Dear Friends in Christ,

If you walk through almost any older church building in our District, you will notice the signs of time. There will be cracks in the plaster or a steeple that needs repair. Tiles might be loose in spots, and a once mighty organ might need more than just a tuneup. Physical structures that once seemed solid and unchangeable now are showing their age. Sometimes it’s not just the buildings. Congregations certainly feel the weight of fewer people in the pews, tighter budgets, and the struggle of living in a world where the church is no longer at the center of community life. It can feel like the steeples are falling all around us.

Yet the church has never been defined by her buildings or structures. The true church stands firm even when the physical structures around her are crumbling. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:4a (ESV), “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.” We aren’t simply occupants of a building, we are the building, living stones joined to Christ Jesus, the Cornerstone.

Paul speaks the same way to the church at Ephesus when he says that we are “No longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph. 2:19–21 ESV). Our security in the church does not rest on brick and mortar, on balanced budgets, or impressive attendance. Our security rests on Christ, the Rock, against Whom the gates of hell cannot prevail.

This is comforting, because no earthly failure can destroy the church, because Christ Himself is building it. This is also a calling, because we are not passive stones. By Holy Baptism, God has made us living stones. Through Word and Sacraments, Jesus continues to shape us, strengthen us, and join us more firmly to one another, and most importantly, to Himself. The font, the altar, and the pulpit remain the places where the true church is continually built up—places where Christ still dwells with His people.

When steeples lean, paint cracks, and the things physical seem to fade, we do not lose heart as God’s people. The church is built on the rock, Jesus Christ. We are still called and Christ continues to gather the young and old, the weak and the strong, all into His lasting house.

Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, since You have revealed Your glory to all nations in Jesus Christ and in the Word of His truth, keep, we ask You, in safety the works of Your mercy so that Your church, spread throughout all the nations, may be defended against the adversary and may serve You in true faith and persevere in the confession of Your name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Built on the Rock the Church shall stand
Even when steeples are falling.
Crumbled have spires in ev’ry land;
Bells still are chiming and calling,
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the souls distressed,
Longing for rest everlasting.
“Built on the Rock” (LSB 645:1)

In Christ,

Rev. Samuel M. Powell
Third Vice President
Missouri District