Pastor's Blog

“We have to go to church today.” Those are the words of my 12-year-old son to his mother. “We have to go to church” he continues “because I’m needed.”

Back in 2016, the ELCA voted as a denomination to create a new “roster” or office of leadership within the church and call them “Deacons.”

Holy Week began with Palm Sunday that was the largest worship attendance we’ve seen for a non-holiday Sunday since Covid.

Exodus 12:11 “This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Passover of the LORD.”

Triduum refers to the three days leading up to Easter. Too many people go right from the joyous shouts of Hosanna on Palm Sunday to the resurrection shouts of Hallelujah on Easter without experiencing the complete Passion Story through the Triduum.

Do you make mortgage payments? If so, think about this for a while: Do you know that it is considered a government subsidy because of the tax deduction you receive on interest paid?

Carey Nieuwhof recently posted on his blog “A Sneak Peek into 5 Characteristics of Gen Z Church.” It is a summary of possibly takeaways from the Asbury Revival that occurred back in February.

A sacrament is a means through which God acts and gives us grace. For example, in communion, Jesus commanded us to “do this” and through the bread and wine we receive grace.

Many people have strong opinions about specific ethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, universal health care and war. But do you know..

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be honored among the nations. I will be honored in the earth.”

Pride will get us to lofty places. When we have pride, we can be driven to places that, comparatively, are superior. Now, I’m not talking about pride in one's work. I’m not talking about doing a job well or seeing things through. I’m talking about a sense of self that makes us think that we are the end-all, be-all, answer for everything. An overabundance of self-confidence will, absolutely, get you to great places.

For everything there is a season, and each season has a beginning and an end. Our beginning was a small group of people worshipping in a dance studio, and on Sunday, February 12th, we will gather one last time as Christ South. While we naturally seek to understand why things end or what went wrong, it’s important to remember that the real story of South isn’t those two points in time, but all that happened in between.

In case you missed it, the annual meeting on January 29 was one of the largest we’ve seen, and one of the most emotional. No matter how one voted, it was a sad moment for everyone.

“How do we get more young people to come to church?” Almost every congregation asks this question! Churches all over the US are looking for ways to connect with young people as we watch weekly worship numbers decline, giving sliding downward, and the average age of most congregations going up. Every church is trying to find that magic bullet that will bring in more young people to combat against these rising concerns.

I know there are some who would wrinkle their nose at using a preposition at the end of a sentence. I, for one, love this American phrasing. It says all I want and doesn't bring any other baggage. ‘Where you at’ asks where you are; I want to know because I care about you. There are other ways of expressing the same sentiment, but when I hear this version, I know immediately: I am dealing with an American.