First Third Conversations

By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary

Several weeks ago I wrote about the power of gathering . Gathering is a vibrant part of abundant life, of living a Christian way of life. But there is other side of that coin, the reality of scattering . No matter how rich the gathering, taking leave of one another is a necessary reality.

Yesterday after a great weekend, I lived the scattering side of the coin. I came into the weekend tired and stressed. …

By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary

We have just ended the season of “gathering” – the six weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year when friends, family and co-workers come together over food and conversation to celebrate the holidays.  Some of these gatherings I look forward to, and others I obediently attend for one reason or another. And next year, like this year, these gatherings will happen again because …

By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary

Thanksgiving has been celebrated, and now the Elton family has turned their attention to preparing for Christmas. There is excitement in the air, and there’s no turning back. We have entered the holiday season.

This season is filled with rituals and traditions, and rituals and traditions are crazy things. They have power, yet they also create tension and lose meaning. Our family has adopted an …

By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary

This morning the idea of home was swirling in my head. This past week I was on the road traveling, so sleeping in my own bed, hanging with my family and even cleaning my house was a gift. Home , a shelter and place for family. Last night my college daughter returned from a week traveling abroad and our family got to join her for dinner. There in the restaurant sharing stories, a feeling of home . A friend’s …

By Julie Hagen

This fall my congregation began a new format for our children's church school. We need a significant larger amount of leadership from parents than years past and I've discovered that much of my job is finding ways to communicate the importance of being involved. We need parents to be a part of the ministry that is happening each week.   Nancy Going recently blogged about The Race we, as the church, find ourselves in against all of the other things children have going on in their …

By Neil Christianson

Remember the last baptism you saw? It is a beautiful miracle to see! Through the water and the word, God claims one as his own and we see the transformation right before our eyes. God promises to work in the life of that individual and bring them to eternal life. What a promise! But that’s not all. There is a sacred promise made by the parents that I want you to think about.

In the service, the pastor says, “In Christian love you have presented this child for …

For the good of families and the whole Christian community, congregations can provide opportunities to equip homes as centers of faith formation at every stage of life. Congregations and youth ministries can make family faith formation a focus of everything they do as a church community, using an array of approaches and strategies to nurture faith at every stage of the family life cycle and in all the diverse forms and structures of the contemporary family. They can educate and …

By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary

This past weekend was homecoming at the high school. Daughter #2 was excited about going to the dance, but a few weeks ago discovered her tennis team had an all-day tournament on the same day and, to complicate matters, it was over an hour away. Needless to say, both mom and dad were needed to make the day come together.

This past Monday Daughter #1 called from college. She was getting everything in …

For more ways to expand your thinking about pushing forward Karen Gieseke's ideas about the vocation of parents as leaders in the faith of their children, be sure to order: 

• Parents and Faith Formation  issue of the journal  Lifelong Faith,  (Vol 5.3) 

It is filled with both helpful content/reading and also applicable praxis.

Parents are the most important factor in the healthy development and faith formation of their children and adolescents. 
The Fall 2011 issue …