Download Life Guide I recently attended a workshop by MLC Professor Mark Paustian called “Communicating Christ in the 21st Century.” One of Prof. Paustian’s phrases stuck with me. “Our current cultural narrative strives to reach a point where no one is condemned for who they are or what they do.” Basically, society wants to establish […]
Download Life Guide Sometimes you see it in the headlines. Sometimes you don’t. In Libya, 21 Christians are put to the sword by ISIS fighters. In Egypt, Palm Sunday services are shattered by a bomb that kills dozens of Coptic Christians. In North Korea, hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian men, women and children are […]
Download Life Guide In their most recent study the Pew Research Center reported that of the over 7 billion people on earth roughly 30 % of them are Christian. The most recent estimates put the number of total deaths on this planet at about 150,000 people per day… or an average of 2 people each […]
Download Life Guide In my work as a member of our synod’s Assignment Committee, I have the great privilege of helping to assign young pastors to their first congregation. It’s a responsibility that no one on the committee takes lightly. We study the needs of each congregation requesting a pastor and then we pore over […]
I expect you saw the news this week. In our nation’s capital, a man tries to turn a baseball practice into a killing field. On the other end of the country, another man leaves three dead at a UPS facility. I don’t have to tell you that the world we live in is a dangerous […]
Download Life Guide This past Wednesday the Capital Times in Madison reported on a hearing in which Wisconsin State Representative Jesse Kramer stated his belief that the earth was 6,000 years old – something he claimed as an article of faith. Also on Wednesday the New York Times reported on a scientific discovery of fossils […]
Download Life Guide You were just hired to work in a carpentry shop. Your first day on the job, your boss assigns you the task of making a beautiful cabinet. Excited for your first project, you grab the necessary lumber, and ask your boss where he keeps the tools. He responds, “Oh…yeah, sorry! We don’t […]
Download Life Guide I’ve been thinking a lot about my nephew Caleb lately. Two weeks ago Caleb Raasch finished his first year at Martin Luther College, studying to be a pastor. He tells me he loves Latin. Loves Greek. Well, last Monday, Caleb left for boot camp, because in addition to studying for the ministry, […]
Download Life Guide He wakes up every morning at 5am and runs 12 miles. Then, after work, he goes home and runs 15 more miles. His couch potato coworker wonders incredulously, “Why do you live that way?” He responds, “I’ve always dreamed of finishing the Boston Marathon.” Pounding coffee until 3am every night this week […]
Download Life Guide Tell me, have you ever wondered whether what you believe is actually the truth? For example, out of all the different religions in the world, how do you know that yours is the right one? How do you know that your God, the God of the Bible, is the True God? How […]