Author: Ben

I am back from Chicago where I attended my first Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Church Council meeting. I now am on the church council for the entire ELCA. I am honored to fill this role for the next two years. I am happy to report that it is good that Community Lutheran Church…

In 2015, the smartphone company Samsung came up with an idea for new advertising campaign emphasizing connection through communication. The commercial revolves around Muaharrem, a deaf man in Istanbul who uses sign language to communicate. Muaharrem spent every day communicating with people in his town the best he could. He may have gotten by in…

I have an announcement to make… No, it is nothing bad. Earlier this fall, our bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod asked if I would be willing to serve on a committee. A very special committee. Before I tell you what it is, I want to explain a few details first. Our church is affiliated…

During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in trouble. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. Prussia was one of the few countries to resist Napoleon Bonaparte’s quest to overtake all of Europe and beyond. King Frederick William III felt the…