Reclaiming The F Word

In Memoriam - John Schreiber

Even as his friends and family gather to celebrate his life and mourn his death today, John Schreiber, bishop of the Southeast Michigan Synod of the ELCA, is being remembered by his hometown press as a "visionary" who "championed racial equality and social justice."

So he was. And so he did.

I want to honor John's memory today by remembering why he was committed to these things --- and why he dared to risk and to speak and to act for the sake of them.

Continue reading "In Memoriam - John Schreiber" »

I'm a little behind in my blog reading and so I almost missed the interesting conversation sparked by The Lutheran Zephyr a week or so ago. He preached his first ever paperless sermon - after an excruciating preparation process - and reported that: 

Category: Evangelism. 

So what's the weirdest thing you've ever done? 

In an effort to connect with his neighbors, Stuart Dornfeld, pastor of 134-year old Emanuel Lutheran Church in Brandon, WI built a church. Out of Legos. 12,000 of them, to be (more or less) exact.

Continue reading "Do What You Can With What You Got" »

Thanks for the emails asking if all is ok. I've been off line more than usual lately because I'm in the middle of a busy stretch on the road. This week I've been in Seattle with about 20 remarkable college students. We've been wondering together about what it means to say that Life Matters within the context of God's loving mission to bless, save, heal, reconcile, and set free the world. And we've been exploring new ways of being and doing church. The Western Mission Cluster (a cooperative venture between Luther Seminary and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary) asked my partners and I at A.R.E. to design and facilitate this process. Which we've done. But we have learned more than we have taught. Been given so much more than we have given away.

I'm teaching a class all day, everyday at the Lutheran seminary in Chicago this week. The title of the class is "Being & Doing Church in the X-Box Era." In the syllabus, I introduce the class this way:

OK, here’s my bias: Even and maybe especially in the midst of our changing culture, I believe theology matters. Many people who love Jesus, care about the church, and feel called to lead the church into mission in God’s world, get impatient with talking about this stuff. They just want to do it. Some of these people are my best friends. But I believe there is a deep connection between what we do and why we do it. The more articulate we are about what we think and what we know and what we believe, the more effective our actions will become. Transformation happens when people discover new categories, concepts, and language (or rediscover old ones!) that make sense of their experience, their lives, and their world. Just ask Martin Luther about this. Or Karl Marx. Or Jon Sobrino. Or Rosemary Radford Ruether. Or Jesus. So, you want to lead God’s people in mission in the midst of this X-Box culture?!? Well, what are you going to tell them? What language will you use to help them more deeply understand what God is up to? What theological categories will you use to help provide a framework for your work together? What biblical images will you turn to for motivation, direction, and encouragement? How will you answer the hard questions when they come up? How will you make decisions in the midst of confusing situations? How will you lead?? That’s what this course is all about. What actually happens in this course, though, is entirely up to you. We’ll read a couple of different authors and books together. We’ll spend time in Scripture. We’ll do a lot of talking, trying to sort this stuff out together. But the goal isn’t for you to figure out what our authors believe. It isn’t to figure out what I believe. The goal is to figure out, more deeply, what you believe; and to be able to express it – in word and deed – in a way that is authentic, inspired, and life-giving.

It was all catchy enough to get a nice size group to register. And we are having a roller coaster ride of a week together. It's been fun. But it's also been exhausting. 

Our reading list included these books:

This weekend at least one ELCA seminary is celebrating graduation - and I happen to have a soft spot for a lot of this year's graduates. Although I don't miss being a full-time member of a seminary faculty even a little bit, I do miss the students. It was a joy to experience their passion, intelligence, curiosity, frustration, honesty, doubts, and hopefulness on a daily basis. I miss that. I miss learning with and from them. Even when the traditional (if unhelpful) faculty/student divide had the potential of creating an awkward wariness, many of them were among my most respected colleagues and good friends. It's a wondrous thing to see them, now, spilling out into the church as leaders and pastors and missionaries and teachers. I felt the same way last year at this time and, in response to a request from a regular F Word reader, I wrote A Message To The Graduates. He wanted to know the top five things I'd say to a graduating class. I gave him 10. They still work, I think. So, for all you seminary graduates out there, getting ready to follow wherever Jesus leads, remember... 

Not quite a year ago, I wrote a short but sharp piece critiquing the web sites of mainline denominations, including my own (ELCA). It went something like this: 

"Check out the web sites of these mainline denominations and ask yourself, "Which of these faith communities are expecting to EVER be visited by people who aren't members? Which ones are working to communicate with people who don't speak 'our' language? Which ones are really serious about reaching 'new' generations? New cultures? New people of ANY generation or culture?"

Last August, the answer was basically "none of them." In fact, I concluded: 

"...overall this is a dismal exercise. It's no wonder we just keep shrinking. Not even WE expect new people to show up."

Not so today.

I don't think I imagined ever doing this again - for all kinds of reasons - but as of a week ago Sunday I'm on the front lines of the renewal effort in a scrappy little church right here in my neighborhood. I'm serving as one of two "pastoral leaders" (let's be careful about the language here) at Christ the King Lutheran Church (CTK). 

What percentage of our churches TALKED about the Holy Spirit this past weekend, in celebration of Pentecost Sunday, without actually EXPERIENCING Holy Spirit power? I have no idea but I'd guess a fairly big one.

How come?

Nothing will happen in our congregations until it first happens in "me." That means reclaiming the f word isn't just a corporate or congregational thing. It's a personal thing. And so I'm pretty interested in anything that helps bring home the message that to be a Christian is to participate in what God is up to in the world...in MY world...in my home, my work, my school, my everyday life.

Ditch That Sermon

I'm a little behind in my blog reading and so I almost missed the interesting conversation sparked by The Lutheran Zephyr a week or so ago. He preached his first ever paperless sermon - after an excruciating preparation process - and reported that: 

Do What You Can With What You Got

Category: Evangelism. 

So what's the weirdest thing you've ever done? 

In an effort to connect with his neighbors, Stuart Dornfeld, pastor of 134-year old Emanuel Lutheran Church in Brandon, WI built a church. Out of Legos. 12,000 of them, to be (more or less) exact.

Continue reading "Do What You Can With What You Got" »

Thanks for the emails asking if all is ok. I've been off line more than usual lately because I'm in the middle of a busy stretch on the road. This week I've been in Seattle with about 20 remarkable college students. We've been wondering together about what it means to say that Life Matters within the context of God's loving mission to bless, save, heal, reconcile, and set free the world. And we've been exploring new ways of being and doing church. The Western Mission Cluster (a cooperative venture between Luther Seminary and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary) asked my partners and I at A.R.E. to design and facilitate this process. Which we've done. But we have learned more than we have taught. Been given so much more than we have given away.

I'm teaching a class all day, everyday at the Lutheran seminary in Chicago this week. The title of the class is "Being & Doing Church in the X-Box Era." In the syllabus, I introduce the class this way:

OK, here’s my bias: Even and maybe especially in the midst of our changing culture, I believe theology matters. Many people who love Jesus, care about the church, and feel called to lead the church into mission in God’s world, get impatient with talking about this stuff. They just want to do it. Some of these people are my best friends. But I believe there is a deep connection between what we do and why we do it. The more articulate we are about what we think and what we know and what we believe, the more effective our actions will become. Transformation happens when people discover new categories, concepts, and language (or rediscover old ones!) that make sense of their experience, their lives, and their world. Just ask Martin Luther about this. Or Karl Marx. Or Jon Sobrino. Or Rosemary Radford Ruether. Or Jesus. So, you want to lead God’s people in mission in the midst of this X-Box culture?!? Well, what are you going to tell them? What language will you use to help them more deeply understand what God is up to? What theological categories will you use to help provide a framework for your work together? What biblical images will you turn to for motivation, direction, and encouragement? How will you answer the hard questions when they come up? How will you make decisions in the midst of confusing situations? How will you lead?? That’s what this course is all about. What actually happens in this course, though, is entirely up to you. We’ll read a couple of different authors and books together. We’ll spend time in Scripture. We’ll do a lot of talking, trying to sort this stuff out together. But the goal isn’t for you to figure out what our authors believe. It isn’t to figure out what I believe. The goal is to figure out, more deeply, what you believe; and to be able to express it – in word and deed – in a way that is authentic, inspired, and life-giving.

It was all catchy enough to get a nice size group to register. And we are having a roller coaster ride of a week together. It's been fun. But it's also been exhausting. 

Our reading list included these books:

This weekend at least one ELCA seminary is celebrating graduation - and I happen to have a soft spot for a lot of this year's graduates. Although I don't miss being a full-time member of a seminary faculty even a little bit, I do miss the students. It was a joy to experience their passion, intelligence, curiosity, frustration, honesty, doubts, and hopefulness on a daily basis. I miss that. I miss learning with and from them. Even when the traditional (if unhelpful) faculty/student divide had the potential of creating an awkward wariness, many of them were among my most respected colleagues and good friends. It's a wondrous thing to see them, now, spilling out into the church as leaders and pastors and missionaries and teachers. I felt the same way last year at this time and, in response to a request from a regular F Word reader, I wrote A Message To The Graduates. He wanted to know the top five things I'd say to a graduating class. I gave him 10. They still work, I think. So, for all you seminary graduates out there, getting ready to follow wherever Jesus leads, remember... 

Not quite a year ago, I wrote a short but sharp piece critiquing the web sites of mainline denominations, including my own (ELCA). It went something like this: 

"Check out the web sites of these mainline denominations and ask yourself, "Which of these faith communities are expecting to EVER be visited by people who aren't members? Which ones are working to communicate with people who don't speak 'our' language? Which ones are really serious about reaching 'new' generations? New cultures? New people of ANY generation or culture?"

Last August, the answer was basically "none of them." In fact, I concluded: 

"...overall this is a dismal exercise. It's no wonder we just keep shrinking. Not even WE expect new people to show up."

Not so today.

I don't think I imagined ever doing this again - for all kinds of reasons - but as of a week ago Sunday I'm on the front lines of the renewal effort in a scrappy little church right here in my neighborhood. I'm serving as one of two "pastoral leaders" (let's be careful about the language here) at Christ the King Lutheran Church (CTK). 

What percentage of our churches TALKED about the Holy Spirit this past weekend, in celebration of Pentecost Sunday, without actually EXPERIENCING Holy Spirit power? I have no idea but I'd guess a fairly big one.

How come?

Nothing will happen in our congregations until it first happens in "me." That means reclaiming the f word isn't just a corporate or congregational thing. It's a personal thing. And so I'm pretty interested in anything that helps bring home the message that to be a Christian is to participate in what God is up to in the world...in MY world...in my home, my work, my school, my everyday life.

They Just Do

Thanks for the emails asking if all is ok. I've been off line more than usual lately because I'm in the middle of a busy stretch on the road. This week I've been in Seattle with about 20 remarkable college students. We've been wondering together about what it means to say that Life Matters within the context of God's loving mission to bless, save, heal, reconcile, and set free the world. And we've been exploring new ways of being and doing church. The Western Mission Cluster (a cooperative venture between Luther Seminary and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary) asked my partners and I at A.R.E. to design and facilitate this process. Which we've done. But we have learned more than we have taught. Been given so much more than we have given away.

It Is Well With My Soul

I'm teaching a class all day, everyday at the Lutheran seminary in Chicago this week. The title of the class is "Being & Doing Church in the X-Box Era." In the syllabus, I introduce the class this way:

OK, here’s my bias: Even and maybe especially in the midst of our changing culture, I believe theology matters. Many people who love Jesus, care about the church, and feel called to lead the church into mission in God’s world, get impatient with talking about this stuff. They just want to do it. Some of these people are my best friends. But I believe there is a deep connection between what we do and why we do it. The more articulate we are about what we think and what we know and what we believe, the more effective our actions will become. Transformation happens when people discover new categories, concepts, and language (or rediscover old ones!) that make sense of their experience, their lives, and their world. Just ask Martin Luther about this. Or Karl Marx. Or Jon Sobrino. Or Rosemary Radford Ruether. Or Jesus. So, you want to lead God’s people in mission in the midst of this X-Box culture?!? Well, what are you going to tell them? What language will you use to help them more deeply understand what God is up to? What theological categories will you use to help provide a framework for your work together? What biblical images will you turn to for motivation, direction, and encouragement? How will you answer the hard questions when they come up? How will you make decisions in the midst of confusing situations? How will you lead?? That’s what this course is all about. What actually happens in this course, though, is entirely up to you. We’ll read a couple of different authors and books together. We’ll spend time in Scripture. We’ll do a lot of talking, trying to sort this stuff out together. But the goal isn’t for you to figure out what our authors believe. It isn’t to figure out what I believe. The goal is to figure out, more deeply, what you believe; and to be able to express it – in word and deed – in a way that is authentic, inspired, and life-giving.

It was all catchy enough to get a nice size group to register. And we are having a roller coaster ride of a week together. It's been fun. But it's also been exhausting. 

Our reading list included these books:

A Graduation Message

This weekend at least one ELCA seminary is celebrating graduation - and I happen to have a soft spot for a lot of this year's graduates. Although I don't miss being a full-time member of a seminary faculty even a little bit, I do miss the students. It was a joy to experience their passion, intelligence, curiosity, frustration, honesty, doubts, and hopefulness on a daily basis. I miss that. I miss learning with and from them. Even when the traditional (if unhelpful) faculty/student divide had the potential of creating an awkward wariness, many of them were among my most respected colleagues and good friends. It's a wondrous thing to see them, now, spilling out into the church as leaders and pastors and missionaries and teachers. I felt the same way last year at this time and, in response to a request from a regular F Word reader, I wrote A Message To The Graduates. He wanted to know the top five things I'd say to a graduating class. I gave him 10. They still work, I think. So, for all you seminary graduates out there, getting ready to follow wherever Jesus leads, remember... 

A Great New Front Porch

Not quite a year ago, I wrote a short but sharp piece critiquing the web sites of mainline denominations, including my own (ELCA). It went something like this: 

"Check out the web sites of these mainline denominations and ask yourself, "Which of these faith communities are expecting to EVER be visited by people who aren't members? Which ones are working to communicate with people who don't speak 'our' language? Which ones are really serious about reaching 'new' generations? New cultures? New people of ANY generation or culture?"

Last August, the answer was basically "none of them." In fact, I concluded: 

"...overall this is a dismal exercise. It's no wonder we just keep shrinking. Not even WE expect new people to show up."

Not so today.

Hands On, Again

I don't think I imagined ever doing this again - for all kinds of reasons - but as of a week ago Sunday I'm on the front lines of the renewal effort in a scrappy little church right here in my neighborhood. I'm serving as one of two "pastoral leaders" (let's be careful about the language here) at Christ the King Lutheran Church (CTK). 

(Un)Holy Redundancy?

What percentage of our churches TALKED about the Holy Spirit this past weekend, in celebration of Pentecost Sunday, without actually EXPERIENCING Holy Spirit power? I have no idea but I'd guess a fairly big one.

How come?

Taking The "Other 6" Seriously

Nothing will happen in our congregations until it first happens in "me." That means reclaiming the f word isn't just a corporate or congregational thing. It's a personal thing. And so I'm pretty interested in anything that helps bring home the message that to be a Christian is to participate in what God is up to in the world...in MY world...in my home, my work, my school, my everyday life.