Scholtes-Blog

Category: Uncategorized

  • St. George

    It’s right around All Saints Day. All Saints Day falls on November 1 every year, and many churches observe this holiday on the Sunday following. And my mind is turned today to those who have died; those with experience in the liturgical church will understand why. It is tradition on this day to specifically remember,…

  • The Things I Want to Do

    The Things I Want to Do

    I want to read. I have lots of books just waiting to be read, and I want to be a reader. I want my kids to see me reading, and emulate me. I want to know more than I know. I want to be the kind of person who is always growing, always reading, always…

  • Who are we becoming?

    So, this shooting in Orlando has ticked off every box. I mean, sheesh. We’ve got people talking about Muslims and terrorism. We’ve got people talking about LGBTQ rights. We’ve got people talking about gun control. We’ve got people talking about racism. My Facebook feed has gone cuckoo bananas. Memes and sarcasm and emotional tirades and…

  • On the Bravery of Writing

    It’s funny. When I started this blog two months ago, I had no expectation that it would become so much about my own history with depression. I really didn’t know what it would be about. That was part of the fun, I suppose. But then this post happened, wherein I shared that the reason I…

  • Jonah’s Journey: How I Became a Pastor

    Jonah’s Journey: How I Became a Pastor

    A number of people have asked me lately how, and why, I became a pastor. This is my attempt to tell that story. If you’ve known me for a while, you may have heard this before. (You may even be in it.) But I hope it will be at least a little interesting to some…

  • An American Lutheran or a Lutheran American?

    An American Lutheran or a Lutheran American?

    I have lived in a “parsonage” of sorts for my whole life, living in one way or another the life of a professional religious person. I spent my childhood literally in two parsonages, the son of a Lutheran Church in America (from 1988 on, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) pastor. I attended an ELCA-affiliated college…

  • Turning and turning in the widening gyre

    For as long as I can remember, I’ve been playing video games. It’s something of an addiction of mine. It’s not an addiction that’s taken a lot of my money; I don’t have any game consoles or game-dedicated computers. For the most part, I play browser-based games, and recently, free or very cheap games on…

  • One Crazy Email

    One Crazy Email

    I really wanted to post something tonight, and I just couldn’t figure out what to write about. So I dug deep into the crevices of my computer. I am a digital packrat. I keep everything I’ve ever created on a computer. I have copies of every email I’ve sent and received since 1996. I have…

  • How Can I Be Saved?

    The first reading from worship last week has been sitting in my head for a while now. I didn’t even preach on it…I preached on the Gospel reading (as I usually do). But it’s the first reading, Acts 16:16-34, that’s been on my mind. I’ve been thinking about what it means to “be saved.” I…

  • Mental Illness Happy Hour

    Mental Illness Happy Hour

    I am so surprised and touched by the response I received to my last post, Where Have I Been? Thank you for telling me that it’s okay to share things like that. And thank you for telling me that it’s helpful to share things like that! I have some ideas of other things I’d like…