For most of my ministry, I led Sunday morning worship out of the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978, Augsburg Publishing House). The order of service was the traditional Lutheran liturgy. Near the end of the service each week was the “The Prayer of the Church,” with a recommended format (along with other options). In the […]
3317) The Prayer of the Church Read More »
In a home for severely disabled children, Catherine was nurtured for twenty years. The child had been intellectually and physically disabled from the beginning and had never spoken a word. She either gazed quietly at the walls or made distorted movements. Her life seemed to consist of nothing more than eating, drinking, and
3313) Wasted Efforts? Read More »
Since I have retired, I have visited many churches. Some of them have been huge, seating many hundreds, even thousands, of worshipers. After worship, people may exit out of any one of many doors. Most of the churches I served were small, seating at the most 200, crowded in for big
3298) “Good Sermon, Pastor!” Read More »
A Methodist minister tells this story… A family of inactive members in his parish lived right next door to the church. The yard was a disgrace. Wrecked cars and discarded appliances littered the place. The grass was seldom mowed. The husband was a disgrace. He drank too much and rumors were that he
3247) Not All Churches are the Same Read More »
In Ecclesiastes 5:2 Solomon says, “Do not be quick with your mouth; do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth.” Or, we might say, “God is big and you are little, so show a little respect.” Every once
Above: Going to Church, 1960 (I’m the one wearing the black hat) ————————————- Clayton was a teenager in my congregation several years ago. He was a good boy and always did what his parents told him to do. His parents told him to go along to church with them every Sunday morning, and
3192) Making Memories Read More »
Don’t miss the videos at the end– especially the first one! It was December 2019 and Lisa Clow was not at all in the Christmas spirit. It had been a difficult year and a half, and she was struggling. Finances had been a problem, she suffered a miscarriage, and some troubled relationships left
3099) Oh Come, All You Unfaithful Read More »
A while back an old friend told me he didn’t go to church anymore. He said, “It’s the same old thing: ‘things are bad now,’ the preacher always says, ‘but someday Jesus will return and then everything will be better.’ I’ve heard it all before.” My friend knows I am a
3078) Advent… Again Read More »
(…continued) When the Peter and Paul movie was first televised several years ago, I was in the midst of a difficult and complicated time in the congregation I was serving. These difficulties and complications had nothing to do with the basic, important things that the early church was focused on, but on far
2896) Back to the Basics (2/2) Read More »
In the traditional liturgy there are certain little dialogs between the pastor and the congregation that, over time, become automatic. For example, if the pastor says “The Lord be with you,” the congregation will respond with, “And also with you,” even if they don’t have their bulletin or hymnal ahead of them. In
2855) He Is Risen Indeed! Read More »
