Historically, the art of public speaking (including proclamation) has been considered under the category of rhetoric. Aristotle famously defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing, in any given case, the available means of persuasion.”

Dangers confront us continually in the form of car crashes, heart attacks, divorce, politics, war, or terrorism. Jesus prays, appealing to his Father for our protection, but do we feel safe? We can look to pillars of Christianity and ask the same question.

Most of us think of a “kingdom” as a place. But when Scripture speaks of the “kingdom of God,” it is not speaking of a place... Rather, the “kingdom of God” (or the “kingdom of Heaven”) is a fact, the fact that God is king.

I don’t know if the church gets much more divided than during an election year. 2024 is shaping up to be no different. How should we, the body of Christ, think and behave in this divisive climate?

My story of being involved in Lutheran Brethren Youth Ministries is only one note in the song that is the beautiful history—the awesome legacy—of the Lutheran Brethren’s investment and concern for the generations that would follow them.

The vision of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren is to be a Disciple-making Church. One of our Church body’s four objectives, “Unleash New Leaders,” has been a focus for decades at our camp and retreat center in Minnesota, Inspiration Point.

Grief is often described as “deep sorrow,” “sadness,” or “heaviness of heart.” For me, in this situation, I would define my grief as “deep sorrow over shattered or unmet expectations.”  It’s private and personal, yet at the same time, it needs to be known so it’s not in the dark. This grief needs light.

I sit alone in my office after an emotional and heartbreaking conversation with a mother watching her daughter, in the midst of an identity crisis, make decisions that cannot be easily undone. And then, as if I am having deja vu, I am transported to a previous conversation with a father.

What does it mean to be human? Looking at that question, you might suggest that perhaps I’m biting off more than I can chew in a short article. A question like that falls into the same category as, “What is the meaning of life?” or “How do I know who I am?”

In late 2023, LBIM was blessed to facilitate, for the first time ever, a global LBIM missionary retreat. Our missionary families from Chad, Japan, and Taiwan made their way to the Suan Bua resort outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We need the meat and potatoes that Scripture can offer. The deeper we dig into the Bible, the more we learn we don’t know it all. So, dig deep for great riches and even greater understanding.

As the air ambulance landed on the tarmac in Paris, France, I was placed on a gurney and rushed to a major hospital in downtown Paris. The icy February air bit at my cheeks, so different from the balmy warm air of Bokoro, Chad, where I’d been just a few days earlier.

Jerusalem is a reminder of God’s fearsome judgment and his unfailing grace to both the faithful Hebrews of the Old Testament and the Christians of the New Testament.