Applesauce Communion and Critical Thinking

This months edition of the Lutheran magazine (February 2012) provided some thought-provoking tidbits. APPLESAUCE COMMUNION When I first saw the title, I thought, "Oh God... can this be as bad as the Dr. Seuss liturgy highlighted last month?" (You can check that one out for yourself in the January 2012 issue). Thankfully, I was pleasantly … Continue reading Applesauce Communion and Critical Thinking

Review: Faith Inkubators “Head to the Heart”

As an intern pastor, one of my assignments has been to help teach the Confirmation classes at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in cooperation with my supervising pastor and the education director. The class numbers roughly 30 kids in any given week. Most of the kids cannot sit still or stop talking unless a teacher is … Continue reading Review: Faith Inkubators “Head to the Heart”

Visitors to the Table

I sat down at a small round table in the fellowship hall where two visitors munched on coffee cake and sipped Kool-Aid. I had met them earlier in the hallway; their friend, a member of the congregation and the one who had invited them to our church in the first place needed help answering a … Continue reading Visitors to the Table

King James’s 400 Years of Inadequacy

First, I sincerely apologize to my Episcopalian friends. I saw over and over on Facebook today that the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, the "Authorized" version of the Bible in the English language, is upon us. If they haven't already, I'm sure that many people are making great plans for how to celebrate … Continue reading King James’s 400 Years of Inadequacy

What Makes a True Believer?

I had a conversation with an older gentleman after church today. He told me about his experiences with other denominations while looking for a church. Hearing his story, I invited him to Pub Theology next week because the topic is “Christian Unity and How to Deal with 'Those' People” (we needed a catchy tag-line that … Continue reading What Makes a True Believer?