Southwest Minnesota Synod Assembly, April 21-22

I attended my synod assembly this past weekend in the southwestern Minnesota town of Redwood Falls. Or as Jon Bishop Anderson (see photo) calls this event, “The great Southwestern Minnesota get together.” And great it was with over 750 people in attendance gathered under the theme of “You will be my Witnesses” from the first chapter of Acts.

I am probably one of those rare pastors who doesn’t mind attending the synod assembly and find most of it quite enjoyable. Alright the sitting for long periods of time and sometimes the debate around the resolutions that need voting upon is not always the most fun, but those are outweighed by better things.

Here is a list of the things I enjoy:

• Catching up on the lives of my colleagues, friends and classmates who may work in the same synod, but whom I only get to see on sporadic occasions.
• Worshipping and singing with such a “great cloud of witnesses.”
• Being immersed in scripture by wonderful Bible study leaders.
• Being informed about all that is happening not only in the synod, but in the larger Church as well.
• And by participating in the assembly, I feel good that I have contributed to the larger workings of the Church and have been given opportunity to make my voice heard.

I was reminded how young the ELCA is when I read that the 20th anniversary will be celebrated this summer at the churchwide assembly in Chicago. We haven’t even reached the drinking age yet. I will admit those teenage years were tough, lots of talk about sexuality and getting along with our ecumenical brothers and sisters. Growing up is hard. But as a pastor who has worked with many young people and watched them mature over the years, I am hopeful.

My thanks to the interns whom I sat with at the assembly from Luther Seminary (see photo) Jonathan Dahl and Dan Forsgren who added to my enjoyment of the assembly; it was fun guys.

Previews 2007

Every year hundreds of high school age youth and their pastors and or youth ministers descend upon our campus for Previews. Previews is an event that offers high schoolers a sneak peak at what being a seminary student is all about. Hopefully for some of those visiting, a foretaste (a preview) of the feast to come (their future).

You see, each high schooler who attends has been chosen by his or her pastor or youth minister as someone who exhibits gifts and talents for a future vocation in the church. Previews affirms these individuals and gives them a better understanding and view of what their future could entail. Participants have opportunity to worship with the seminary community, listen to the call stories of current students, meet faculty and staff, tour the campus, attend a class and enjoy a fabulous lunch.

I had lunch yesterday with a pastor who has brought high schoolers for many years and for some of them this is their second or even third visit. Each visit, he says, continues to deepen their sense of call and understanding of seminary study and life. Studies show that some young people begin a sense of call to ministry as early as 13-14 years of age and so having these high schoolers on our campus is not too soon to start cultivating and affirming what the Holy Spirit has already begun.

If you see a young person in your congregation who exhibits the gifts and talents for a future vocation in the church, don't hesitate to let them know you see that in them. They may baulk at such a suggestion, but your comment will continue to roll around in their head for many years, and then you just wait and see what God has in mind.

Ohio added stop

On my recent trip to Ohio to meet with prospective students at Capital and Wittenberg Universities with some of my colleagues from the other seven ELCA seminaries there was an added stop. We stopped at the Southern Ohio Synod office to meet with Bishop Callon Holloway Jr. What a delight!

For two hours my colleagues and I had a lively and candid conversation with Bishop Holloway on a variety of topics, but mostly about training and encouraging leaders for the church, as well as caring for the leaders we currently have. Bishop Holloway and the Southern Ohio synod are doing remarkable things in both of these areas and I applaud their efforts and thank them for their attentiveness to the health and well-being of those who do ministry.

Gracious God, I give you thanks for Bishop Holloway and the Southern Ohio synod staff and congregations. Grant them the wisdom, resources and energy they need to be attentive to the vocation to which you have called them and the ministers and ministries to which they attend. May their work strengthen the partnership we all share in the ELCA in proclaiming the Gospel. In the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

OH Swing, April 11-12, 2007

I recently traveled with some of my colleagues from the other seven ELCA seminaries to Ohio for our last trip to the ELCA colleges for this school year (many colleges hold graduation the first weekend in May). It was my first time visiting Capital University, Columbus, OH and Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH. With these two added to my list I have now visited 18 out of the 28 ELCA colleges; not bad. It is wonderful our denomination offers such high quality education for its young people.

Our first stop was Capital University. Here I had an opportunity to preach in chapel and more importantly to celebrate the festival of Easter once again; it was a joyous experience. After chapel we were able to meet with prospective students over lunch and spend time answering their specific questions regarding seminary study.

Again at Wittenberg we had similar opportunities to gather with students during chapel and over lunch.


It was an interesting time to be on the road with my colleagues, for this is the time that each seminary's scholarship award letters are being received by prospective students for next fall. So not only did we meet students who had received these letters and were discerning which seminary they were going to attend, but we also received phone calls from students letting us know whether they were attending our seminary or another.

For example, one young man was deciding between three seminaries - Southern, Philadelphia, and Luther - and he chose Southern. Now one might think, boy that must have been an uncomfortable trip with such competition in the air; but it wasn't. In fact the whole trip was very collegial. Yes, each of us who works in admissions is eager for students to come to our school because we are proud of what we can offer as a theological institution; but more importantly, we want what is best for the student and for the church as a whole. I admire my colleagues for this attitude and I think each of our institutions, and the church, is better served because of it.

My thanks to three Luther Seminary alumni for hosting us: Pastor Kurt Keljo, campus pastor at Capital; and husband and wife Pastors Rachel Sandum Tune and Andy Tune, campus pastors at Wittenberg. It was a pleasure to meet them and bring them greetings from their alma mater.

TheoRush, 3-30-2007

The Western Mission Cluster (WMC) which is a partnership between Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) and Luther Seminary (LS) was recently given a million dollar grant from the Lilly Foundation. The grant covers a myriad of initiatives to enhance the recruitment of prospective students, for both seminaries, covering a full range of demographics: high school age, college age, second career, all ethic groups, new Americans and persons whose primary language is other than English. The target geography is regions one, two and three of the ELCA.

TheoRush is one such initiative for high school age students and was held this past weekend on the campus of Luther Seminary in conjunction with a multisynodical Sr. High Youth Gathering taking place in downtown St. Paul. A total of 65 youth attended.



The intent of TheoRush is, over a three hour period of time, to allow high schoolers to dive deeply into the scriptures in a way they have never experienced before and by so giving them the experience and skills to be young theologians. It was to be a "theological rush" like one gets not from doing something quickly but from doing something extreme, edgy, powerful. And it was. I overheard one youth say, "It was the best part of the whole weekend."

Once on campus the high schoolers were introduced to the primary teacher for TheoRush, Rolf Jacobson, professor of Old Testament at LS, who lead them through a text from the book of Amos.

After Prof. Jacobson's introduction to the text, the students moved into small groups lead by seminarians. Together the group learned how to research a text and then was given individual time and resources to do so.

Snack break!

Then back to the text with Prof. Jacobson, unpacking what the students had learned in their small groups and what that contributed to interpreting the text from Amos.

Our time together ended with worship lead by seminarians, one of whom preached on the text for the day.

Before loading the buses and heading back to the hotel for the rest of the Youth Gathering, the participants entered a drawing to win a study Bible, a gift and resource for future engagement in the scriptures.

TheoRush was a great success and I am excited about leading other events like this across regions one, two and three of the ELCA. So if you are a high school student, a youth minister or pastor and would like more information on where events like this will be taking place, please contact me. One such event might be coming to an area near you.