What Happened To Our Churches

What Happened To Our Churches

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39 Comments

The End To This Series of Blogs

The End To This Series of Blogs

This blog will be the last in what became a weekly series of 128 blogs.  I have run out of productive things to say. My emphasis from the beginning was to understand the decline of traditional mainline congregations with our distinguished histories.  The underlying question is how to turn this trend around.  Answers are to […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: lutheran, god, Luecke, blog, probing questions, end of blog series, christian discussions, Holy Spirit, church, church decline, christian

9 Comments

Are There Limits to How Inclusive God’s Love Is For All People

Are There Limits To How Inclusive God’s Love Is For All People?

Rob Bell is a very effective teaching pastor who was at the cutting edge of Evangelical theology.  He founded and led Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan.  In 2011 he published Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell And The Fate Of Every Person Who Ever Lived.  The broader Evangelical community in general and […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: mars hill, heaven, hell, will i go to hell, salvation, christian, saved, love, lutheran, Luecke, blog, rob bell

8 Comments

Is Your Church Scoring Home Runs of Sharing Christ With Others?

Is Your Church Scoring Home Runs of Sharing Christ With Others?

In his Purpose-Driven Church Rick Warren offers the analogy of church life as running the bases on a baseball diamond.  Getting to first base is Knowing God and becoming part of a Christian fellowship.  Second is learning about and Growing in Christ.  Third is Serving God through ministry to others.   Getting to the fourth base […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: blog, home run, growing in christ, spiritual growth, christian, lutheran, Luecke, Christian life

36 Comments

Avoid Sacramentalism in Ministry

Avoid Sacramentalism in Ministry

The local Moody radio station at one point dropped broadcasts of the Lutheran Hour, a long-time radio ministry.  It was a first-class communication problem.  Lutheran preachers of recent generations tend to emphasize Baptism as key to salvation.  Many Evangelicals reject the notion that sprinkling water on a baby could have anything to do with the […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: christian, lutheran, Luecke, blog. sacraments, sacramentalism, church, ministry

4 Comments

How Well Does God Know Your Future?

How Well Does God Know Your Future?

Recently a member of the church posed a classic question.  A relative was ill and she wanted her brother to join the rest in praying for healing.   He did not see what good that would do because God already had an outcome in mind.  Did I know how to persuade him to join in […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Future with God, Does God know my future, life planning with God, prayers, church, predestination, christian, destiny, lutheran, free will, god, predestined, Luecke, blog, praying

6 Comments

Choosing A Specific Community of the Word

Choosing a Specific Community of the Word

America has approximately 180 denominations.  Each was forged out of controversy at some point in its history.  Each called on the Bible to mark out its position in the dispute that set them apart.  So, which is the true interpretation? One easy response to this confusion is to refuse to choose.  This is happening among […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: christ oriented, christ like, Holy Spirit, church, church life, christian, lutheran, church community, christianity, Luecke, blog

16 Comments

Thinking in Hebrew vs Thinking in Greek

Thinking in Hebrew vs Thinking in Greek

The Old Testament is written in Hebrew.  The New Testament is in Greek.  We are reading both in English or in one of the many languages of worldwide Christianity.  Good translations are basic to understanding and spreading the Word of God. But the issue is greater than finding comparable words.  Hebrew and Greek are two […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: christian, reading the bible, lutheran, christianity, Luecke, blog, new testament, old testament, hebrew, greek, bible, religion

12 Comments

How's Your Humility Going?

How’s Your Humility Going?

Six GROWTH practices:  Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Humble Yourself Through Discipline During the Pandemic, I would drive by a house that had a yard announcing, “I Am A Health Care Hero.”  What an odd thing to boast about.  Real heroes don’t brag.  Certainly, front-line health providers were heroes, especially in the earlier stages […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: lutheran, fruit of the spirit, Luecke, blog, spiritual transformation, pandemic, humility, humble in christ, humble yourself with discipline, spiritual growth, christian

6 Comments

Test Your Trust in God

Test Your Trust in God

Six GROWTH practices:  Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Trust God in a New Venture Another phrase for Spiritual GROWTH is Spiritual Formation.  My focus is on making the basics of such formation as practical as possible. One way is learning to trust God.  Everyday life teaches lessons of trust for believers as they learn […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Christian life, blog, spiritual transformation, trust God, passive faith, active faith, faith in God, spiritual growth, close to God, christian, lutheran, Luecke

4 Comments

What Does Obedience Have To Do With Growth?

What Does Obedience Have To Do With Growth?

Six GROWTH practices:  Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Obey the Challenge to Deny Yourself Years as a chaplain in the Navy Reserves taught me the basics of military life.  Fundamental is obedience to commands and also saluting the authority of superior officers.  Growth is built into that structure.  Either get promoted in a certain […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: new testament, old testament, commandments, God's love, commands, christian, obedience, lutheran, god, Luecke, blog, spiritual transformation

18 Comments

Many Short Prayers Are Better Than A Few Long Ones

Many Short Prayers Are Better Than A Few Long Ones

Six GROWTH practices:  Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Go to God in Prayer and Worship Believers tend to admire those who spend a long time in prayer.  They must be especially devout.  The rest of us usually feel guilty in comparison.  Yet highly admired Christian leaders taught otherwise.  Augustine of Hippo (5th century) preferred […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: praying, why should i pray, Holy Spirit, how do i pray, christian, lutheran, Luecke, blog, prayer, pray, prayer life, prayer to God

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