Richly blessed: a message from Bishop Paul

‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’ (Colossians 3:16,17).

This week our pastors from Australia and New Zealand have met at Concordia College, Highgate in South Australia, for their General Pastors Conference.

The guiding Scripture verse for the conference has been Colossians 3:12–17. Our pastors have listened to the word of the Lord with good preaching in daily worship. Our pastors have gathered for the Lord’s means of grace, and in prayer, praise and thanksgiving. Our pastors have built up one another as brothers in Christ with mutual conversation and consolation. Together, they have let the word of Christ dwell in them richly.

Our pastors have shown a spirit of generosity to one another at the conference, as they have worked purposefully through difficult matters. Our pastors have been diligent in preparing guidance for the October Convention of General Synod on matters that have been referred to the conference, including the Way Forward Framework proposals. Our pastors have modelled respectful dialogue and made every effort to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Ephesians 4).

As they closed their conference with worship on Wednesday morning, the pastors prayed together: ‘Holy God, take away any obstacles that cause us to stumble or fall in our faith, and keep us from causing others to stumble.’

In all their conference proceedings, our pastors have faithfully worked together to serve the church, doing everything in the ‘name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’.

Pastor Paul Smith
Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand