Holy Trinity
Doxology - Message from Dillin
Greetings in Christ Jesus,
I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about Pastor Rogness and my trip to Doxology. First, I would like to express my appreciation for allowing both Pastor Rogness and me to attend the Doxology conference. The Doxology conference took place from May 30 to June 1 in Middleton, Wisconsin. Many pastors and lay leaders attended this 3-day conference. We received training and spirited discussions during these days. There were guest speakers, and food was provided. Each day, we started with a church service and ended with a church service, we were continuously in God’s Word and sharing fellowship with faithful believers and leaders. I have a couple of takeaways that I would like to share with everyone.
The first takeaway is that all pastors are a gift from God. Pastors are a gift sent to serve God’s church on earth, to speak the Word and administer the Sacraments to His people. God gives us many things, such as our churches, pastors, congregations, families and friends. All these are gifts from God that we have while we are here on earth. In the Garden of Eden, God gave many gifts to Adam and Eve. In Genesis 2:18, God put Adam into the garden to “work it and keep it”. God wanted Adam to be a good steward of His gifts. Like Adam in the garden, we must also be good stewards of the gifts that are given to us and take care of them. We must be good stewards and take care of Good Shepherd, Pastor Rogness, our congregation, our families, and all the other gifts God has blessed us with.
My second takeaway came from the small group discussions with lay leaders. Lay leaders were split away from their pastors and engaged in small group discussions. We discussed the hardships, issues facing the church, and potential solutions to these problems from our point of view. I discovered from all my small group discussions that churches tend to face similar issues (lack of volunteers, summertime church attendance, financial difficulty and disagreements). I met a ton of different churches, including small ones, multiple large churches, dual parishes, ones with schools, and small campus-based ministries. We all faced the same challenges, but we also shared the same strengths. Our churches are filled with devout believers and sound doctrine. We have faithful men willing to share God's Word and keep His sheep on the path. A church built on God's Word and faithful people make up the LCMS churches.
Once again, thank you to everyone. I enjoyed the fellowship with the various LCMS churches and the dedicated people who led them. Doxology is an excellent program for pastors and their well-being. It allows them to network and receive spiritual support as well. Overall, it was a great experience. If you have anything else you would like to ask, please don't hesitate to ask me during coffee hour. As always, I continue to gladly serve Good Shepherd as our Head Elder. God's blessings to everyone.
Faithfully,
Dillin Lafferty
