Occasionally our presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America releases a timely statement that addresses specific current events. This past week Presiding Bishop Eaton released a statement regarding the president’s executive order regarding the temporary ban of refugees from specific countries. Please take the time to read this thoughtful and balanced statement. Our…
On Wednesday, I attended a seminar entitled, “The State of Pastors: Leading in Complexity.” It was the unveiling of a massive study undertaken by the Barna Group with generous funding from Pepperdine University. The Barna Group specifically studies and researches all things church related. If you have never heard of this organization before, they do…
Have you ever heard of Tim McMillan? I had not until a couple of weeks ago. He is a police officer in Georgia. He is an ordinary guy in a lot of ways. He even describes himself in this way, “My life has been a chaotic jumble of accidents, ambitions, failures and unintended consequences. Through…
Last week I shared an article on pastoral leadership styles that need to be avoided. Someone kindly asked me if there is a list for church members? There is! All of us know the old children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” As you have heard…
I know you may find this hard to believe, but I think a lot about my calling as pastor. As you know I am far from perfect but I constantly think about how effective I am and how that varies depending upon the situation and the people I am interacting with. I know it might…
Here we are again. It is the end of the year and we will step into a new one Sunday morning. Although this is a secular holiday will many stop their routine and celebrate the incoming year- sometimes late into the evening. Some reflect on the year coming to an end and wonder what the…
It is Thursday before Christmas and all through the church… the Bethel staff have been working feverishly! They are getting ready for services on Christmas Eve. That is no exaggeration. Every staff person who came to church today has been tying up all the loose ends of all our Christmas planning to make sure everyone…
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:13-14 Most of you know where these two verses come from: The Christmas story. This is what the angels said to the unsuspecting shepherds…
On Wednesday night, we hosted Rabbi Dana Magat from Temple Emanu-El in San Jose. I kept thinking about something he said to us about Reformed Judaism. Essentially Rabbi Dana said that our actions have eternal significance. How we act in this life has ramifications in our afterlife. I am sure the good Lutherans in the…
I was thinking about this story earlier today and the implications it has for us as worshippers of Christ… I know, I know, I think about weird stuff a lot. One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain-fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The…
