Northwoods Seelsorger

Having heard Dr. Steinke at a recent meeting of church officials, I was intrigued to read more of his work.  His knowledge and perspectives caught my attention and he seemed worth the time for more study.  A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope (The Alban Institute, 2010) is a relatively short book (141 pages) and easy to read, but offers some engaging ideas.  Dr. Steinke is a well-known congregational systems consultant and has worked with many conflicted organizations (churches and denominations).  Although he leans heavily upon the psychological work of his mentor Edwin Friedman , he also engages the biblical text for additional insight.  As a Lutheran he predictably quotes Luther at selective intervals, but appears to prefer non-Lutheran theologians for their perspective, especially the work of N.T.Wright .  Contrary to my expectations, he did not go down the predictable path of more church growth rhetoric, and was even critical of som...

Over the years we have been told that visual images are the most effective way to communicate in church.  Admittedly, during my time at the seminary (1983-1987) this was not the message, although I'm sure that it was already being practiced, to one degree or another, at the parish level.  With the advent of Powerpoint and big screens, the presence of visual images during worship and sermons has increased several fold.  Personally, I have not been sold on this, but did not have any real research to support my views. A recent article at the Steadfast Lutherans site offers that support.  Two studies are referenced, one a D.Min project and the other an Ed.D dissertation.  The first studied the effectiveness of projected images during the sermon, the other (included in the comments section) studied the effectiveness of children's sermons.  I would highly recommend the article for your own review: "Why We Should Rethink the Use of 'Visual PowerPoints' in Sermon...

In a recent journal article by Dr. Paul J. Grime from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, the professor notes that the great musical master Johann Sebastian Bach "never had the benefit of a university education" (CTQ, January/April 2012, 4-5).  This sent me searching elsewhere for more information on Bach's formal education.  At the Bach Cantatas Website I further learned that his "formal education ended at what we would consider High-School level."  Now I note all this not in any way to disparage the great composer.  My point here concerns a personal issue with the value and necessity of advanced degrees with regard to the mastery of skills and knowledge in a given field.  Last year I posted an article entitled "Theologians Without Doctorates."  In it I noted some great minds that never achieved the terminal degree for which so many strive, and yet their achievements outweigh those with far higher credentials.  Again, I do not wish to dispar...