I’m a Lutheran: Thomas Gray Johnston
Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Thomas Gray Johnston

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Charlotte, N.C. Senior religious studies major and history minor at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, N.C. I chose to attend an ELCA university because I dangled my feet…

New visions of vocation
Mission & Ministry

New visions of vocation

Students at Lutheran colleges might be familiar with theologian Frederick Buechner’s statement on vocation: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s…

ELCA Church Council welcomes 23 new members
Living Faithfully

ELCA Church Council welcomes 23 new members

The Church Council of the ELCA met at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, Nov. 7-10. Twenty-three new members, elected by the 2019 Churchwide Assembly, were welcomed. The council serves as…

Momentum in physics education
Mission & Ministry

Momentum in physics education

When John Nichol was a 21-year-old physics and math major at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., he received one of the first Rossing Physics Scholarships, a highly competitive award…

A veteran’s struggle to connect
Voices of Faith

A veteran’s struggle to connect

I’m a Navy chaplain, a former submarine warfare officer and a military veteran of 18 years, but I have trouble finding the words to talk about my ministry to veterans…

Lessons from campus ministry
Mission & Ministry

Lessons from campus ministry

More than 240 Lutheran campus ministries provide an ELCA presence at state and private colleges and universities across the country. They minister to everyone in their academic settings—not just students…

Bishops reflect on military chaplaincy
Mission & Ministry

Bishops reflect on military chaplaincy

This year, for the first time in the church’s history, the ELCA installed two synod bishops who are serving as reserve military chaplains. Michael Lozano is bishop of the Northwestern…

The cost of nondiscipleship
Voices of Faith

The cost of nondiscipleship

In The Great Omission: Rediscovering Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship, author Dallas Willard examines the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer—in particular, the German theologian’s venerated book The Cost of Discipleship. Willard…