Mar 27, 2023 |
Synod School is a wonderful week of learning, fellowship and fun in a Christian community held annually the last full week of July. It is held every summer at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. For more information,...
Jul 12, 2020 |
by Sharon Warkentin Short The need to make sense of our lives seems to be a fundamental human drive. We all do it by interpreting our individual experiences in light of some larger controlling story. The “small stories” of our everyday lives take on whatever meaning...
Sep 17, 2018 |
By: Jeannie Sullivan Two days after the flood in South Carolina, October 2015, Downtown Church (DTC) in Columbia, SC started a fund to purchase diapers, wipes, baby food, and formula for victims of the flood. The first gift to that fund was $8,000. Our initial...
Jun 18, 2018 |
By: Amber Dillon What is the Bible? People have tried to answer this question for years. Some say it is a hodgepodge of inspirational insights; others see it as a controlling, oppressive rulebook. With definitions like these, how can we approach such daunting...
Jan 15, 2018 |
By: Al Mulder In honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, we share this article from our archives, first printed in our quarterly journal in June 2012. How might storying be a part of your ministry today? Storying is the telling of our stories. Although “storying” is...
Jul 30, 2017 |
By: Josh Richard I have had a dim view of church mission trips for much of my life. At best, they felt exploitative and self-righteous. At worst, they were damaging to vulnerable populations and an opportunity for a new Facebook profile photo. Anecdotally, that view...
Jul 23, 2017 |
By: Carol Wehrheim “I was driving on a very, very, snowy, icy, visibility-zero highway.” With these words, the congregation quieted waited for the next line. A congregational member was telling the story, the testimony, of another member, anonymous to the teller and...
Jun 26, 2017 |
By: Jill Duffield Early into my tenure as the pastor of a small church in rural North Carolina, when I was anxious about preaching every week and unsure God would indeed supply the words through the Word from Sunday to Sunday, I received a gift. I received a divine...
Apr 23, 2017 |
By: Krista Lovell “I love to tell the story, ‘twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” Raised by Christian parents who were Baptist-Presbyterians, I was offered many opportunities to share God’s story with others in a variety of...
