The Magazine

Just a Layman?

Serving God and others with our gifts of knowledge, wisdom, time, and financial resources is a very important part of our Christian calling.

Mission Central

In the middle of a cornfield in western Iowa, God is using ordinary people and an old set of farm buildings to accomplish His work.

I, Athanasius

Accused of murder and exiled five times, Athanasius did not lead a dull life. Later, he even had a creed named after him. by Rev. Gordon A. Beck Although I have an unusual name for the final years of the 20th century, it was a common-enough name in the decades leading up to the fall

First Day of School

by Rev. Terence Groth Early every fall a milestone event takes place all across America: Mothers send their children off to the first day of school. For some pupils this is a partial day in preschool or kindergarten. For others, it is a full day as a first-grader. For still others, it is the first

All This Jazz

The “Jazz Song” Christians sing–The Gospel–preaches a more powerful sermon than any silver-tongued orator ever could.

“With the Cross of Jesus”

by James Heine While a raging Cedar River may have forced Harlan and Marge Ketelsen to abandon the home they have lived in for 50 years, it has not dampened Ketelsen’s determination to continue producing the little walnut crosses he has been distributing for 25 years. “Harlan’s crosses have traveled around the world,” says Rev.

Lutheran Witness: September 2008

As you can see from this contents page, we’re bursting at the seams this month—with stories about Katrina, the flooding this summer in the Midwest, and Mission Central, to name just a few.

Lutheran Witness: August 2008

Some days, it seems, our 24/7 news cycle brings us little but glum news. Fuel is at an all-time high. The stock market is in the doldrums (or worse). When will the housing market recover? For Christians, each day also seems to bring a new challenge to our faith. Among those challenges: differing assertions about the structure of marriage.

A Shabby Approach to Outreach

In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, Through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. –Gal. 3:26-27 ESV

Confronting Suicide

by Theresa M. Shaltanis I don’t have a question, but I have an observation that may help others. My 17-year-old son lost his best friend to suicide earlier this year. In the days following that tragedy, well-meaning friends and family questioned (judgmentally, it seems to me) how a teenager could reach such a point of

Shedding Some Light

Heavenly Yoga? Josiah, my 6-year-old grandson—a “preacher’s kid”—prays each night for those who are sick. He has his own system: If they are mildly sick, he asks God to “put Your hand on him.” If they are very sick, he asks God “to put two hands on him.” When a family friend lay gravely ill

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