Dear CLC Members, I’m happy to announce that I am the new volunteer Church Librarian. I am taking over for Linda Toltzman, who actually founded our church library and has managed it for decades. She has been very busy and decided it was the right time to step down. Many thanks to Linda for her awesome commitment to the library and for trusting me with the keys.  Read More

“Count it a joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4That is hard. I do not count it a joy when I meet trials of various kinds. Temptations that plague the flesh. Sickness and ailments that rob how I funct...  Read More

Oh, how there are misunderstandings! Once a pastor (Lutheran, of course) was preaching on the Sacraments. His topic was their “for-you-ness.” After the service was over, one of the parishioners asked the pastor, “So, who is Eunice?”  Read More

The astrologers asked the king to reveal his dream so that they could consult the stars and present their interpretation, but the king did not want to reveal it. In Daniel 2:6 he ordered them, “So tell me the dream and (then) interpret it for me.”  Read More

“My son, do not forget my teaching...” Proverbs 3:1As a Pastor, I get to witness things that speak to the core of our faith in Christ.  Many of these moments give sudden clarity to our task as Christians and to the work that Jesus Christ has for us.These moments also go unseen and unrecorded to all except God and those present.  However, I wish many of you could witness these moments.  They are hu...  Read More

I’ve been blessed, but it didn’t always feel like a blessing.  Permit me to explain.  My Dad, from the first day I laid eyes on him, was a pastor.  I also had an uncle that was a pastor in northern Wisconsin. (He sure loved to go ice fishing!) I had another uncle, that was a pastor in England, and, at one point, he was president of the Lutheran Church of England, and I dare not neglect to mention ...  Read More

Do you prefer to have things planned out in advance? Do you like to be prepared? Do you feel better when you know the plan? For many of us, there is a sense of security in knowing what lies ahead. Learning to take things as they come is an important lesson the Lord has been teaching me in recent years.   Read More

“Love is as strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave.  Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.  May waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.  If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”  -Song of Songs 8:6-7What could be better as we approach Valentine’s Day than to talk about love?  Especially since we have been...  Read More

One of the hardest things in life is not being able to communicate with someone. If you have ever been around someone following a stroke, you know what I mean. There is nothing more frustrating for the person than having to play 20 questions with them or to ask them to repeat themselves for the 3rd time. My grandfather had his larynx removed due to cancer, and the pain on his face said it all when, more often than not, he became an observer rather than a participant in a discussion. He loved to talk and now it was taken away.  Read More

Why do Pastors preach? Have you ever asked that question? Preaching is a very odd thing. In fact, it carries a negative connotation in our day. “Don’t preach to me!” is the phrase in vogue. “Acta Non Verba” (Action not Words) goes the Latin phrase. Therefore, a pastor preaching will not find much reward or congrats in preaching. But honestly, that is okay. Pastors don’t preach to have the world smile and adore them.   Read More

I hear all of the happy, bouncy Christmas songs. I love the lights and decorations. I enjoy the “happily ever after” Hallmark Christmas movies. But I still find myself asking, “Is this really the most wonderful time of the year?”   Read More

It is fitting that my last newsletter article of the year is joined to the Christmas Season and to my last principles of interpretation thought. I pray that these last few articles have really given you something to wrestle with when it comes to the text of Scripture as God has given them to us. This last one is the key point above all points. In fact, if you do not read the Bible in this way, it will never make sense to you.   Read More