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Maybe the ELCA should become Lutheran

Last Updated October 20, 2009 by Matt 8 Comments

I listened to a lecture for class yesterday by Dr. Walter Sundberg that included some great quotes that give a hint of Luther’s ecclesiology. The radicalness of his vision for the church, especially considering the authoritarian hierarchy of the day, is remarkable. Does the ELCA want some suggestions for a way forward, a way of […]

Filed Under: emerging church Tagged With: elca, Luther

The Church and the Rich Young Ruler

Last Updated August 31, 2009 by Matt Leave a Comment

I’m going to be preaching later this fall, and the gospel text for that Sunday includes Mark 10:17-23. In an initial reading of the passage, I couldn’t help but wonder if today we need to be reading the passage something like this: As Jesus started on his way, a pastor ran up to him and […]

Filed Under: Ecclesiology Tagged With: church, elca, rich young ruler

2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly: Thoughts from One in the Minority

Last Updated August 21, 2009 by Matt 23 Comments

“With the vote today, there was no ontological change in the church catholic or the ELCA” I am going to reveal my voting record pertaining to the resolutions regarding sexuality at this year’s ELCA Churchwide Assembly in order to hopefully offer some helpful perspective. I expect that my friends on both sides of the issue […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: #CWA09, Churchwide Assembly, elca

Transforming Churches into Mission Centers: Rethinking Ordination

Last Updated August 19, 2009 by Matt 3 Comments

I’m at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly as a voting member, and there has been some very encouraging discussion on the requirement for the church to become a missional church. Those of us in emergent/missional conversations know this to already be true, but making this a strong emphasis across a mainline national church body is a […]

Filed Under: Ecclesiology Tagged With: #CWA09, Churchwide Assembly, elca

Adventures in Ecclesiology: ELCA Churchwide Assembly

Last Updated August 12, 2009 by Matt 3 Comments

Some of you may or may not know this, but I am a voting member in next week’s ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Because of that, I received about 500 pages worth of the Pre-Assembly Report in the mail a few weeks ago. It’s filled with reports from churchwide officers and offices, recommendations for action, information about […]

Filed Under: Ecclesiology Tagged With: #CWA09, Churchwide Assembly, elca

Why We’re Not Going to the ELCA Youth Gathering

Last Updated July 15, 2009 by Matt 17 Comments

Disclaimer: Read this First! November 11, 2007, I wrote the original version of the post below as part of a larger series on a new way to do youth ministry. I have copied and pasted it with a few slight edits to make it applicable to this year’s ELCA Youth Gathering. So, please understand that […]

Filed Under: Youth Ministry Tagged With: #JJJ09, elca, ELCA Youth Gathering, events

ELCA Names

Last Updated June 11, 2009 by Matt 6 Comments

I’ve noticed since joining an ELCA church three years ago that the groups in the ELCA do not seem compelled like other Christian groups to come up with cool names for their organizations. You know, some might call their older groups something catchy like “Prime Time.” In the ELCA, it seems like we use only […]

Filed Under: Random Tagged With: elca

The ELCA’s Brand Campaign

Last Updated April 7, 2009 by Matt 1 Comment

Last week the ELCA announced the launch of a brand campaign, which immediately caught my attention. You can view all of the ads that the ELCA will be running in various television, print, outdoor, and online advertisements by clicking here. I must say that as far as church advertisements go, these are actually pretty good. […]

Filed Under: Ecclesiology Tagged With: brand campaign, elca, missional

Why are Politics and Theology Directly Related?

Last Updated October 13, 2008 by Matt 1 Comment

I find it interesting as I read blogs of people of certain theological persuasions during election season because you tend to learn their political leanings as well.  In reading through the various blogs this year I’ve noticed that most people on the more liberal end of the theological spectrum are liberal politically, and conservatives are […]

Filed Under: Ecclesiology, Theology Tagged With: 2008 election, elca, Politics

Best Youth Ministry Books

These are the books that will completely change the way you think about youth ministry, for the better. Links are to my reviews of each book.

Teen 2.0 by Robert Epstein

A psychologist makes you question every assumption you have about adolescence.

Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry by Andrew Root

Why build relationships? Root’s answer will surprise you.

Best Youth Ministry Books: Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Ostreicher

Yesterday I finally read Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Ostreicher, and since I’m one of the latecomers to the conversation I won’t summarize the book too much. Marko has linked to tons of reviews on his blog if you are interested in more in-depth summaries. If you are fairly in-tune with a lot of the […]

Best Youth Ministry Books: Postmodern Youth Ministry

Postmodern Youth Ministry by Tony Jones is the book I would recommend to youth ministers if they could just read one youth ministry book. I first read the book in my Foundations and Practices of Youth Ministry class at John Brown University. After the preface to the book there is a page titled, “The Day […]

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