I know several families who, after Thanksgiving dinner, go around the table and invite each person to share something for which they are thankful. My family never adopted this tradition, perhaps because it likely would have led to my brother attempting to one-up one another with snide humor. Even the most sincere Thanksgiving table ritual,…
Throwback culture is quite popular these days. Retro fashion is in. My grandfather’s plaid shirts and wool caps are cool again. But to take the cake, at my local coffee shop I recently saw a young adult enter carrying an old-fashioned typewriter. He set it up at the table, ordered coffee, and typed away —…
I think I first ran across the video resource Chuck Knows Church on a friend’s Facebook page. After just a few clicks, I bookmarked the website as a handy resource for engaging congregations in topical and humorous instructional videos. In my course at Luther, Money & Mission of the Church, we analyzed the Chuck Knows…
I have a brother who is five years younger than I am. Growing up, I remember when he got to the “why phase.” Whenever my parents would ask us to do something, or when they described an event in our future he would ask, “Why?” Why do we need to go to the store? Why…
I don’t remember most of the gifts I received for my high school graduation. In fact, I’m not sure I can remember any … except for one: a beautiful set of stationery with my name embossed across the top. As I wrote thank you notes for the gifts, I remember feeling as if my first…
Many stewardship conversations consider the question what’s possible? What’s possible for our mission and ministry? What’s possible to do with others? What’s possible for the budget? What’s possible when God is working in our midst? In our newsletter this week Elizabeth Hagen continues her two-part series on the global church and stewardship. She helps us…
When I was in seminary, I was required to take an “Alternative Context” course. At the time, we had programs deep in the Appalachian Mountains, and as far away as the Czech Republic. The point of studying off-campus, however, was not to teach the people we encountered about what we knew about God, but to…
Many congregations are currently in the midst of planning or implementing an annual stewardship program of one sort or another. Such campaigns will have a lot of variety, but they all likely have two things in common: numbers and narratives. In this week’s article, Cesie Delve Scheuermann reminds us of the power of storytelling. In…
One of the joys of teaching at Luther Seminary is the opportunity to learn from my fantastic colleagues. This week Matthew Skinner, Professor of New Testament, reflects on how the vision of giving in Acts 4 can inspire the church today. I’m particularly drawn to Skinner’s description of the scene as a time “when things…
The Funding the Next Church series has been a great joy to organize, and I’m very grateful to our six fine writers. Today, our final article in the series is no different. In fact, the Rev. Andy Greenhow ends with the perfect exclamation point: a contemporary, powerful modern metaphor for funding congregations today. Yours truly,…
For the last four weeks, our series Funding the Next Church has featured articles by leaders of new worshipping communities. These leaders have described new visions for Christian life together, and for supporting mission with money. Today, Rev. Sara Hayden explains the why behind the how of recent weeks, with a fine article about theology…
I grew up in a congregation established in 1832. As a child, I loved looking through the old book on that congregation’s history, slowly turning the pages and seeing the pictures of renovation after renovation of that 1830s sanctuary. Decades from today, the history of LydiaPlace Collaborative Communities likely will not be told in a…
This week marks the beginning of a new multi-week series: Funding the Next Church. Lost in our squabbling over established churches, in recent years many mainline denominations have launched sophisticated efforts to start hundreds of new churches. These churches often don’t look like the ones in which many of us grew up. And most take…
Leading congregations to embrace stewardship is hard work. Ultimately, this work is about changing the culture of conversation, theology, and practice concerning stewardship. While changing congregational culture is vitally important, sometimes, amidst the change we need a program, materials that move us from thinking to doing. Pastor Chick Lane, former director of the Center for…
In my first few weeks at Luther, they were many people I was eager to meet. Near the top of the list was Ren? Mehlberg, a student worker and teaching assistant with the Center. So, I was thrilled when Ren? took up the invitation to write a newsletter reflection on her experience with the course…
