RoboPreacher

make something else yer mission The farewell from Paul's letter to the church in Rome It’s a strange thing to gather here on a perfectly good Saturday evening or Sunday morning, you know…   Because we live in a world obsessed with getting things done . Don’t we? And, if you haven’t already noticed, nothing much ever really happens here . This is not the most exciting place to be.   We’re continuing our way though heroes of the Bible. And you may have noticed our last two heroes, Ruth and Esther, never seemed to spend an awful lot of time in the church. They were too busy , out there, getting things done . And we feel that same pressure, too. Don’t we? We all have to-do lists miles long. And the temptation to use the 90 minutes or so church occupies on any given week, is no joke. Isn’t it?   Today our hero is Phoebe .   While, there are plenty of other women listed in Paul’s conclusion to his letter to First Lutheran in Rom...

Right now I am physically in an in-between place. My summer with the Metro Lutheran has come to an end, and now I am in respite at my folk’s place for a few days until I start my journey west to begin my year-long internship. The back drop for this post is three different news articles. The first is one I wrote for the Metro Lutheran concerning women’s ordination, the second is an article about inclusive language in contemporary, North American, mainline churches (how’s that for a string of adjectives!), and the last is a fantastic article about the men and women in North America today. Briefly, a few words (well, adjectives) about myself: male, white, and lower-middle-class. Also, in-between places. You will have to forgive my lack of citations, I do not have access to my books, they are in transit. The question of gender is one that is of particular interest to me. One, I was not raised by my biological father, yet I did, and do, have many wonderful, loving male ...

This week I am finishing up on my story about women’s ordination. It’s been such a great experience. I’ve spoken with pastors about stewardship, gifts, theology, hope and sorrows. It’s humbling. At the end of this process I am emerging with a renewed sense about the importance of diverse perspectives and characteristics leading within the church. While this affirmation has to do with rights, it has a lot more to do with a promise; a promise of God’s presence and the promise of the goodness of God’s creation. Keeping those from ministry who bring new, unique and important gifts ultimately stunts the growth of the church. The growth I am talking about isn’t a growth in numbers, institutional strength, political prowess, social relevance or the like. Instead this growth is a promise to be part of God’s mission in the world . Once this story is published I will link it, and I am very excited to do so. Until then I have to sit on my hands and let the story go through the ed...