At the 2008 convention, Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) adopted Resolution 08.02.05 which called on the president to appoint a task force to “Provide Biblically-Based Materials and Resources on Christian Discipleship.” In February 2012, the Discipleship Task Force Committee met for the first time in Winnipeg. The committee is comprised of six individuals from across synod, two from each district: Deacon Daryl Becker and Carol Haberstock (ABC); Elton Harper and Rev. Jacob Quast (Central); and Kathy Kuhl and Rev. Larry Flohr (East), with support and oversight coming from President Robert Bugbee.

Since February, the task force has begun the work of researching various discipleship materials and developing a plan to promote and distribute these materials to synod’s churches, schools, and church workers. There are five main categories that the committee is seeking to address: current issues, conflict, outreach, stewardship, and biblical literacy.

The committee has developed a survey which it encourages all members of synod to complete. This survey will be distributed and available in various media, both print and electronic.

At the heart of this issue is, of course, the Holy Scriptures themselves and how we as God’s people use His Word. LCC’s own statistics show that only about 10% of people in our congregations are actively engaged in Bible study at church on a regular basis. Furthermore, there appears to be very few who actually read the Bible daily. This is a grave concern for us all as the Scriptures are God’s means whereby He nurtures and strengthens our faith in Jesus Christ. We grow weak and susceptible to the temptations of the world, the devil, and our own flesh when we disconnect ourselves from God and His Word of Life. Our confession to the world of who Christ is and what He is done also falters and grows weak when we are not in His Word.

Only about 10% of people in our congregations are actively engaged in Bible study

As part of our mandate the committee will strive to regularly update synod on our activity and work, bringing to you the fruit of our labours. There is a wealth of material available for both personal and public use by LCC members. Many of these materials come at very little cost and may be easily led by laity in situations where there is no pastor. Some websites that may be perused for resources on a host of differing subjects include: Lutheran Hour Ministries at www.lhm.org and a subset of that ministry designed specifically for men at www.lhmmen.com; Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, both in Canada at www.lutheranwomen.ca and in the US at www.lwml.org; as well as Concordia Publishing House at www.cph.org.

There are, of course other resources available and we look forward to sharing more of these with you in the future. Stay tuned for more information from the Discipleship Task Force Committee, and keep us in your prayers as we seek ways to further equip LCC members with the blessings of God’s Word.

Respectfully Yours In Christ,

The Discipleship Task Force Committee