who she is, not some “could be” person.
Deaconess Adle challenged us to consider Eve. She had no mother to live and learn from, yet she had to raise children. Consider this, too: she was never a child! Here are her main points:
- Eve received her place from God.
- She rejected that place, falling to temptation for a “better” life.
- Her place was not taken away—it was restored by the Father.
- Obstacles did come as consequences of her rejection.
Rose then discussed the two roles of biblical women: singleness or married.
While a single woman may experience loneliness, or not fitting into the “place” for a woman, she always has God with her. She has leisure time, not having a family to care for. This may only be partially satisfying. She will have more opportunities for service outside of the family. She can always help a married woman with children to care for them. Example: helping a mother struggling with her kids during a worship service.
The married woman and mom is not alone. This is good. Yet rearing children takes up a lot of time. The blessing of bringing them to Christ is a huge reward. There is a temptation to be self-conscious about her place, brought mostly by the secular world. On the other hand, vanity can creep in with a “look-at-my-work” mindset in society. Neither is good. A solid biblical recognition of serving in her place is all that is needed. Of course, there is no problem working outside the home, once the service in the home is cared for.
Following, and during lunch, there was time for service. Small packages were assembled for the Wyandotte and the Olathe pregnancy clinics. With many hands working, the task was completed quickly.
Next on the agenda was a panel discussion. Panelists were Life Team leaders. They were given a set of questions to answer regarding their Life Team experience. Led by Virginia Flo, Director of Volunteer Relations, these questions were asked and then answered by the various members of the panel. The hope was to let attendees at the conference see the advantage of having a Life Team in their congregation.
To close the very educational conference, Rev. Dr. James Lamb, former director of Lutherans For Life, took the podium. He gave us direction as Christian citizens living in this Kingdom of the left, as Martin Luther designated it. Using Ephesians 5:8-11 as his reference, he reminded us of our calling as “light” to expose darkness, showing the way of truth—doing this as instructed in gentleness yet firmness.
After announcements and a closing prayer by Rev. Salemink, we were sent on our journey home.