Monday, April 19, 2010

It’s Monday morning, and Regional Pastor Stan Olsen is driving past the Space Needle on his way to SeaTac airport. Monday! It used to be a traditional “pastor’s day off.” I remember awakening with a smile on my face Monday mornings when my husband and I were in parish ministry. After a busy Sunday, Monday was a day of relaxing, catching up, and maybe even a day-trip in the summertime!

However, this day, he’s driving to pick me up from the airport! I am returning from speaking at the Pacific Southwest Women’s Retreat in California. High above, minutes before landing, I am seeing the snow-rimmed old volcano of Crater Lake, Oregon, the half-blown away slopes of Mt. St. Helens, and the spectacular pure-white peak of Mt. Rainier. As we drive toward home, we can see the ice-cream-cone heights of Mt. Baker to the north. After living here several months, I still catch my breath as I round the bend in our neighborhood and see the gorgeous mountains in the distance! This is where God has called us to serve.

Returning home from the airport, Stan and I chat about things we’ve learned while apart during the past weekend. At the retreat, I was embraced by the love and acceptance of the women in the southern part of our region, encouraged by the active participation of women in their twenties, excited by attendance of women who have come for the first time, and totally blown away by the honesty and transparency of the sharing that occurred during our small group times. God blessed me, and I am humbled that, apparently, he also used me to bless them.

The previous day, Sunday, while I was still in California, Stan had enjoyed worshiping in our home church of Hope in Everett, Washington, for the first time in five weeks. For several prior weeks, he had preached or participated in services throughout the region.

Soon it is dinnertime. Tonight we are taking Pastor Dan and Judy Lazicki, who serve Grace LBC in Lynnwood, out for dinner. They have chosen a quiet neighborhood restaurant conducive to good conversation, with excellent Thai food. One of the primary goals for a Regional Pastor (RP) is to “come alongside the local pastor and support the local ministry.” All of the RPs and their wives met last February in a planning retreat. There we decided that one of our goals in the first six months of this position would be to meaningfully connect with at least 90% of the pastors in our districts. An extended lunch or dinner with each pastor, and wife if possible, would provide a good time to get to know each other, to form relationships, or deepen them if already begun. We have enjoyed these meals immensely! This relaxed atmosphere has provided camaraderie, laughter, learning about family, and joy in ministry, as well as angst, sorrows, and intimate sharing of matters for prayer in other cases.

We have also met with smaller groups of pastors, sometimes including wives, who have informally met together on a regular basis. What a blessing these smaller “cluster” groups are in support for each other! But we also value time spent individually with each couple. This evening ends with dessert back at the Lazicki home, more warm fellowship, and a precious time of prayer together.

Tuesday

8:30 a.m.: My husband begins his day at work. Unlike Minnesota, where a trip to his former office often necessitated shoveling a path through the snow, and scraping frost off car windows before driving to the synod headquarters, his office is now the living room. A cell phone rather than a landline makes him accessible whether he’s on the road or at home. His laptop computer travels with him for leadership training in churches, and has a built-in camera for video conferences over “skype,” a free internet service, so that it’s possible to even see the people he’s talking to. (continued after photo)

The Regional Pastors
from left to right: Joel and MaryBeth Nordtvedt; Gary and Debra Witkop; President Joel and Barb Egge; Rick and Marcia Bridston; Stan and Cheryl Olsen (not pictured: Art and Connie Hundeby)

On alternate Tuesdays he has an extended conference call with the other RPs and CLB President Egge. They begin by sharing personal concerns before a time of prayer together. Four pastors, Rick Bridston – Eastern, Joel Nordtvedt – Central, Gary Witkop – Western, and Stan Olsen – Pacific, make up the Regional Pastor team in the United States. Pastor Art Hundeby will join them in September as the Canadian RP. These five work together with President Egge as a joint team to bring the resources of the synod closer to local congregations, and to bring concerns of local pastors and churches in a more meaningful and timely way to the synod and Council of Directors.

Their bi-weekly agenda includes sharing the success stories of God working in tangible ways through the pastors and congregations they have visited. They also wrestle through ways to deal with congregations in crisis or conflict, and pray for wisdom to handle each situation with God’s help, and the help of his people. There is teamwork now in pastoral placement. When a pastor in one region is sensing God is calling him to make a move, his Regional Pastor is his advocate, knowing his strengths and gifting. This makes it easier for the group to have a better grasp of where a “good fit” might be when there are open churches looking for a pastor.

Tuesday afternoon we leave for an early dinner together with Pastor Roger and Sue Olson. Former missionaries to Japan, these two are involved in a thriving Japanese ministry at Rock of Ages in Seattle. Though the culture in Japan is very resistant to the Gospel, numbers of Japanese coming to the U.S. have come to faith in Jesus here! They have been baptized, and take his story with them when they leave. It is exciting to hear about how God is blessing this ministry! Not everyone who comes to learn how to cook American meals (or a number of other activities) will become a Christian. But they are accepted, welcomed, and they find a place of belonging. This model might work in English-speaking congregations, too!

Wednesday

Stan processes e-mails and follows up conversations with pastors, making plans to visit the Arizona churches, while I attend a morning Women’s Bible study by Beth Moore, “When Godly People do Ungodly Things.” It is a needed challenge for each of us to be accountable to God, and a call for extending grace and forgiveness to each other. That evening, we both attend the Wednesday evening Bible study, following a meal that Hope people take turns cooking before the midweek kids’ programs. It’s a great family atmosphere. We enjoy Pastor Marty Valder’s weekly 90-minute whirlwind tour of all four of the pericope texts for the upcoming Sunday. It feeds our spirits, and also helps us develop relationships with the church family.

Thursday + Friday

Thursday and Friday are days of connections. Making connections is another goal for the Regional Pastors; supporting existing connections and developing new ones where needed, to be of aid to churches. Stan meets with the Pacific Northwest Bible Camp Committee as they continue to plan for the huge family camp that encompasses all of the PNW District the last week of June. Simultaneous programs for youth, for children, and for adults run all day, with a combined service each evening. This year, a young adults’ track is being added. Next, more phone calls and e-mails, plus final preparations for the PNW District Meeting scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday + Sunday

Saturday dawns early for everyone going to Olympia for the annual PNW District Meeting. Larry Fransson, the District President will chair the meeting as in the past. Stan has met with him on an ongoing basis as they work on this last District meeting before the PNW and PSW officially become one Region. In February when we attended the Pacific Southwest District Meeting in California, they voted to send two representatives north to work on a combined constitution. This was done, and today, a new constitution and budget is adopted. Though quality work is done, and representation is fair at 35 delegates, a future goal is to involve many more people.

In March, we had attended the Cannon Beach Leadership Conference. Each year, church leaders from PNW congregations come together at this spectacular Oregon beach setting for fellowship and teaching. That weekend gathering of around 100 people was another evidence of Regions desiring training that is accessible to more people. This year we all appreciated the transparent and powerful teaching of Lutheran Brethren Seminary President David Veum. It is this type of gathering that we hope will characterize our Biennial Regional Conventions in 2011: a time to share what God is doing in our local congregations, and a time of quality teaching and preaching, in a place accessible, affordable to many, without necessitating vacation time for travel.

On Sunday, we enjoy worshiping as part of God’s family at Hope, thankful for his work throughout our Region, eagerly waiting to see what he’ll do in the future!

Cheryl Olsen is Information Coordinator for Women’s Ministries of the CLB. She lives with her husband Stan in Everett, WA.

By Cheryl Olsen

Cheryl Olsen (pictured with her husband Stan) serves as the secretary of Women's Ministries of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. (www.wmclb.com)