[President] 

“That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend …”  (Ephesians 3:17-18). 

Pastor Gary Jorgenson, a good friend and the assistant to the president of the AFLC, recently led a study on Ephesians 3. In this chapter, the Apostle Paul prays to God for followers of Christ to be able to comprehend the incomprehensible and to call on the God who is able to do “immeasurably and abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think.” What moves believers to this miraculous state of existence, though, is “being rooted and grounded in love.”  

Everyone wants to be “rooted and grounded in love,” and everyone benefits from those around them being likewise grounded. But these words have meanings that affect reality. “Love” is an unconditional preferring of another, loving first God above all else, then loving all others above our selves. Both “rooted” and “grounded” describe foundational stability in agricultural and architectural terms, respectively. But this foundational stability doesn’t stand on its own two feet; there is no pulling up by one’s own bootstraps. As in the rest of Scripture, God teaches foundational stability through faith in Christ and trusting this work alone.  

Foundational stability doesn’t mean that we won’t be shaken, but that when shaken we will come out on the other side, even if scathed, still standing in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We endure shaking while saying, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” not out of fatalism or defeat, but because we trust the One who has proven Himself trustworthy through every shaking. This foundational stability comes as we get to know God through the means in which He has revealed Himself to us: the Bible, the Word of God.  

In these pages, you will read stories of students who are learning Christ in this way. Bible college students are being prepared for current and future leadership and congregational service. Seminarians are being prepared for pastoral servant leadership in the local congregation. Ministries inside and outside the AFLC will benefit from these souls so trained. Some of you know the benefits of this training first-hand; others see it in our graduates. However you have seen the fruit of this ministry, please know that a dedicated team works tirelessly on the root of this ministry. 

We are thankful for your support. Take a look at these pages and see what Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary is all about. Pray for the students and workers represented therein. And consider becoming a part of what God is doing in and through this campus, whether as a student or supporter. 

Pastor Wade Mobley [FLBCS President] 

This article first appeared in Kinship Magazine, Fall 2019 Edition.

Kinship is a magazine of the FLBCS. Stay up to date on the latest news, student stories, classroom highlights, and fun tidbits about life on the FLBC and FLS campus.

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