Towards the end of my trip to the southeast, I drove from Atlanta up to Charlotte, North Carolina. There, I spent some time with Pastor Scott Suskovic, the senior pastor at Christ Lutheran Church. I had met Pastor Scott a few times, at the “Senior Pastors of Large ELCA Congregations” conference that I participate in … More Visiting Christ Lutheran in Charlotte
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to sit down and visit with Pastor Mark Larson, the senior pastor at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta, Georgia. Redeemer is a historic downtown church in the Midtown area of Atlanta, which is just outside of downtown. Redeemer is a traditional, historic congregation that has a long … More Visiting Redeemer in Atlanta
On Sunday, after I worshipped at North Point Community Church, I had a chance to connect with Pastor Andrew Lewis, his wonderful spouse, Suzanne, and their 10 month old baby, Junia. Many of you will remember that Pastor Andrew was once “Intern Andrew” at Trinity, and was a wonderful and deeply appreciated part of our … More The Martin Luther King Center
On Sunday, I worshipped (in-person!) at North Point Community Church, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. North Point is a non-denominational church with 8 different campuses across the Atlanta area. If you add the worshipping attendance at all 8 campuses up, North Point averages over 35,000 people worshipping together every weekend. North Point is led by … More Worship at North Point
The past two Sundays, I had the opportunity to participate in worship online, from the comfort of our couch at home. First, with Church of the Resurrection, a large Methodist congregation in Kansas City, and then with Lutheran Church of Hope, a large church in Des Moines. My intent had been to worship in person … More Who is our Audience?
I have spent these weeks in my sabbatical trying to listen well. I want to hear God. I want to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit. I am looking for direction, and wisdom, and guidance. I want these things for our church, and for our family, and for my life. God speaks. I believe … More Listening Well
I love my Kindle. I love it because it’s convenient, and I can carry tons of books in a single, small device. Even more than that, I love it because when I decide to purchase a book, it’s just right there. Like magic. I hit the “purchase” button, and 10 seconds later, the book is … More The Long View
So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:21 Everything has a purpose…a reason…a “why.” The gifts of God, the fruits of the Spirit, are given for a purpose. And as the recipients of these gifts, that … More Gifts that Build
In my stack of summer sabbatical book reading, the next book on my list was “A Church Beyond Belief” by William Sachs and Michael Bos. Flipping the pages of the book, now that I’ve read it, I noticed that I have far fewer highlighted sections than I have in previous books. I think in this … More Sabbatical Reading: “A Church Beyond Belief”
St. Paul Lutheran Church is one of our sibling congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There are a lot of parallels between St. Paul and Trinity. The approximate size, age, style, staff and structure between the two congregations are very similar. We’ve also shared a pastor! Pastor Amanda served at St. Paul as … More Visiting St. Paul Lutheran; Davenport, Iowa
Test Driving Theology 