| Rev. Foss is senior
pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, a growing Christian community
of over 9,000 disciples in Burnsville, Minnesota. A gifted teacher,
preacher, trainer and author, he also brings to Prince of Peace a
passion for the church at large. His extraordinary leadership has
brought renewed vision, significant restructuring and a new empowerment
of staff and lay ministers.
In his book, Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship
for a Changing Church, published in 2000 by Fortress Press, Rev.
Foss addresses the difficulties faced by mainline Protestant churches in
the United States. He submits that one of the reasons the American
Protestant church is losing members is that it has failed to keep up
with our changing society. Rev. Foss believes that the Christian faith
is still as relevant as ever but suggests that the church needs to
change from a membership model of affiliation to a discipleship model.
Rev. Foss contends that many traditional membership
model churches have turned inward, becoming primarily concerned with
serving their members rather than serving the church's mission, which he
defines as "participation in God's love in Jesus Christ for the
world." Rev. Foss believes that people in our modern society are
looking for a church that is more applicable in their everyday lives,
one that is committed to helping people bring the power of the Christian
faith into the real world in which they spend the majority of their
time.
The discipleship model church Rev. Foss proposes is
structured to turn outward rather than inward. Its mission is primarily
concerned with bringing the message of the love and grace of Jesus
Christ into the world. It does this by training and empowering those who
worship in the church to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, to grow in
their own faith and to encourage the same in others.
Rev. Foss was born and raised in Richland, Washington.
He received a bachelor of arts in religion from Pacific Lutheran
University in 1970, a master of divinity from Wartburg Theological
Seminary in 1974 and a master of arts in theology and spirituality from
Mount Angel Seminary in 1986. In 1999, Wartburg Theological Seminary
awarded Rev. Foss an honorary doctor of divinity degree.
Rev. Foss has served on numerous local, regional and
national boards, including the Metro YMCA, Pacific Lutheran University,
Mid-Willamette Valley Hospice, Fairview Ridges Hospital and the ELCA's
Division for Congregational Life, and has chaired the ELCA Senior
Pastors Conference. Because of his gifts for leadership, vision and
organization, he is in demand as a preacher, lecturer, mentor and
consultant to synods, para-church organizations and other denominations
Rev. Foss previously served congregations in Washington
and Oregon. He started his ministry at Prince of Peace in March 1993. He
and his wife, Christine, have two married daughters and one
granddaughter. For more information on Rev. Foss, visit
www.princeofpeaceonline.org.
For more information about the NT-NL Synod Assembly,
visit www.ntnl.org/Assembly/ or call the NT-NL Synod Assembly publicity
chair, Sharon Chapman, at (214) 357-8547 or e-mail sharonchapman@earthlink.net.
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PrinceOfPeaceOnline.org
Power Surge
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