Author: happylutheran

I am the president at Wartburg Theological Seminary, my beloved alma mater. I am an inveterate optimist, runner, vegetarian, and harp player. I love Mary Oliver and Gerard Manley Hopkins, and like them, I'm continually delighted by all the surprising and wonderful ways God shows up in the world.

“Do Whatever He Tells You”

Posted in Bible, Hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Life and Living, Scripture, TheologyLeave a comment

Last week, the ELCA Seminary Leaders got together in person for a few days down in San Antonio, and it was wonderful: wonderful to be in person with these amazing colleagues for the first time; wonderful to think and dream together about the ways the ELCA Seminaries can continue to support the church for the…… Continue reading “Do Whatever He Tells You”

Lingering with the Bible

Posted in Bible, Bodies, Jesus, Lent, Life and Living, Racism, Scripture, Social Issues1 Comment

What are your views on Scripture? I’ve been thinking about this question quite a bit the past few days, for a couple reasons. First, along with colleagues from across the ELCA, I’ve been reading If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, by Dr. Angela Parker. Dr. Parker is a…… Continue reading Lingering with the Bible

The Importance of Disruption

Posted in Ethics, Life and Living, Racism, Relationships, Social Issues, Social JusticeLeave a comment

If you are like me, you probably have been to at least a few different anti-racism training workshops. And, if you are like me, you probably have had mixed reactions to them.  Well, on Monday afternoon, here at Wartburg Seminary, I was fortunate enough to have participated in one of the very best I have…… Continue reading The Importance of Disruption

The Holy Innocents, Wounded Knee, and Fear

Posted in Bible, Christmas, Church, Ethics, History, Hope, Life and Living, Love, Social JusticeLeave a comment

Yesterday was the Festival of the Holy Innocents, the day the Church commemorates the murder of all the boys two years old and younger in and around Bethlehem, at Herod’s order, once he realized that the magi had deceived him and Jesus–infant threat to his power–had escaped. The children are memorialized as the first Christian…… Continue reading The Holy Innocents, Wounded Knee, and Fear

Doubling-Down on Gratitude

Posted in Advent, Grief, Hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Life and LivingLeave a comment

Every year, I write a “Gratitude” editorial for the Winter issue of Dialog. This is a version of that editorial–choosing gratitude, even when gratitude doesn’t seem to me the most logical or obvious response to current circumstances. I get it. And yet….So here it is. Here we are again. Despite all optimism, despite all positive…… Continue reading Doubling-Down on Gratitude

The Promise of Something New

Posted in Advent, Church, Grief, Hope, Imagination, Life and Living, TheologyLeave a comment

For some reason, I continue to think a great deal about All Saints Day, even though we are now weeks beyond it. It was probably because the list of names was long this year–was there any congregation for which that wasn’t true?–and that extended list of names, of faces, of loved ones really brought home…… Continue reading The Promise of Something New