The (eventual) resurrection of the rural church
Voices of Faith

The (eventual) resurrection of the rural church

Squatting stubbornly just outside downtown Le Mars, Iowa, is a wide brick building that used to be the high school but now serves as the Plymouth County Historical Museum. The…
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…
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…
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…
Placeholder image
Voices of Faith

The coming country

Editor’s note: On Nov. 1, the church recognizes All Saints’ Day. I love my country. Work for the common good. Vote in elections. Pray for public leaders. Admire our historical…
Placeholder image
Voices of Faith

Faith as practice, not works

“It feels like a mockery to me,” one woman said. I was leading a Bible study where the subject of the rosary had arisen. I was her pastor and knew…
I’m a Lutheran: Wayne L. Wold
Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Wayne L. Wold

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ellicott City, Md. Full-time professor at Hood College, Frederick, Md., and part-time church musician at First Having the hymn I wrote for the “God’s work. Our…
Placeholder image
Voices of Faith

Hidden treasure

When our kids were young, they spent hours enjoying an ancient swingset—one of those heavy, iron operations that served several previous occupants of our house. When its front right corner…
In <i>Ad Astra</i>, God’s work is on Earth
Voices of Faith

In Ad Astra, God’s work is on Earth

In the opening scene of Ad Astra, astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) scales an antennalike tower that reaches into Earth’s upper atmosphere. With the cosmos above him and our planet…
God will always rally for us
Voices of Faith

God will always rally for us

It goes by many names: Rally Sunday, Kickoff Sunday, Celebration Sunday, Beginning of Sunday School Sunday and a host of others. Whatever you call it, come September there’s a day…