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...

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...

I don’t have a lot to say about the following poem. Sometimes that’s the only fit response when you encounter sheer wisdom. There is nothing say, just a great deal to ponder. William Martin’s counsel isn’t only for parents to children, I believe, but for all of us. For how can we give or ask for that which we haven’t experienced ourselves. And so before we can invite our children to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, we ourselves need to practice that discipline. A meal cooked by a friend. The quiet fidelity of a spouse. A warm fire to banish for a moment the chill of winter. A good book. A shoulder to cry on. A hand to...