Understanding Disaster Response: Chris Singer's Perspective on Lutheran Church Charities

Keith Haney: 00:00:58

My guest today, Chris Singer, is President and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities. He has dedicated over 25 years to senior pastoral leadership roles within the Lutheran Church Missouri Senate.

He and his wife, Jeanette, have five adult children who live and study in Texas and California, along with a chocolate Labrador named Harvey. We welcome Chris to the podcast. Well, Chris, welcome to the podcast, my friend. How you doing today?

Chris Singer: 00:01:26

I'm doing great. It's actually, we got some sunshine here in Chicago, so that's better than what we've been having. I'll take it.

Keith Haney: 00:01:33

Yeah, there's some sunshine here in Iowa, too. You probably stole ours and we sent you a little bit of our sunshine.

Chris Singer: 00:01:39

Hey, we need to share with one another and our burdens and in our joys. So I think it's only apropos.

Keith Haney: 00:01:44

We'll send you the coal, too. So make sure that you guys enjoy some more of that.

Chris Singer: 00:01:48

Okay? That's fair.

Keith Haney: 00:01:51

So I love to ask my guest this question, Chris, what's the best piece of advice you ever received?

Chris Singer: 00:01:59

Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I had a chance encounter. My father and my grandfather were in the Christian bookstore business for many, many years.

And I had an opportunity to meet Corrie Ten Boom. And in that meeting, I was just a child, a young probably. I was probably in junior high, I guess. And, you know, Corrie 10 boom.

I still remember she put her hand on my shoulder and she said this very thing to me, which she's also quoted in saying in another book. She said these words to me. She said, there's nothing, Christopher, that you can do that will make God love you more.

And there's nothing that you can do that will cause God to love you less than he already has in Jesus. And with that, she just came and gave me a little squeeze and went back on to some more people.

And that concept and that kind of thought has rung with me and stuck with me ever since she said it to me. Just really kind of marveling at how amazing it is to be in God's grace.

Keith Haney: 00:02:58

It's funny, I got a chance to hear her speak last year at the Global Leadership Summit, and it was a phenomenal talk. And she doesn't do as much, I think, as she used to do, but it was just because he's struggling a little bit with health issues.

But it was such a powerful, powerful testimony hearing her story.

Chris Singer: 00:03:16

Yeah, definitely.

Keith Haney: 00:03:18

I'm also curious, Chris.

You know, we get to our age in life and there are always people we look back on and go, you know, that person or those people Came along in my life at sometimes just the right moment, and they really were either a mentor or inspiration. Who are some people that you go maybe want to kind of give a shout out to that were inspirational for you or mentors for you on your journey?

Chris Singer: 00:03:40

Yeah, definitely. I've been super blessed. When I think about that, I realize how blessed I have been. And first I would start with my mom and my dad.

They're both with the Lord now, but I was blessed with two incredible parents and, you know, both taught me so much, so many different lessons. My dad had so much Bible knowledge that he passed on to me, and my mom had just kind of this zeal and this passion for.

For serving others and helping others to know Jesus.

And they definitely, throughout my life and even today at my age, I can look back and see how many times I have really been blessed and benefited from those lessons that they've taught me. Another individual that comes to mind is, you know, you get to that place then where mom and dad are kind of. You're.

You're kind of like leaving the nest, as they say, and you're starting to look for some other voices in your life. And one of those voices that came at a critical time for me was Mr.

Tony Harmon, and he was our youth leader and my seventh grade teacher at University Hills Lutheran Church and School in Denver. Another individual during my high school career was Mrs. Betty Janke.

She was our choir director at Denver Lutheran High School graduate from Concordia, Nebraska. But she really gave me just such a passion for serving the Lord with music, and she just loved us so much. What a dear lady.

She's also with the Lord now and then, of course, Tim Klinkenberg. Professionally, he's not only a friend, but he's also a colleague in ministry and became my vicarage supervisor while I was at St.

John's and then I would definitely say the last kind of group I would put in there would be my wise Guys group. That's kind of how I refer to them.

And there's a bunch of different individuals who I can call at any time, and they will really speak life and wisdom and, you know, accountability into my life. And so those folks are the folks that come to mind that I thank God for.

Keith Haney: 00:05:41

I actually know Tim Klingen, where we went to seminary together. He was about a year ahead of me. We played basketball, actually. I played basketball. Tim played football.

Chris Singer: 00:05:52

That's very true. Very true.

Keith Haney: 00:05:55

So, yeah, he's a. He's a wonderful, wonderful believer and. And pastor. Great servant for the kingdom. Yeah, I'm curious.

Tell us about your pastoral journey, places you've served, and what led you from pastoral ministry to president and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities.

Chris Singer: 00:06:15

Sure. Well, I. When I was in college, I kind of believe that it was during that time that I got my personal call into ministry.

I was actually headed to become a teacher. I have a life, kind of a whole history with teachers, Lutheran teachers, especially in my family. And so that's kind of where I was headed.

The real truth is, is that I wanted to coach basketball. I was coaching already and I really wanted to coach basketball. That's what I wanted. I had a passion for it, wanted to do it.

I thought, well, how can I make a living and coach basketball? And I thought, well, I guess I'm going to need to teach. And so I thought, well, then what am I going to teach?

And math was definitely out because I would ruin the next generation of kids if I taught math. I certainly didn't want to parse sentences, so I wasn't doing English. But the one thing I loved was history.

So I went for my history major and was going to teach. And then in the middle of my junior year, I had a gal who shared something. She was like an older sister to me, and she shared something with me.

She says, you know, Chris, she says, you have a way of getting excited about something and helping other people to feel that excitement and get excited along with you.

And the Lord kind of took that little phrase that she just told me in a completely unrelated matter and brought it to mind one day when I was sitting at church and I thought about it and I thought, wait a minute, God, you're telling me that this thing you've given me that apparently is being noticed, I could use that to help people get passionate and excited about you. I'm in. I'd love to do that.

And so, to my dad's shock, I got up at the end of the service and I looked at him, I said, dad, I'm going to school for four more years. I'm going to seminary. And he just kind of looked, he said, well, let's just see how God leads you. And from there I began to pursue music.

First, kind of a little bit of a curious route, but I ended up saying, I'm going to pursue music.

And so got into music and went back to the west coast and was leading at a large non denominational church there when I got a call from a friend who said, I need you to come sing at a wedding at St. John's Lutheran Church in Orange. I said, okay. I'll do it. And while I was there, I ran into my godfather, Dr.

Bill Heidi, who was the minister of music there. And he said, hey, we're looking for somebody to help us with our contemporary worship. Our folks just took a call up to Seattle.

Would you be willing to serve? And I said, yeah. I said, do I have to quit my day job? He said, nope.

And so I did that part time on the side on weekends, and I would do my sales job during the week, and then I would land and lead worship at St. John's and while I was there, I had pretty much kind of just dismissed the thought of ever going back into pastoral ministry role.

This is what I was doing.

But Pastor Tim Plinkerberg took the call as senior pastor, and people began to kind of notice some of my segues in between songs were things that they wanted to hear, and they kind of brought that to life again that, you know, we'd really like to hear more from you, especially as you share with us Jesus. So I got into the multicultural pastor certification program at Concordia University, Irvine, and I went through that program While serving at St.

John's graduated that program, and was duly installed and ordained at St John's as the contemporary worship pastor and evangelism pastor there. I served in that role for several years, and then I moved to executive pastor.

And I served as executive pastor for five to six years before getting a call to. To serve as senior pastor at Trinity Klein in Texas. And so I did that call for about nine years.

And after that, it came time that the Lord was ready to move me, and I received a call from Lutheran Church Charities, and so I accepted that call and stepped into this role, and here I am.

Keith Haney: 00:10:04

So I often wonder about people who work with Lutheran Church Charities, like, what disaster moved you to connect with Lutheran Church Charities?

Because usually there's always some disaster around or some crisis that Lutheran Church Charities responds to that they run across you being an advocate for peace and hope and healing in the community. So what was that thing in your life that ran you into the crossways of Lutheran Church Charities?

Chris Singer: 00:10:33

Keith? For me, it was. It's really kind of a curious question because when I got into this role, it wasn't a role that I ever really saw myself doing.

In fact, the board, when they were interviewing me, it was one of their, you know, constant questions, wow, this is really going to be different for you. It's not a parish ministry role, like, how are you going to handle that? And kind of really began to kind of think through that.

But I Realized as I went back, I realized how many experiences really led me to be prepared for this role. Not only did I go through a natural disaster during Hurricane Harvey while I was in Texas, we had 51 inches of water in our house.

I also led 10 months of a mission trip kind of effort down to Katrina and was very involved there. I also served as a sworn chaplain for the Tustin Police Department for three and a half years.

And then I had extensive amounts of time with pastoral counseling with couples and other individuals who were really struggling with all kinds of different tragedies and trauma in their life. And so really, as I got kind of through all of that and looked at Lutheran Church Sheris, in fact, it was my wife who pointed it out when.

When Lutheran Church Charities gave me the call, she said, now, where is this again? And I said, well, it's in Chicago. And of course, being from the west coast, she said, you know, that's the wrong direction, right?

I said, yeah, I know. I said, that's, you know, that's why I'll probably just be courteous and then I'll bow out. And she says, well, let me see the job description.

And she starts reading the job description and said to me, she says, chris, I'm just curious. She said, do you think they had your picture sitting on the desk when they wrote this? And I grabbed that back. I said, let me see that.

And I started looking it over. And as so often I've said in my marriage, I said, you're right, wise.

Keith Haney: 00:12:14

Man, by the way, to say, you're right when your wife says good marriage.

Chris Singer: 00:12:18

Advice right there, just practice those two words. You're right.

Keith Haney: 00:12:21

You're right. Exactly. You know, I don't. A lot of people know what Lutheran Church Charities mission is and what they do.

Chris Singer: 00:12:26

They.

Keith Haney: 00:12:27

They're known for different parts of what they do. They're known for being there for trauma. They're known for their comfort dog.

But could you kind of give us a summary of what exactly is the mission of Lutheran Church Charities?

Chris Singer: 00:12:39

Yeah.

So the stated mission is to bring the mercy, the compassion, the presence, and the proclamation of Jesus to those who are suffering and those who are in need. And we do that through four primary ministries. We do that through our disaster response. We do that through our hearts of mercy and compassion.

We do that through our canine comfort dog ministry. And we also do that through human care. We're also involved in international ministry.

So we're in about seven different countries doing international mission work and human aid work work. We're also very involved with the discipleship ministry.

And so we have an online teaching component and daily devotions that come into folks emails box so that they can walk with Jesus every single day. So ultimately, when, you know, we think about the impact that we're having.

Just last year in our canine comfort dog ministry, we did over 19,000 visits into communities with 130 teams in 28 states.

When it comes to disaster response, we were there in about 289 different kinds of trainings and 198 to about 200 different home events where we actually were cutting up trees and moving them to the curb and helping people who were going through disasters as well as some fire response.

And then in our hearts of mercy and compassion, last year we delivered nearly 3,000 hearts to people who've experienced trauma and tragedy, as well as for those who have been recognized with great service, whether that's in fire or police or military or even church workers. We've gotten an opportunity to do that ministry through our hearts of mercy. And then our human care continues to match resource to need.

And we helped over 500 families last year in some very critical conditions, meeting them with some of the basics that they really needed and were not able to attain.

And so by matching resources and partnerships, we were able to provide, as well as the generosity of our donors, provide for those individuals things that they needed.

And perhaps probably the newest part of that is then spiritual first aid, which all ministries are kind of being trained in and developed in so that they can do effective ministry to those who are suffering and in need.

Keith Haney: 00:14:58

So we had a really, this last year has been really interesting in Iowa. We've had unusual numbers of disasters that have hit us in a short period of time. We had hurricanes in Menden.

We had hurricane in Green, the place John Wayne's home, winter set. Oh yeah, we had huge flooding in Spencer and Cherokee and a couple other places.

When you working with disasters relief, what are some of the key things that probably most people who don't do that regularly need to be aware of? When you're working with people dealing with.

Chris Singer: 00:15:39

Disasters, you know, there's so many different things that, you know, you really encounter when you go through that.

It's when I was helping in Katrina, I learned a lot about helping people who had gone through flooding, had lost stuff because of, you know, little mini tornadoes that spun off that hurricane. And you really do learn a lot about how to approach different things from just a physicality standpoint and safety standpoint.

You learn a lot of different things there.

But I would say that probably my biggest takeaway when you're not dealing with this on a regular basis is, and I experienced this firsthand, you tend to walk onto some of these situations with some of these homeowners. And it's interesting because what you see as a volunteer ready to serve is you just see a disaster. You just see, like a mess.

You just see things that need to be disposed of and thrown away and cleared out so that this can get cleaned up.

But the thing that we always told our teams, and we continue still today to remind them, is that you got to recognize that for the person who's standing there, who it is, their home, this looks very different to them. It looks more tragic, it looks more devastating. And yet they. This doesn't look like trash to them.

It doesn't look like stuff that needs to be thrown away. This is their stuff. These are things that they cherished.

And so really, I think going into any disaster, it's kind of coming alongside folks who have gone through it and trying to step into their positions so that you can have the sensitivity required and that you can have the care and absolutely the Christian love that is needed for folks who've gone through difficulties like that.

Keith Haney: 00:17:24

I also. My experience with Lutheran Church charities also has been the comfort dog ministry.

I noticed that you get in sometimes in places because of the comfort dogs that most people don't have access to. How do you use that entrance into those difficult situations? Sometimes it's school shootings, sometimes it's another crisis in the community.

How do you use the dog as a vehicle to present grace to that situation?

Chris Singer: 00:17:53

Yeah, I, you know, the dogs are such powerful bridges to the ministry that we carry out with our handlers. And that's something I think that needs to be recognized. When we typically walk into a place, you know, people always see the dogs.

But I try to make it a practice that when I see some of our teams coming up, the very first person I'm looking at is the handler. I'm looking in their eyes, and then I'm acknowledging the dog.

But for most of us, right, human to human contact is something that can be somewhat intimidating.

And so people walk in a dog, it just kind of opens up conversation and opens up kind of a common space for us to kind of sit and begin to talk without some of that awkwardness. And so I think that's way the way this begins to open up. And then, of course, our comfort dogs go through 2,000 hours worth of training.

And so they are trained to provide literally the comfort and the calming that People need. And I've watched this happen firsthand as people come up and they begin to pet the dog.

And sometimes people have come up in really good moods and really, really happy and acting as though nothing's wrong.

And then just in a few moments, as they kind of quiet down, maybe some of that hurt starts to bubble up, and they get an opportunity to share it, to kind of grieve through it. And our handlers are there to administer that care.

And I think what happens for us is that when that kind of event happens and people experience that, they experience that care and the comfort, that's where the doors open. The doors open for us because they want other people to be able to experience that.

So it's not uncommon for us to arrive onto a scene and an incident where we may arrive there into that location with nothing on our calendar. And within 24 hours, we've got every single day that we're scheduled to be there.

Every single day is full because people just say, you've got to experience this. This was so helpful to me.

Keith Haney: 00:19:48

I always joke that because you guys got the comfort dog ministry cornered, I was going to start a comfort cat mission for those people who aren't dog people.

Chris Singer: 00:19:59

That's awesome. We could have cat dog ministry. Right.

Keith Haney: 00:20:01

There you go. Cats and dogs living together.

Chris Singer: 00:20:04

I'd love to. I'd love to see that training. I'd love to watch that. That would just be fun in and of itself and entertaining.

Keith Haney: 00:20:10

It would be.

So I'm curious, Chris, as you think about the things that we're dealing with, some major challenges that you have encountered making that shift from Paris ministry to recognize service, organization. What are some things that you experienced that you maybe weren't ready for, that you've had to overcome in this new role?

Chris Singer: 00:20:33

Hmm. You know, I think the challenge for us, no matter what the setting is, is. Is sin. Right? That's the challenge.

And sin, whether it's my own or other people's sin, it causes complications.

And so having to deal with some of those issues that come up and, you know, sometimes we think about sin is like, oh, the worst behavior kind of thing. And I'm not even thinking of that. I'm thinking of just the way sometimes we treat one another, sometimes the way that we think about one another.

And one of the things that has been kind of really helpful for me in is to come into kind of this arena and be able to face problems from a different perspective. A lot of times, I feel like leaders have a tendency to face problems with an attitude like We've got to find who's at fault.

And there's so much energy spent on trying to blame an issue upon something or someone. But a lesson I learned while I was in Houston was really fascinating.

I got an opportunity to hear one of the Apollo 13 astronauts interviewed and they were interviewing this astronaut and they were saying, hey, you know, like the movie that had to be really intense when you guys were like cramped into that lem and you were just stuck in there and you didn't know what you were going to do. And so did that happen? Did you guys go at each other's throats, kind of like what happened in the movie? And I'll never forget his answer. He said no.

He said that was Hollywood. He said, as astronauts, we're trained not to waste one moment of energy on blame. It accomplishes nothing. We are focused on solution.

Keith I just wonder, I just wonder what would happen for us as the church.

I just wonder what would happen for us as RSOs if all of us really leaned into I wonder what would happen for us as a country if we would take on kind of a similar mindset and realize that there is so much wasted energy on blame and begin to focus in on saying, how can we put our energy into working together towards things that benefit, working together towards solutions to is situations that we're facing. I just wonder how much more we could accomplish.

Keith Haney: 00:22:52

I know as a recognized service organization in Lutheran Missouri Senate that you work, you have certain parameters you're working within, but in the work you're doing with disaster and different communities, I'm sure you cross lines with other denominations, other believers. How do you. I know for people who are LCMs, the question is how can you work with so and so groups? How do you balance that?

There are people out there who are doing good work in areas of social mission, necessarily their, their beliefs, but in the social realm that we need to partner with because it helps the overall work of the community. And how do you balance that with our theological understanding of what they believe, teach and confess?

Chris Singer: 00:23:38

One of the things I've always really appreciated about our theology is that it actually opens the door to make sure that we have that distinction, have that understanding. And one of the phrases we typically use in the RSO world is right, cooperation in the non essentials.

So we're not worshiping together and we're not kind of aligning with, you know, worship practices or communion practices or those kinds of things. But when it comes to the good for common people and for the common good, there's so many things that we can do.

And Luther really expressed this in his expression of the vocation and how, you know, all of us can work together to really achieve common good.

And I think for us, one of the stories that I learned this was before my time, but I think it really captures actually the heart of Jesus, is when I was onboarding with lcc, I learned the story and was reading through the notes of our response to the shooting that happened at the Pulse nightclub. And that's an LGBTQ community. And in the notes, what I discovered was that there were two things that LCC heard from the church.

One of them was, why are you going to those people? The second thing we heard from the church was, thank you for going. My church didn't even pray for that situation.

When we got down to Pulse nightclub, LCC got there, and from the LGBTQ community, we heard two things. What are you doing here? Was the first thing we heard. And the second thing we heard is, wow, you came as I think about that.

That dilemma of having so many different beliefs and so much division. I just listened to that response, and I just think, you know, that's actually where Jesus sat. That's where Jesus was. I mean, he had.

He certainly had Pilate asking him questions from a governmental standpoint, like, who do you think you are? Don't you understand that I'm the one with power?

He had the Pharisees, the religious leaders, saying, who do you think you are, that you're going to try to do healings? You had, you know, those who really were absolutely saying, we believe you're the Messiah.

And Jesus just stayed true to his calling, to his mission, to who he was as the Son of God, to stand in that place and to serve all people. And Jesus, of course, being Jesus, he knew how to adequately administer what needed to be administered in each situation.

I certainly am not going to claim that LCC has always been perfect in our administration of that, but like each and every one of us, I think the crucial thing is it's really hard to really have an influence or to make an impact if you're not there. So being present and being among people, super important.

Keith Haney: 00:26:33

So what's next on horizon for Lutheran Church charity in terms of what future plans are you developing?

Chris Singer: 00:26:41

We're really excited about partnering with our local church.

That's another thing that within the lcms that I've just growing up in, the lcms have always had an appreciation for is really kind of the beauty and the impact that can happen at the local church level.

And so we're very, very excited about moving forward into the future and really elevating and developing further our relationships with our individual congregations. I shared with you that we had 129 dog teams, you know, in 28 states. And each one of those teams is in a local congregation.

And what I always tell pastors is that lcc, we're not here to kind of drop a program on you and leave. We want to do ministry together. We want to do ministry with you.

We want to help you fulfill the call that the Lord has given to you in your location and to your community.

And so it's exciting to see that play out, not only with our canine teams, but now to see that happening with our disaster response teams as we develop and partner kind of a closer relationship with some of those doctor teams that are going out and serving. And we are going to get an opportunity to do that more with our hearts of mercy and compassion teams.

We now have 19 of those affiliates that are actively doing this ministry within their congregations and to their communities. And then, of course, our human care. Human care is really opening up some really neat things.

One of the things that we are really pushing into is something called the hospitality house.

And the hospitality house is kind of based on this idea that a lot of churches have parsonages that, well, pastors just don't want to live in the parsonage anymore. And so a lot of those parsonage has become something else.

And we've started approaching several churches and saying, would you entertain the idea of starting a ministry out of that parsonage house and turning it into emergency housing?

One of the churches here in Illinois, we just got done doing a long journey with them on this and turning a kind of a dilapidated situation for their parsonage and turning into a very nice, livable space. Space where that congregation got an opportunity to welcome a family of seven.

The father was in need of some deep medical procedures that were going to happen in Chicago. They were living in a hotel. Can you imagine a family of seven in a hotel?

And they got a chance to be not only in a house where they could spread out, but the local congregation wrapped their arms around them, helped them get to the doctor visits and the doctor appointments while dad was in the hospital. And they're just now at the place where, praise be to God, we've been praying for them and working alongside this congregation to serve this family.

And they're just now headed back home to their state in Indiana. So that's a really exciting process for us.

It's something that we're really excited to continue to see how the Lord opens up opportunities again for the church to be able to bring a wraparound ministry to families who are in need.

Keith Haney: 00:29:39

That's such a neat story, and thanks for sharing that.

Chris Singer: 00:29:43

Yeah.

Keith Haney: 00:29:43

And since you're in 28 states and got 100 plus dog ministries, there's room for the feline teams that we're working on.

Chris Singer: 00:29:54

That's right. We'll have to start asking for donations of cat toys.

Keith Haney: 00:30:00

So, Chris, as you think about the work you're doing and the impact you've already had so far in your ministry, what do you want your legacy to be?

Chris Singer: 00:30:12

Yeah, that's interesting. You know, I. I've actually thought more about this idea of legacy lately. I got to be honest that I.

I have a tendency not to, I think forward all the time. It's probably one of my greatest strengths. And also one of my greatest weaknesses is I'm always in the future. I'm always thinking forward.

And sometimes I. I don't stop long enough just to kind of pause and consider, you know, what's being left behind, you know.

And as I kind of consider your question, I think one of the things that I would go back to is really at the heart of it for me is captured in a song that I wrote. Songwriters, many times we like to talk about our songs as our children, our other children.

And this is one of those songs that is one of my children. It's called all of My Heart. And in that song, I wrote these words. If there would be anything in me, Lord, I'm asking, it would be you.

When I lift up my praise to you, give me strength so it will be with all of my heart. And I think that would be my answer is I.

I just pray that through all the good and the bad that I've done, through everything, that the Lord would be lifted up and would be seen even in certainly as the Bible says, in my weaknesses. And if anything that was good that was seen in me, that again, it would be understood that that praise and glory goes to Jesus. It's all him.

Keith Haney: 00:31:37

That's amazing. With any rso, any organization like yourself, there you are also is looking for donations and donors.

If people want to donate to the work Lutheran Church Charities does, where can they do that? And where can learn more about the things you're doing? And if they want to volunteer to be part of a crisis response team or.

Or looking for comfort dogs, where can they get all the information about the things that LCC does?

Chris Singer: 00:32:01

Yeah, you can go to Lutheranchurcharities.org and there you'll have the opportunity to learn more about LCC and what our ministry does where we are. I always tell people two things that you want to kind of find on that website and connect with is first of all, our newsletter.

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday and there's plenty of bad news in the world today. And I know this will sound a little biased, but I mean it.

I love our newsletter because it shows the church working and making a difference in people's lives. It's just something I celebrate and give thanks to God for every time I pick it up and read through it. So I really encourage people to do that.

It also gives people an opportunity to donate and support specific causes. We are a dollar in, dollar out ministry.

And so when you find a cause that you believe the Lord's led you to support, we give all of that money to that cause and make sure that it is taken care of. And then also I would encourage people on the website to sign up for our devotions.

It's a great opportunity just to receive a short, two, three minute devotion that comes into your email box every day. And as you get those emails, you get an opportunity to kind of start your day with some encouragement in God's word.

And I do Monday and Fridays and our former CEO Tim Hetzner does the other days.

And so it's a great opportunity for you to be able to hear God's word and to hear again, just kind of how this really can impact your life and the lives of others.

Keith Haney: 00:33:29

And I'm sure Tim would love me to tell the audience who does not know that Tim and I are related.

And so if you do listen to Tim Hetzner, you should know that he's a cousin and he loves to tell the story of how we, we don't look alike at all, but we are cousins. So I love it.

Chris Singer: 00:33:47

I love it. Yes. And as we were talking about, he tells me that all the time. And when I told him I was doing this interview, he's like, yep, remember?

You remember. I know, Tim. I know.

Keith Haney: 00:33:57

Well, Chris, thanks so much for sharing what you do and sharing for us the, the work that LCC does. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you want to share about LCC that would audience should know about?

Chris Singer: 00:34:09

You know, I guess maybe an ending.

I would say probably the thing that has been the most impacting for me at Lutheran Church charities and just such an important reminder is, you know, rarely have I met individual who expects me to agree with everything they say. Although I may have worked with a few and served with a few individuals like that.

But I promise you one thing I've never met is someone who doesn't deeply desire to be heard. And this is so important for us as we continue to minister with the gospel.

You know, we get so busy sometimes telling people things which isn't a totally bad practice.

We are told to proclaim and teach, but we can easily find too much satisfaction in telling people truth that we ourselves thinking that we've done the job as being a disciple maker. But I think this is kind of the key point.

That is my takeaway is that we got to understand that when we are the church, if we do not listen to truly hear others, we lose the right to speak to them. And when we lose the right to speak to them, we lose the chance to be heard.

And when we lose the chance to be heard, we lose the chance to share salvation. And when we lose the chance to share salvation, we lose our mission.

So I guess kind of my takeaway and the thing that we try to do at Del CC all the time is, you know, we're not here to listen for ways to be right. We're here to listen for ways to care.

And my encouragement is to know that every single listener, your calling is to administer that care and that comfort that the Lord has first given you and pray that each and every one of us will again just listen to that call and execute it in a way that will truly make a difference in our communities.

Keith Haney: 00:35:53

Well, Chris, that's a great way to end this conversation. That's a wrap. And thank you again for sharing your heart and your passion and the work you do at lcc.

Chris Singer: 00:36:02

Thanks so much for this opportunity.