May 2009
University Lutheran ENews - Finals Week - 4/30 →
What have you left behind, and what does it tell you about how God created you and redeemed you?
April 2009
April 30: Judges 8, Psalm 109, Romans 14-15 →
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Confessional = Emergent
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, and I’ll be interested if it makes some heads turn.
I think the Confessional movement within the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has many similarities to the Emergent movement that we’ve seen in protestant evangelicalism (note: “Emergent” does not necessarily equate with “Emerging”, a much broader grouping...
April 29: Judges 6-7, Psalm 108, Romans 12-13 →
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Kill your president, elect a blowfish
(or, “Effective church and campus ministry governance.”)
When I was a vicar (pastor intern) at the University of Florida, I forced my student board to learn Robert’s Rules of Order for our meetings.
Or…at least I tried to force them to do that. It didn’t work out so well. I’m glad it didn’t. I learned something…at their expense (sorry guys).
...
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The Cipher
Believe it or not, I was really really into hip hop when I was in highschool (and still listen to a lot of underground, not-so-commercialized stuff). I know, how stereotypical, a white boy in his teens very much into hip hop…
I learned some interesting things listening to hip hop. I would say that it actually has affected my preaching style at least to some extent sylistically.
One of...
WatchTrue Believers by Bouncing Souls
April 28: Judges 4-5, Psalm 107:23-43, Romans 9-11 →
April 27: Judges 2-3, Psalm 107:1-22, Romans 8 →
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Are you living the dream?
Click here to subscribe...
April 26: Judges 1, Psalm 106:24-48, Romans 7 →
April 25: Joshua 23-24, Psalm 106:1-23, Romans 5-6 →
April 24: Joshua 21-22, Psalm 105:26-45, Romans... →
The Origins Project →
The new “Emerging-Conservative” movement that has been talked about by people like Dan Kimball, Scott McKnight, etc.
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So you want to start a Campus Ministry?
While I was surfing Facebook, I noticed that a classmate of mine from the Seminary was asking for tips on starting a campus ministry. That’s where this comes from.
Because that’s where it comes from, before we get started - I would love it if you could pray for Pastor Brandt Hoffman and his congregation, Zion, as they begin to think about reaching out to the University of Alaska -...
University Lutheran ENews - 4/23 →
Have you been rescheduled? What do our schedules tell us about our lives, and how does Christ reschedule us?
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Branding - the Mission Statement 2.0
Mission Statements are both stale and hot in my church body, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Stale because they’re “old technology”, hot because my people can’t seem to keep up with the pace of the rest of the world and we’re trying to reheat old junk (hey, you never know, it could be tasty).
Of course Mission Statements are very 1985-1995. Nobody cares about...
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If...
There’s a great poem by Rudyard Kipling (of Jungle Book fame) entitled “If” that I was forced to memorize as a child (approx 5th grade I think). Ever since then it has been one of those standards that I have used to help me navigate humanity, my own and those I choose to surround myself with. It’s good to remind yourself every now and then.
If you can keep your head...
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What's it look like?
Mission statements in churches usually bug me - at least mission statements that are over-talked, placed on websites, etc. I feel like you’re trying to sell me something phony.
If you’re “Christians growing in Christ through worship, fellowship, witness, service and outreach into our community and world!” (Immanuel Lutheran Church, I don’t know these folks - just...
“We’re setting fires to light the way, we’re burning it all to begin...”
– Rise Against from “Bricks” on The Sufferer and The Witness
April 23: Joshua 19-20, Psalm 105:1-25, Romans 2 →
Don Miller on Narrative Expressions from Q2008 →
An interesting talk from Don about story
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What inspires you?
Andrew Bolin over at the LHM Catalyst blog asked an interesting question today that I haven’t given enough reflection time to lately.
The question is simple, but it’s ramifications are deep - especially when you get into answering it:
What are the motivators in your life and in your ministry? Basically - what inspires you to do what you do?
Here’s some thoughts I quickly...
April 22: Joshua 16-18, Psalm 104, Romans 1 →
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High maintenance customer non-service
Many of you know that I’m getting married in June. If you didn’t know that - SURPRISE! (p.s. there’s a link up above that says “wedding stuff” and will lead you to places where you can buy Liz and I wedding presents…which you want to do because you rock like that.)
Part of getting married is registering for gifts. Liz and I are planning on registering at 3-4...
Watch“This Is Broken” talk by Seth Godin at Gel 2006
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Everybody loves a story
Everyone loves a story, even a cheesy story. I’ll listen to a cheesy story any day of the week over a lecture…the only problem with that is that sometimes the information I want doesn’t come in story form - but if it did, I would listen to the story.
In the 50’s, Lutheran Hour Ministries knew the power of a story. They started putting out these TV shows called...
WatchThe ‘59 Sound from The Gaslight Anthem
The sinner-saint reverberates…
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Have you believed because you have seen Him?...
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All around the campfire...
I’m not really a “kumbaya” kind of guy. When most people are talking about everyone just getting along, I’m the guy saying: “I don’t like him - he smells. Hey you, smelly guy, take a shower.”
Now if you don’t smell, then I’m not going to complain about you. And I’m not even going to be as foolhardy as to think that I never smell...
April 21: Joshua 14-15, Psalm 103, Acts 28 →
April 20: Joshua 12-13, Psalm 102, Acts 27 →
April 19: Joshua 10-11, Psalm 101, Acts 26 →
WatchWhite Wedding by Billy Idol
Doing a wedding today for Jennifer Barnhill and Noah Valenstein, pray for them that God might bless their marriage
April 18: Joshua 8-9, Psalm 100, Acts 24-25 →
April 17: Joshua 5-7, Psalm 99, Acts 23 →
University Lutheran ENews - 4/16 →
Some of what the gym taught me about being unchurched
Gadget Graveyard: 10 Technologies About to Go... →
I just wrote about things becoming obsolete - check out this list and see if you agree
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I haven’t reblogged much because until...