When I first started working in ministry I asked a local ministry leader if he could teach me what he knew about doing youth ministry. He told me that he would meet with me once a week and talk about how he did things, and why they worked (or didn’t work), and then he handed me a book entitled “The Purpose Driven Youth Ministry,” saying “this is a ‘must read’ for anyone serious about doing youth ministry”. This was my... Read more
My challenge for readers is to post a series of images that reflect the Confessional Lutherans and the Orthodox Read more
I recently received the following e-mail, and I thought that I would share my response with all of you since it seems to deal with a number of issues that many christians have, and a number that I have dealt with myself. Do you think Mary is holy? Like the Catholics do? Because doesn’t it say she is blessed. But blessed means made holy, so that would mean she is holy. But aren’t we also blessed once we enter heaven? Because I thought only... Read more
I recently visited the “Mars Hill Bible Church” in Grand Rapids, MI. This is not a church in my own tradition (Lutheran / Evangelical Covenant), but it is one that I have had some history with (my brother has been a member of this community for about 9 years).Mars Hill is a church that was planted in 1999 by Calvary Church pastor Rob Bell and a core of people from that community. It comes out of what could be described... Read more
For all the seminary students out there using Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar by Page H. Kelley I have below links to simple flash cards that you will need to study in order to pass. The main reason I’m posting this is so that I will have an easy way to bookmark all these links on my phone, but go ahead bookmark this page too! It will make your life a lot easier. This might be a fun little review to go... Read more
Why do we act like it is? Read more
What do you think of this excerpt from Annie Dillard’s Teaching A Stone to Talk “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning.... Read more
Making connections with others is an essential key to any effective ministry. Without connections there could hardly be a church. We make connections every time we greet someone at church, read from the Bible, preach a sermon, or even smile. Any minister connects with those who we are trying to serve all the time. Even beyond the Sunday morning service connections continue to be a central part of the life of the worshiping community. This can come in the form... Read more
The following is a bit by St. Augustine in honor of the solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist, which we celebrate on Friday (tomorrow). This feast is celebrated on the 24th rather then the 25th which is odd to many people since the annunciation and christmas both happen on the 25th of the months that they fall in (March and December respectively). The reason for this is probably because ancient ways of counting dates would count back rather then forward). Eight days before January first is Christmas, eight days... Read more
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