Brave New Church

With the beginning of a new school year, many churches across the country are launching into a new program year of activities for children, families, and adults. But in an increasingly changing world, are too many of the practices we take for granted grounded in a kind of 20th century thinking that just doesn't work in the 21st century world? Maybe the answer isn't a flashy new program, or some ground-breaking technological tool, but for us to reclaim something very old - something at the very heart of what it's always meant to be "church".

In Pennsylvania, two of the oldest Lutheran institutions in the country are undergoing a radical re-imagining of their ministry to face the challenges of today's Brave New World. On July 1 the historic institutions of The Lutheran Theological Seminaries at Gettysburg and Philadelphia closed after over 340 years of combined ministry and reopened as a new school, United Lutheran Seminary. With a new forward-thinking curriculum devoted to the practical skills demanded by today's world, a radical commitment to resetting the equation of student debt, and a creative and innovative band of leaders, United Lutheran Seminary is devoted to being a model of how we can re-imagine "church" in today's changing 21st century world.

In spring of 2016, a movement was born that fully brought Lutheranism into the post-modern era. Beginning on social media, a core group of diverse leaders came together to challenge the very foundation of "cultural Lutheranism" - and expose just how dangerous it really is. In answer to the seemingly benign question, "You might be a Lutheran if..." #DecolonizeLutheranism proposed what to many was a new and different answer, and one that is sweeping across the Lutheran world. On this episode, I sit down with Lenny Duncan, a founding member of the movement, and learn how this critical, relevant movement grew from there - and how it can re-frame everything we think we know.

​​In a world where the church seems to have its message drowned out by so many louder cultural voices, what does it even mean for the Gospel to be Good News anymore? Can the church really make the front page of the newspaper or the top of the ratings charts anymore? We'll travel high and low - from the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer to the local pub with Pastor Keith Anderson, and finally to the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia with Dr. David Lose to unmask the answer. Where are people making meaning in today's world...and how can the church be at the forefront?

If the world has changed under our feet, how do we begin to understand this Brave New World that we are living in? Until we can unpack the way the world has changed, and how it intersects with central questions of faith, life, and meaning we just can’t begin to do meaningful ministry in today’s world. Join us this week as David Lose unpacks the data behind these massive cultural shifts and helps us to reframe how we see the current landscape – and begin to explore what this might mean for where we go from here.

The church is at an exciting crossroads. While for many this is a time of great struggle, the truth is that the Holy Spirit is up to something new in the world today - and we get to be a part of it. In this first episode of a multi-week series on new ministry models for a new age, hear from Rev. Dr. Rich Melheim about new ways of doing ministry in a changing world, Cross+Gen Ministry, and why what used to "work" in the church just isn't working anymore.

When we imagine a growing, vital church we often picture one with perfect programs, polished worship, and impeccable preaching. But that's just looking for love in all the wrong places. Tune in this week to learn from Pastor Raymond Boswell and Seminarian Laura Taddie how what truly makes a congregation - or a person - faithful is their ability to have a healthy doubt, and critically reflect upon the habits and practices they unconsciously repeat.