From the Pastor’s Desk: PRIE DIEU

Deb Lynch’s father Ken Korby was a towering figure in physique and personality. Many of us seminarians had never met him but listened to old cassette tapes of his lectures. He told us never to call the place where we worked at church an office. “Businessmen have an office, but your people need to know what you do.” Further he told us that every pastor needed a kneeling bench. “That the people know what you do in there.” Luther regularly prayed for the first three hours of his day. A pastor prays. That is what he does. He can only give after he has first prayed and received. People want and need a pastor that prays.

My first call as a pastor was to a congregation of 35 people in rural Minnesota. They loved me well, but their provision for me was of the old kind—a side of beef and the monthly question, “Do you want us to pay the health insurance first or your paycheck?” There was no money for a kneeling bench, but I scoured eBay until I found one in my price range. It wasn’t in the best condition, but it fit the bill. When I moved to Wisconsin it lost a few more pieces. Recently when I asked Evan Geesey about fixing it up, he looked at me with a sad face, wanting to soften the blow as a bearer of bad news. “I am sorry pastor, but it is beyond repair.”

Unbeknownst to me behind the scenes Cale Boriack was crafting one through the urging of former congregational president Ron Stiegler. The new oak bench was presented to me on the Sunday after my 5th year at Mount Calvary. It also serves as a place for souls to kneel in my study who are seeking personal absolution from Christ. Some people are uncomfortable when they come by and see the pastor praying. May it suit their discomfort! A pastor who prays has a people who pray too, as he leads the way and charts the course and shows them what their life is about (and as they show him too). Accomplishment is overrated and things to do can wait. Prayer is of the most essential tasks of the minister and Christian.

Back in my days of searching for a prayer bench I had to learn how to spell the word, “Prie dieu,” the official name of that piece of furniture. Coming from the French language, it means, “Pray to God.” The name is a good reminder of what is done there and also what we should do.

I don’t have the heart to throw out my old-weathered bench quite yet, but the sturdy new one will serve long after my days as a pastor have come to an end. One no longer has the feeling that the bench might fall apart on praying, which, in itself, would be a pretty good story.

It was the disciples who asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Observing His prayers, they wanted to join in. Until kingdom come Jesus is still teaching His ministers how to pray. In effect, it is one of the main things He teaches them to do.

In Christ,

Pr. Christopher Seifferlein