Every other month our CLC Board of Missions updates us with recent news from various mission fields.
“No, we don’t have anyone for the Diaspora List. Our only long-distance member is a lady in Pennsylvania, but since no one else lives there, you don’t want her info.” I immediately exclaimed, “That’s exactly who we want!”
Map of current stateside CLC diaspora
Diaspora is a New Testament Greek word which means scattered seed. Not just dropped in the ground, but tossed out so indiscriminately you’re not sure where it landed…until it sprouts up and bears fruit. As I told the pastor with a member in Pennsylvania, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” How would he know some other CLC congregation didn’t have a member the next town over? Even if two hours away, that’s a lot closer than Michigan! If everyone assumes there’s no one else, there most certainly will not be.
Since our earliest days, CLC congregations have struggled with the question of how they can best care for isolated members. “Long-distance” is an admittedly relative term. Some think nothing of a six-hour roundtrip to attend services. For others, an hour-long commute is no last-minute undertaking. No one would expect a member eight hours away to make it on any regular basis.
Wherever diaspora members land, the Lord desires their faith to sprout and bear fruit: “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4) For the rest of us closer to home, it is our privilege to encourage and equip them in their faith-life: “God sets the solitary in families.” (Psalm 68:6)
It would be hard to imagine a CLC congregation without at least one member at a distance. And unfortunately, every congregation knows the heartache of losing a long-distance family to a false-teaching church, and the second-guessing about what could have been done differently.
The Pharisees once thought (or hoped) Jesus would disappear into long-distance anonymity: “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?” (John 7:35-36)
Yes, He did intend that, but not before His journey took Him to a hill called Golgotha. There Jesus overcame every barrier, real or perceived, to in-person church gatherings by dying for the sin which makes us all lost sheep. And in His resurrection, He sent forth disciples, who themselves once scattered in shame, to go scatter instead life-giving seed: “Feed My lambs.” (John 21:15)
Most epistles are addressed to established congregations, but two reach out to a diaspora membership: “To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,” (James 1:1) and, “To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” (I Peter 1:1) Inspired encouragement kept them well-nourished until an apostle could visit in person.
Isolation is not easy, and the temptation to compromise is great. Every effort a congregation makes to go the distance proves that the diaspora member is not alone. Preaching stations not only provide the essentials of Word and Sacrament, they are the seedlings of new CLC congregations.
Is this synod’s job? No, this is your job! Only you have the information and the leads. Only your congregation can share those names and places. Individual gifts are always intended “for the profit of all” (I Corinthians 12:7), and your CLC Mission Board is eager to collect and connect the dots. Analyzing Diaspora List contributions thus far has identified surprising hotspots in Iowa, western North Dakota, and Kentucky, and resulted in preaching stations in Lincoln, Nebraska; Brainerd, Minnesota; and Sanford, North Carolina.
You don’t know what you don’t know. But together, we are just beginning to discover an exciting domestic mission map to explore!
is pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Hecla and Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bowdle, South Dakota. He also serves on the CLC Board of Missions.