Article: 9 Surefire Ways to Make Your Church Ineffective

In a well known portion of scripture, Saint Paul writes about secret of contentment to the church of Philippi. This is what he wrote, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,…

If you are a member of Community Lutheran Church, you know that I am a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s church council. Our church is a part of the ELCA. I was appointed by our bishop over a year ago serve on our church’s national board. It is a great honor to…

Most of you know where I am this week. I am at a summer camp called “Leadership Lab.” I am one of the directors of this 55-year-old camp. For the past 32 summers, I have returned to this place to serve. But it isn’t a place. Yes, we do rent Augustana College in Rock Island,…

Well, I thought this would be a quieter week. Let me re-phrase that. I was hoping for a typical week. You know, be gone for four days and you hope to get back into your routine. Not so much. The good news is that our house finally sold. That is a big relief even though…

We are almost to Jerusalem… As “mainline protestants” we are a week away from the season of Lent ending and entering into something called Holy Week. For those who are not a part of a historic liturgical church—church seasons seem odd and out of place because they are not found in the Bible. That point…