25th Anniversary and the speech I should have given.

The members of Good Shepherd surprised me on Sunday, July 11 in honoring me for serving at Good Shepherd for 25 years.  (I was installed on July 14, 1996.)  After a presentation of cards, gifts, and a cake, Diane Wozniak sang a parody song based on Bob Seger's "The Fire Down Below."  (If we were going to keep on singing Bob Seger tunes, I thought of another that might work: "Come on back, baby, Liturgy never forgets.")  I know Jeanette Schneider helped Diane with ideas to work into the song, so thanks to both of them for that.  It was tailored to me / at me nicely.  And yes, singing all ten stanzas of "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" is mandatory.  I think someone recorded the singing.  If I find it, I will link it later.

After words of congratulations and some of the other shenanigans, I was asked to make a speech.  I was shooting from the hip, so I don't think I gave the kind of speech I would have wanted to.  So, here it is (and I am trying to keep this short).

THE SPEECH I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN:  
I thank you, Good Shepherd, for this acknowledgement and for the years of support you have given me and my family.  As diligently as I try to serve you faithfully with God's word and sacraments, I know that I have not been perfect.  Occasionally, emotions, assumptions, or frustrations got the better of me, and I may have sinned against you.  Occasionally, I have been self-absorbed, forgetful, and have been responsible for goof-ups; you have graciously overlooked these and forgiven me for them rather than hold grudges against me.  This is to your credit, and I want to commend you and thank you for your Christian love.

For these 25 years, our family has grown and grown up.  I regret that I did not acknowledge them and have a picture taken with all of them (even though not all were able to be here).  They have been supportive of me all these years and have never been a cause for shame or given me reasons to have to defend them for anything scandalous.  I thank God for them, as they have made it easy for me to enjoy a home that is filled with love and faith.  Laura is to be credited with much of this--God bless her.

I am not really the kind of person who seeks attention, but I certainly do not want to be ungrateful when it is given.  (I am bad at accepting compliments.)  Your gratitude and your gifts are most appreciated.  I am also confident that your gratitude is due to your love for Jesus Christ.  It is truly Jesus whom you have honored in honoring his minister.  I am grateful for that more than anything.  I have to put to death my own ego every day and remind myself that the pastoral office is not about me.  The liturgy reminds me that I speak "in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ."  My words don't save; Jesus' words do.  I am convinced that you believe the same.  You do not come to church for my sake, but for Jesus' sake--to hear his voice of absolution, his promises of grace, and to eat and drink his body and blood which take away sin and overcome death.  This is all that matters, regardless of who stands in the pulpit or presides at the altar.  I have been privileged to do that for the past 25 years--an honor which is far more than I deserve.  

A little secret: Before each sermon, I say a prayer which includes this petition.  "Send your Holy Spirit so that this sermon may be worth something to those who hear it."  Based on the fact that you continue to come back to church Sunday after Sunday, God has answered that petition most wonderfully.  What a marvel that God has chosen to use me as the mouthpiece through whom that happens!  God's Spirit has been active through the preached word, begun by Pastors Farley, Jahnke, and Grundmeier, continues through me, and--God willing--will continue through other pastors after I am long gone.  While I am not worthy to be included in that list, it has been an honor to be in it.

The Pastor's Daily Prayer includes this petition: "Glory and honor, praise and thanks be to you, God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for all the mercy and faithfulness you have shown to this congregation. Your word has not returned unto you void, but you have here gathered a people that knows you and fears your name. Give me your Holy Spirit, that I may at all times see the good things in this congregation and praise and thank you for them."  I confess that I focus too often on the challenges, problems, and frustrations that Satan produces among us.  I truly do recognize how richly God has blessed me and my family in our 25 years at Good Shepherd.  You have made it easy to serve as your pastor, and I will always pray for your continued blessings and that your dedicated faith will be remembered and rewarded by God.

God bless and keep you all.

In Christ,

Pastor Schroeder