Life Together

Rev. John Barton "Bart" Day joined the Synod staff July 1 as executive director of the Office of National Mission.

Since 1997, Day has been associate pastor of Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston, and has served since 2005 as headmaster of Memorial Lutheran School. 

Day's new position at the LCMS International Center was formed in response to adoption of resolutions calling  for restructuring the national Synod by reducing its seven program boards and some staffed commissions to two elected policy boards: one for national mission work and one for international mission work. 

Ministry areas in the new Office of National Mission will include Lutheran schools (through the high-school level), youth, stewardship, worship, Recognized Service Organizations, "The 72 -- Partners on the Road," Black ministry, Hispanic ministry and other ethnic ministries, and other ministries for equipping congregational outreach and renewal. 

Day's service to the church also includes leading or participating in numerous mission trips to countries such as the United Kingdom, Mexico, Nicaragua and Kenya.  He is a member of the board of directors of The Friends of Westfield House, which supports the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England's seminary that is located in Cambridge, England. Also, Day -- an accomplished vocalist -- is a frequent presenter and instructor at worship conferences. 

Day holds a bachelor's degree from Concordia College (now Concordia University Nebraska), Seward, Neb., (1992), and a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (1997).  He is pursuing additional advanced degrees from Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind., and Concordia University Nebraska.

A native of Carlyle, Ill., Bart and his wife, Julie, are blessed with five children.

 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Psalm 133:1

Life Together begins in Christ. There is no life apart from the one “through whom all things were made.” The life of Christ is the life of the world, our life together. The miracle of the incarnation is that our Lord descended to take up our life. He wears our fallen human flesh, that He might bear our sin and be our Savior. In His bloody enthronement at Calvary He draws all creation to Himself. Here is our salvation. Here is our life together.

In the Divine Service our Lord lovingly invites us to Eucharistic eating and drinking. With His body and blood we proclaim His death and receive His life. The crucified One gives us the gift of forgiveness and the seal of immortality. As He is so we shall be.  The post-communion collect roots our life in Christ and our life together in that same.

“We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another.”

The living Christ creates “fervent love toward one another.” The work of the Church in witness, mercy, and life together flows from and to the cross. What joy and freedom we have in serving our Lord and His holy bride, the Church. We are no longer burdened by the law’s requirements. The Gospel, Christ in us, compels us to share His Word to the ends of the earth, to share the mercy and love of Christ with those in need, and to share in the corporate life of the Church. Life together is the best living. Selfish ambition and pride disappear as we pray for and support the body of Christ. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.

In his little book, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community, Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers several helpful insights into our life together. For Bonhoeffer, our life together is a concrete reality. God is not a God of the emotions but a God of truth. That truth is revealed in the divine revelation of the Word and the Word made flesh. The justified sinner lives in the community of sanctification, a gift from God that no man can claim. Life together is a gift.

Of course, the body and all its members suffer under the delusions and false advertising of the world, the devil, and our own sinful nature. The promise of power, prestige, and possessions always comes at the expense of hurting those we love the most. Our life together becomes a life of isolation. The body and community suffer. The powerful in the community weed out the undesirables. As Bonhoeffer notes: “The exclusion of the weak and insignificant, the seemingly useless people, from a Christian community may actually mean the exclusion of Christ; in the poor brother Christ is knocking at the door.”  Our life together includes all for whom our Lord died: the world. The body of Christ cares and comforts in word and deed.