A bud on a plant becomes a flower, or a blossom becomes a ripened fruit, making it official; public, visible and real. What’s the word on the street? What’s the talk about town? Rumor has it that so and so have been dating seriously and are about to announce their engagement. The long anticipated event is about to become a social reality; private matters are about to become public knowledge. The final out is recorded on the baseball field making the game and outcome official; i.e. in the books. What is it that makes something or someone “official”?
When it appears in the headlines or on the evening news? When a signature is attached and photographs are taken? When evidence or verification is provided? When it becomes Law? The word official means “authority”. When a word has authority, it becomes “official”. When a
person has authority, they become “official”. Office and call imply authority. God is the official bestower of authority! It’s God’s Call and God’s Word. We sing, “God’s Word is our great heritage, and shall be ours forever; to spread its light from age to age, shall be our chief endeavor. Through life it guides our way, in death it is our stay. Lord, grant, while worlds endure, we keep its teachings pure, throughout all generations” (Nikolai F. S. Grundtvig). We confess that God’s Word, the Bible, has authority in all matters of faith & life for us. The Psalmist proclaims: “Your Word, O LORD, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”—Psalm 119:105. It’s one thing to sing or say it, but quite another to live and practice it. It’s official. At the June 17th Council Meeting the elected leaders (officials) of Mount Cross passed the following proclamation: “2011 will be a Year of the Bible at Mount Cross.” What exactly does this action imply? The decision means that 2011 will provide worshipers of Mount Cross with an in-depth opportunity to get immersed in the Christian Scriptures. We will be using materials called “The Grand Sweep” and reading through the entire Bible from cover to cover; Genesis –Revelation. Participants who sign up for the reading adventure will receive a free copy of The Grand Sweep. On Sunday mornings the sermons, worship services, and adult studies will be proclamations and conversations of what we have read during the week. Liturgy and Music will be woven into our assigned Bible Readings. We are looking at pod-casting our worship services, creating a Bible Readers’ Blog, perhaps even doing a musical entitled “Bible Folk”. Technology will allow people of the Book, near and far, to participate. We’ll begin launching this project in the fall of this year. We’ll offer a class on “How We Got the Bible”, a one day seminar on the Grand Sweep, and a worship experience entitled, “Chosen Garment, The Whole Bible in One Act” by Steve Mosley. This adventure is going to be a WOW moment for all who take a deep breath and experience God’s sacred Ah-Ha. We sing: “The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.” In 2011 our song will become an official practice for willing disciples of Mount Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church. Where did this idea come from? Two sources: Luther and Kaylor. Martin Luther translated the Bile into the vernacular of the people. Luther read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation at least twice a year. He sang all 150 Psalms monthly during the hours of prayer. He committed most of the Bible to memory. This past January, while reading Pastor Bob Kaylor’s article in Homiletics Magazine, God challenged and inspired me to, step aside from the Revised Common Lectionary for a year and, preach through the whole Bible in a year — cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation. Pastor Kaylor did it last year. He hoped for 20 participants and got 150+. Worship attendance increased as people got into God’s Word and God’s Word got deeper into God’s people. It was a New Year’s Resolution for Pastor Kaylor and his flock. He called it “The Bible BHAG”. So there you have it. It’s official: the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) of taking our congregation through the whole Bible in a year. In 2011 we will be living outside the box and inside the Book; the Book of Faith—God’s Word. If you’ve always wanted to read through the entire Bible, but haven’t, here’s your chance. If you’ve already done it, then join me in doing it again. I love and need your company. Officially Yours, Pastor Dave
Pastor's Corner 
