We started our Life Teams by recruiting current & former confirmation, mission trip, and Sunday School teachers to agree to join the Life Team that already exists (i.e., parents, godparents, grandparents, confirmation mentors, etc.) in a youth’s life as intentional cheerleader in the faith on behalf of the congregation. We centered our ministry around these…
Dori Baker reflects on the benefits of an “ethnography of hope” at the Alban blog. She quotes Thomas E. Frank, a seasoned observer of church life, noting that he “writes about turning to ethnographic practices of listening as a way to escape what he perceived to be market-driven perspectives prevalent in church-improvement literature. He found…
In September 2010, Luther Seminary’s Center for First Third Ministry, hosted a First Third Dialogue on the topic of Children of Divorce. This conference was for those on the front-lines of ministry with children and youth who know the realities of divorce. Participants shared their own powerful experiences of divorce and heard from experts in…
I can’t resist this quote from John Howard Yoder, which is cited in David Fitch’s blog on mission and ecclesiology: The political novelty that God brings into the world is a community of those who serve instead of ruling, who suffer instead of inflicting suffering, whose fellowship crosses social lines instead of reinforcing them. The…
The Children of Divorce is Root’s fourth and most recent publication. It is a book with great personal significance to Root and draws on his own experience of becoming a child of divorce in his early twenties. The book argues, in Root’s own words, “that divorce leaves an indelible mark on children, and such a…
Elizabeth Marquardt invites us into the strange and complicated experience of traveling between two homes, two parents and two families as a result of divorce. Marquardt asserts that couples are responsible for navigating the differences of their worlds and the conflict that comes when the rough edges of those worlds begin to come up against…
At EntertheBible.org, you’ll find a wealth of resources to help you grow in faith, add depth to your Bible studies and truly discover the people, places and events of the Bible. This free Bible resource includes commentary, study guides, videos and blog entries by Luther Seminary’s expert faculty. You’ll find summaries, outlines, backgrounds and theological…
The Lutheran University Press has just published the lectures from last year’s Hein-Fry series, and that series included one from Mary Hess entitled Learning  the Bible in the 21st Century: Lessons from Harry Potter and Vampires. Here’s an excerpt: “To argue that the Bible creates community, is to make a claim which sharply contradicts some learners’ reality. There is…
Every so often I run across interesting reflections from people outside of the “church world,” reflections that I think all of us who are seeking to serve in missional leadership could learn from. Here’s a great post about inter-cultural learning, written by Susan Campion, who is a consultant and businesswoman based in the Twin Cities….
It’s about time that people really read this text (John 4:5-42), rather than simply projecting onto it their fears about immorality. David Lose has a great reflection on it up at the Huffington Post. Here’s an excerpt: “Why? Because Jesus has ‘seen’ her. He has seen her plight — of dependence, not immorality. He has…
Dr. Christian Scharen, in his book Faith as a Way of Life: A Vision for Pastoral Leadership, writes compellingly about the challenges of discerning God in the midst of popular culture. Unlike certain Christian communities who want to put a box around specific forms of culture and label them “safe” or “unsafe,” Dr. Scharen argues…
Dr. Michael Jinkins, the president of Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, notes that: “Young adults are searching for meaning that is not just of their own making and for purpose that transcends. They are looking for answers to life’s most persistent questions, the Big Questions, and they are finding in themselves longings unmet in a culture obsessed…
In this sermon, Rev. Nick Utphall (’04), a pastor serving just outside of Madison, WI, invites us to consider what God is up to in the midst of current events, and how we as children of God are called to live in a world full of civil tension. 7th Sunday after Epiphany – 20 Feb…
In this Jan. 2011 service celebrating the Baptism of Our Lord, Dr. Lois Malcolm powerfully unpacks what it means to live into our baptism: What makes Jesus’ baptism so unique is that it is a baptism into a life that will culminate in a death that bears the diseases and sins of all people and…
Circulating around the neighborhood
