There are some things we cannot understand or describe. God’s love is one of them. There are no words adequate to describe God’s infinite capacity to love. Humans often try to define, or even to limit who is worthy of God’s love based on our own criteria or understandings. But the scriptures tell us a … More A Love We Cannot Measure
A few years ago, Pope Francis went to visit a small church in a poor neighborhood of Rome. As a Lutheran pastor, I don’t put a lot of stock in the Catholic doctrine of papal authority, and I don’t agree with everything Pope Francis says…I do think that he has interesting perspectives…and I appreciate his … More Whisper in God’s Ear
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! I’m guessing that most of you are familiar with the story of Jesus’ resurrection. After his death, Jesus was put into a tomb, and a giant stone was rolled in front of the entrance. Three days later, disciples go to the tomb, but find that it has been opened and Jesus … More The Rest of the Story
It was late at night and our caravan of cars was driving back to the camp where we worked in northwest Wisconsin. I was probably 20 or 21 years old. We’d been to Duluth for our “end of the summer” camp-staff banquet. My good friend, Brent was driving, I was riding shotgun, and 3 other camp counselors were … More Created to Tell Stories
My watch tells me a lot about myself. It’s a smart watch…and every day, it tells me if I’ve moved enough…if I’ve stood enough…and if I’ve hit my exercise goal for the day. It will tell me my heart rate…it will evaluate the quality of my sleep, and it will tell me exactly how many steps I’ve … More Created to Worship
Thanks to all of you for being here today! I’m so glad to see you. I love these meetings…I love them because they are an opportunity for us to talk together about our mission, and our ministry…and there are very few things that I get more excited about than talking about the work that God has called … More “The State of Trinity” – The Annual Report from Pastor Todd to the Congregation
Last spring, Lori and I were in Fort Lauderdale, doing the best we could to absorb, in just a few days, enough sunshine and warmth to compensate for the Minnesota winter we’d just experienced. (Remember lastwinter?) One afternoon, we decided to take a boat tour through the canal system that ran from the ocean, to where the … More When We Are Raised Up
Humans want to be included. In fact, we have a fundamental need to be accepted, welcomed, even wanted. We long to be invited. We hope to be included. We want to belong. And so we gather. We get together in groups, or neighborhoods, or clubs, based on things we share in common. We gather in stadiums (Skol!), in arenas, in homes, … More The Day the Sky Was Torn Open
In his book, The Easy Yoke, author Doug Webster tells a story about a young, energetic and idealistic seminary student in Philadelphia. His name was Ted, and he was studying to be a pastor. In fact, he dreamed about being a pastor. It’s all he’d wanted to be since seventh grade. He was motivated. He had energy. He had enthusiasm. His first seminary class was called “How … More When Broken Dreams are Mended
Grace and peace to you, from God our creator, and from Jesus, our Savior, who calls us to prepare the way for love. Communication is instantaneous. Once upon a time, it wasn’t. People of a certain age: Do you remember a thing called “long distance?” Do you remember waiting until after 9pm to make a call, when the phone … More Those Who Dream…Prepare the Way
Test Driving Theology 