The long-held tradition in my last congregation was to read the Word of God out of the bulletin, not the Bible. The reasoning seemed understandable. Congregants weren’t bringing their Bibles to church,  church leaders wanted everyone reading the same translation and access to Scripture was easier. This was devastating to the small congregation. These believers […]

My father began decades ago to give away Bibles as a Gideon, and now, about 50 years after I first saw him do it, here I am carrying on the tradition,” says David Hayes, member of the Luther Seminary Foundation Board of Trustees. Hayes and his wife, Andrea, notable donors to Luther Seminary for the […]

Since the Book of Faith Initiative kicked off in August 2007, it has swept through congregations in theELCA, growing and evolving in unique ways. What is now a churchwide initiative came from one simple, compelling thought: “We really have to think about how Lutherans read the Bible.” That thought spawned a conversation among members of […]

What makes preaching “biblical?” Isn’t all preaching “biblical” preaching? What does a “non-biblical” sermon sound like and should it really matter? What is at stake when we claim the need for biblical preaching? What difference does biblical preaching make for our for the church in the world? Of course, the compelling issues are also: Why […]

The Bible is a lot of things, but simple isn’t one of them. It wasn’t easy to write. It’s sometimes hardto fully comprehend. And finding the right Bible for you or a loved one can seem as daunting as partingthe Red Sea. “Selling Bibles is one of the most complicated things we do in the […]