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
A question I wonder about a lot is: “When God imagines Trinity in the days to come, what does God see?” Our leadership has spent a lot of time thinking…and praying about this question. We are confident in our mission, (Remember the mission? “Through Jesus’ love we welcome, connect, learn and serve.”) But what does it look like to be … More God’s Vision for Trinity
Dear friends, I hope you are well and healthy! During this strange time in our life together as a community, I wanted to give you an important update on the state of Trinity Lutheran Church. We’ve been living together in this time of the pandemic now for well over a month, and as the church, … More An Important Update on the State of the Church
A centennial celebration is a significant day…a milestone in the life of a congregation. And on this important day, to mark this milestone, I have written a letter, which I would like to share with you. The letter is addressed to my successor, the senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Owatonna, Minnesota for the … More A Letter to my Successor
Today is the day! 100 years ago this evening, a group of about 60 people gathered in the Universalist Church building in downtown Owatonna and decided that it was time to form a new church. Up until that point, the Lutheran churches in Owatonna offered worship or confirmation in only Danish, German or Norwegian. The … More Today is the Day! Happy Birthday…To Us!
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
The news release begins with the words: “Lutherans from around the world and ecumenical guests gathered at the Sam Nujoma stadium, in Windhoek, Namibia for the global commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.”(1) These people have gathered for the annual meeting of the Lutheran World Federation, when leaders and representatives from all of … More A Global Reformation: Looking Forward
This is an exciting time in the life of Trinity Lutheran Church! During the last two years, great work has been done by the congregation gathering data, thoughts, hopes and dreams. Three separate visioning process have taken place during this time: Over 800 Trinity members took the CAT (Church Assessment Tool) survey. Over 300 Trinity … More Trinity’s Future: Next Steps
Test Driving Theology 