Words From Our Pastors

Catholic or catholic Roughly a year ago I had someone come up to me and ask why we supported the Catholic Church in our Creed. They were curious because we had separated from the Roman Catholic Church back in 1517 with Martin Luther. Within this question there are several important tidbits that we have to remember when looking back at the history of Lutherans and Catholics. The importance of titles, the importance of theology, and […]

A Cheerful Giver I’ve heard it said so many times, “All that church does is ask for money!” I saw a cartoon once with two men stranded on a tiny little island, with sharks swimming around it. One said, “Nobody will ever find us.” To which the other replies, “Don’t worry. I pledged $100,000 to my church; my pastor will find us.” Many are turned off by the mere suggestion of stewardship, as a sour […]

Stewardship Pr. Chris asked me to write a paragraph or two on stewardship for this newsletter. Oh, my! Have you ever known me to confine myself to a paragraph or two in print or conversation? The theme, I’m told, is sacrifice, a word that strikes nearly as much terror into the hearts of modern Christians as its synonym, “give,” a four-letter word that is never spoken in polite company. We understand the concept of “no […]

How I Began In my former life — that is when I lived life on the other side of the collar — I got a phone call from my Pastor. He informed me that he wanted to stop by my house that night for a stewardship visit. Stewardship, to me, was synonymous with money. My money. The money I earned and my church wanted to get hold of. My immediate reflex was to reach for […]

Titles: Part 1 Mother, Father, Sister, Friar As we journey through life we will all encounter pivotal moments that change and define our lives. In many of these life changes we encounter a new way of identifying ourselves. Son or Daughter when we are born, Husband or Wife when we get married, Doctor, Pastor, or Captain for jobs, Father or Mother when we become parents. These titles shift and grow with us as our lives […]

Titles: Part 2 Reverend vs Pastor To many these titles are synonymous. They can be used interchangeably along with Father or Priest. However, to some there is a slight difference between these two titles. My pastoral supervisor when I was on internship instilled the difference within me and I appreciate his perspective. He had drawn my attention to the fact that the title of Reverend is bestowed to those who have a masters degree of […]

Titles: Part 3 Friar vs. Brother Two names that are often used by and for the Franciscans are Friar and Brother. A Friar is an individual who is a part of a Mendicant order. Now a mendicant is defined as a beggar or an individual who combines monastic life with outside religious activity. It just so happens that Franciscans were both, they often begged for food and the basic needs that they required. Our vow […]

Titles: Part 4 Becoming a Pastor In the ELCA we have a four year long system of listening, searching, following, teaching, leading, and guiding an individual through the call process. When we first start on this path we get a psychological examination, background checks, have an interview with a pastor of the area, and we have to have the sponsorship of a congregation. The next four years are filled will constant discernment. With graduate studies […]