There’s a hymn that goes “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home,” written by a guy named Thomas Taylor. It was eerily published a year after he went to his home, heaven, at the age of 28 after an illness. Throughout the hymn, Thomas Taylor compares the ills of the world with the…

The first Easter happened with 10 men huddled in a room with doors locked for fear of the Jewish authorities. Jesus’ 12 disciples, minus Judas, minus Thomas who was out doing something, were quarantined in a room just barely meeting today’s CDC guidelines for group gatherings. John tells us something important – they were afraid.…

This Sunday begins the period of time that we know as Holy Week – a week that encompasses the observances of Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and of course, Easter Sunday. Of course, this also continues to be an extension of the “Sundays in Live Stream” season that we have been encountering due to…

One of my least favorite stereotypes about Lutherans is that Lutherans are afraid of/reluctant to/allergic to/etc innovation. If this is at all true, it is a heresy that has crept into our denominational blood stream. Lutherans are pioneers. We pioneered the Reformation. We pioneered the printing press. We largely pioneered radio ministry. But somewhere along…

I’ve been hearing the word “unprecedented” quite a bit lately. The word means “never known or done before,” which may not describe the COVID19 pandemic exactly, but it has at least been about a lifetime since we’ve had something similar. We certainly haven’t had the technology that we have today to deal with the pandemic,…

There’s this band I like. Their name is the Hold Steady. There’s a lot that I like about them. But one of the things that I like most is how they end a show.  They start by playing “Killer Parties,” the last song from their first album with this great bass line. And at the…

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness” is one of those phrases that bunches of people think comes from Scripture, but doesn’t. See also: “This too shall pass,” “God helps those who help themselves.” It actually appears to be a paraphrase of a quote by the philosopher Francis Bacon who said, “Cleanness of the body was ever…

Ashes, dust, human, mortal, finite. All of these things describe us. They describe who we are in relation to the world. They describe who we are in relation to God. This relational human life becomes a series of lens shifts, expanding the frame to keep from being lonely or bored, or narrowing it to keep…

Recently Pastor Jay announced that he had received a call from Holy Trinity Tampa FL. Understanding that there are many questions about this process and what it entails, this email newsletter will seek to explain how the entire process works in our church body. This is a longer article than what we normally publish, but…