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Thanks for checking out Good Shepherd's web site. Whether you've never visited our church and are just scoping us out or are a life-long Good Shepherd member, I hope you find this website as welcoming as our congregation is. Good Shepherd is a growing congregation seeking to follow God's lead. We're a people on a mission, and I hope you'll partner with us in bringing the love of Jesus to our community and our world. If I can ever be of assistance to you in any way, please email me at hauptben@hotmail.com. Below is my monthly newsletter article. Blessings! Pastor Ben Haupt |  |
Dear Members of Good Shepherd,
Happy 50th Anniversary! I look forward to our big celebration on the 7th. A lot of planning has gone into our commemoration of 50 years, and I want to thank the committee for their time and efforts. I also want to thank all the members who have served in a variety of positions throughout the years to keep this church going. You have faithfully answered the Lord’s call to serve the church, and this month it is so appropriate for you to hear Jesus’ words from the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, “Well done good and faithful servant! Come and share your Master’s happiness!” Because of your efforts, the Lord Jesus and His love for us has spread through our church, community, and world! So, let’s party on the 7th and give thanks to our Great God for all His great gifts!
In other news, I wanted to tell you about a few things that are on the horizon for me as your pastor. Most of you know that our congregation is part of a larger denominational church body called the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, but we do have some new members who come from other backgrounds. Allow me to explain how our larger church functions. Our denomination has a headquarters in St. Louis, MO which houses the President of the LCMS, the Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick. This headquarters is charged with the responsibility of overseeing our two seminaries where pastors are trained, the national and global mission efforts of the LCMS, and several other ministry efforts.
The folks at the headquarters are not however the decision-makers. Much like in our congregation the voters assembly of Good Shepherd makes the major decisions and charges the pastor, council, and various boards to carry out their wishes, so also the LCMS has a voters assembly so to speak, called a convention, which takes place every 3 years. This convention is a meeting of pastors and lay people who serve as voting delegates. Groups of 6-8 churches, called circuits, gather together and vote to send one pastor and one lay person as official delegates to vote on their behalf at the convention. I tell you all that to say that our circuit elected me to serve as the pastoral delegate. The convention this summer will take place July 9-17 in Houston, TX of all places. Could they have found a hotter place?!?
After I was selected to attend the convention this summer, I was asked by the President of the Synod to serve on a committee which does some pre-work for the convention to prepare the overtures and resolutions to be voted on. In order to carry out this responsibility I will need to be in St. Louis from May 21-23. Though I’m not sure I would call these duties fun by any means, they are necessary things to ensure the future of our national church body, our training of pastors and church workers, and our mission efforts in Jesus’ name to the entire globe. I look forward to representing the saints in Gainesville, GA as I carry out this work for our church. Please be in prayer that the Lord Jesus will work through the convention this summer.
In Jesus, Pastor Ben