“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).

Sometimes our waiting comes to an end when the Lord answers our prayer with yes. Then again, sometimes waiting needs to continue when God answers a similar prayer with not yet. No wonder the psalm writer encourages us to wait patiently for the Lord to act in his own way and in his own time.

Both kinds of waiting—the kind that comes to an end and the kind that continues—were taking place on the campuses of Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., last May.

That was when the synod’s Assignment Committee held its annual meetings to assign pastor, vicar, teacher, and staff minister candidates to their places of service.

The assignment meetings in May were the 17th that I have had the privilege of being part of as synod president. Those meetings always have been some of my favorite days of the year. It’s not that the meetings are easy. In fact, they are some of the most intense meetings that I attend. Each congregation that has requested an assignment describes in detail its need for a worker. Hundreds of such requests need to be reviewed and prioritized. Then the committee discusses each candidate (again, hundreds of them), looking at gifts and abilities and prayerfully considering where and how the candidate could best serve. As the meetings progress, candidates are assigned to the places where they will serve.

The meetings are not easy, but several things make them enjoyable.

• They are wonderful reminders of what a blessing we have in our system that trains called workers. There is no other system quite like it, and non-WELS people who are familiar with our system often remind us of what a blessing it is and how we should never let it go.
• They are a beautiful demonstration of how God continues to keep his promises to send workers into his harvest field.
• They offer the joyful experience of seeing young men and women who have spent years preparing to serve as full-time church workers receive their first calls from the Lord. It’s a high point to attend the call service when the calls are read and candidates find out where they are going. The joy and excitement of that day is hard to describe. For them—and for the congregations that have called them—the waiting has come to an end with an answered prayer.

But for some, the waiting continues. Some don’t receive an assignment on call day. That happens when there are not enough requests for pastors or teachers (as was the case not too long ago) or when requests don’t match the candidates’ area of training. And so, they wait for the day when the Lord answers their prayer with a yes. With our current called worker shortage, some congregations also must wait a little while longer until the Lord of the church sends them the worker that he has chosen for them.

No matter what kind of waiting we do, it’s not easy, but it is always a blessing. We can be strong and take heart, because it is the Lord’s answer we await. His answer will always be for our good and the good of his church.

Author: Mark Schroeder
Volume 111, Number 08
Issue: August 2024