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Called and Ordained, At Last!
by Rev. Chris Conner


Rev. Chris Conner graduated from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota in May 2002.  During his two-year internship at Redeemer Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN, the seminary contextual-education department received stellar reports from his supervisor.  Things changed after Conner refused to sign a letter drafted by his supervisor and other pastors in the St. Paul Area Synod, in support of Rev. Anita Hill's ordination.  The St. Paul Area Synod candidacy committee refused to certify Conner for ordination, and delayed the conferring of his professional degree from Luther Seminary.  Despite these complications, Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord called Rev. Conner and ordained him on December 15, 2002.  Praise be to God!

In December 2001, Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord (LCRL) in Odessa, TX, lost their pastor.  Without sending them any candidates, Bp Kannouse assigned a retired Presbyterian minister to be the interim without the consent of the congregation.  The man just showed up for work one day!  From January to mid-May the bishop did not answer their phone calls, e-mails, letters, or send them a single candidate to interview.  After waiting almost six months for assistance, they began to seek candidates outside the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Because of my difficulties in the ELCA, I decided to hang it up on the ministry and go to Cambodia with my wife to begin an orphanage.  Still burdened with the call to ministry, and afraid that I was not following God's will for my life, I prayed one night, "God, if it is your will for me to be a pastor, you have to make a way for me.  I can't do another thing.  I have sacrificed a lot. I tried to make a way myself, and I have failed.  You have to make a way."  The next day I began to receive phone calls from Churches.  I was still waiting for God to resolve my conflicts with the ELCA, Luther Seminary, the Saint Paul Area Synod (SPAS) and its candidacy committee.  People wanted my resume, but I did not send it to them.

Two weeks went by and nothing was resolved.  I decided that I had given God enough time, and that it was time to move on in our lives.  I made that decision in the morning, and by the afternoon I received a call from Norma Duff of Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord.  She asked me for my resume.  Believing that God was not going to do anything, I told her–the first time I told this to the folks who were calling–that I appreciated her call, but I am not eligible for ministry in the ELCA because I was not approved by the candidacy committee, and so I am not going on in the ministry.  Norma said, "that doesn't bother us one bit that you are not approved by them, they don't approve much of us either."  I realized then that God had already answered my prayer two weeks earlier.  The folks who were calling me had gotten my name from someone else, and I was too stiff necked and disobedient to receive His blessing.  Later I indeed found out that Lenae Rasmussen passed on my name to some congregations.  She had heard about me from Walter Sundberg.

Things moved pretty fast after the telephone call from Norma Duff.  On June 2, 2002, I interviewed at Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord in Odessa, TX.  On August 15th I moved to Odessa, and began ministering right away.  On September 1, 2002, I was officially put on the payroll.  Despite the monkey wrench put in the gears to keep me from receiving my Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree, the degree was eventually granted and I officially accepted the letter of call on October 7, 2002.  On December 15, 2002, I was ordained by LCRL.  I was called and ordained, at last!

Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord has many tremendous gifts.  This is the first congregation that I have seen in which more than half of the attending members also are committed members of Bible study classes.  The people here are wonderful, and the physical plant is beautiful and full of potential.  I pray everyday that God upholds me, and raises me to the task of this great responsibility so that I can meet the needs of this congregation according to my gifts.  I focus everyday on the seriousness of the task that God has called me to, depend on Him for my strength, and take joy in the marvelous fellowship and home I have found at LCRL.

Rev. Chris Conner is the pastor at Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord in Odessa, Texas.

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