Tomorrow the Lutheran Church observes Reformation Sunday, the only date on the church calendar year really unique to Lutherans. October 31 is the anniversary of Martin Luther posting his ninety-five theses for debate concerning the sale of indulgences. He nailed his proposal to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany on the Eve of All Saints Day knowing that in the morning, people coming to worship … Continue reading This Year’s Reformation
Following up on yesterday’s discussion and pondering about the implications on the congregation, a friend of mine shared this poem from the Huffington Post on Sunday. Here is an excerpt: My name is church. I welcome the: Hypocrite Dry Self-Righteous Shallow I welcome the: Sincere Passionate Forgiving Selfless I cannot shut my doors to the people who make you: Angry Uncomfortable Impatient Self-conscious I encourage … Continue reading A response to “Hello, My Name is Church” with more thoughts on the congregation as a place of welcome, sought, and accompaniment
Tuesday means its time again for an offering of some of the things I have been reading and thinking about from the past week. This week’s categories are, in alphabetical order: Church and Ministry Things; Leadership and Leadership Thought; Neighbor Love; Stewardship; and Vocation. I entrust these to you now in the hope that you find some of these helpful, interesting, and perhaps even provocative. … Continue reading This Week’s Links
It’s been a couple weeks since the last post in this series. Now its time to return and continue the conversation. As I asked, how is a congregation to really be an “all are welcome,” and “all are sought place?” How is a congregation to help its people grow in their ability and willingness to embody accompaniment, and truly be consistent to the congregation’s creeds and … Continue reading All Are Welcome, Sought, and Implications of Accompaniment for the Congregation
Recently, I had the privilege of having a Facebook conversation with a pastor friend. He was openly wondering questions about welcome and what that really means after having read Nadia Bolz-Weber’s Pastrix. I think my pastor friend unwittingly gave me the start of a series of blog posts, so we’ll see where this conversation takes us. To set the stage, we have all seen it, churches … Continue reading The Implications of “All are Welcome”
I have spoken about this a little before, but I received a MA in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary. Integral to this program is a study and immersion in missional theology which has a major focus on the idea of “being sent.” It is with this in mind, that I am very excited about how Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater, MN is shaping … Continue reading “Sent for a Purpose” – What does this mean?
Last week, I came across one of those “re-posts” on my Facebook news feed. I wasn’t particularly happy when I saw it. It read: “REPOST IF U BEILIEVE IN GOD AND IN 2 MINUTES HE WILL DO YOU A HUGE FAVOR” Now first of all, yes, whoever first created this re-post misspelled believe. Second, there is an assumption seemingly made that God has a gender. … Continue reading Some thoughts on a re-post and the prosperity gospel
First of all, I hope you are all having the chance to watch and follow some of the speeches and ceremonies going on today honoring, remembering, and continuing in the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, today, 50 years later. King’s vision and dream continues I believe today, because the vision and mission with which it is grounded and speaks … Continue reading Summer Links
This past month I have taken some time for myself. I spent a month away from my job in a congregation to do some personal discernment and reflection. I also took some time away from other things, like blogging. I did so to clear my head and to simply “just be.” I have to say that I learned a lot about myself, and remembered some … Continue reading Back from Sabbatical
I had the opportunity to bring the message yesterday on the story of the sisters Martha and Mary. What follows are excerpts of that sermon. I have removed some of the more contextual pieces that would only really make sense for the congregation that this sermon was preached for. I titled the sermon, “Why do we do what we do?” It was preached on July … Continue reading “Why do we do what we do?” – Sermon on Luke 10:38-42
Timothy Siburg 