Deeper Life Resources

Some time ago when I was in college I finally got tired of learning the same spiritual truths over and over again only to forget those lessons and have to relearn them (usually the hard way). Then one day in my college apartment it occurred to me that we had this amazing new technology called writing and that I could actually write down and recall to mind on a daily basis some of these key truths.  Over the next several years I added to ... More

This is a condensed version of a sermon preached by Rev. J.O. Gisselquist at the January 1945 LEM Mid-Winter Evangelistic Conference. Rev. Gisselquist was an active participant in the LEM from its inception in 1937 until his death in 1968. He served as LEM evangelist from 1945-1956. In Job 33:19-26 we read of the sad plight in which Job found himself under the judgment and chastisement of God. He was ready to die. He ... More

Today we live in the most scientifically, medically, and technologically advanced civilization in history. In less than a century and a half we have gone from horse-drawn wagons to GPS-equipped hybrid cars, from pen and ink wells to text messaging, and from the telegraph to the internet. But although human civilization has progressed at such an incredible speed, there is something it has never outdated: God and His Word. The ... More

LEM is committed to making disciples in the 21st century, and assisting churches to do so also. Today, we approach this task through four primary tools: Church planting, Preaching, Retreats and Creative Media. It is this last tool that I want to talk about this month. In our Western culture we are very fond of what might be called “propositional truth.” We like facts and logic. The following statement is an example of it: ... More

    You probably wouldn’t be too surprised if I were to tell you that there was a time in the history of our country when nearly half of the population attended church on any given Sunday, the Bible was the best-selling book for years in a row, and Congress voted to make “In God We Trust” the national motto.  But you might be surprised to know that such a revival of Christianity occurred within the ... More

On the north shore of Medicine Lake in Plymouth, Minnesota, stands a site that is an undeniable testimony to God’s mighty working in the post World War II years.  It’s a site past which hundreds of people walk, bike, and jog on every pleasant day.  It’s a site which numerous Christian people pass daily, unaware, as one historian put it, “that the ground on which they tread has … been hallowed by the ... More

If you had been a Lutheran pastor, evangelist, or lay leader in the upper Midwest in 1936, you might well have received several weeks before Christmas the following letter which read in part:1 Dear Co-workers for Christ:  You are cordially invited to attend a general conference on Lutheran Evangelism  to be held January 5, 6, 7, 1937 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 40th Ave. So. and 52nd St.,  Minneapolis, Minnesota, Rev. Evald ... More

    On a certain Sunday afternoon many years ago, two friends were walking together and talking intently as they went.  As would be fitting for any Christians to do on the Lord’s Day, they were discussing Jesus’ suffering and death and its meaning.  And “while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them . . . and expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things ... More

      Throughout the centuries, it has often been a popular activity to compile genealogies or family trees.  Although these are sometimes begun for no other reason than curiosity or hobby, they may aid those of a younger generation in understanding themselves through learning about their ancestral origins and formative influences.  The recording of genealogies dates back to the beginning of time when God in the ... More

God created human nature with a desire to belong—to be a part of something larger than ourselves. This desire is good because it connects us to a greater purpose and vision for our lives and helps us to understand that we belong to Him. He uses this desire to draw us into His presence.  We live in a culture where joining groups either on paper, in cyberspace or as a volunteer, is familiar. We unite around causes that mean ... More

    If its name was to be merely reflective of its largest and most widely-known work, the Lutheran Evangelistic Movement might just as aptly have been named the Lutheran Deeper Life Movement.  It’s true that the original priority of the Lutheran Inter-Synodical Evangelistic Committee was the cause of evangelism, but as God expanded their work He very soon made clear that their calling within the church was to more ... More

    What did the members of the Lutheran Inter-Synodical Evangelistic Committee believe was so indispensably distinctive about the work to which God had called them?  By their own admission, “Various efforts to promote sound Lutheran evangelism [have already] been made at various times.”1  What was it then that gave the Committee the driving enthusiasm to carry out their calling as if they were the only ... More

    “It is our earnest prayer that our beloved church may in these days experience a heaven sent revival and showers of blessings.  It is ‘Revival or Ruin.’”1  So said Evald J. Conrad on behalf of the whole Lutheran Inter-Synodical Evangelistic Committee in early 1940.  Their prayer echoed that same heart cry which had been brought out so prominently at the very first Inter-Synodical ... More

    There is perhaps a danger inherent in this history of the Lutheran Inter-Synodical Evangelistic Committee / Lutheran Evangelistic Movement.  The focus is so much on the positive that the reader is liable to get a wrong impression either that there were no difficulties in the movement or that the story has been manipulated to appear unrealistically rosy.  The reason that this account appears so unswervingly ... More

    As World War II entered what proved to be its final months, the invisible hand of One who knew the future propelled the Lutheran Inter-Synodical Evangelistic Committee mightily forward into a vast expansion of their program.  It was a time of urgent preparation and reorganization for what the Committee believed would soon be their greatest years of usefulness.  On the surface, their decisions and organizational ... More

    The spiritual revival for which the leaders of the Lutheran Evangelistic Movement were seeking the Lord during the 1940’s was not a need limited to their sphere of influence.  It was a desperate national need.  The World War II years were not a time of triumph for Christianity in the United States.  In fact, even during the decades leading up to the war, there had been an increasing breakdown in ... More

    According to written accounts of many who have lived during times of revival, one of the chief characteristics of such times has been the tremendous spirit of prayer accompanying them.  Thus, older Christians who have observed revival firsthand have often exhorted future generations that to see a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their own day they must pray to God fervently and unceasingly for it.  Perhaps ... More

    During the first eight months of 1949, the Lutheran Evangelistic Movement had witnessed in and around their areas of ministry mightier and more regular stirrings of God’s Spirit than had occurred for decades in the United States.  Their leaders were active participants in a city-wide ministerial group under whose sponsorship a revival movement with national implications had begun in the Twin Cities.  And the ... More

As witnessed by the national press, Billy Graham, the Lutheran Evangelistic Movement, and countless other Christian groups and individuals, the mid-century year 1950 was a remarkable year of heaven-sent revival across the United States. Even more importantly, it proved to be a door opened wide by God into a new and flourishing era of evangelism - “a decade of evangelism” as one Christian historian has called the 1950’s in reference to ... More

    When Jesus Christ lived on earth some 2,000 years ago, He did not limit His ministry to one location.  Rather He said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.” (Luke 4:43 KJV)  Similarly, God’s work on earth through the Holy Spirit Whom Jesus sent after He ascended to heaven has never been confined to one locale but has permeated nearly every region of the ... More

    It’s not unusual for people to have some type of belief system that motivates them throughout their lives, but it is quite unusual for people to have a belief system that provides them with joy and eager anticipation as they face their last days on earth.  Death is perhaps the biggest test of all on one’s faith.  Many people with a so-called faith have died at least stoically, resolutely, or even ... More

Matt 19:29: And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. The call to live the Christian life is a call to follow Christ. It’s a call to take up ones cross as he did and to surrender to the will of the Father. It’s a call to a life of total obedience. And yet connected to this ... More

Since 1939, LEM Deeper Life Camps have been specially used by God to lead Christians into experiencing the fullness of life with Christ.  These camps were discontinued in the 1990’s, but a couple of years ago LEM director Pastor Peter Churness had the desire to start them again.  God confirmed this desire through several people whom Peter had never met.  Last June, after discovering the LEM website on a Google search, I ... More

Some of you may have noticed the name of Pastor Elmer Anhalt in a recent Lifelines Memorials column.  Pastor Anhalt was an active supporter of the LEM who served on its board and often preached on its behalf.  Before he died at 90 years old, he wrote down his life testimony entitled, “The Guidance Of Jesus In Our Lives.”  To bring praise to his Savior, we’d like to share part of his story with you. In ... More

Greetings to you, friends and supporters of L.E.M. I want to thank you for the invitation to write to you—namely to thank you for your support of the ministry of evangelism within the Lutheran family of churches. Since the beginning L.E.M. has attempted to introduce people both within and outside of the church to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that results in the assurance of one’s salvation. Those of you my age (76 years old) ... More

Recording artist Matt Redman's 1997 album was entitled The Friendship and the Fear. The phrase is a profound one and contains within it one of the keys to living the Christian life. The concept of friendship with God is central to us as believers. In 1 John 3:1 we read, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” Jesus said to his disciples, “I have called you friends, for ... More

With the New Year holiday just behind us, we are still in a season where it is common for people to spend a little time reflecting on the year that was, with all its joys and sorrows, as well as looking to the year that lies ahead. It is a time where many establish goals, review their priorities and maybe even make a few New Years resolutions. Like many of you I have a variety of responsibilities and pressures that I face on a weekly, even ... More

Leah is one of the most unappreciated heroines in the Bible. Her husband Jacob never intended to marry her—he was tricked into it by her scheming father. Jacob wanted Leah's sister, Rachel, and he married her just one week later. Leah is a great example of coming to terms with God in the midst of our struggles. For years she tried to get Jacob to love her. That was the focus of her life, and she named her first three children accordingly ... More

Back in 1936 something remarkable happened. God began to stir in the hearts of a small group of Lutheran pastors about the need for renewed focus and energy around evangelism within the Lutheran family of churches. Thus was born the LEM (Lutheran Evangelistic Movement). It quickly grew into a movement with scores of Area Conferences each year, thousands attending Deeper Life Camps, hundreds of Evangelistic Meetings each year, and wonderful ... More