December 2013

888-THE LCMS www.lcms.org infocenter@lcms.org

News from Christopher S. Ahlman serving the Lord in Germany

I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. John 14.6 But whatever gain was in me, on account of Christ all this I consider loss. But rather I consider everything to be loss on account of the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for the sake of whom everything was forfeited, and I consider (it) refuse, with the result that I might gain Christ and being found in him, having not a righteousness of my own through the law but through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. Philip. 3.7-9

Christopher.Ahlman@lcmsintl.org

One of the most unfortunate pieces of advice I have ever been given (in a group setting, to be precise) is the following: Believe that everything depends upon God; act as if everything depends on you. I, for one, am glad that God has sent my family and me the various trials that he has in times past, in order that, solely by his grace: 1) I may never believe the above statement for the rest of my life, 2) I may never pass along that piece of advice to a single human being for as long as I live, 3) my family may stand as silent testimony, for as long as we live, that the sentiment behind the above statement is patently false and entirely inorganic to Jesus Christ, and 4) I may carry out my Call as Strategic Mission Developer completely under sheer grace and not under the tyranny of law, and encourage others to do the exact same in their respective vocations. It is none other than Jesus Christ himself who has come into this world and become one with it and inseparable from it in his flesh, so that everything may depend on him and nothing may depend on us. In his person and work, Jesus Christ alone has satisfied a demanding God for eternity, resulting in the reality that there simply is nothing left that does or can depend on us. Jesus Christ has rendered all of that entirely obsoleteand continues to do so. It is Christ who is at work in this world and not us. Rather, we are simply called to his work on behalf of the life of the world by virtue of our baptisms and involved in it at his gracious invitation. It is Christ who has freed us completely from the tyranny of sin via the law, and has left things wide open for us to flit about or linger and try our hand at the good works which he has already prepared for us (cf. Eph. 2:8-10). It is Christ who thus has made this entire life of service to our neighbor a liberating, joy-filled Gospel reality, having shown a life of urgent tyranny the exit door. And thus, in this precise way, it is Christ who motivates us his children toward industry and to have a hand (so to speak) in all the things that he himself has done so well.

Sclokirche, Weienfels

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25. He is not righteous who does much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ. 26. The law says, Do this, and it is never done. Grace says, Believe in this, and everything is already done.
Heidelberg Disputation (1518), Theses 25-26
Website: http://bookofconcord.org/heidelberg.php#1

After a strenuous month of traveling, Ive been in Leipzig ever since. Upon arrival, my family and I took some time off to rest, regroup, and do some extremely local travel consisting of a couple of day-trips to nearby historic cities. Following this, our first task was to secure a new German language instructor, which we succeeded in doing rather quickly in comparison with our difficulty through September and October. We have now begun our third week of instruction (approx. 2.25 hours per day) under our extremely talented tutor, and much of our German is reviving and improving further. Added to this mix stands 1) the regular meetings pertaining to the Lukaskirche negotiations (which are always progressing in the midst of new twists and turns, challenges, and opportunities), along with 2) the discussion and planning with key people in the city of Leipzig concerning future musical activity in Lukaskirche in the years to come. Life is certainly never dull and, to be candid, thats how I prefer life to be! A recent special opportunity for me (in light of my language advancement, as well as an incentive to further progress!) was to celebrate my first Divine Service auf Deutsch. It went rather well, if I do say so myself. Thankfully, many parishioners were complimentary in their remarks, as was my German colleague, Rev. Markus Fischer. Hopefully, as time allows and opportunities present themselves, I will be able to do this at least on a regular basis. The ultimate goal is to be able to preach auf Deutsch, but that requires more time, immersion, and above all, practice!

Ministry and Family Update

I am happy to announce that, after many years of waiting, Elizabeth has received a Call as Deaconess, issued by the LCMS Board for International Mission to serve as Communication Specialist for LCMS Eurasia! In this capacity, Elizabeth will facilitate the LCMS Eurasia blog (http://eurasiablog.lcms.org/), oversee other regional communication avenues, and edit newsletters for our regional personnel. The position suits her quite well: it utilizes many of her gifts and, as a part-time position, also enables her to attend to the needs of our children and home. We are very thankful for this Call and will rightly mark the occasion! In short, Thomas and Matthias are doing fine. Thomas 5/6-year-old peers remain a bit uncertain over the fact and reality that his Muttersprache is not German (although hes conversing in German like its nobodys business!), and thus are still hesitant to engage him in conversation and play, but that appears to be lessening ever-so-slowly over time, for which were grateful. The younger children seem to mind this discrepancy much less, and Thomas is more than happy to play with them in the meantime and to befriend them (as he had also done in the United States). Even so, Thomas teachers are mindful of all of this, and working to ensure that Thomas is able to integrate and assimilate with his peers, for which we are also grateful. Matthias has recently found himself very much at home with 1) high-pitched screaming when Mommy walks away and 2) eating Spirelli noodle bites and banana bites (I have never seen an infant with a more serene, contemplative composure and look on his face as Matthias has when he eats noodles and bananas). Hes also starting to show early signs that crawling is not too far around the corner. Well keep you updated on that.

Finally, even as I write this (19 November 2013), numerous projects in our apartment that have long needed attention (even before we moved in) are now being conclusively addressed, thanks to our wonderful and responsive new landlord. While I wont go into detail, suffice it to say that we are thankful that these issues have been resolved, and we are thankful that we have a new landlord that is sympathetic to our needs, prompt in response to our email and telephone calls, and shows great attention and care for us as tenants. It is much appreciated! As Advent- and Christmastide approaches, we pray for Gods richest blessings to be upon you and the Church worldwide, and that many may come to receive the eternal joy that Christ Jesus gives to us, here in time and there in eternity.

Let Us Pray . . .
For Gods continued keeping of us in his grace through Christ Jesus For faithfulness to Christ and his grace delivered in Word and Sacrament For a spirit of penitence among the faithful For courage and steadfastness in proclaiming the Gospel For Gods abundant blessing in building up the Volkmarsdorf church plant For the gift of forbearance in charity in the Church For the care of the poor and needy For Thomas further integration with his peers

Familie Ahlman Christopher & Elizabeth, Thomas, and Matthias May God in Christ through the Spirit bless you now and forever.
Kirche Maria Heimsuchung, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bayern

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