First Third Conversations

Ordinations keep Seminary in Perspective

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:07:00 GMT

Saturday was a special day for one seminary grad and for the church. You see Saturday the ELCA hosted another ordination, publicly calling another M.Div. graduate into Word and sacrament ministry. He will serve a particular congregation, as he also serves the whole church.

For people who read more...

Closing the Ministry Gap

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Here's another contribution from one of our CYF graduates thesis. This one, by Joshua Feala, addresses the issue of youth ministry and congregational leadership. Enjoy!

Closing The Ministry Gap actually began years ago when I was a youth in the church. I noticed there was this distance between the read more...

How Do We Get Young Adults to Come to Church?

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:48:00 GMT

Here's the next awesome feature in our series of MA thesis posts. This one, by Aaron Fuller asks the question if the problem with twenty-somethings and the church has to do with the structure of leadership. And yes, that really IS Aaron in the picture.

How do we get young adults to come read more...

The Ladder of Cool

Tue, 28 May 2013 15:31:00 GMT

Derek Tronsgard, one of our First Third Voices gives his take on Sarah's Bane's thesis topic in:

Youth Ministry, Stewardship, and the Ladder of Cool

(Before reading this post, we highly recommend reading Sarah Bane's thesis. It's posted again at the bottom of this blog. It's brilliant & it's worth read more...

Stewardship as a paradigm for Youth Ministry?

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:01:00 GMT

The night before taking my first group of young people to camp as a rookie youth director, I became consumed by a desire to purchase a pair of brightly colored sneakers. Feeling like I was on a game show to find the perfect pair of sneakers before the store closed, I finally landed on a pair of read more...

Being Church Beyond Our Walls

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:02:00 GMT

Did you read Amanda Nelson's thesis yet? If not, it is posted at the bottom of the previous post.

I want to commend Amanda on her work in digging into what the church needs to learn about the spiritual lives on young adults. Her stories of young adults are similar to so many stories of young people read more...

Young Adults and Outdoor Adventure

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:54:00 GMT

This week on FirstThird.org we begin sharing the amazing thesis work of our Luther Seminary Children, Youth and Family Ministry MA students. We have five finalists, and will feature one writer and their topic for each of the next five weeks. You'll be blown away by their ideas and the quality read more...

From the First Third Archives

Wed, 08 May 2013 22:22:00 GMT

You Belong

By Andy Sahl

I served for several years with a leadership camp in Western Illinois. High school kids labeled as “student leaders” (read, well connected to their youth group) from all over the country would come together for a week of small groups, worship, workshops, read more...

From the First Third Archives

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:30:00 GMT

Presently Separate & Separately Present

By Derek Tronsgard

Last Christmas my wife's sister joined us while we opened our presents. A few weeks ago I did pre-marriage counseling for some friends. Yesterday I showed a friend a picture of my dog.

Pretty unremarkable...

...except read more...

What's the point, anyway?

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:12:00 GMT

We have spent almost two months offering various perspectives on mission and service, but at the end of the day...What's the point?

I love Chicago, and a few weeks ago I has in Chicago for a meeting. Taking the train into the city and walking the streets is exciting, at least for me. As an experienced read more...

Preparation, Action, Reflection and Celebration = Transformation!

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:10:00 GMT

Trinity Lutheran College is continuing its study on what makes service projects and mission trips transformational. It’s all part of the SALLT (Service And Learning Leadership Team) program. What they have found is so vital that they have even developed and APP to help leaders through read more...

Open your eyes to the community around you

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:14:00 GMT

By Eric Elton, Mission Outreach Director at Prince of Peace Church in Burnsville, MN

Ah yes … the mission trip. As many of us know, on these trips, God often takes us to a new mountaintop place. A place we may have never been before spiritually. We return home … we are read more...

Reflections on a Mission Trip

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:30:00 GMT

By Pastor Nancy Lee Gauche

It has been a rich dialogue on mission over the past month. As I reflect on this trip, I will bracket some key practices that shape my understanding around outreach and short-term mission to add to the conversation. Enjoy!

Not too long ago I led a Women’s Mission read more...

Love God, Help Others, Jesus Loves You, repeat

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:39:00 GMT

By Julie Hagen

I am 29 weeks into my Church School calendar (only 4 more weeks but who is counting) and have a rotation of the above themes over and over and over again. Please know I’m NOT sick of teaching kids to help others. That will never get old! I think we can dig deeper. read more...

Resources on Reclaiming the Servant's Heart for Mission

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:48:00 GMT

Want to dig deeper in the First Third conversation on mission ?

Webinar: Inculturating the Gospel; Dr. Colleen Windham Hughes

A webinar from the Practice Discipleship Initiative by Dr. Colleen Windham Hughes, or California Lutheran University.

Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term read more...

The Gospel without Gunpowder

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:12:00 GMT

By Jake Sorenson

Last week, I had the privilege of traveling to Tokyo, Japan with my wife. Besides celebrating our 10th anniversary, the occasion for our trip was my college roommate’s marriage to a wonderful Japanese girl. My roommate traveled to Japan in 2005 with the Young Adults in Global read more...

Turn off your cell phones and commit to this space

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:21:00 GMT

by Colleen Windham-Hughes, Assistant Professor Assistant Professor in Religion; Director, Theology and Christian Leadership Program; Associate Director, Center for Equality and Justice at California Lutheran University

When I think of culture I like to keep yogurt in mind. For yogurt and for people read more...

Mr. Rogers and Mission

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:06:00 GMT

By Derek Tronsgard

Earlier this week the city of Boston was rocked by bombs and tragedy. And ever since Monday, the 24-hour news cycle, the internet, TV, radio, and other media have been covering the fallout non-stop.

And in the midst of all of the coverage and saturation of this event, read more...

Resources on Reclaiming the Servant's Heart for Mission

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:36:00 GMT

Want to dig deeper in the First Third conversation on mission ?

Here are two books on mission experiences:

Mission Trips that Matter: Embodied Faith for the Sake of the World by Don C. Richter, Upper Room Books, 2008.

Missions Trips That Matter offers ways for leaders of short-term mission read more...

The Changing Frontiers of Urban Mission: Beyond The Great White Hope

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:19:00 GMT

by Daniel White Hodge, PhD, Assistant professor of youth ministry & director of The Center For Youth Ministry Studies, North Park University, Chicago, Ill

The ministry flaunted itself as a “community leader”; an organization that was “for youth in the city” and “creating read more...