Northwoods Seelsorger

It has been about three years since I read the last book by Dr. Robert Bennett, entitled I am Not Afraid: Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare . I posted about this book , but looking back I notice that I did not review it after reading it.  In short, it was a very enlightening and eye-opening work about demons, exorcism, and spirituality from the perspective of the Lutheran church in Madagascar.  The book is the fruit of his Ph.D work at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, and much of it reflects his research conducted in Madagascar.  Nevertheless, it was very applicable to the situation here in the US. The description of the book from the Concordia Publishing House site offers a nice summary: While Africa and Madagascar seem like strange and faraway places, the world in which we now live has become much smaller than many of us could ever have imagined. Moreover, even our neighbors visit the local fortuneteller, read the horoscope page in the newspaper, ...

It has long been fashionable to set "resolutions" for the new year.  It has also been a running joke how these resolutions are quickly and easily broken. What follows, then, is not so much a list of resolutions as goals; items I hope to accomplish or at least attempt - some directions to set me on the road for the months to come. They are also reflections on past goals and new year completions. By year's end I'll review and reassess. 1.  Finish the revisions on my thesis, defend, graduate and try to determine what I should do with the degree.  This may seem almost self-evident by now, but it is a goal in the making since 2010 when I first began the degree.  I don't think that I ever doubted my ability to finish it, but I did envision its completion a bit sooner.  My original reason for pursuing the degree is being reevaluated.  I had hoped to one day teach at a post-high school level (college, university, seminary) and knew that I needed more than just ...