The Larger Picture
March, 2026
For Christmas this year, I was gifted with a jigsaw puzzle. That generous gift has drawn me into a new sort of hobby, one in which I have discovered the beauty of mindfulness that comes…
A Lenten Invitation to Connection
February, 2026
Dear friends, as we approach the season of Lent and look toward what our lectionary texts will offer us, you will find that on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, we’ll read the familiar story of…
Learning to Live with the Light
January, 2026
This was the first year in fifteen years that I have not led worship on Christmas Eve…or planned for a Service of Lessons and Carols for the Sunday after Christmas (so as not to have…
God Is Coming Near
December, 2025
Dear friends, I’m writing this reflection on the evening of the First Sunday of Advent. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now we’ve flipped our liturgical calendars to a new year. Happy New Year! In the…
For All the Saints—Including You
November, 2025
“So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the prophets, with Christ Jesus…
Transitions: A Sign of God’s Call
October, 2025
Dear friends, I am writing this reflection from Minneapolis, having just attended the installation of our new ELCA Presiding Bishop, the Rev. Yehiel Curry. I hope that some of you were able to watch the…
The Gift of First Impressions
September, 2025
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That well-known phrase should be the theme of my first couple of weeks in the synod office: first impressions. I’m happy to report that they…
A New Chapter, Together
August, 2025
It is with the mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation that I write to you, now, as your bishop. Thank you for placing your trust in me as I seek to serve you—and this synod—as…
A Grateful Farewell
June, 2025
Several people, in acknowledging my retirement, have said things like, “Good for you! You couldn’t pay me enough money to take that job!” It’s true what former Bishop Bolick still says, “90% of this calling…
Because/Therefore Unity Prayer
June, 2025
I recently helped lead a funeral with a Missouri Synod pastor, who, not surprisingly, declined to commune with us. Afterwards, I told him, “you know, our ‘because’ is the same gospel of Jesus. We just…
Come, Holy Spirit!
May, 2025
The convergence of the real papal conclave and the recent movie Conclave evokes significant speculation as well as shock and incredulity that the pontiff (literally, bridge builder) overseeing 1.4 billion Catholics is chosen in such…
What Bishops Do
March, 2025
We’re about to elect a new North Carolina Synod bishop at the end of next month, which begs the question of what a bishop does. Clearly, different bishops in different locations and times and with…
Ash on the Laundry
March, 2025
Hans Schaefer was, in 1985, the Oberkirchenrat—like one of our synod deans with more power—of the Weimar District of the Lutheran Church in what was then East Germany. As such, he was periodically permitted to…
Speak Publicly in Solidarity
February, 2025
As I write, a resolution is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives this week essentially condemning Bishop Budde of the Episcopal Church, USA—our closest colleague in shared ministry—for her sermon given at the unity…
So Much to Be Grateful For
January, 2025
In 2024, we had so much to be grateful for. North Carolina is indeed a generous synod! Congregations and their people have shared in many ways. There is so much as congregations walking together that…
Deep Need, Blessed Partnerships
December, 2024
The word synod comes from the Ancient Greek σύνοδος (synodos). Think of the prefix syn meaning together or same (syntax, synonym, synthetic, etc.), and the Greek word (h)odos (from which we get odometer), meaning road…
Chronos & Kairos
November, 2024
The Greek chronos and kairos both translate into English as “time.” You may guess that chronos has to do with chronological time, measured in minutes, hours, days, months, years. Chronos dictates that in January my…
Looking for the Helpers
October, 2024
Ps. 121:1 – “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where is my help to come?” As bishop of our synod, yes, but also as a father/grandfather/in-law to 8 much-beloved people in Asheville,…
Not Agree. Love.
September, 2024
Wendy knows that I love her. I first told her maybe 42 years ago. I could have said way back then, “So, hold that thought, and I’ll let you know if anything changes.” Even I…
Unloveable Yet Loved
August, 2024
Forty years ago when I was in seminary, the one unforgivable sin as we were finding our Lutheran theological voice of proclamation was works righteousness. Pelagianism! Oh, the scandal of it all. It wasn’t just…
Focusing on Common Ground
July, 2024
“Would you rather be right, or happy?” This was the last, almost seemingly afterthought question after we had already prayed and stood to go our separate ways during my first conversation with the call committee…
Third Time’s the Charm
June, 2024
They say the third time’s the charm. That seemed to be the case for this year’s 2024 North Carolina Synod Gathering. You may recall that in 2019, the NC Synod Assembly passed a resolution that…
Refuge
May, 2024
God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in time of trouble. (Psalm 46) In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge. (Psalm 71) Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) began in the…
A New Beginning!
April, 2024
Few of you likely preached, and therefore few of you likely heard—even in this, the “Year of Mark”—the Easter narrative from Mark’s Gospel this past Sunday. Preachers remember from seminary that Mark’s original ending was…