Nadia Bolz-Weber is the founder and former pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints, an ELCA mission church in Denver, Colorado. She’s a leading voice in the emerging church movement, and her writing can be found at www.nadiabolzweber.com and on the Sarcastic Lutheran blog. Her most recent book is Shameless: A Sexual Reformation (Convergent Books).
Posts By This Author
Haiti and the Wedding at Cana
In Defense of Congregational Singing
Preaching the Whole Magnificat
God Does not Heed my Snotty Opinions About Evangelicals
Where Did Jesus Stand at the ELCA Assembly?
Taking the Body and Blood to the Airport
Last Sunday I got a call at 11 a.m. It was Rachel Pater calling from her home town church (denomination to remain unnamed). It took several minutes before she could form a proper sentence through her sobs. Finally in a shaky voice, this came out: "I'm at my parent's church ... they are doing communion ...
Blessing of the Bicycles
Urban biking is not without peril. Many of my parishioners rely almost exclusively on human-powered transportation and do so while competing for road space with motorized vehicles.
My Definition of the Emerging Church
If I had a dollar for every person who has asked me "So, what IS the emerging church?" we could meet our budget this year. Here's my own definition, and it is just that -- my definition. Not the definition. This is descriptive, not prescriptive. When I use the term "emerging church" here's what I mean by that. (I feel like I'm walking into a minefield, but here we go ...)
Hope for Women in Ministry
I don't honestly think about "women in ministry issues" a whole lot. I guess I just go about my work not thinking of myself as a female pastor, just a pastor. I have almost never felt directly discounted for being a woman in my work.
God Showing Up in Older Women
Who Moved My Cheese?
"The cheese is gone, someone came in and stole the cheese."
Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television (Part 2)
[Continued from part 1] I began to wonder what the TBN folks would think of me, a heavily tattooed Christian progressive from a liturgical denomination. How would people in their theological camp respond to my preaching? Would they think, as I do of them, that I misuse scripture?
Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television (Part 1)
To say that Christian television is "not my thing" doesn't even get close.
Prosperity Preachers and Personal Planks
Yesterday NPR ran a story about the on going Senate investigation of the so-called Grassley Six; Crefflo and Taffi Dollar, Paula and Randy White, Eddie Long, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Joyce Meyer
Latin Tattoos and 24 Hours of Televangelism
While working on my upcoming book for Seabury Press - Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television, a theological and cultural commentary based on my experience watching 24 consecutive hours of the Trinity Broadcasting Network - I faced the issue of sanctification, sin, and leadership in the church. TBN preacher Paula White said the following on her show: "Sanctification is a progressive process you go from glory to glory to glory." (And by "progressive," I don't [...]
Prison Praise Music
I'm always a bit anxious in new worship environments. As I settle into my plastic chair at New Beginnings Lutheran Church, I realize that now is certainly no different. At least, I think to myself, my cell phone won't go off in worship; it was confiscated by the guard before I went through the metal detector.
New Beginnings is a congregation on the inside of the Denver Women's Correctional Facility, and I've come with three others from my own community to share in their worship service. [...]