The other day I asked some friends what they would be interested in reading about on my blog. One of the ideas that seemed to get the most traction was mentoring. When thinking about the idea of mentoring, a few questions come immediately to mind: What does it mean to mentor? How were (and/or are) you mentored? Do you mentor? I have been blessed and … Continue reading Thoughts about Mentoring
A funny thing happened to me this morning. My computer decided it was time. I have been living on borrowed time with that computer, I know. But my laptop today has had enough. I am hopeful that I will be able to access the hard-drive some how, but that’s probably not going to be likely. It’s my own fault for not backing up everything of … Continue reading Holy Week fast approaches bringing Questions
Tuesday means that it’s time to share with you some of what I have found interesting in the past week. This week’s topic categories are: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Neighbor Love; Stewardship; Vocation; Worship; and Miscellaneous. I entrust these links to you now, and hope you enjoy them and find them thought-provoking. Church and Ministry Thought & … Continue reading This Week’s Links
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend a “Jump Start Your Stewardship” event put on by the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I attended this event last year and enjoyed it, and so attending this year’s event was a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite enjoy this year’s as much. There was good material, but … Continue reading Potholes of Stewardship
The following post is one that I originally wrote for the First Third blog at the invitation of Dr. Terri Elton. This post offers congregational scenarios and approaches for creating opportunities for youth and youth leadership during the season of Lent. Perhaps there are things here that might be interesting to try for your congregation next year? I hope you enjoy it, and I share this post here … Continue reading Lent, Youth, and Opportunity
On Sunday, friend and pastor Stephanie Vos shared a sermon which was equally beautiful, honest, and poignant at Trinity Lutheran Church. The sermon was grounded in the text of Luke 20:1-8. In unpacking the passage, Stephanie broke it into four parts: 1) A question about authority, posed by the chief priests, scribes and elders (vs. 1-2) 2) A question about John’s Baptism, posed by Jesus … Continue reading Asking the Questions- Faith and Theological Focus
Today we pick-up the conversation about what it means to live in diverse community, and particularly with people you deeply disagree. Previously we laid the ground work, and then offered reflection on the how to live in such a community. Today, we consider some of the theological ideas that give me hope that this is possible. Theological Solace Perhaps this is where I see the … Continue reading Living in Diverse Community- Part 3
This is going to be a relatively short post. APRIL FOOLS! 🙂 Anyway, Happy April and hopefully wherever you are the snow has melted or is melting, and spring has really begun in earnest. As it is Tuesday, that means on the blog that it is time to share what I have been reading, seen, or found interesting in the past week with you. This … Continue reading This Week’s Links
This post is the second in a 3-part series pondering what it means to be in community with people we disagree (particularly in congregations). The previous post laid the groundwork, and today we start to tackle the questions of how and what this looks like. How to Live in Diverse Community To engage and live in a diverse community takes intention. It takes a willingness to … Continue reading Living in Diverse Community- Part 2
This post offers beginning reflection for a 3-part series pondering what being in community means with people we disagree. Looking back This past fall, friend and pastor Kent Shane and I went back and forth imagining what it might mean to really claim all are welcome, all are sought, and to have a community and practice of accompaniment as part of this. It was our conversation which really … Continue reading Living in Diverse Community- Part 1
