The seed was planted early for me to enter church work. There were the older members of the congregation who, when I was a second grader, pinched my cheek after I said my lines in the Christmas program and remark, "What a nice voice! You should be a pastor!" Then there was Pastor Werth, inviting me and some other newly confirmed kids to a “visit weekend” at our local Concordia. I didn’t think all that seriously about it at the...

Each year, the Pacific Southwest District offers loan repayment grants for newly graduated called church workers in the first three years of their first call serving in the district.  This year the grant fund has $6,000 to offer to workers who fit that criteria.  If you are a newly called pastor, teacher, DCE or other rostered church worker, consider applying for the 2019 grant.  The application deadline is Oct. 15, 2019....

Ask, Thank, Tell by Charles R. (Chick) Lane  2006  Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis

“I have seen too many congregations denied the joy of giving by a mentality that sees stewardship only as away to get the congregation’s bills paid.”(p.5)  Chick Lane has been in position to make the above observation after working with hundreds of congregations while on the staff of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA for nine years...

Several years ago, our church was struck by an arsonist. The office was destroyed, the sanctuary rendered unusable. At that point, multiple questions arise. Where will services be held? Are church records backed up? Was anything of value stored there? Is our parishioners contact information available? What can we do to improve the recovery process if this happens again?

Do you, your congregation and your church have emergency p...

New Year’s resolutions are quite popular, with people committing themselves to various projects, whether self-improvement or completion of long delayed items. Anyone who has a long-standing gym membership knows that the first two weeks of January are usually the busiest. Then things taper off as the commitment fades into oblivion. I too have some resolutions which concern the PSD’s Health Ministry efforts. To bring these resol...

Recently I was listening to a Jr. High Ministry podcast, yes, there are podcasts just for junior high ministry.  This podcast featured Patrick Lencioni as a guest. During the podcast, the host ask Lencioni to talk about mission statements.  Rather than providing the usual discussion on distinguishing between mission and vision statement, Lencioni sent the discussion in a very different and very helpful direction.

How many...

Generation Z is the largest generation in the nation. They were born in the 90’s and 2000’s, and the youngest of them are between age 2 and 19. They are the most digitally connected, most savvy in social media, and they are oriented towards experience. They are poised to change America’s values in significant ways, and one of those ways is their impact on Christianity.

Meet Generation Z Understanding and Reaching the New Post-C...