Have you ever achieved a goal that you’d been working hard and long to succeed at, and then find shortly afterward that there was still a lot of work to do? Maybe you finally got the garden planted, and realized that you’d underestimated how much time watering, weeding and general maintenance it would require. Perhaps […]

As the gears of the upcoming presidential election cycle churn into motion, I can only imagine that it’s just a matter of time before we hear about a candidate’s “2020 vision.” There’s something about a clearly articulated vision that can galvanize a group into action, that can catalyze excitement, energy and focus, and that can […]

We’re still early enough in 2019 that many of us are thinking about what we want to keep doing and hanging on to from 2018, and what we want to leave behind when it comes to our habits and our stuff. One of our initiatives here at Redeemer is to update our interior space, to […]

Happy New Year! I hope and pray that you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration with friends and family, and that your year gets off to a wonderfully blessed start. It’s hard to believe that it’s already time to hang up the new calendars, but 2019 is upon us, so here we go! Every new year […]

Ask a group of people to list ten words that come to mind when hearing the word “home,” and some common themes might emerge: family, house/apartment, warmth, security, belonging, etc. Ask enough people, though, and you’d discover that not all the words and thoughts are positive. Words like conflict, uncertainty, strain and regret might appear […]

During the month of November, we’ll have several opportunities to express our thanksgiving to God for his goodness and love, by focusing on people near and far who find themselves in times of need. As a congregation, we’ll continue the tradition of partnering with Covenant World Relief, as we fill up repurposed soup cans with […]

I want to open this article with a heartfelt expression of THANKS to all of you who make our shared ministry possible through your generous and sacrificial gifts of time, talent and financial resources. So many of you serve in creative, dedicated ways and places within our congregation, and I need to tell you that […]

This August marks two years since my arrival at Redeemer as interim senior pastor. It’s been an incredible blessing to lead and serve among this congregation and to have been called as senior pastor. In two years, I’ve gotten to know many of you individually, and I’ve gotten a sense of who we are as […]

I’m writing this article (thankfully, in an air-conditioned space) in the midst of a crazy late-May heat wave that has seen the earliest 100-degree reading in Twin Cities history. It’s hard to imagine a more unmistakable reminder that summer is once again upon us. Summer provides most of us a change in our schedules. For […]

As human beings, many of us have a tendency to want the good stuff now. We desire good health (perhaps without excellent self-care), good grades (with a minimum of studying), great jobs (ideally, without having to put in time in more menial positions), and amazing friends and spouses (without having to go through all the […]