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
The first time I met Marlin, I was at Westhaven Children’s Home, outside of Montego Bay, in Jamaica. Westhaven is an orphanage for children with developmental disabilities. Our group was there to provide love and care for the kids, and to work on some physical projects at the orphanage to improve their quality of life. Because of … More When Your Heart Breaks
Christian churches around the world will gather this weekend to celebrate the Festival of Pentecost. Pentecost is the day that we celebrate the gift of God’s Holy Spirit to the people of God, who were drawn together to form Christ’s church. That first Pentecost was not a quiet event. Inside a house filled with people, the wind … More The Spirit Works Every Day
Today is the Festival of Pentecost. It is the day that we remember and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, which comes to all of God’s people in the waters of our baptism. In the church it is also our practice to mark important life milestones. And so today we also recognize and bless our high … More A Letter to my Son at his Graduation
“Get up and go.” If you were to ask me to quote some of the most important phrases in the Bible…these words would definitely be in my top five. Some version of “arise and go,” “get up and go,” or just “go” is spoken by God in just about every book of the Bible. They are … More Get Up and Go
There are events that occur that make you absolutely stop in your tracks and say to yourself “I can’t believe that just happened.” I remember when Lori woke me up in the middle of the night and said with a smile, “I think it’s time.” And we hustled to the hospital. Eight hours later, I’m holding Nathan … More We’ve Got to Talk
At their confirmation retreat a couple of weeks ago, our 10th graders had the opportunity to ask faith questions about things they were still wondering about. We discussed as many as we could, but I said that I would try and answer the questions that remained on my blog over the next few weeks. Here … More 10th Grade Faith Questions Part III
Earlier this week, I wrote in my blog about the first time I was called in to a hospital room where the patient, an elderly gentleman, was dying and his family was, understandably, in crisis. I was doing my student chaplaincy at Unity Medical Center in Fridley, and while the man lying unconscious in the … More When the Spirit Breaks our Hearts
One of my all-time favorite movies is the 1981 blockbuster, “Raiders of The Lost Ark,” where Indiana Jones discovers the Ark of the Covenant, the 4-foot long container holding the two tablets of the 10 commandments that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai. After a long struggle with the Nazis, Indiana Jones takes the Ark … More When God says “Go”
Test Driving Theology 