I’m here to learn how to step into Christian leadership in my congregation and/or community.
By Jordan Elton Growing up as the daughter of employees of the church, faith has always been incorporated into my life. I believed this was the norm and just went with the flow of it. As a part of my childhood, my parents (one of them being a missions director) instilled the act of service…
By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary Last week we introduced our spring 2013 FirstThird Dialogue theme, Reclaiming the Servant’s Heart, with the first of three webinars. The webinar’s theme was “Making Mission More Than a Trip.” This week we will get various perspectives on mission…
By Pastor Nancy Lee Gauche I heard Krista Tippett’s interview with Vincent Harding the other day. Vincent Harding is Professor Emeritus of Religion and Social Transformation at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Back in 1955, he paid a life-changing visit to Martin Luther King Jr. Vincent Harding says that the phrase “civil…
By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary I must admit, I can live in my head. I love ideas, theories, and understanding why. But sometimes I need to be reminded that knowing about ideas is different than living out ideas. In other words, knowing is one…
By Andy Sahl “Andy, I don’t think I want to be an intern anymore.” I really couldn’t believe my ears. For years our few spots for high school interns (high school students that help with our middle school program) was a coveted role. For the last two years we’ve added the number of inters…
Courtney Young is a May 2012 graduate of Luther Seminary – MDiv with an emphasis in Congregational Mission and Leadership. Missional, millenial and now, a new mother, Courtney shares her thoughts with us here: Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the church and social media. Partly because I used to work in seminary relations…
By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary Several weeks ago I wrote about the power of gathering. Gathering is a vibrant part of abundant life, of living a Christian way of life. But there is other side of that coin, the reality of scattering. No matter…
By Julie Hagen Sam, a shy 1st grader, asked his small group leader if she would call him ‘Sam I Am’ from now on. They hadn’t seen each other for a few weeks but last Sunday, she remembered and his face lit up when he sat down by their group and heard “Hi Sam I…
Everything you wanted to know about the Bible…but were afraid to ask.
