In the Field

Confessing Faithfully the Christian Faith

Featuring the Rev. Peter K. Lange,
Pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Topeka, Kan.

by Monica Robins

S"As the body of Christ has many parts, and each one does its part, we at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Topeka, Kan., are blessed to have both a very gifted gathering of God's people, and a very gifted and supportive ministerial staff to shepherd the flock of God in this place," says the Rev. Peter K. Lange. "When I was called to St. John's during my ninth year in the Holy Ministry, I joined an associate pastor who has now been in the ministry for 34 years and at St. John's for 22 of those years. I also joined two Directors of Christian Education, one of whom remains and whose entire 31 years have been spent at St. John's. Since that time our congregation has also entered the vicarage program through which we have been blessed with even more very talented laborers for the vineyard. And now we are calling an associate pastor from the seminary."

After attending four Lutheran elementary schools and a Lutheran high school, Pastor Lange graduated from Concordia College, River Forest, Ill., in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He went on to study at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1988. Ten years later, he earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree from that institution.

Pastor Lange's first call was as Associate Pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Concordia, Mo., where he served from August of 1990 to July of 1999, at which time he received and accepted a call to St. John's Lutheran Church in Topeka.

"The Lord gathers approximately 520 people around His means of grace in two services at St. John's every Sunday morning," comments Pastor Lange. "For the past couple of summers, several dozen more have joined in a weekday evening Divine Service, which will quite possibly be offered year-round starting this summer. A Service of Midday Prayer is also offered every Wednesday at noon." St. John's uses only the historic liturgy of the Lutheran Church as contained in the three current hymnals of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod: The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, and Hymnal Supplement 98.

St. John's has a full array of Sunday morning Sunday School and Bible classes for all ages, including some taught by the pastor(s), Director of Christian Education, and vicar. The church is one of three association churches that support Topeka Lutheran School where many of St. John's children attend. They have Monday night youth catechesis for the 7th and 8th graders, which is taught by the pastor(s), Director of Christian Education, and vicar. The pastor and vicar teach two different sessions of adult catechesis per year, each consisting of about 20 weeks. The Director of Christian Education and vicar teach three different weekday sessions of the Life Light Bible study. In addition, the church boards begin each meeting with a service of Evening Prayer and a brief study of the Lutheran Confessions.

"One of the biggest challenges that I have faced so far in my ministry is the Church Growth Movement. Even where there isn't great pressure to implement the practices of this movement, its influence is still felt by the association of our members with other congregations around the country. In my experience, the most effective approach to meet this challenge has been in-depth and ongoing catechesis in the doctrine and worship of the Church," states Pastor Lange.

"One of the greatest joys is seeing that look in a person's eye when the Gospel penetrates their heart and soul and changes their whole perspective on life," continues Pastor Lange. "Hearing a person's heartfelt gratitude for a hospital visit, a home communion, a phone call, or at the end of a catechesis class is also incredibly rewarding." Other joys that Pastor Lange cites include communing adult confirmands for the first time, baptizing an adult (and especially a whole household), preaching a sermon that obviously connects in a powerful way with the hearers, spending daily time in the reading of psalms and Scripture, then praying through the church roster and various petitions for self, family, church, and world.

When asked about the Lutheran school, Pastor Lange explained, "Around 1950--as our congregation began to establish daughter congregations in the Topeka community--we deeded some property and spearheaded the establishment of the Topeka Lutheran School Association. Prior to that, St. John's had owned and operated its own parochial school since its beginning in 1874." Discussions are currently underway among the Association congregations and within the Lutheran community in Topeka to see if Lutheran parochial education in multiple sites might be a more effective model for the future. As a part of this discussion, St. John's is studying Classical Lutheran Education as a potential model for the education of its children.

As most people realize, pastors face personal struggles in their ministries. "One area that causes frustration for me is the constant temptation toward personal stagnation in my life of daily prayer and theological study," laments Pastor Lange. "Here, the best remedy for me has been the mutual conversation and consolation of fellow clergymen, coupled with the spiritual direction of a trusted confessor in order to stimulate a regular renewal of daily prayer, and of daily theological reading (even if in small doses)."

The balance of family and ministry is another challenge that pastors face. "Beginning at my ordination I made it a very high priority to take an entire day off every week," states Pastor Lange. "The best solution for striking the appropriate balance between family and ministry seems to change as the years go by. Meetings and evening commitments have been another challenge that have taken me away from the children's bedtime routine more often than I would like. To offset our more demanding evening schedule, we have made it a high priority to have a sit-down family breakfast together each day. We do the same, as much as possible, with the evening meal. Making good use of the early morning hours for quiet study and devotion time has also helped to free up more hours when the family can be together," he continues. "At various times we have tried weekly 'family nights,' 'family meetings,' etc. The key for us has probably been simply to make it a priority to balance family and ministry, and then to reexamine regularly how best to accomplish this."

When asked what he would say to a man considering the Holy Ministry, Pastor Lange had this to say: "Thanks be to God that He has moved you to prepare yourself for this indispensable office in Christ's Holy Church! At each step along the way--but especially now before you start--examine your heart to make sure that your motivation is to serve Christ and His Church, and not yourself. In this vocation you will experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. If you are not willing to suffer with Christ, don't do it! 'A servant is not above his master.' But remember that your authority, as well as your strength, comes from Christ. And remember that you will be serving His Church, 'and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'"

Finally, to summarize the big picture, St. John's strives to be an evangelical Lutheran congregation that confesses faithfully the Christian faith in an ever-changing and challenging cultural context while reaching out to the community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the forms of excellent preaching, thorough catechesis, liturgical worship, and sublime church music. Specifically, we are focusing on Lutheran education of the highest quality, and the liturgical involvement of children in the worship of the Church (beautifully done), which we believe will be an inviting feast of rich food for all peoples.

Pastor Lange is married to Marcia (nee Boening), and they have four children: Stephanie, 14; Rebecca, 13; Kristin, 11; and Elizabeth, 5.