Pastor Wade Mobley
President, Free Lutheran Schools

When I came to the Free Lutheran Schools five years ago I was in for the change of a lifetime. I wasn’t a pastor anymore. Michele wasn’t a pastor’s wife. That all was very shocking to us. First, it was all we had known, more or less, as a married couple. Second, it’s a LOT OF FUN being the pastor of a church. I don’t mean to romanticize being a pastor, but it’s a lot of fun, even through a lot of hard work and pain.

Pastor Bob Lee, our long-time history professor (and long-time AFLC President and Lutheran Ambassador editor) has been a mentor of mine for years. I spent more time than I’d like to admit in his office those first few years. He gave me a lot of good advice early on. One nugget that turned out to be especially helpful was “When you start to see graduates succeeding in their ministry, it will all seem worthwhile.”

Over the past month, I have seen our current students invest in camps and congregations on our summer ministry teams. I have seen graduates invest as pastors and lay people at our Annual Conference, at our national youth convention, and in congregational ministry. I see a lot of challenges ahead for the AFLC and our congregations, but I am encouraged every time I spend time with our students and recent graduates:

• A pastor who is serving in a completely different community than the one in which he grew up, but loves people all the same.
• A public-school teacher who ministers to her students in ways that (for the most part) keeps her out of trouble and still in the lives of students.
• A father who models Christ to his family and serves in the congregation even after working long hours on the job.
• A mother who teaches Bible study to neighborhood women and children.
• A counselor who brings the power of the cross to her clients.
• An attorney who stands up to political bullying of those on either side of the spectrum.
• A coach who teaches his students to work hard and serve others, making sure that his players understand why he works so hard to excel in his role.

This is just a start, and doesn’t even include the amazing people I get to work with every day. This keeps me going. Long after I am out of my current role, or long after I’m alive, students established in the eternal and inerrant Word of God will continue to proclaim the gospel to precious, eternal human souls wherever they live.