Grammys? Super Bowl? Whatever.

By Pastor John Hulden

I was in the LA area* the weekend of the biggest musical award ceremony of the year (the one where super-fans rage on social media if their artist didn’t win a particular category). The next day, I was in the Phoenix area** the week leading up to the biggest and over-hyped sporting event of the year — the one where people plan parties to watch a football game and a half-time show, the one with the most bets riding on the game, the one where companies trip over each other to buy really expensive TV ad time.

I didn’t find my way to the red carpet for the Grammys (but as a Bonnie Raitt fan, I’m thrilled she won Song of the Year). Nor did I make it to any of the NFL Experience events leading up to the Super Bowl. Thankfully, I got out of Arizona before the big game so I could be in front of a TV back here in Minnesota to rank the ads and see if the game lived up to the many one-score games I watched the Vikings win this past season. The Super Bowl was a close game and ended as we might have expected: The winners celebrate, and the losers complain about that one bad holding penalty call.

“What if the Holy Spirit put your church building in your neighborhood/township/community for a reason?”

I left behind the hoopla of the Grammys and Super Bowl week for something more amazing and fulfilling – the Minneapolis Area Synod Tool Kit!

I love, love, love the Tool Kit – subtitled “Workshops for Congregational Leaders.” As your friendly middle judicatory bureaucrat, I’m still a parish pastor at heart. So, to spend a precious Saturday morning with a bunch of dedicated church folk is so inspiring.

The people who show up at a Tool Kit are there to help their congregation be better —even though some of these very same church folks are in various stages of denial when we remind them that they are already truly gifted church leaders! This year, they came to learn about “Needs to Assets,” “Growing Young,” “Building Volunteerism,” “Connecting with the Deaf Community,” and more.

 

IN MY FIRST workshop, folks were eager to hear about Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices. There was a lament that many neighbors don’t even notice our churches anymore. There was the blessing and opportunity for our church folks to connect with neighbors, … as in be a neighbor rather than only serve our neighbor.

What if the Holy Spirit put your church building in your neighborhood/township/community for a reason? How might our connecting with God – through worship, prayer, a devotional life – send us out to listen and see God in our neighbors?

“The people who show up at a Tool Kit are there to help their congregation be better.”

My second workshop attendees were all church council members. Everyone there took very seriously their (for some, new) role. They must have loved connecting with each other because I had to use my confirmation teacher voice to get their attention!

They raised great questions. What makes for a good meeting? Is tension in a meeting a good thing? What are council members really overseeing? Is the constitution our friend? What is the best way for our council to listen to God, the worshippers, and the community?

Looking ahead to next year …

Grammys? I’d rather take the red carpet walk down the center aisle of one of our churches.

Super Bowl? Let’s turn to the baptismal bowl, where the water and the Word “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promises of God declare” (M. Luther, Small Catechism, ELW p. 1165).

Tool Kit 2024? What could be a better way to spend a Saturday in February? See you there.

 

*I attended the ELCA Youth Ministry Network’s Extravaganza in Anaheim CA. This event always delivers. Check out https://www.elcaymnet.org/

**I was on Fourth Commandment duty to spend time with my amazing 95-year-old Mom in Mesa, Arizona, for a few days.