I don’t want to be a Pharisee. You know, the religious authorities and teachers of the Law of Moses that Jesus tangled with during his earthly ministry. I know that may sound like a silly thing to say but the day I entered the seminary to become a pastor, I began my training as a…
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,…
I ran across another great article this week that I wanted to share with you. I found it both helpful and enlightening! Enjoy! 10 “SPIRITUAL” WAYS TO RELAX THIS SUMMER Even when you’re not on vacation! By Pastor Kathy Hawks of Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington Summer — such a delicious time of…
I ran across this article in our ELCA publication “Living Lutheran” written by Rod Boriack. Boriack is a writer and editor living in Des Plaines, Ill. I learned a little bit, maybe you will too! 1 The word “Protestant” was first used formally around 1529. “Protestant” originates from the Latin word protestari, meaning “declare publicly, testify,…
Today (Thursday) is the last “kind of” day of vacation before flying home Friday. I say “kind of” because I am working on a number of things today including a sermon for Sunday. “Winging it” is not in my vocabulary when it comes to Sunday morning although it may seem like it at times! Yet,…
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:35-36 This is a typical Bible passage about…
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making…
The craziness of my life caught up with me this week. I have the flu. It is June and I have the flu. The sound we make at home when something doesn’t go right is, “Mlahhh.” (Think of Snoopy from Peanuts when Lucy is mean to him.) Needless to say, this has been a “mlahhh”…
On Wednesday night at our “First Wednesday Speaker Series” we watched the documentary “A Time for Burning.” The documentary is a 1966 film which explores the attempts of Pastor Youngdahl of Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, to persuade his all-white congregation to reach out to black Lutherans on the city’s north side. The film was directed by San Francisco filmmaker William C. Jersey and was nominated…
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…
