From the Bishop

Joy in the Presence

Joy in the Presence

A week ago I was in Guatemala City for a visit to the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG), one of our global companions. I was accompanied by Pastor Justin Grimm, assistant to the bishop, and joined by Bishop Kevin Strickland and Pastor Justin Eller from the...

When the Children Ask

When the Children Ask

Sermon for Joint Fall Ministerium 2024 Woodlake Lutheran Church, Richfield Joshua 4:1-7 Grace and peace to you in the name of the Living God. AMEN. Who formed you in faith? In this crowd I know that everyone has a story. None of us would be here at this gathering of...

God’s Comeuppance

God’s Comeuppance

Sermon for 2024 Bishop’s Theological Conference 2024 Arrowwood Resort, Alexandria MN Luke 12:16-21 Grace and peace to you in the name of our Living and Merciful God. AMEN. Maybe you know someone like this, too. Several years ago, I received one of those...

The Church of St. Bartimaeus

The Church of St. Bartimaeus

Sermon for Synod Assembly Worship 2024 Mark 10:46-52 St. Andrews, Mahtomedi Grace and peace to you from God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN. He didn’t have a lawn chair or an overturned, five-gallon bucket from Home Depot to sit on, or...

We Belong Together

We Belong Together

Spring Ministerium 2024 Christ the King, New Brighton Ephesians 4: 1-7, 11-16 Grace and peace to you in the name of the Triune God. AMEN. Weren’t we just together? It feels like yesterday when we blessed one another in the vocations to which we have been called. The...

God’s Gathered Church

God’s Gathered Church

Homily for Toolkit 2024 Faith, Forest Lake Ephesians 4:11-13 Grace and peace to you in the name of the Triune God. AMEN. In the evening, when I am home from the office and have eaten my supper, there is always more work still to do. Dishes in the sink. Laundry to be...

God’s Beckoning Call

God’s Beckoning Call

Indeed, you delight in truth deep within me, and would have me know wisdom deep within. Psalm 51:6 (ELW) I don’t know about you, but my sense of meteorological seasons is all messed up this year. That is not a complaint, but it is disorienting to have a Minnesota...

Reflections on Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reflections on Martin Luther King, Jr.

During my senior year in high school, we read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from A Birmingham Jail in our English class. As part of a class project, we planned and led an assembly for other seniors on the yearning for peace and the rationale behind non-violent...

Stopping With My Feet on the Ground

Stopping With My Feet on the Ground

During my recent visit to the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania, I was there on the day that bicycles and motorcycles were given to several dozen pastors and evangelists to aid their travel between preaching points. During the chapel service on the day these gifts were to be...