The Web of Vocational Fidelity Feb13

The Web of Vocational Fidelity

Vocation – the belief that all of God’s people are called to lives of purpose, service, and meaning – has always been one of the most important theological convictions to me. But, as I’ve learned through several years of research funded by the Lilly Endowment, it is also one of the least understood or actualized. Many, many of our people who listen to teaching and preaching about vocation regularly nevertheless report that they do not feel called. That is, they do not see their work and play and volunteering and everyday relationships as things of particular concern to God and the church, let alone view them as arenas of God’s...

The Christian Faith and Wealth Feb12

The Christian Faith and Wealth

I am spending a lot of time in the Rockies of late. Last week it was several days with pastors in one of the Denver metro conferences of the Rocky Mountain Synod on retreat to talk about preaching in a changed and changing world. This week I am visiting with pastors of the Alberta Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada to discuss similar issues. With both groups the question has come up regarding how we might view and speak about our current situation not just as a problem – that is, defining it wholly in the terms of numerical decline – but also as an opportunity. One set of conversations has been particularly interesting to...

Luther and Beyond Nov01

Luther and Beyond

Two more videos today as we conclude our commemoration of Reformation Day. 1) The Reformation started by Martin Luther grew well beyond Luther, of course, and on this day of All Saints it seems appropriate to direct our attention to the many men and women who picked up and continued...

Luther, Indulgences, and the 95 Theses Oct31

Luther, Indulgences, and the 95 Theses

Today we continue our look at Martin Luther’s life and teaching, focusing in particular on his objection to the medieval church practice that started the Reformation: the sale of indulgences. Luther expressed his objections to this practice the way scholars have expressed themselves through the centuries: by writing a paper. In this case, that paper was an invitation to debate the practice of selling indulgences that came to be called The 95 Theses, posted in Wittenberg on this day 496 years ago. Two looks, then, at that pivotal event in history. The first is another except from the PBS documentary Martin Luther: Reluctant Revolutionary...

Luther and the Reformation in Greater Depth Oct30

Luther and the Reformation in Greater Depth

Today, rather than our usual Wednesday TED Talk, two videos from the Khan Academy, a collection of educators, artists, and professionals from a variety of disciplines that construct and post videos for free for anyone who wants to watch and learn. I’ll post more on the Kahn Academy next week, but for now I want briefly to introduce these two videos as we continue our commemoration of the Reformation. The first video one sets the context for the Reformation, introducing us to Luther’s world and to Luther. The second one delves into the Reformation itself, particularly as it centered around Luther, explaining the historical context and...

Luther’s Assault on Church Authority Oct29

Luther’s Assault on Church Authority

Yesterday I began a series of posts on Martin Luther and the Reformation in commemoration of Reformation Day. I have been looking for video clips that help to illustrate various elements of Luther’s life and theology. The challenge is that there are very few complete videos, at least that are both pretty good and relatively brief. So instead I will share a couple of clips that illustrate various elements of Luther’s life and, when possible, direct you via hyperlink to larger segments. The clip we watched yesterday, from Biography.com, illustrated the early part of Luther’s life, tracing his journey from a planned career in law to...