Today we held a rally out front of the ICE offices in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I pulled up in my car, and parked right next to a friend. She works for Catholic Charities, and was bringing a young mother and her three year old daughter for a “check-in.” They were rather concerned she might be detained. Another woman was with the family, a friend of theirs and a pastor of a church in Los Angeles. She asked if we could pray... Read more
[Originally published in the Lutheran Forum in 2007. Can’t believe I’ve been working this beat for over a decade and we’re now where we are… but we are where we are. I’d probably write this differently if I were writing it today (less academic, less ‘Lutheran-y’, but I’ve decided to re-post it given the tenor of our national conversation on immigration.] Radical Baptism Bearing the name of Christ through baptism creates a new community that transcends traditional boundaries, especially nationalist... Read more
Try this thought experiment with me: in our culture, what are incentives to the admission of culpability, failure, weakness, mistakes? From where I sit, it seems very few benefits accrue to those who apologize or make such admissions, and there are many disincentives. Admitting failure, apologizing for anything, is risky business. Admit a mistake, and people will pile on you. You’ve seen this happen, I’m sure. No wonder its a rare occurrence to actually admit guilt or fault. If you... Read more
Welcome to Lutheran Confessions, a long-term blog project of Clint Schnekloth. Thanks for joining a conversation around theology, the life of the church, the walk of faith, periodic reviews of books and music, and more. Clint is the author of Mediating Faith: Faith Formation in a Trans-media Era, published by Fortress Press. He has written for The Christian Century, Word & World and Patheos, among other publications. Clint earned his Doctor of Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary, and his Master’s of Divinity... Read more
A lot of people in my life and in my parish are new to Christianity or the life of the church. It’s not unusual to be asked a rather straightforward question: “So, how do I do this thing?” That’s a big, sprawling, epic question… what do I do now that I’m a Christian? It’s a good question, a very good question, because Christianity is indeed a “way.” And if you’re new to it, your heart has been warmed and you... Read more
This is not going to be short. But it will be as honest and clear as I know how to write it. And I’m going to start with a question I fielded recently on self-love. Does Jesus teach self-compassion? Or was Jesus only all about compassion for “The Other” and about self-sacrificing oneself to the point of severe abuse and death? First, one thing you are raising here is basically the feminist Christian critique of historical Christianity, which emphasized pride... Read more
Something this spring has contributed to a lot less focus, so not as much new content has arrived at Lutheran Confessions. In the meantime I have been at work on a new blog and web site, a partnership with some blogging co-authors. You can check out new content there, including a new post on Illegal Theologians: https://www.polifaith.com/blog/2018/4/30/caotnlmz6gh1xvt71feyza9v08sdl9 Read more
"So through the cross nothing happens "in God" but lots happens "in death." Death is changed. "HTo die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier" (Whitman).""Resurrection is in this way much more than we suspect it to be. It is not just the resurrection of one man, Jesus the Christ. It is instead the first fruits creation beyond creation, a hint at the even greater fulness of creation coming about in the continuing creativity of God, given as... Read more
Two years ago Arkansas did not resettle refugees with no U.S. ties. Today, we have a non-profit, Canopy NWA devoted to refugee resettlement, and providing resources for refugee and immigrant support and advocacy. Five years ago, our congregation did not have a catechumenate. Today, we average 50-60 new members participating in our year-long program preparing them for baptism or affirmation of baptism at the Easter Vigil. Early in the formation of Facebook, no group existed bring ELCA clergy together in... Read more
I know this blog is several years old, but a couple of comments. (1) I'm not aware of "Holy Wisdom, Holy Word" in any trial use liturgy in the Episcopal Church. The inclusive alternative to "The Word of the Lord" in "Enriching Our Worship" is "Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people." But it is an option now in Presbyterian Church (USA) liturgy: the first time I saw it was in the new PCUSA hymnal, "Glory to God."... Read more
Clint Schnekloth
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