[One hundred and second in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Encore Post:
St. Paul enjoyed a special privilege by birth. He was a Roman citizen. Born in the important city of Tarsus in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Paul inherited the rights and protections that came with Roman citizenship. Those privileges would help him throughout his missionary journeys.
Like many Jews living in the Greek and Roman world, Paul was known by more than one name. Saul was his Jewish name. Paul was his Roman name. Other people in the New Testament did the same. Simon was also called Peter and Cephas. Thomas was also called Didymus, “the Twin.” As the Gospel spread into the Gentile world, Luke increasingly refers to the apostle by his Roman name, Paul.
The Book of Acts mentions several times that Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. He would say, “civis Romanus sum” — “I am a Roman citizen.” The Book of Acts records several occasions when Paul claimed the rights of a Roman citizen. Roman citizens were entitled to a fair trial and were protected from certain punishments. After Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, Paul informed the magistrates that they had mistreated Roman citizens. Suddenly the officials became very concerned and personally apologized. Later, when a Roman tribune prepared to question Paul by flogging him, Paul simply asked whether it was lawful to scourge a Roman citizen who had not been condemned. The questioning stopped immediately. Eventually, Paul exercised his right to appeal his case to Caesar himself. That appeal brought him to Rome, where he continued to proclaim the Gospel.
Yet Paul spoke of an even greater citizenship. Writing to the Philippians, he reminded Christians:
“Our citizenship is in heaven.”
Paul knew that Rome was not his true home. Neither is this world ours. We live here, work here, and serve our neighbors here. Yet through faith in Christ, we belong to another kingdom. One day, our King will return, raise our bodies from the grave, and bring us home to live with Him forever.
[One Hundred and First in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
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Saul was a devout Jew and a Pharisee. He was born in the ancient city of Tarsus, the Roman capital of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). His father was likely a prosperous tentmaker, a useful trade in a city filled with merchants, travelers, and retired Roman soldiers. Saul received an excellent education in both Greek culture and the Jewish faith. He became a convinced Pharisee, part of a movement that believed faithful observance of God’s Law would prepare the way for the Messiah’s coming.
His father sent him to Jerusalem to study with Gamaliel, one of the greatest rabbis of his age. Gamaliel served on the Sanhedrin, the Jewish people’s ruling council. Though Saul never tells us whether he saw Jesus during His earthly ministry, he was in Jerusalem during those years and would have known about the events of Holy Week. Like many Pharisees, Saul believed Jesus of Nazareth was a false Messiah. Anyone who claimed to be God deserved to die.
When the cross failed to silence what Saul considered dangerous heresy, he devoted himself to destroying the Church. He fully approved of the martyrdom of Stephen and stood by holding the coats of those who stoned the deacon to death. Encouraged by this success, Saul obtained authority from the High Priest to travel to Damascus and arrest Christians, bringing them back to Jerusalem for trial.
Saul persecuted Christians because they believed Jesus was God. Therefore, when Heaven opened and a brilliant light surrounded him on the road to Damascus, he was completely unprepared. Yet Saul immediately knew he stood in God’s presence. When he asked who was speaking to him, the answer changed his life forever:
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
In that moment, Saul became a witness to Christ’s resurrection. The very thing he had tried to destroy proved to be true. Through Ananias, God restored Saul’s sight and baptized him. The persecutor became a disciple. The enemy of the Church became one of its greatest missionaries.
Luke later begins referring to Saul by his Roman name, Paul. Like many Jews living in the Greek and Roman world, he was known by more than one name. Simon was also called Peter and Cephas. Thomas was also called Didymus, “the Twin.” Paul carried the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, established churches across Asia Minor and Europe, and wrote letters that continue to teach and comfort Christians today.
Saul’s conversion reminds us that no one is beyond God’s mercy. The Lord who forgave Peter, welcomed the Ethiopian eunuch, and restored the fallen also transformed the Church’s fiercest enemy into one of its greatest servants. God’s grace is stronger than our sins, our failures, and even our rebellion.
[Ninety-eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Enore Post:
St. Peter began his life with Jesus as a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus called him, Peter left his nets behind and became a disciple. Peter was often the spokesman for the Twelve. He boldly confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Yet Peter could also be impulsive and weak.
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus told His disciples that they would abandon Him and that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter swore he would rather die than betray his Lord. Yet later that night, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.
When Jesus rose from the dead, Peter began to change. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Three times Peter said he did. Jesus showed He forgave Peter when He commanded Peter three times to feed God’s sheep. From then on, Peter was no longer simply a fisherman. He was now a pastor, a shepherd called to care for God’s people with God’s Word and His Sacraments.
The risen Lord did more than forgive Peter. He restored him and gave him work to do. The disciple who had denied Jesus would become one of His boldest witnesses. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowd. Three thousand people came to faith and were baptized that day. Peter spent the rest of his life preaching Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins. He traveled widely, taught the faith, healed the sick, and suffered for the Gospel.
According to ancient Christian tradition, Peter told the story of Jesus to a younger companion, John Mark, who wrote it down as the Gospel that bears Mark’s name. Peter also wrote two letters that continue to comfort Christians to this day, encouraging believers to remain steadfast in faith and hope.
Peter eventually died by order of Nero Caesar. Church tradition says he was crucified upside down because he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.
Long before this, Peter had confessed Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Through that confession and through the Gospel Peter proclaimed, Jesus continues to build His Church. The same Lord who forgave Peter still forgives sinners, restores the fallen, and sends His people to bear witness to Him.
The Ascension is an important event in the life of Jesus and in the life of the Church. It is the final part of the work that redeemed us: the cross, where our sins were paid for; the resurrection, where the power of the grave was broken; and the ascension, which restored all His honor, glory, authority, and power. From the early Church over 1500 years ago until recent years, Christians celebrated the Ascension on the fortieth day after Easter, or on the Thursday ten days before Pentecost. In the twenty-first century, many churches celebrate Ascension on the Sunday before Pentecost.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He did not cease ruling the world. Rather, He openly took His place at the right hand of the Father, exercising the authority that had always been His as the eternal Son of God. The same Jesus who walked the roads of Galilee now reigns over all things for the good of His Church. In the Ascension, our human nature was carried to the throne of God itself. The Son of Mary still reigns as true God and true man. Because He lives and reigns there, we know that one day we too will follow Him into His Father’s presence.
When He ascended, Jesus left His Church with a promise, a mission, and a blessing. He promised to be with us always until the end of time. He gave us our mission. We would join His mission to seek and save the lost by going to the whole world, being witnesses to His life, death, and resurrection, proclaiming the good news of salvation, baptizing, and teaching all He commanded us. As He ascended, He blessed them as Aaron and the High Priest did and as pastors do to this day, giving us His peace.
Now the Church waits patiently for Him to return. On a day that no one knows, Jesus will come again in glory. On that day, He will raise our bodies from the grave, judge all the living and the dead, and bring an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil. God will live among us again and throw the greatest marriage feast of all time. He will wipe every tear from our eyes.
Until that day, the Ascension reminds us that our Lord is not absent. The risen Christ reigns. He still rules His Church, hears our prayers, blesses His people, and keeps His promise to be with us always, even to the end of the age. Because the Son of Man is already enthroned in Heaven, we know that our future is there with Him.
[Ninety-Fourth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Encore Post:
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples several times over forty days. Like the forty days and forty nights of the flood, the forty years of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness, and the forty days of testing before His ministry, these forty days were a time of preparation. Jesus was preparing His apostles for the work He was about to give them.
At first, they did not recognize Him. But one thing or another- His greeting of peace, His calling of their name, the miracle of a great catch of fish, and the breaking of bread- revealed Him immediately to them. Jesus first reassured them that it was really Him. He had truly risen from the dead, not only in spirit, but in His body as well. He ate bread and fish with them. He still had the wounds of the crucifixion, the holes in His hands and the place where the spear had been thrust into His side. The very same Jesus stood before them in His flesh, only now transformed into a body that would never again die.
During these forty days, Jesus was not merely proving that He was alive. He was preparing the apostles for the work ahead. He spent much of that time conducting what must have been the greatest Bible study in history. He showed them every place in the Old Testament that pointed to His life, suffering, death, and resurrection. He taught them how the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms all spoke about Him and why the Messiah had to suffer before entering His glory.
He also gave them a mission: to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins, baptize, teach, and forgive sins in His name. They would carry this message first to Jerusalem and then to the ends of the earth. The apostles would soon begin that work, proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world.
All of this was preparation. The same Lord who opened the Scriptures to His disciples still teaches His Church through His Word today. Through that Word He creates faith, strengthens His people, and equips them for lives of service. The forty days prepared the apostles for their mission, and through their testimony the risen Christ continues to prepare us as well.
[Ninety-Three in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Encore Post:
In New Testament times, rabbis were not full-time teachers or ministers. Because God is a God who works, rabbis worked at a profession one-third of the time and studied and taught two-thirds of the time. The difference between these teachers and everyday people is that work was just a means to buy food and clothing. Jesus likely worked at His trade as a carpenter (more of a contractor than simply a woodworker) sometimes. St. Paul continued his trade as a tentmaker.
After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter, James, John, and others moved back to Galilee. They picked up their nets again to earn a living. They caught nothing all night. Jesus called to them from the shore and told them to cast their nets over the right side of the boat. They saw a net full of fish. Jesus did this once before for them, at the beginning of His ministry. John instantly recognized it was Jesus.
When they reached shore, the disciples saw Jesus had made a breakfast of fish and bread, just as He had fed five thousand people not long before. By preparing breakfast for His disciples, Jesus showed that He blesses the everyday work God has given us. He helps His disciples do their jobs and gives them a hot meal to go with their catch.
After breakfast, Jesus turned His attention to Peter. Only days before, Peter had denied three times that he knew the Lord. Now Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” Each time Peter answered yes. In this way, the Lord gently restored His fallen disciple. Each time Jesus then gave Peter a task: “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep.” The Good Shepherd was entrusting His flock to the care of undershepherds.
That is what Peter and the other apostles did.
Today, Jesus calls pastors, teachers, deaconesses, and many other Christians to care for His people. Pastors teach His Word, proclaim the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. They forgive sins in His name, baptize, and feed Christ’s sheep with His own body and blood, together with bread and wine. Teachers help train children and adults in the faith. Deaconesses care for those in need and help the Church carry out works of mercy. Countless other Christians serve God’s people through acts of love and compassion in their daily vocations. In their various callings, they follow in the footsteps of Jesus, His apostles, and the generations of Christians who have carried the Gospel to every corner of the world, making disciples of every nation, language, tribe, and people.
[Ninety-Second in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Encore Post:
St. Thomas was practical and down-to-earth. Called “the Twin,” he spoke few words, but always directly. When Jesus was determined to go to Lazarus’ tomb, not five miles from Jerusalem, Thomas said, “Let us also go and die with Him.” When Jesus told the disciples at the Lord’s Supper that He was going to prepare a place for them, he asked, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?”
Subtle Thomas was not. Loyal and strong, he was. When Jesus was crucified, Thomas had no doubt the Lord was dead. He knew every detail. He did not want it to be that way, but he was a realist. Jesus was gone; end of story. So when the other disciples told Thomas with joy, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas would have none of it. He had to see the wounds that marked Jesus in a living man to believe. Even seeing would not be enough. He had to touch the wounds. On something as important as the Lord’s life, Thomas would not be fooled.
All of this changed when Jesus appeared to him and the rest of the disciples on the Sunday after Easter. The doors were locked, and suddenly Jesus was with them. Jesus said, “Shalom,” or “Peace be with you all.” This greeting, even though it is the Hebrew version of “Hello,” had special meaning for the disciples. Jesus was telling them everything was all right. Turning to Thomas, He invited His hard-headed disciple to see for himself. “Stop doubting and believe,” Jesus said.
This was all Thomas needed. He dropped to his knees and worshiped Jesus. His confession has echoed through the centuries: “My Lord and my God!” Thomas not only confessed that Jesus was alive again. He confessed that Jesus was truly God in human flesh. Jesus mildly rebuked him and then blessed us. “You have seen and believed,” Jesus said. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
And so it is. Later, St. Peter praised God for all He has done for us and wrote to Christians who had never seen Jesus with their own eyes: “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” Why? Because we know we are receiving what our faith really seeks, the salvation of our souls.
In the end, this faith, which Jesus gave to Thomas, a faith that would send the Apostle to India to establish the Church there, is itself a gift from God. It comes through His Word and Sacraments. “These are written,” St. John tells us, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Blessed are we indeed to hear and say:
[Eighty-seventh in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Encore Post:
In Jesus’ time, bathing was an important part of being cultured. The Romans especially prized their public baths, which were as much a part of daily life as going to the gym to work out is today. Especially before a banquet, you would visit the baths. Besides this, in the tradition of the Pharisees, Jewish people would ritually wash themselves and everything they would use to serve food. Especially during Passover, when no leaven could be eaten, they followed these rituals strictly.
The problem was that you couldn’t avoid getting your feet dirty in an age when you wore sandals and walked on dirt roads. In well-to-do homes, a Gentile slave would be provided to wash the guests’ feet. A disciple would do many things for his master, but foot-washing was beneath him. When there was no slave, you would wash your own feet.
That is why Jesus’ action was so shocking. The last one who should wash feet is the Lord. Peter understood this immediately. When Jesus came to wash his feet, Peter objected: “You shall never wash my feet.” He knew that disciples did not sit while their master performed a slave’s task.
Yet Jesus insisted. When Peter protested, Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Suddenly Peter wanted not only his feet washed, but his hands and head as well. Jesus answered that a person who has bathed is already clean and only needs his feet washed. The disciples belonged to Him. Their problem was not that they needed another bath, but that they needed their Lord to serve them.
So Jesus is the one who serves us all, and because he washed feet, we are also called to meet everyone’s needs.
Do you remember our Lutheran churches teeming with life? Do you remember infants, children, young people, young families, and folks of all ages? To some degree or another most of us remember the better times that preceded our current season in the church. From our demographic peak in the LCMS around 1970 and right now, each year has been less populous than the one before. Now that I’ve turned the corner of 50, I remember very well the church in about the middle of that decline, which was far better than today.
In order to look clearly at the individual partial causes, we need to look clearly at the broad demographic change. Someone will certainly look at this data and its analysis, finding offense. I intend no offense, nor personal criticism. However, we cannot hide our heads in the sand in the face of evidence which must be acknowledged.
Around 1970, the LCMS consisted of about 2.79 million members, dispersed among around 5,745 congregations, at an average of 485 per congregation, with Sunday attendance around 180. These congregations had 1,400 parochial elementary schools distributed among them, with 156,000 pupils, averaging 111 per school.
Around 2025, the LCMS consisted of about 1.67 million members (-40%), dispersed among around 5,794 congregations (+1%), at an average of 288 per congregation (-40%), with Sunday attendance around 95 (-47%). These congregations had 660 parochial elementary schools distributed among them (-47%). The number of pupils for parochial elementary schools isn’t readily available since that current data has been mingled with early childcare center (ECC) data. But, we can extrapolate in the most generous way. Using the 111 per school average, which is certainly higher than the current average, there are no more than 74,000 pupils among our parochial elementary schools (consistent with the 47% decline).
While that’s dire data, it’s common among American Christian churches. In particular, our neighbors in the ELCA have seen a 49% drop between 1988 & 2024, compared to our 40% drop from 1970-2025. The exception here is the sudden growth within the Roman and Eastern Orthodox churches.
(Data sourced by Grok AI using: concordiatheology.org, thearda.com, adcrucem.news.org, christiancyclopedia.org, & 2026 convention lcms.org)
We are recipients of a perfect storm: a birth rate problem, interfaith marriage, parochial elementary school closures, urbanization, and sheep poaching.
The same problem we are observing nationally also affects the LCMS, the Texas District, Circuit 23, and our own congregation. The replacement birth rate is 2.1 children per woman. That means family sizes of 1 to 3 kids, calculated together with all of the zeros, like my family, put our synodical birth rate below 2.1. That has caused, and will continue to cause, our churches to shrink. Church population increases primarily by birth rate, not by conversion. Now, combine that with the known retention rate of 67% when Dad brings kids to church by himself, and 39% when Mom brings children to church by herself, and we get a colony collapse level of reduction.
Interfaith marriage was once loosely forbidden among us Lutherans in the LCMS. I’ve even heard anecdotal reports of parents forbidding dating outside the Wendish community in central Texas. That devolved into requiring a suitor to convert to the LCMS. Then, commending the kids to find a faithful Christian, someone who goes to church, someone who’s at least Christian, someone who “believes,” and so forth. We have raised up at least two generations of Christian families without attendance habits in the better examples. In worse cases, kids are left to decide for themselves whether to follow Mom’s, Dad’s, or no faith tradition. Spoiler: most of those kids choose apostasy (falling away from the faith), agnosticism, or atheism.
During this same timeframe, we’ve closed 47% of our parochial elementary schools. Parochial education is the forward-facing loss to the church. We’ve also lost the community impact of professional church workers. Even a tiny school with two teachers could easily inject ten or more committed Lutherans into a church and a town. That impact is especially strong in rural and small-town communities.
The quality of education is another concealed loss. Propagandists question the quality of parochial and homeschool education. Another spoiler: parochial and homeschool students consistently outperform public school students. For the families that can access it, private school is a far better option.
For a time, Sunday School became a standard feature of our churches. (We borrowed the concept of Sunday School from the Methodists, who had no parochial elementary school tradition). While it’s a laudable side item, Sunday school doesn’t begin to fill the void left by closing a parochial elementary school.
What about preschools? ECCs are a good service for us to provide. But they do not have an effect on the vitality of a congregation like that of a parochial elementary school. It’s also unfair of us to expect a similar effect from such a narrow span of time and such a distant memory for the kids involved.
We also suffer from urbanization. Humans tend to follow employment opportunities, which often revolve around cities. For rural and small-town churches and their communities, the migration depletes our stock of young families. It’s an unstoppable force. Outside of industry setting up shop in our area, there’s very little that can be done in that fight.
Even in these massive urban centers, sheep poaching is still a problem. You may have noticed that Lutheran mega-churches are practically non-existent in rural and small-town areas. In urban metro areas (Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Denver, Chicago, et al.), large congregations can and have grown to enormous size by directly or indirectly, deliberately or accidentally, poaching members from competing congregations.
These churches will often cite the “unchurched” in their membership numbers. That’s not entirely accurate. For the most part, these unchurched folks are members/former members of local neighborhood congregations, who’ve been drawn in by the big show. The megachurch has a well-documented membership life cycle: discovery, membership, involvement, volunteerism, burnout, and departure. The sad aspects of that cycle are these: most new members come from recent activity at an existing congregation. The average span of membership is about five years. And, worst of all, people departing tend to leave Christianity altogether. The megachurch system is largely a vacuum, sucking people from neighborhood churches into apostasy.
What can we do? Start evangelism programs, youth groups, or outreach events? Those external activities came into Lutheranism amid the steady decline. They changed nothing at that time, when they were the “bigger, better” new deal.
Is this a hopeless situation? Certainly not. We have good metrics to help us reverse some trends. There aren’t enough children. We need to encourage marrying young, remaining faithful, and having lots of babies. Consider this: informally adopt a young family in your church. Buy them some groceries. Give them some gas money. Help mothers caring for their children. Encourage and chastise fathers to lead their families to church. Establish and fund a parochial elementary school, with a generous active-member family discount. Use that as a “bribe” to bring in and retain families in church attendance during the elementary years. Focus on the central part of Christianity: Sunday morning worship. That’s the actual prize, the unique feature of the faith. That’s where the Lord gathers us in His presence, delivers the forgiveness of sins, and strengthens us in the faith. The house of the Lord is where Christianity dwells.
The times are tough, but not hopeless,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
In the wilderness, most likely Western Arabia, the Hebrews are heading towards the promised land. Avoiding the land of Edom, the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s (Israel’s) brother, they travel West towards the Red Sea. Along the way, we hear a common refrain: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Exodus 21:5b) The people constantly grumble against Moses and Aaron, but chiefly against the Lord, who sent them.
In response to their First Commandment sin, God sends fiery serpents among them. The snakes bite and kill people. The people repent and ask that Moses pray that the serpents be removed. God does not take them away. He commands Moses to set up a bronze serpent on a pole (a carved, formed, or graven image). If anyone sees it, he will live.
Two very important details stand out here. First, the serpents remain, presumably biting and even killing. The temporal consequence of sin can and often does remain with us. Jail sentences remain, even in the face of forgiveness before God. The physical damage from chemical abuse doesn’t easily go away.
Second, seeing is not the same as looking. The “seeing” here is a passive reception of God’s forgiveness and setting aside the punishment. The Hebrews were given a gift to see and from which to receive. Jesus recalls this too, prefiguring His crucifixion in one of the least well-known passages of Scripture. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
The Bronze Serpent God commanded Moses to form and place for the Hebrews to see is the image of the punishment for sin. Our sin against God, like theirs, demands a price. For the Hebrews, their deliverance came from seeing the serpent. The image God gave them of their punishment, taking away their punishment, prefigures Jesus being raised up in punishment for our sin.
By faith, we see a dead thing on a tree. The death of Jesus is the moment of our salvation. It was finished when sin’s price was paid for you. In the same way, the congregation of Israel saw that serpent’s image, we should also revel in the image of the crucifix, Jesus on a pole for our salvation.
Let us never recoil at the image of our salvation,
