Re-Mediation in the D-I-Y Church

Keith Anderson (October 2017). Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, 21stCenturyMission, DigitalMinistry, Re-mediating Religion, Themes.

Lately I’ve been thinking about a passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus reminds Peter that our youthful vigor and self-determination will always fade. “Very truly, I tell you” Jesus says, “when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will... Read more

Searching for the End of the Internet

Keith Anderson (July 2017). Posted in DigitalMinistry, Websites.

You may remember a commercial that DirecTV ran back in 2002, touting its then state-of-the-art DSL internet service. The ad featured a guy sitting in front of his huge desktop computer. He supposedly was able to surf online so fast that a message popped up on his screen: “You have reached the end of the internet. You have seen everything there is to see. Please... Read more

Binge Watching Scripture

Keith Anderson (June 2017). Posted in 21stCenturyBible, 21stCenturyCulture.

My daughter is being confirmed this year. Now I understand why parents always say that they don’t know where the time goes. It feels like it was just yesterday that she was baptized. Now she is claiming all those baptismal promises we made on her behalf as her own. At our church, the confirmation program capstone is a “faith statement” that confirmands write... Read more

Gotta Catch ’em All

Six Websites Not to Miss This Summer

Keith Anderson (July 2016). Posted in Websites.

On July 7th I thought it had finally happened—the long foretold Zombie Apocalypse. On that day people were walking around my neighborhood, and even my church, shuffling their feet, eyes cast down at their smartphones, turning around aimlessly in circles and pointing at seemingly nothing. Before I could pack up my zombie survival kit and head out of town, I learned... Read more

A Community of Makers

The Changing Face of Clergy Collegiality

Keith Anderson (February 2016). Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, 21stCenturyMinistry.

I must confess that I have been a less-than-dutiful clergy colleague. In Lutheran polity, congregations are organized in small geographic clusters called conferences, and their clergy gather for monthly meetings for mutual support and, oftentimes, text studies. Good times, right? Although it has been over three years since I took my new call, I still have not... Read more

Our Savior of the Soccer Pitch

Keith Anderson (October 2015). Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, Bearings Review 2016.

Like many young families, our weekends in the fall are busy with soccer. We have four kids on three different teams. That means three practices and three games each week, mostly clustered on Friday night and Saturday morning. While the schedule is hectic, we love to see our kids play, and we track their progress year over year. (That said, we aren’t those crazy... Read more

Surf’s Up!

Seven Multimedia Ministry Sites Worth Surfing This Summer

Keith Anderson (August 2015). Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, DigitalMinistry, Websites.

Summertime is often a time for ministry leaders to tackle that long reading list or stack of impulsively bought books from Amazon that has built up over the rush of the ministry program year. It is also a good time to travel off the beaten digital path and discover new resources for both personal nourishment and programmatic enhancement. Perhaps, like me, you... Read more

Coming Clean on Bringing Millennials Back to Church

Keith Anderson (May 2015). Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, Bearings Review 2015.

Can you hear it? It’s the sound of Mainline ministry leaders around the country breathing deep sighs of relief, patting themselves on the back, and smiling in self-congratulation in response to the recent news that what Millennials—that generation woefully absent from their churches—really want from the church is . . . the sacraments. In her new book, Searching... Read more

Rewriting the 21st-Century Ministry Playbook

Keith Anderson (January 2015). Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry.

This time of year my thoughts turn from theology to football as the NFL and college football playoffs pack the January television airwaves. It has been particularly the case this year as my favorite team, the New England Patriots, makes yet another deep playoff run. Viewers and sports commentators alike have noticed that there is something different about this... Read more

Contributor: Keith Anderson