I’m writing this from Roger’s City, Michigan. My friend and brother in the Lord, Joe Bangert, is being installed here as pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church and St. John Lutheran Church and School, and he asked me to preach at the installation service. I was glad to accept the invitation. Although, I confided with Jennifer that being asked to do things like this has a way of putting my age before me. While I’m sure it does happen, I can’t say I’ve ever seen a young pastor doing things like this. Typically, it’s the patriarchal guys who get asked to preach at ordinations and installations. Admi ..read more

I was in the presence of greatness on Thursday evening. I genuinely mean this. Although, I should qualify my words. I know plenty of great people, folks I admire. But their greatness doesn’t necessarily make me nervous. In this particular instance, other than the typical sense of extreme inadequacy and complete unworthiness I so often feel while serving during holy worship, it was the first time in a very long time that I found myself awestruck while standing beside another human being. The first time I remember feeling it was at my wedding. When Jennifer came around the corner from the narth ..read more

I just moved from the same parlor chair in the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island that I sat in last September. I’m in the Audubon Wine Bar now. It’s a classic library-style lounge a few paces from the parlor. I’m not in here because the doors were open. I’m here because I saw an early morning passerby in a security hat on his way to fetch coffee. I asked if he wouldn’t mind granting me similar benefits, and he was kind enough to oblige. I only stepped into the Audubon room to wait. Coffee in hand, I decided to stay. It’s more my style, anyway. And now that I have coffee, I can begin. No matter t ..read more

I do not own a single ebook. At least, I don’t think I do. I like books I can hold in my hands. I realize this makes me somewhat of a weirdo in the 21st-century world. Still, it is what it is. I’d rather turn a page than scroll. I’d rather dogear some of those pages, gripping a pencil and underlining beloved portions, than add virtual bookmarks or whatever people do in ebooks to preserve and revisit certain words. I sometimes wonder if the world will one day be absent of physical books. I hope not. I don’t say this because I’m concerned about what people will use to balance a wobbly table or ..read more

God knows what He’s doing. That may sound like an oversimplification relative to our complex world, but oftentimes, the simple view is best. Even Longfellow recognized, “In character, in manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” Indeed, God knows what He’s doing. That said, I can rest easily. Evelyn and I talk a lot during our twenty-five-minute drive to and from school throughout the week. We cover multitudes of topics. Some are serious. Others are more daydreamy. Two weeks ago, a song from The Lost Boys soundtrack carried us down the roadway. As it d ..read more

It’s right around this time each year that I’m reminded that my favorite of the Lord’s Apostles is Thomas. It’s not because the name Thomas is the patronymic origin for my own last name, which can be traced as far back in Germany as the 1250s. Instead, like Thomas, from among the twelve, I want to be the one who, even if foolishly misguided, along the way, demanded the real Jesus, the once dead but now alive Savior with scars. I want to be bold enough in every crowd I occupy to demand that Christ do what He promised He’d do. Still, Thomas has gained the descriptive prefix “Doubting.” Doubt is ..read more

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! I don’t have to tell you who the pronoun “He” is referring to in those traditional Easter acclamations. You know His name. He’s Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He was dead and is now alive, owning the name that is above every name. Every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will one day bow in absolute reverence to this name, whether it’s the knee of a believer or unbeliever, friend or foe (Philippians 2:9-10). This cosmos-encompassing event Saint Paul describes will happen in the flesh. The Lord’s resurrection has sealed ..read more

Today is the Friday that, for centuries, the Church has called “good.” It is a strange designation, and yet, most appropriate. Without it, what hope against Sin, Death, and Satan would there be? I’d say, “The Good Friday hour is upon us,” if that were sufficient. But it isn’t. It’s better to say, “The hours are upon us.” This is to say that the Lord’s death for mankind’s sin wasn’t swift. It didn’t happen in a flash. It didn’t come peacefully during sleep. It was preceded by ethereal misery. When the Lord submitted Himself to the Devil’s viciousness, saying, “Now is your hour” (John 22:53a ..read more

Holy Week begins today with Palm Sunday. Like any other week, Holy Week has seven days. And yet, it seems exceptionally longer than the others. By the time we get from Palm Sunday to Easter, a lot will have happened. For perspective, here at Our Savior, we will have packed at least ten weeks of sacred worship into these seven days. For our Kantor, musicians, and choirs, that’s an abundance of preparation and rehearsals. For the pastors, among so many other things, that’s a lot of sermon writing. I suppose that’s why you might hear me say in jest that the Lord and His pastors trade places on E ..read more

We’re entering the fifth week of Lent. The further we go into Lent, the more I’m sad for the churches that skip this penitential season, electing to go straight to Easter. They’ll have missed a critical view of the empty tomb. The Gospel should always be a church’s center. That said, one of the grand benefits of observing church seasons is that they provide us with different perspectives on the Gospel. Advent considers it one way. Epiphany another. Rather than letting us coast along thinking we know everything there is to know, church seasons lift the Gospel and turn it, allowing examination ..read more