Posts from August 2024

Making Disciples

The word that we most commonly translate as “disciple” is the Greek word “matheteis”. At the most basic level, it just means “learner”. Often times a matheteis was a particular kind of learner, someone who was in a sort of apprenticeship program, but not always. I think that unfortunately, sometimes Christians don’t feel like they…

Better to give

Paul in Acts 20 quotes Jesus as saying, “It is better to give than to receive.” We often hear this quote around Christmas time when we’re buying presents for loved ones (and perhaps for less than loved ones as well). But this isn’t just a Christmas quote, it’s a way of life. We might have…

You are a light

Lutherans are used to confession. We do it every Sunday around here. We start our services off acknowledging, in some form, that we are “poor miserable sinners” and that “we have failed in our love towards God and as a result failed to love our neighbor,” and that “we are in bondage to sin and…

So my pastor has a call…

I announced this past Sunday that I have received a call to First Lutheran Church in Gainesville FL. As of right now, I am still prayerfully considering the possibility that God is calling me to leave University Lutheran and lead that church. Considering a call is a torturous process for a pastor, as it is…