How Netflix can Jumpstart Discernment
The recent rise in cost of the basic Netflix plan I use has got me thinking. What do I spend money on that I ultimately do not need? And what could that money be used for to better serve the...
Region 7 Ethics of Eating
Several recent blog posts have discussed food production, gardening, etc. — perfect timing for the following announcement! ELCA World Hunger is holding an ELCA World Hunger Ethics of Eating event in Region 7 on September 29 – October 2 in...
All ears
When I have the privilege of hearing Presiding Bishop of the ELCA Mark Hanson speak, I pay attention. Recently I heard Bishop Hanson speak to a group of people gathered to help shape the future of...
Reflections from South Africa on Nelson Mandela Day
The twists of travel have put me in South Africa on July 18, Nelson Mandela’s 93rd Birthday, a day that is celebrated by service to neighbors in South Africa. Yesterday I had the opportunity to tour the Apartheid Museum with...
Functional Optimism
The state of the world is discouraging. But I’m a functional optimist. I try to live as if my actions and decisions made a difference. And when change shows up, I like to think I played a role in its...
Freed in Christ to Serve – Faith vs. Works – Looking to Churchwide Assembly
One of the most well known bits of theology that make Lutherans Lutheran is our idea of faith vs. works, most notably our insistence on justification by faith. Even though I had heard the words thrown around in various sermons...
Drought and Famine in the Horn of Africa
In recent days, my colleagues have been restless and anxious about doing more to share the story and seek financial support for the “hunger” related emergency in Eastern Africa, particularly in Kenya and Ethiopia where abnormally low rainfall in the last...
Rebuking the fever
“After leaving the synagogue [Jesus] entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began...
How is your zucchini looking?
Most anyone who grows up in the mid-west knows the saying, “knee high by the 4th of July.” It describes the average size of corn this time of year. The saying came to mind last weekend as I looked at my...
The Time to Act is Now – ELCA Malaria Campaign
We all dream about it; at least I do anyway—a cause that brings the church together working as part of a whole to make the world a better a place. We dream about all members of the body of Christ...