REGIONAL OUTREACH CONFERENCE Lutheran Hour Ministries October 7 – 8, 2011

“O come, Holy Spirit, inflame my heart, set it on fire with love. Burn away my self-centeredness so that I can love unselfishly. Breathe Your life-giving breath into my soul so that I can live freely and joyously, unrestricted by self-consciousness, and may be ready to go wherever You may send me.

Come like a gentle breeze and give me Your still peace so that I may be quiet and know the wonder of Your presence, and help diffuse it in the world. Never let me shut You out; never let me try to limit You to my capacity; act freely in me and through me, never leave me, O Lord and giver of life!” Michael Hollings and Etta Gulli Michael Hollings and Etta Gullick

“O Spirit of God, brooding over the formless world: Brood over my spirit. Blest Holy Spirit. O Spirit of God, giving form to the formless: fashion my spirit. Blest Holy Spirit. O Spirit of God, bringing order out of chaos: order my spirit. Blest Holy Spirit. O Spirit of God, giving life to the lifeless: give life to my spirit. Blest Holy Spirit.

O Spirit of the Lord, inspiration of the prophets: Speak of my spirit. Bless Holy Spirit. O Holy Spirit, author of holiness: sanctify my Spirit. Blest Holy Spirit. O Holy Spirit, knowing the deep things of God: Move in the depths of my being. Blest Holy Spirit. Fire of the Spirit! Burn all that is not holy, Blest Holy Spirit.

Fire of the Spirit! Shine with thy light. Blest Holy Spirit. Fire of the Spirit! Kindle with thy warmth. Blest Holy Spirit. Fire of the Spirit! Generate in us power. Blest Holy Spirit. Fire of the Spirit! Generate in us power. Blest Holy Spirit. Fire of the Spirit! Inflame us with love. Blest Holy Spirit.

Wind of the Spirit! Breathe in us thy gentleness. Blest Holy Spirit. Wind of the Spirit! Blow in us thy strength. Blest Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the gift of the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is wisdom and understanding, resourcefulness and spiritual strength, knowledge and true godliness, and holy fear. Grant us thy sevenfold gift, O Holy Spirit. Blest Holy Spirit.

Let us pray for the fruit of the Spirit. The harvest of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, good temper, gentleness, goodness, humility and self-control. Produce in us thy harvest, O Holy Spirit. Blest Holy Spirit.” George Appleton

“You are holy, Lord, the only God, and Your deeds are wonderful. You are strong. You are great. You are the Most High, You are almighty. You, holy Father, are King of heaven and earth. You are Three and One, Lord God, all good. You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.

You are love, You are wisdom. You are humility, You are endurance. You are rest, You are peace. You are joy and gladness. You are justice and moderation. You are all our riches, and you suffice for us. You are beauty.

You are gentleness. You are our protector, You are our guardian and defender. You are courage. You are our haven and our hope. You are faith, Our great consolation. You are our eternal life, Great and wonderful Lord, God almighty, Merciful Saviour.” St. Francis of Assisi

“O Lord, prepare my heart, I beseech Thee, to reverence Thee, to adore Thee, to love Thee; to hate, for love of Thee, all my sins and imperfections, short-comings, whatever in me displeaseth Thee; and to love all which Thou lovest, and whom Thou lovest. Give me, Lord, fervour of love, shame for my unthankfulness, sorrow for my sins, longing for Thy grace, and to be wholly united with Thee. Let my very coldness call for the glow of thy love;

let my emptiness and dryness, like a barren and thirsty land, thirst for Thee, call on Thee to come into my soul, who refreshest those who are weary. Let my heart ache to Thee and for Thee, who stillest the aching of the heart. Let my mute longings praise Thee, crave to Thee, who satisfies the empty soul that waits on Thee.” E. B. Pusey E. B. Pusey

“Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it. I am weak in the faith; strengthen Thou me. I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent that my love may go out to my neighbour. I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust Thee altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in Thee. In Thee I have sealed the treasures of all I have. I am poor;

Thou art rich and didst come to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinner; Thou art upright. With me there is an abundance of sin; in Thee is the fullness of righteousness. Therefore, I will remain with Thee of whom I can receive but to whom I may not give. Amen” Martin Luther Martin Luther

“O Behold my Lord Jesus Christ my misery, needy and poor am I and yet so loathe to accept thy remedy that I do not sigh for the riches of thy Grace. Set aflame in me, O Lord the desire for thy grace and faith in thy promise that I may not offend thee my most gracious God by my perverse unbelief. Amen” Martin Luther

“Lord Jesus Christ, who returned from this world to the Father and loved those who were here in this world, make my mind turn from worldly preoccupations to the contemplation of heaven, to despise everything transitory and to yearn only for celestial things, and to burn with the glowing fire of your love. And you, Lord, who deemed Yourself worthy to wash the feet of your holy Apostles with your sacred hands,

cleanse also my heart by pouring in the radiance of the Holy Spirit, so that I may be able to love You, our Lord Jesus Christ, in all things and above all else.” Latin, 11 th century tr. Bernard Muir

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves;when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the Waters of Life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes, and to push us in the future with strength, courage, hope and love. Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake

“Let not the world ensnare our hearts by its attractions nor overburden us by its cares. Enable us to abandon all hope of lasting consolation from created things, and to esteem nothing honorable, nothing pleasing, nothing great and worthy the affections of our souls, but thee, the Lord, and that which directly tends to the improvement of our state in thee.

Lord, thou art the chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. It is only by abiding in thy truth that we can taste the consolations of grace or the hopes of glory. Whenever we look for support out of thee, we find nothing but weakness and distress. If thou dost not strengthen, illumine, deliver and preserve us,

the friendship of mankind can give no consolation, the strength of the might bring no support, the counsels of the wise and the labors of the learned impart no instruction, the treasures of the earth purchase no deliverance, and the most secret places afford no protection. Thou, Lord, thou alone art the supreme, the essential and final good, the perfection of life, and light, and love.

Oh grant us thyself; may we ever abide in thy doctrine; then shall we have both the Father and the Son, and then shall we be able to do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us.” Lutheran Prayer Book p

“We face a choice to be worldly Christians or world Christians.” Paul Borthwick

“The church is by nature missionary to the extent that, if it ceases to be missionary, it has not just failed in one of its tasks, it has ceased being church.” J. Andrew Kirk

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” I Peter 2:9-10

“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” I Peter 3:14-15

“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

“Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.‘ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.‘” Matthew 22:37-39

“Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.” Dallas Willard

“We are not Christians because of what we believe, but because we have been called to be disciples of Jesus. To become a disciple is not a matter of a new or changed self- understanding, but rather to become part of a different community with a different set of practices …” Stanley Hauerwas

“The church is not something we make or compel to happen. We do not plan its emerging future; we do not define it in a vision statement that can be realized through a controlled and managed strategic plan. The church’s future is elicited from among the people who make up the ecclesia. Leaders who get people to follow their strategies and plans do not build the future of the church.

Missional leaders cultivate a way of life among a people through which God’s future is elicited among the people. God eludes our systemizing; God’s ecclesia cannot be mastered or managed or made. God gives us our future by the Spirit; we are invited to participate in the unfolding of the present and the future of the kingdom in the concrete places where missional communities live. The Missional Leader Alan J. Roxburgh/Fred Romanuk

“’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’ Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ “ “’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’ Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ “ Isaiah 6:5-8