In many places, Advent is cold. It is the church season of beginnings and yet it is winter and dark – there is very little in the natural world pointing to burgeoning life – but it is there. Under the ground the seeds are waiting for the warmth of the sun to bring them to […]
Monthly Archives: November 2014
Norway
The next day we woke up and had breakfast on our own. I went jogging out by the cemetery again and ordered some room service while I organized my luggage. I was enjoying a last few minutes alone before we started the journey. We met for lunch and then were set to depart for the […]
Alt for Norge – first stop – New Jersey
The flight to New Jersey took me through North Carolina. By the time I finally landed in Newark it was after 10:00 p.m. I was to meet Ane from Monster in the lobby of the hotel. I easily found the shuttle to the hotel and was very excited and nervous to meet Ane. As I […]
Alt for Norge – Holy Week and the Most Difficult Challenge of All…
After the camera crew left, it was Holy Week, so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about anything aside from church and doing the final hospital and homebound visits before my departure. I left a lot of instructions for the deacons and the secretary and also for the pastors who would be […]
Alt for Norge – On your mark, get set…
I was so shocked to be selected. I am quiet country pastor in my early forties. I’ve always gravitated toward the academic and the introspective far more than lights, camera and action. Some of my closest friends were astounded I had even wanted to apply to be on a reality show in Norway. I can’t […]
Alt for Norge – the Journey to Chicago
It was only a few weeks later that I received an e-mail that I was being flown to Chicago to meet with the producers. I didn’t know how many people got to come to these “callbacks” but I read somewhere it was maybe 40-60 people. My only plan was to just go and be myself […]
The Road to Norge
(I’m going to take some time to recount my experiences leading up to and participating in Alt for Norge for any who might care to know about this wonderful journey. Here is my first entry:) I was on a Norwegian Reality Show. I still can hardly believe I did such a fun thing. I hope […]
Reformation
For a long time, many years of my ministry, it seemed like the recipe for a good Reformation Sunday sermon was to tell the story about Martin Luther again and again. And it never occurred to me to do anything else until I read an article by a well-respected Lutheran theologian last year who said, […]
All Saints
Henry Scott Holland wrote, “Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt. Nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we […]
