A Voice of One

LUTHER’S SOWING MACHINE

In a recent survey A&E - TV, tried to identify the people who most impacted our world in the last century. Scholars, politicians, and theologians came up with a list of one hundred. The list comprised a wide variety of people: Louis Armstrong #98, Nelson Mandela #81, Pablo Picasso #64, Franklin D. Roosevelt # 60, Marie Curie #53, Martin Luther King Jr. #33, Christopher Columbus #6, and Isaac Newton # 2. Among the rest of the one hundred, #3 and #1 surprised me the most.

The #3 was Martin Luther. As a Lutheran I would have chosen him as #2 at least, but the committee was probably not made up of many Lutherans. The #1 choice really did floor me. The #1 choice as the most influential person in the last 1000 years was Johann Gutenberg. This should not surprise us for he was considered to be the Bill Gates of the 16^th Century in the field of communications.

Lutherans of all people should be the greatest users of the printed word. The movable type printing press which Gutenberg invented literally became “LUTHERS’S SOWING MACHINE”!

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After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples were God’s instruments to share the Gospel with the world. Because their travels were limited, and they could not preach to the thousands scattered world-wide needing to hear the truths of God, they wrote the message. Four of them shared the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, one wrote the history of the early church (Acts of the Apostles) and others wrote letters to the far-flung groups hungry to hear.

The limitations of communication systems all changed through God’s bringing together Luther and the gift Gutenberg brought on the scene. The books that Luther wrote were not books as we think of them today, most were written on parchment sheets sewn together and sold at minimal cost in the market places. We would probably call them tracts today.

There were reformers before Luther, but many of them failed in their work and most died because of their ministry. Luther’s inexpensive tracts covered the world of his day and by God’s grace made the Reformation possible, scattering the Gospel Seed world-wide. “Luther’s Sowing Machine” was and is “GOD’S SOWING MACHINE”!

For years I searched for a simple tract that would present the way of salvation in a Lutheran way and in a very brief time, and have a way for the reader to respond and ask for more instruction or even a personal call. The “World Home Bible League” came up with an outreach using a postcard, offering a free basic Bible course. We used their idea but added a witness portion to a postcard to request more. So was born the “One Love Fits All” tract.

THIS IS THE BEST TRACT THERE IS FOR LUTHERANS TO SHARE THEIR FAITH IN CAPSALE FORM. THE ONL Y TRACT THA T CAN BE FOLLOWED UP BY THE READER FOR MORE INFORMATION AND BY THE GIVER TO GIVE HELP. — I CHALLENGE YOU SHOW ME A BETTER ONE!!

MY CHRISTIAN BASIC TRAINING BEGAN AT “1^st CENTRAL LlUTHERAN”IN MILAUKEE

by Pastor Erv Rasmussen

Both Mom and Dad came to this country from Europe, Mom from Latvia and Dad from Denmark (I’m a”DANLAT”). They met in the “FIRST WORLD WAR” and fell in love. Dad a naturalized American was in the army fighting Germans in Russia, Mom was working for the Russian Government as a translator (at that time both countries were on the same side). They were married in Denmark and came to America to live.

To make a long story short they made their home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and there they opened a neighborhood grocery store, “Martin’s Food Market”. Because of their Lutheran upbringing in Europe they had my sister Emily and me Baptized.

When it came time for me to start grade school, they had three choices within a few blocks of each other there were, a Public school, a Roman Catholic school and a Lutheran school. No cost was involved so they chose “First Central Lutheran”. This is where my Christian basic training began.

I spent nine years at this school, one year was spent fighting all the childhood diseases, the last of which was Scarlet Fever, which accounted for my early hair lose. I received not only the everyday basics of the secular world but also of the Christian Faith. What a blessing!

It was here that I learned that my parents were really just nominal Christians, attending church on Christmas, Easter, and maybe Thanksgiving. They were good people, but they were not walking with the Lord.

I began praying every night, “Lord take me before You take Mom and Dad because I know you and they don’t.” Thank You Lord for “First Central Lutheran”! In their later years He led them to active faith in Christ Jesus through me. *

The secular training was outstanding. Each class shared a room with the next grade up. In first grade half the teaching was for us, the second half for the second grade and so on through all eight grades. So we couldn’t help but listen to both instructions and learned twice!

This good secular learning helped me when I attended “Boy’s Technical High School” were I was elected to the National Honor Society. The skill of Christians getting along with those around them which I also learned in grade school, made possible the honor of being elected student Council President in my final year of this three thousand some all boys school.

From high school I joined the U.S. Air Force were I was sent to their school of “Radio Mechanics” and from this, to be an instructor at this school. Later I attended Concordia Seminary in Springfield, Illinois and Lewis University in Joliet, earning both a Bachelor of Arts and an Master of Divinity degree.

All of the above I credit to God’s leading me to attend “First Central Lutheran School” in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were I got my first Basic Training. THANK YOU LORD JESUS!

“For it is by grace you are saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2: 8-10

Jesus began preparing me very early in life. A good part of that advance preparation began at First Central in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I thank God for our churches’ involvement in providing our children early in life, as they seek in advance for what God has prepared for them to do!

Thank you Miss Growthman! Thank you Mr. Pingel! Thank You Mr. Kowert! Thank you Mr. Zerstadt!

* When my parents knew that I would soon be a pastor, they must have had a conversation something like this: “We better join the church he’s going to be a Lutheran Pastor.” — They took adult instruction and were confirmed in their latter years. God’s answer to my prayers for them was answered, “YES”!