matt+zach | Tips for Moving to College

Jesus & Couch Burning | a sermon on Luke 12

A sermon on the time when Jesus says that he's come to set fire to the earth and bring division (Luke 12.49-56).

As I canvassed the neighborhood on Monday morning, I was confronted with signs of this prophecy being fulfilled. With the return of students, moving truck upon moving truck was stacked in the streets. Concerned parents prepared for battle as they marched with mops and brooms and industrial strength cleaners into well lived-in University Hill residences. As parents gave their parting hugs and handshakes, I saw this prophecy coming to pass. I saw God’s people divided; fathers leaving sons and sons leaving fathers; mothers leaving daughters and daughters leaving mothers. 

The charred remains of furniture deemed too dilapidated for college life, left in alleyways and on street corners, appear to be indicators that returning students are also aware of this week’s prophetic readings and are embracing Christ’s mission to bring fire to the earth. 

How are we to interpret the appearance of these signs? Are they signs of doom? Are they signs that we are preparing to enter into another nine months marked by division, of students turned against community members, undergrads vs grad students, Buffs against Rams and Huskers? Is the present time a time of late night parties, litter in the church parking lot and a time and world in which student driven traffic congestion adds an extra five minutes to our commutes?

Or do Christ’s stern words this morning carry some measure hope, some good news, through which we might interpret the signs of this time? 

Introducing...The Friendship Project with Matt Keadle!

3 Reason Why You Should Connect with Lutheran Campus Ministry!

Why You Don't Need a Personal Relationship with Jesus

A sermon on Luke 10 & 2 Kings 5 preached at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Boulder.

The results of a cookie project.

The collared shirt and the whole alb and stole getup typically gives it away, but I am a pastor. This unique aspect of my identity often finds me in...interesting social situations. Once I was wearing my collar when I was mistaken for a stock boy at a local grocery store and asked where the cigars were. I can be identified as an easy mark for a professional panhandler and it’s been presumed that I’d like to spend a social evening out with my wife hearing about the best new “Christian” fiction on the market. 

Just last week this situation played itself out again. I was at a conference of campus ministry professionals when a woman approached me. After I introduced myself and told her that I lived in Boulder she told me that her children lived in Denver. Being courteous and on the off chance that I happened to know her children, I asked what their names were. The woman’s answer was...interesting. She said, “Oh, you wouldn’t know them.” 

I pushed a bit. I said, “Well, what are their names? I get down to Denver every now and then.” 

But she pushed back saying, “I’m fairly certain that you do not know my children.”

This is our place of life | Thoughts on Boston

Some thoughts on Boston that eventually turned into a sermon.

Easter Evening at Grace: a report from the future

Below is an article I submitted for the Grace Lutheran Church newsletter. It describes @LCMontheHILL's Easter evening worship where one of our students was baptized. Many thanks to our friends and partners in ministry at Grace and at Canterbury Colorado for being a part of that night.

This is a story about the future. It’s a story about the common future God holds for Grace and Lutheran Campus Ministry. 

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Psalm showed up at Grace in January. Despite his serendipitous name Psalm, a 22 year old Marine ROTC senior, did not grow up in the church. With graduation and deployment growing larger on the horizon, his investigation of the faith intensified. He did his research. After clicking through a litany of church websites and pages that described “What we believe,” Psalm showed up early one morning to plumb the depths of the book of Job with the people of Grace. 

Through his connection at Grace, Psalm plugged-in with the student group at LCM. Rooted both at Grace and LCM, Psalm soon told me that he wanted to be baptized. We set that holy process into motion, preparing for baptism on Easter evening. Corey, a student who happens to be a veteran of the war in Iraq, served as Psalm’s sponsor. The three of us met every week during Lent to do bible study and wrestle with the questions that emerge along the road that leads to the font. 

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Finally, Easter arrived. In our weekly meetings Psalm decided that he wished to be fully immersed at his baptism, that the symbols of that night should proclaim the complete way in which God would claim Psalm. So, on Sunday afternoon a garden hose snaked up the stairs and into the sanctuary at Grace where it filled a horse trough.  

Thoughts on Phoenix and 'Old People'

Phoenix, old people, and the golden girls.

A Night at LCM@CU...in which I put on Pants

Just some thoughts on space rocks, putting on pants, and Jesus.
-PZ

Illegal Corn Alcohol, Bad Coffee & a Table | Romans 10

So, it looks like I'm getting into the vlog game. Here's what Sunday night's sermon would have looked like if it were a vlog.

"What are you doing for Lent?"

On Monday I made my way around campus asking some of my students, "What are you doing for Lent?" Enjoy their responses. 

H/T - sabzi & the blue scholars

Ikea & the Transfiguration

A post very similar to what I preached @LCMontheHILL on Luke 9.

I feel a real connection with Peter. Now, I haven’t followed Jesus to the top of a mountain or seen his face transfigured. I haven’t seen Jesus checking in with Moses and Elijah. I haven’t heard the booming voice of God speaking directly to me from a cloud. But...I have been to Ikea. 

Peter, James and John follow Jesus up to the top of the mountain. As he’s praying, the face of the man whom they had dropped their nets to follow around the Galilean countryside was transfigured. Jesus’ face, something incredibly familiar, became something incredibly new and different. The familiar became strange. In the face of an itinerant preacher they saw the face of God. 

A trip to Ikea is not that different. The multi-story blue and yellow behemoth looms above the interstate like a summit. My search for cheap and stylish furniture fix is a journey through a prayer-like labyrinth where transfiguration awaits around each turn. Inside the maze, all the ‘stuff’ of my everyday life is seen in a completely new and exciting way. I’ve got a couch at home, but at Ikea it becomes a dagstorp. Tea kettles become ödmjuk’s and comforters become smörboll's. It’s my regular life, except more functional, stylish, and gleaming. It’s all the pieces of my life transfigured. 

A trip to Ikea evokes in many a desire to never leave. A man in New Jersey decided to live inside of an Ikea for a week. In Sweden they actually sell Ikea houses. You could buy one for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah!

New Rule: Love wins.

a sermon on Luke 4 from @LCMontheHILL

My television is under siege. Flipping through the channel guide Parking Wars, Whale Wars, Storage Wars, and Property Wars all fight for my attention. While it seems that producers have packaged every sort of conflict imaginable for my viewing pleasure, I’d like to pitch just one more…

Introducing...Neighbor Wars! Imagine a young professional couple in their twenties settling into life in an idyllic college town nestled against the mountains in Colorado. For this couple it’s early to bed and early to rise for a walk with their small, docile, and elderly dog. A big night involves dinner at a local restaurant, a stop for froyo, and bed by 10:30pm. 

Enter...the college students. Late one August night two students arrive with a pair of monster trucks and a trailer full of trouble from...California. Late night parties, an unleashed pit bull, and the opening of what appears to be a nocturnal auto mechanic shop has led to the worst and most entertaining type of conflict...passive aggressive warfare.

Why Beyonce, Jesus, & Lip-Synching Matters

Last night's sermon at Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Colorado-Boulder featuring Luke 4.14-20. 

Last week classrooms sat empty, powerpoint presentations went unpointed, and due dates postponed as the university celebrated a civic holiday. A big part of that holiday this year was the presidential inauguration. I imagine you heard some of the controversy emerging from the inaugural ritual. The media from the Times to the Post all the way down to the TMZ have been up in arms because it appears that much of the inaugural event may have been fake. 

The biggest offender of our notions of authenticity and originality was Beyonce. The pop music heavyweight may or may not have lip synched her powerful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, depending on which sources you trust. But the whole day, with thousands of people spread out along the parade route and the mall was, in a sense, fake. The Constitution requires that the president be sworn into office on January 20th, this past Sunday. The inaugural celebration traditionally takes place on a weekday. So, President Obama took the oath of office in the blue room on Sunday in a small private service and opted to move the public celebration to the traditional Monday. While many presidents have made this same choice, you could see the entire inaugural affair on Monday as one collective lip synch, reciting the same words, songs, and rituals from the day before, but without the constitutional punch.

Huell Howser, Baptism, & the Death of Cynicism.

I was moved last week when I heard that Huell Howser had died. Huell, for those of you who have not been blessed with exposure to public television in California, was the host of California’s Gold. For 18 seasons Huell explored the natural, cultural and historic wonders of the Golden State. To me the show is as much a part of my California experience as In-N-Out or Trader Joe's. 

Introducing...PZ's Office Hours!

Everybody knows that one of the keys to a successful semester is stopping by your professor's office hours every once in a while to ask a question or just to let them know you exist. In that same spirit, I'm excited to announce that I'll be keeping office hours on campus this semester!

Monday mornings are tough. I'm going to do my part to help you get your week off on the right foot by being in Pekoe Coffee Shop in the ATLAS building on campus from 9.00am until 11:15am every Monday morning. I'll be there waiting for you to stop by to chat and/or to buy you a cup of coffee. 

If you ask professors about assignments and coursework, what would you talk to Pastor Zach about during office hours? Well, I'm glad you asked. Below is a list of acceptable topics for discussion during office hours this semester:

• the mysteries of the universe
• Roommates/Parents/Professors
• The latest episode of Doctor Who.
• Why the Old Testament is PZ's favorite.
• The merits of the House of Lords.
• College Basketball (other seasonally appropriate sports topics are ok.)
• What's up with the bible? 
• Maps
• Why PZ is a pastor. 
• Where is God in all of this?
• The Wire/Curb your Enthusiasm/Homeland/Top Gear
• Any Dave Eggers book.
• Seattle-based Rap.
• The banjo.
• Why faith matters.
• The merits of various forms of public transportation. 
• How Manhattan is the greenest place on earth. 
• Paradoxes.
• Ralphie: great or greatest mascot?
• Current events. 
• Debate the best breakfast place in Boulder (the village, duh.)
• Why PZ is always talking about baptism and the eucharist. 

(Please note this list is not all-inclusive, additional topics may prove acceptable. Feel free to request additional topics in the comments below or just show up and we'll talk.)

See you on Monday mornings!
Pastor Zach