Free Webinar on Church Conflict
At the church in southern California where I served as pastor for forty years we had a large Christian day school that went from preschool to eighth grade. The Christmas…
Is Even Greater Conflict on the Horizon?
Is Even Greater Conflict on the Horizon?
Structural and governance changes will most certainly come about from the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. An all-encompassing redefinition of mission and ministry will most…
Video Ministry – “Understanding Evil From a Christian Perspective”
Video Ministry – “Understanding Evil From a Christian Perspective”
Many thanks to Ken Coughlan for giving us a video review of his recent book, “Understanding Evil from a Christian Perspective.” Ken is a Christian apologist and religion teacher at…
Who Is Like the Lord Our God?
Who Is Like the Lord Our God?
As a friendly commenter noted, my last article needed some serious editing. It is never good for me to find myself writing too close to a deadline; the result is…
The Existential Crisis Facing So Many Congregations
The Existential Crisis Facing So Many Congregations
Pastor Don Brandt The Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), on its website, lists the average worship attendance of each of their 818 U.S. congregations. This data represents a…
Escaping Egypt: Undeserved Loyalty
Escaping Egypt: Undeserved Loyalty
Editor’s Note: Lutheran CORE is collecting and possibly publishing stories from our readers and congregations about the process they followed when they tried to exit the ELCA — successfully or…
Free Webinar – “Planning as a Paradigm Shift”
Free Webinar – “Planning as a Paradigm Shift”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 – 11 AM EDT In addition to alerting people to ways in which the ELCA is going further and further off the rails, we of Lutheran CORE…
A Father’s Wise Instruction
A Father’s Wise Instruction
Do you worry if your children will be wise when they go off to live in this corrupted world? Have you given them the foundation they need? Jesus said our world…
What Are They Actually Accomplishing?
What Are They Actually Accomplishing?
An Analysis of the Work Of the ELCA's Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church As promised, we continue to monitor the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran…
Addressing The Clergy Supply Crisis
Addressing The Clergy Supply Crisis
Given the increasing shortage of ordained pastors available for call, now is the time when many churches will need to take the initiative to enlist one or two (or three)…
Video Ministries-September 2024
Video Ministries-September 2024
“RESIDENT ALIENS: LIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN COLONY” A video book review by Douglas Schoelles Many thanks to Douglas Schoelles, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana…
Woke? Awake; the Sacred’s Changing
Woke? Awake; the Sacred’s Changing
Although the appellation “woke”—used by Ricky Gervais to the Hollywood establishment at the Oscars as “insider” language just a few years ago—is eschewed by progressives now that cultural conservatives have…
Christian Marxist Antisemitism
Christian Marxist Antisemitism
Most people would call me a “conservative” Lutheran, although I would prefer to be called orthodox or traditional. Nevertheless, I will accept the label. Therefore, as a conservative Lutheran, it…
Ghosting Faith?
Ghosting Faith?
Ever been ghosted? Ever have someone with whom you were connected not call you back? Ever have someone stand you up? Most of us have been ghosted some time. Cutting…
A Different Approach to Pro-life Ministry
A Different Approach to Pro-life Ministry
As a pastor, I sometimes have the opportunity to take on unexpected ministries outside of the church. Such was the case when I was invited to become the Executive Director…
City Mission: A Catalyst for Becoming a Missionary Disciple
City Mission: A Catalyst for Becoming a Missionary Disciple
“… if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the…
How DEIA, Anti-Racism and CRT Are Becoming the New Gospel in the ELCA
How DEIA, Anti-Racism and CRT Are Becoming the New Gospel in the ELCA
How DEIA, Anti-Racism and CRT Are Becoming the New Gospel in the ELCA Any meaningful discussion of these modern-day heresies absolutely must begin and end with scripture. DEIA (Diversity, Equity,…
The ELCA Shows Its Values Through Whom It Features
The ELCA Shows Its Values Through Whom It Features
There is an old adage that says, “You show your values through what and whom you feature.” That certainly is true of the ELCA. Again this past June, in observance…
Video Ministries-July 2024
Video Ministries-July 2024
Be sure to check out the two new videos on our You Tube channel. A link to our You Tube channel can be found here. Both of these videos are…
Orthodox Reading Is Pastoral Reading
Orthodox Reading Is Pastoral Reading
“What’s all this ‘Father’ stuff about in the Lord’s Prayer? Why should we call God ‘Father,’ anyway?” she intoned petulantly, fixing me with a stare that clearly thought no reasonable…
“Journey to Forgiveness: 21 Milestones to Freedom”
“Journey to Forgiveness: 21 Milestones to Freedom”
Many thanks to David Peterson, pastor of Apostles Lutheran Church in Chesapeake, Virginia (LCMC), for giving us a video review of his first book, “Journey to Forgiveness: 21 Milestones to…
The Ministry Challenges We Face in 2024
The Ministry Challenges We Face in 2024
Consider the contrasting good news and not-so-good news ministry challenges that are confronting many of our congregations in 2024: Good News: Many local churches have now been blessed by the…
Words Fail Me: Questioning the Newspeak of My “Progressive” Education
Words Fail Me: Questioning the Newspeak of My “Progressive” Education
In my office hangs my ordination certificate. Across it is emblazoned the name of the ordaining body, the body whose confessional commitments I pledged to uphold on the day I…
Bringing Children to Jesus
Bringing Children to Jesus
In Matthew 19: 14 Jesus told His disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom…
Racism, Power, and Prejudice
Racism, Power, and Prejudice
Almost 30 years ago, I had my first introduction to the tactics of postmodern argumentation. A professor at Texas Lutheran made the statement that he could not be racist because…
Book Review: “Tenderness” by Eve Tushnet
Book Review: “Tenderness” by Eve Tushnet
Note from Executive Director Dennis D. Nelson: Many thanks to a friend of Lutheran CORE for giving us a review of Eve Tushnet’s book, “Tenderness: A Gay Christian’s Guide to…
An Incoming DEIA Disaster
An Incoming DEIA Disaster
Recently, the ELCA posted the results of a DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) Audit1 which was authorized by the Churchwide Assembly. The audit laid out its findings and made…
Operation Reconquista: Responses to Critical Questions
Operation Reconquista: Responses to Critical Questions
Editor’s Note: Pr. Haug wrote a positive article on this topic in January (click here). Last newsletter I hinted that I would write a follow up article about OperationReconquista and…
When Does Life Begin?
When Does Life Begin?
Editor's Note: by M. Roy Schwarz, M.D. The American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College Edition defines "life" as "the property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from the dead or inanimate…
Contented Faith
Contented Faith
When I was dating my wife Debra, I was so excited about being with her. I was eager to talk with her, be with her, and go off on adventures…
… and Now Many of Them Are Just Lost
… and Now Many of Them Are Just Lost
Just over a year ago Christine and I found ourselves in Florence, South Carolina. Nice place just off I-95, we found a fixer-upper on the little lake in town. Pro…
Hope for De-churched Lutherans
Hope for De-churched Lutherans
In my previous two articles, I talked about the dilemma facing De-churched Lutherans. Some cannot find an orthodox Lutheran parish in their area. Some have been made to feel unwelcome…
Reflections on Mission
Reflections on Mission
Editor’s Note: Jacob Moorman is a member of River’s Edge Ministries, which regularly hosts and leads mission work locally in Maryland, through City Mission, and annually in other states through…
A Warning of What is Coming
A Warning of What is Coming
Many thanks to Kevin Haug for his very insightful article about the DEIA audit which the ELCA recently commissioned a law firm to do of its governing documents. I hate…
Thankful for the Opportunity to Share
Thankful for the Opportunity to Share
I am very grateful for the recent invitation to have a zoom conversation with the director and associate director of the ELCA’s Reconsiderations process. This is the task force that…
Video Ministry – January 2024
Video Ministry – January 2024
“PASTORAL HELMANSHIP: A PASTOR’S GUIDE TO CHURCH ADMINISTRATION” Many thanks to Aaron Heilman for this review. Aaron is Worship Leader for Pointe of Hope Church in Blue Springs, Missouri (LCMS). …
Considering the Challenge of Transitioning from Clergy-Led to Lay-Led Congregational Ministries
Considering the Challenge of Transitioning from Clergy-Led to Lay-Led Congregational Ministries
This article is written especially for smaller congregations that are either 1) already experiencing a pastoral vacancy, or 2) know that their solo pastor will be retiring within the next…
March for Life and Y4Life Conference in January!
March for Life and Y4Life Conference in January!
The NALC Life Ministries team is once again preparing for the March for Life in Washington D.C. this January, but our plan is a little different. Instead of holding a life conference,…
Book Review: Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?
Book Review: Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?
Editor's Note: Full title of the book is Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage: 21Conversations from a Historically Christian View. Also, Spencer Wentland is a former ELCA missionary. Introduction and…
Operation Reconquista: An Affirmative Response
Operation Reconquista: An Affirmative Response
Can mainline denominations be reconquered from theological liberalism? A group named Operation Reconquista has emerged to attempt such a thing, and they are offering tactics on just how to proceed.…
CRLC and Critical Theory
CRLC and Critical Theory
In the September and November editions of CORE Voice, Dennis Nelson analyzed the activist constituency of the members of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC). The fact that…
Is This What You Want?
Is This What You Want?
We all remember with horror the ways in which traditional views on such matters as human sexuality were rejected and belittled at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. Here is a…
Resentful Faith
Resentful Faith
While visiting another Lutheran church in the area as the gathered worshipped the LORD through the prayers and praised God through the songs, across the pews I saw a man,…
REST, INC., Part 2
REST, INC., Part 2
Finding Rest in (and for) a Restless World Dear Friends— When did so many of the mainline denominations begin to go adrift and lose their way? Why? How? What happened?…
Aging and End-of-Life Decisions
Aging and End-of-Life Decisions
“Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and will bear, I will carry and will save.” Isaiah 46:4…
Mission Under Accompaniment
Mission Under Accompaniment
Director's Note: Spencer Wentland is uniquely qualified to write this article analyzing the ELCA’s concept of global mission as accompaniment rather than evangelism – as responding to requests for help…
Should We Put a Loved One Out of Her Misery?
Should We Put a Loved One Out of Her Misery?
Imagine a scenario where a loved one is suffering from an incurable condition and unimaginable pain. And yet, antiquated laws have prevented her from finding peace once and for all.…
Rest, Inc.
Rest, Inc.
Part 1: A Gift of Restoration, Resilience, and Prophetic Perspective Dear Friends— We were in the middle of our first vacation ‘Out West’, somewhere between Colorado Springs, CO, and Yellowstone…
Ingrate Faith
Ingrate Faith
“You’re welcome.” Joy comes from saying those words to someone who recognizes and thanks you for an act of service or kindness. When you perform such gracious acts to express…
You Can’t Have God’s Kin-dom Without God’s Kingdom
You Can’t Have God’s Kin-dom Without God’s Kingdom
With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? –Mark 4:30 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall…
Churches Without Pastors
Churches Without Pastors
In the September CORE Voice, I reflected on my time as the pastor of a mission congregation. My question was whether the Lutheran Church is prepared for a time when…
In Faith
In Faith
“We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have…
Training Disciple-Makers
Training Disciple-Makers
“...take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan…” Joshua 4:3 We wish God’s blessings upon Dean Rostad, president, and the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute. This is the third…
Once You Know the Makeup, You Know the Outcome – Part Two
Once You Know the Makeup, You Know the Outcome – Part Two
In the September 2023 issue of CORE Voice I gave an analysis of the expected outcome from the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. After reading the biographical paragraphs…
About Congregational Singing
About Congregational Singing
I recently attended a traditional worship service where the emotional and spiritual highlight for me was the opening and closing hymns. This was not because the sermon message was subpar…
Once You Know the Makeup, You Know the Outcome
Once You Know the Makeup, You Know the Outcome
If there ever will be a time when that old adage will be proven true, it will be with the ELCA’s thirty-five-member Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. This commission…
Severed Foot Faith?
Severed Foot Faith?
Choices, choices and AdChoices. Our hyper-consumer culture overwhelms us with all the choices we can make to please our whims. For all the hyper-individually focused advertising that is pushed at…
On Christian Nationalism
On Christian Nationalism
Santino Burrola recorded a video and posted it to TikTok. He was fired from his job at a grocery store for the offense. What did he do wrong? Inappropriately filming…
Churches Without Property
Churches Without Property
In 1998, I moved with my wife and my 3 year old son to Pembroke Pines, Florida. I was sent there to start a new congregation in an area of…
Prevailing Against the Gates
Prevailing Against the Gates
“Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to get home. It's late. I'm in for it as it is.” Name that movie. Name that scene. Anyone with even a…
Pockets of Hope
Pockets of Hope
When I think of Baltimore, I often think of my early childhood home with a large magnolia tree in the front yard and a tall, hemlock pine in the back,…
ELCA Moves In and Takes Over
ELCA Moves In and Takes Over
In my Summer Letter from the Director I told in great detail the disturbing story of how Bishop Yehiel Curry of the ELCA’s Metropolitan Chicago Synod threatened, intimidated, bullied, and…
Video Ministry – July 2023
Video Ministry – July 2023
Here is a link to our You Tube channel. In the top row you will find both our Video Book Reviews as well as our CORE Convictions Videos on various…
“Here Am I. Send Me!”
“Here Am I. Send Me!”
Of all the voices in the world calling you to be this or do that with your life, how will you discern God’s call? While God calls persons into full…
The Creeds Don’t “Sparkle”
The Creeds Don’t “Sparkle”
Note from our Executive Director: Many thanks to Kevin Haug, ELCA pastor in Texas, for his article about the Sparkle creed. This so-called "creed" has received a lot of attention…
Caring Christian Faith Communities: Needed Now More Than Ever
Caring Christian Faith Communities: Needed Now More Than Ever
As Americans we are living in a time of increasing emotional despair. And this crisis presents the Body of Christ with tremendous challenges as local churches consider how they might…
Daily Devotion Options
Daily Devotion Options
Editor’s Note: Rev. Dr. Douglas Schoelles joined the board of Lutheran CORE earlier this year. Rev. Jeffray Greene has been writing devotions for us for a long time. We are…
Dead Faith
Dead Faith
Don’t play with dead fish! Mom said don’t bring it home thinking we’ll eat it! A dead fish is useless and worthless. What are we to do with dead faith?…
Book Promotion: The Power of Healthy Leadership
Book Promotion: The Power of Healthy Leadership
Leadership is not a title, a performance, or mere occupation. It is a sacred relationship creating ripple effects, for both good and bad. This book is about stewardship leaders, who…
City Mission 2023
City Mission 2023
Our prayers are with Pastor Craig Moorman and all those who are providing leadership for and participating in City Mission 2023, a multi-generational, multi-denominational outreach effort into the inner city…
Web Map
Web Map
Whenever I fly into an airport I have never been in before, I am always very grateful for all the signs that greet me as soon as I step off…
Video Ministry – May 2023
Video Ministry – May 2023
Here is a link to our You Tube channel. In the top row you will find both our Video Book Reviews as well as our CORE Convictions Videos on various…
Congregational Lay Leadership Initiative
Congregational Lay Leadership Initiative
We are very grateful for all of the ways in which retired NALC pastor Don Brandt enhances the ministry of Lutheran CORE. He has an article in every issue of…
The Clergy Shortage: Some Historical Perspective
The Clergy Shortage: Some Historical Perspective
Perhaps my perspective is somewhat distorted by being one among so many retired or retiring Boomer pastors. After all, the Boomer generation has been accused—often justifiably—of having an inflated view…
(Per)Mission to Lead
(Per)Mission to Lead
Editor’s Note: River’s Edge Ministry (REM), of Mt. Airy, MD, traveled to Pine Island, FL in January as part of Cross Country Mission (CCM) 2023. Pine Island was devastated by…
Feed My Sheep
Feed My Sheep
I have appreciated Don Brandt’s wisdom and leadership in Lutheran renewal through the years, and I welcomed his article in last month’s CORE Voice. He accurately diagnoses the biggest single…
The Awaken Project Offers a Gap Year Program
The Awaken Project Offers a Gap Year Program
Introduction by Dennis D. Nelson: In this issue we will be featuring The Awaken Project (TAP), a nonprofit organization housed on the campus of Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, Minnesota.…
Resisting God’s Call
Resisting God’s Call
When God calls a person to a specific task or ministry, resistance is often the first response of the called. Jeremiah claimed that he was too young. Gideon feared he…
How Your Congregation Can Identify, Enlist and Train Part-time Lay Ministers
How Your Congregation Can Identify, Enlist and Train Part-time Lay Ministers
Note: "This is a ministry resource article for churches that might be interested in the new upcoming CORE ministry called the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI). The article below offers a…
Video Ministry – March 2023
Video Ministry – March 2023
Here is a link to our You Tube channel. In the top row you will find both our Video BookReviews as well as our CORE Convictions Videos on various topics…
You Do-I Watch: A Hard Lesson in Fully Releasing the Next Generation into Mission
You Do-I Watch: A Hard Lesson in Fully Releasing the Next Generation into Mission
Editor's note: River’s Edge Ministry (REM), located in Mt. Airy, MD, traveled to Pine Island, FL in January as part of Cross Country Mission (CCM) 2023. Pine Island was devastated…
Global Lutheran House of Studies
Global Lutheran House of Studies
Rev. Dr. Richard Blue, Jr. As the Directors of the Global Lutheran House of Studies at United Theological Seminary (UTS) in Dayton, Ohio (established in 1871), we are honored to…
The Potency of Missional Engagement
The Potency of Missional Engagement
Dear Friends— A most happy and blessed New Year to you and yours. No doubt, many of us reading this article can readily receive such a greeting; but, for some,…
Better Call Saul: Discernment at Damascus
Better Call Saul: Discernment at Damascus
Pr. Jeff Morlock Ananias (not Sapphira's husband, but the other Ananias) is an obscure figure in the New Testament. He appears only twice, for a total of eight verses. Yet…
Who Counts and Who Does Not
Who Counts and Who Does Not
In my letter from the director for December 2022 I wrote about several concerns that arose in my mind as I read a November 16 news release from the ELCA…
The Need for More Lay-led Lutheran Congregations
The Need for More Lay-led Lutheran Congregations
It has, for decades, been an incredibly unfair reality faced by smaller rural and inner-city congregations. In a denomination that has traditionally insisted that viable, healthy congregations must be led…
Video Ministry – January 2023
Video Ministry – January 2023
Here is a link to our You Tube channel. In the top row you will find both our Video Book Reviews as well as our CORE Convictions Videos on various…
Introducing Faith GreenHouse
Introducing Faith GreenHouse
Pr. Dave Wollan More than an internship, a community for leadership formation! Faith Lutheran Church, in Hutchinson, MN, is excited to be launching a new initiative to address the need…
Jim Nestingen Tribute
Jim Nestingen Tribute
Pr. Jim Nestingen I first got to know the name James Nestingen through what I still believe is the best confirmation text ever produced — the first edition of Free to…
Encuentro 2022 – A New Perspective
Encuentro 2022 – A New Perspective
Many thanks to retired ELCA pastor and former Lutheran CORE board member Keith Forni for organizing, and to St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church (ELCA) in the Hermosa neighborhood of northwest Chicago…
Video Ministry – November 2022
Video Ministry – November 2022
Each month we feature two videos – the most recent addition to our video book reviews, and a recent addition to our CORE Convictions videos. The CORE Convictions series is…
Does Doctrine Matter?
Does Doctrine Matter?
Does doctrine matter? That is a question that has been asked again and again in the Church. Sometimes, the question is asked because doctrine seems so dry and boring. It…
Some of the More Common Mistakes Call Committees Should Avoid
Some of the More Common Mistakes Call Committees Should Avoid
As CiT Director I have been in a coaching relationship—since 2019—with a large number of call committees. I have now provided at least some level of assistance to twenty-five different…
Every Samuel Needs an Eli
Every Samuel Needs an Eli
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It's a question that youth have been asked since they graduated kindergarten. But in high school, the question becomes a…
The Value of Internship
The Value of Internship
Over a decade ago I had the pleasure and privilege of being on internship. Internship proved to be a pivotal time in which I figured out – with God’s help…
Video Ministries – September 2022
Video Ministries – September 2022
Lutheran CORE is always looking for ways to take our ministry to the next level and expand our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for…
Highlights of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly
Highlights of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly
No Mention of God Here is a link to the ELCA’s description of the Highlights of its own recent Churchwide Assembly. Please notice. Two words are conspicuously absent – the…
Encouraging and Improving Congregational Singing
Encouraging and Improving Congregational Singing
First off, this is not an article about the relative merits of traditional and/or contemporary hymns and songs. So even if you suspect you might have a “chip on your…
Inter-Lutheran Hispanic-Latino Ministry Encuentro Returns October 15th
Inter-Lutheran Hispanic-Latino Ministry Encuentro Returns October 15th
After two consecutive pandemic cancellations, the Inter-Lutheran Hispanic-Latino Ministry Encuentro will take place again on Saturday, October 15th, 2022, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. in Chicago's Hermosa Neighborhood, offering a…
No Acceptance of Confessional Faith at My ELCA Seminary
No Acceptance of Confessional Faith at My ELCA Seminary
Note from CORE's Executive Director: Many thanks to a seminarian, who wishes to remain anonymous, for writing about what it was like to attend an ELCA seminary. Students considering enrolling…
SIMUL: A New Academic Journal
SIMUL: A New Academic Journal
In the fall of 2021, St. Paul Lutheran Seminary launched a new academic Journal called SIMUL, and since that time its pages have featured articles by Bob Benne, Mark Granquist,…
Igniting Renewal Through Mission
Igniting Renewal Through Mission
(How ‘City Mission’ was Born, Part 2) Editor’s Note: K. Craig Moorman is an NALC pastor of River’s Edge Ministries in Maryland and is a member of the board of…
The Equality Act
The Equality Act
This research has been done and this article has been written in response to those who have expressed deep concern over the Equality Act, a bill that is now before…
Video Book Review – “The Holy Spirit and Christian Experience”
Video Book Review – “The Holy Spirit and Christian Experience”
Lutheran CORE continues to provide monthly video reviews of books of interest and importance. Many thanks to Dr. Paul Hinlicky, professor emeritus at Roanoke College in Roanoke, Virginia, for giving…
The ABC’s of Lutheranism Video Series
The ABC’s of Lutheranism Video Series
Wanting to expand our video ministry and increase the number and scope of resources that we offer, we are now developing another series of videos which will answer the question,…
The Elephant in the Room: ELCA’s Declaration to Muslims
The Elephant in the Room: ELCA’s Declaration to Muslims
One of the familiar clichés within Lutheranism is that making the right distinctions is the key to doing good theology. Admittedly, clichés are dangerous, as Robert Jenson warned in the…
NEXUS 2022: Train Them the Way They Should Go
NEXUS 2022: Train Them the Way They Should Go
King Solomon was blessed in many ways with the wisdom the Lord had given him. He asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3:9) and he received it. We must hastily add,…
How ‘City Mission’ Was Born, Part 1: Katrina, The Unwelcomed Reformer
How ‘City Mission’ Was Born, Part 1: Katrina, The Unwelcomed Reformer
Over the course of the past three decades, I have had the immense privilege of leading disaster relief efforts around the country, typically following a natural catastrophic event. Since my…
A Note from a College Missionary in Italy
A Note from a College Missionary in Italy
“Ciao! I’m Jackson. I’m from the United States. What’s your name?” This is the gist of how I started conversations during my time in Italy this past May and June.…
What Does the ELCA Social Statement on Abortion Really Say?
What Does the ELCA Social Statement on Abortion Really Say?
Rev. Thomas E. Jacobson, Ph.D. It is now old news that the issue of abortion in the United States, which has long simmered on medium heat in our national discourse,…
Did Jesus Die For Our Sins?
Did Jesus Die For Our Sins?
I am very grateful for all the people who expressed deep concern over the movement I described in my April letter from the director to “cancel” the Gospel of John…
Video Book Review – “Martin Luther’s Theology of Beauty”
Video Book Review – “Martin Luther’s Theology of Beauty”
Lutheran CORE continues to provide monthly video reviews of books of interest and importance. Many thanks to Maurice Lee, NALC pastor and theologian, for doing a review of Mark Mattes’…
Resources for Ministry to LGBTQ+ Identified Persons
Resources for Ministry to LGBTQ+ Identified Persons
In the January 2022 issue of CORE Voice and the February 2022 letter from the director I had a two-part article entitled, “How Did It Happen?”, in which I explained…
The Trials, Tribulations and Challenges Facing Pastors in 2022
The Trials, Tribulations and Challenges Facing Pastors in 2022
I have been a subscriber to Christianity Today since the early 1980’s. I have always appreciated the quality and Biblical orthodoxy of its articles. Recently both the CT magazine May/June…
What’s Next for the Pro-Life Movement?
What’s Next for the Pro-Life Movement?
Pro-life folks are celebrating the strong probability that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, which as even the late Justice Ginsburg acknowledged was too far-reaching and too sweeping.…
Weekly Bible Studies on the Lectionary Readings
Weekly Bible Studies on the Lectionary Readings
One of the goals and purposes of Lutheran CORE is to provide resources for confessing Lutherans. On our website we have daily devotionals as well as suggestions for hymns, Scriptures,…
Spineless Christianity
Spineless Christianity
The life of a Christian isn’t always an easy one. Wasn’t it Jesus who said, “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those…
The NALC Pastors’ Conference: One of the Best
The NALC Pastors’ Conference: One of the Best
It is always a joy when you go to a Pastors’ conference and leave with a sense of energy and enthusiasm for ministry. Over my twenty-eight years of ministry, I…
The Clergy Availability Crisis: What Are the Implications for Your Congregation’s Future?
The Clergy Availability Crisis: What Are the Implications for Your Congregation’s Future?
Lutheran CORE’s Congregations in Transition ministry (CiT) was launched back in 2019 to assist Lutheran congregations who are contending with the shortage of available pastors to serve their churches. This…
Video Book Review – “A HARVEST OF LUTHERAN DOGMATICS AND ETHICS” by Carl E. Braaten
Video Book Review – “A HARVEST OF LUTHERAN DOGMATICS AND ETHICS” by Carl E. Braaten
Lutheran CORE continues to provide monthly video reviews of books of interest and importance. Many thanks to Steve Shipman, NALC pastor and former director of Lutheran CORE, for his review…
