“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

 Greetings, Lutheran Women in Mission,

     What an honor and joy it is to address you for the first time as your Junior Pastoral Counselor! Not that I particularly enjoy talking about myself, but I thought that for this first article I would share with you a little bit about myself and how I have come to be in this place in my life.

     I am what some would refer to as, “a product of the system.” My father, Dennis Liebich, was a DCE in Toledo, Ohio, when I was born. Shortly after, my family moved to St. Louis where dad began training to become a pastor. It was a fun time for me, hard work for my dad, and even harder work for my mom, who taught school to support us and gave birth to my brother. I was four years old when he was born, and my parents asked me what I wanted to name him. I said, “Goliath,” to which they replied, “We like that story, but let’s go with ‘David’ instead.”

     Dad’s first call was to start a mission congregation in St. Charles, MO, where we stayed for the rest of my “growing up years.” I attended Lutheran Elementary School and then Lutheran High School in St. Charles. Upon graduation from I attended Concordia University in Seward, NE where I met Rebecca Buescher; we married the summer after graduation before beginning at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Becky worked hard to support us during the next four years, teaching and nannying. We now live in Colchester, CT, and I serve as pastor at Christ Lutheran in Hebron where I also vicared during Pastor Ralph Sackschewsky’s last year before retirement. Our son, Benjamin, just turned two.

     The question I’m asked most frequently, besides, “How old are you?—You look so young,” is, “When did you know you wanted to be a pastor?” Honestly, this is a hard question for me. I didn’t have a Damascus road experience like Paul. I can’t remember any particular life changing moment when I suddenly realized this is what the Lord wanted me to do. Instead, I had the constant encouragement of family and friends. I have not always known, nor would I be honest if I said I never questioned the decision after it was made. Yet, I thank and praise God for bringing me to this place in my life. Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and helping people as they struggle to live each day in faith toward God and love for one another is a wonderful calling.

     I close by directing you to the passage printed above from Joshua. My pastor (my dad!) chose this as my Confirmation verse. The Lord spoke these words to Joshua when he had some huge shoes to fill and some giant deeds to accomplish, but they have been a great source of comfort to me and I pray that they are to you as well. It brings me such relief to know that as I carry out the tasks of my calling, as I face hardships, challenges, victory, and defeat, God is there with me! I am never alone, even when I feel alone. And this is true both in life and in death. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, and we usually think of this in connection to Christ’s conception and birth. I also like to think of this as we enter Lent. He is with us in our sin, death, and condemnation, so that we can be with Him in His resurrection and eternal life. He is truly with us always, and we will always be with Him. So, be strong and courageous! I thank God for the opportunity we have to encourage one another to be strong and courageous Christians, men and women in mission.

The Lord be with you!

Peace in Christ,

Rev. Jonathan Liebich