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”
On Wednesday of this week, I had the opportunity to spend time and draw wisdom from two different ELCA congregations in the Los Angeles area. Both congregations were suggested to me as sites to visit because they are known for thinking creatively about how these churches connect with their community. Salem Lutheran Church in Glendale … More Meeting the Community Where It’s At
Lori and I love going to the movies. There is something fun about heading to the theater, and getting a bag of popcorn, and settling in to a really, really good story. And I’ve got to tell you, once the theaters put those recliners in, you know, the ones with the heated seats…I’m pretty sure I could … More Don’t Skip the Previews
In the spring of 2014, our family was living in Maple Grove, when I was in the call process to become the pastor here at Trinity. Shortly after the call process was complete, and we knew that our family was moving to Owatonna, Pastor Peter Strommen, who was the interim pastor here at the time, invited … More A Change in Perspective
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
A sermon by Pastor Cindy, Deacon Kris, Pastor Todd and Pastor Amanda (in abstentia) In his book, UnChristian, researcher David Kinnaman studied the attitudes and perspectives of those who choose not to participate in a church, or a faith community. These are not necessarily people who don’t believe in God, or don’t have faith, but … More We are #ForOwatonna
There is a whole series of psychological exams that students at our seminaries have to undertake. These exams dig deep into our family history, our personality characteristics and our sense of call to become a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. When I went through this process, I had to go to a … More Right Here, Right Now
Trinity is a high-energy congregation, and it seems like everything is changing…all the time. And that’s ok. Change doesn’t scare us…we embrace the ongoing movement of God’s Spirit in our community. But I want to make sure that in the midst of transition, we communicate well with the congregation about what is going on, and … More TableTalk on Sunday Morning
“Holy Ground” Mark 9:2-8 Pastor Todd Buegler March 1-2, 2014 Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and from Jesus Christ, who calls us to follow. Amen. I have a theory. I believe that everybody has a place that is meaningful to them. It is a place where you may go to recharge … More Holy Ground
Test Driving Theology 