Gustav Niebuhr was a minister of the Evangelical Synod of North America, one of the four denominations that created the union that became the United Church of Christ. He served congregations in Missouri and Illinois. I don’t know much of his story, except that there was a wave of immigration that brought Evangelical Christians from Germany to the St. Louis Area in the second half of the 19th Century and these people of faith stressed education for their children and formed some important educational institutions. Gustav apparently stressed education for his children and encouraged them to attend church-related institutions. Two sons, born two years apart both graduated from Elmhurst College in Illinois and Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves, Missouri. There was a joke among United Church of Christ clergy when I was a young pastor that spoke of “the three E’s: Elmhurst, Eden and Eternity.” Ministers who had followed the educational path through Elmhurst College and Eden Theological Seminary were well-respected as highly educated and well qualified members of the profession.

Gustaf’s two sons, Karl Paul Reinhold Neibuhr, who went as Reinhold during his adult life, and Helmut Richard, who was known as H. Richard, both became respected theologians, teachers and ethicists. Reinhold served for more than 30 years as a professor at Union Theological Seminary and H. Richard taught for several decades at Yale Divinity School. Reinhold Neibuhr is perhaps best known as the creator of the Serenity Prayer, originally offered in 1932, but revised by Neibuhr and published in many different forms. The prayer spread widely and quickly with attribution and was adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs.

Both men became important public theologians of the 20th century in a time before the term evangelical became associated with fundamentalism. They engaged with politics from the perspective of highly-educated thinkers whose faith informed all aspects of their lives. Living through the violence of two world wars inspired both to think about the theology of war and peace, mercy and justice.

Reinhold Neibuhr once wrote, “Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument.” I have pondered that seemingly simple quotation as I have worked with the congregation I am now serving as an interim minister of faith formation. First Congregational United Church of Christ of Bellingham is a wonderfully engaged and socially active congregation. Its mission and justice board is engaged with many different coalitions and collaborations promoting justice and seeking solutions to important social problems including homelessness, poverty, and other issues. It is a congregation with many hard workers who are passionate about their causes. It is an exciting place to serve and witness the power of faith in action in the service of the community.

One of the challenges of serving in this congregation, however, is that of reminding the congregation of the theological foundations of social action. While I admire the dedication of the passionate workers for justice, I am aware of our need to be as passionate about the biblical and theological basis for our action in the world. A church is more than a community of people who work for causes together. It is a community of followers of Jesus who are motivated by faith. At FCCB, we are passionate about what we do, but sometimes all of our action seems a bit disconnected from the motivation. We understand the instrument of justice, but sometimes are less clear about he motive of love.

As I seek to work with the congregation to provide experiences and opportunities to connect faith practices of prayer, hospitality, and faithful study with the call to direct social action, I continue to grow in respect for the theologians and teachers like the Niebuhrs who challenged conventional thinking with great academic integrity and prayerful study. The concepts and ideas with which they wrestled nearly a century ago have been developed through careful and thorough academic work. They were teachers and there is much we can continue to learn from them.

The term “Christian Education” has fallen out of common use in many parts of the church. FCCB isn’t the only place in the church where the words “Faith Formation” have practically replaced the language of education, school, teaching and learning. While I understand some of the reasons for the shift in our language, I find value in reclaiming some of the traditional language.

In the United Church of Christ, ordination is ordination to a teaching ministry. When we are ordained, we promise to “teach and preach the Gospel.” One of the critical factors in my growth into the ministry is the long line of ordained ministers who were also college and seminary professors. They were ordained ministers who, like the Neibuhr brothers, took the call to teaching seriously.

Throughout my career, I have had a strong identification with the teaching ministry. Although I did not serve as a professor in an educational institution, I considered teaching to be central to my role as a pastor. I was and remain active in the Association of United Church Educators and I have held high respect and deep regard for Commissioned Ministers of Education. They have been trusted colleagues for decades. Times, however, change the language and titles that we use. In the United Church of Christ, commissioned and licensed ministers are being phased out in an attempt to create a single category of ministry. It sometimes feels, however, as if what is being eliminated is the respect for teaching as a legitimate calling. Ministers must be administrators of sacraments. Those who function as gate keepers seem eager to control who can officiate at a communion table or baptistry, but often are less aware of the great power and impact of those who teach.

It is a fortunate turn of events that has brought me to this place in my career. I am relishing my role as a minister of faith formation. I’ve stepped back from the role as an officiant at worship and ceremony and taken up the mantle of a teacher. As such, I have the opportunity to remind others of teachers who have gone before. More importantly, I can work with those passionate about justice so that they remember the motivation that is the foundation of their action. Love never dies is a truth that still deserves the best of our thought and teaching.