Feed Troubles Apr09

Feed Troubles

A quick word of apology and explanation to you all regarding the interruption in subscription service that led to a) no posts being sent since last Thursday and b) the onslaught of seven posts yesterday. While I doubt many of you noticed the lack of emails (I’ll confess that, with...

Preaching With Power Mar17

Preaching With Power

In the late Seventies, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Willis and the late Rev. Dr. Randolf L. Jones began exploring the possibility of finding a seminary home for their work with African American Pastors and their hopes to establish a program of study that focused on, and supported, the needs of the African American Church community in Philadelphia. After meeting with a number of disappointing responses, they brought their proposal to The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and, as Dr. Jones was fond of recounting, “While others said no, Lutheran said ‘YES’!” And the rest, as they say, is history. As with all great histories, this one...

Ministry in the Digital Age Feb26

Ministry in the Digital Age

If you’ve read just about anything I’ve written over the last few years, you will know that I’m keenly interested in how the church responds to the challenges and opportunities presented by living in the digital age. What do I mean by “digital age”? Well, various authors and thinkers define it in slightly different ways, but suffice it to say that it’s a world where we receive and increasingly share most of our information – which of course includes our thoughts and beliefs about meaning and identity – via digital platforms. All of which is why I’m so excited to invite you to hear a...

Lenten Devotions: The Passion According to John Feb17

Lenten Devotions: The Passion According to John

Beginning tomorrow, Lent is once again upon us. As in year’s past, I’ll jump ahead to where we currently are in our devotional journey through John’s Gospel – the monumental John 3:16, no less! – to John’s story of the Passion of our Lord. (We’ll return to finish the rest of John after working through the passion story in Lent and resurrection accounts at Easter.) I have long suspected that preachers should treat the Gospels the way parents regard their children – no favorites! But while I’ve managed that with ease with my kids, I confess I haven’t done as well with the Gospels. And, truth be told, John is probably my...

Andy Root & Audrey West…For Free! Dec02

Andy Root & Audrey West…For Free!

Today, as you’ve no doubt heard, is “Giving Tuesday,” the day recently invented and named to compete with “Black Friday,” and “Cyber Monday” and that seeks to invite us to turn for a few moments from seeking bargains to make a difference through our charitable giving. Which means that by the time you read this post you’ve likely already received several worthy requests today. (And, if you’re on the LTSP mailing list, you’ve received on from me today on behalf of our students! And if you feel left out, you can read about that here. 🙂 ) But as this is Giving Tuesday, I’d like also to give you something. A chance to...

From Matthew to John Nov22

From Matthew to John

Today’s Daily Bread devotional, on the (in)famous parable of the sheep and the goats, brings us to the end of our devotional tour through the Gospel According to Matthew. It’s not quite the end of Matthew, of course, as there are still three more chapters. But we began while we...