For the shepherds outside of Bethlehem, the night of that first Christmas was just like any other night. All the sheep had been gathered in and there was nothing left to do except to keep watch, talk with one another, and stay stay close to the campfire, keeping warm. That night, however, their quiet routine was … More Hear, See and Go
A few years ago, I was a part of the team of folks that helped to put together the racial reconciliation roundtables that took place at the Owatonna Middle School after the high school experienced an incident of racial conflict. The goal of these sessions was to open lines of communication, and to have healthy, … More I See You
We are just one week away from the 2nd anniversary of the tornado that came through Owatonna, September 20th, 2018. Remember that one? For a couple of days, the power was out through most of the town, including here at church. We had to shout our way through the Saturday night worship service, and the … More Today We Start With Why
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 number of years ago, I was in New Orleans for a continuing education conference. I was in the hotel lobby, deep in conversation with a colleague after the evening session when we witnessed an interesting exchange. A man who looked to be homeless shuffled into the lobby and approached the front desk. I don’t … More A Turn in the Story
So how are you coming on those New Year’s resolutions? Are you on track? Or have you faltered? Have you been successful at (fill in the blank) losing weight, or eating healthier or reading your 1 book per week or whatever your resolution might be for 2019? Or do you feel like you’ve already crashed … More Through Jesus’ Love: We Welcome
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 II
As I write this, Trinity’s group of 47 youth and adult leaders are traveling to the ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas. Right now they are somewhere in Oklahoma, and are about 5 driving hours away from their destination. I’m pretty certain that they are all looking forward to getting off of the bus, getting … More This Changes Everything
As a young boy, probably 7 or 8 years old, I feared the moment. It was the moment I’d have to face my parents. It hadn’t even really occurred to me when my friend and I crouched down to use a stick to write our initials in the fresh, wet concrete of the sidewalk that … More Sheep and Goats
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
Test Driving Theology 