The Last Great Gnesio: Remembering Oliver K. Olson
By 1517 Staff
08/08/25
11mins

The Last Great Gnesio: Remembering Oliver K. Olson

Oliver was a friend, chaplain, professor, author, and loyal church reformer. This Gnesio-Lutheran giant will be missed.
Gen-X, The Church Needs Your Scars
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
08/07/25

Gen-X, The Church Needs Your Scars

We don’t need another brand. We need a people who remember who they are. And that’s us, Gen-X.
The Parable That Preaches the Cross
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
08/06/25

The Parable That Preaches the Cross

Just as each servant was sent to bring back the Master’s fruit, so did God send his prophets to bring back the fruits of a life shaped by the Word.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/06/13

Two Hymns on the Transfiguration

The prophets had foretold, His coming Incarnation; The Word would make our flesh, His only habitation.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/12/13

Rehearsing Confession

Never are we more Hollywood than when we admit wrongdoing. Our confession is scripted, edited, practiced. Move over Brad Pitt; I’ve got this role down pat, for it’s my version of me.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/05/13

Visiting the Dead at Christmas: The Fight to Forgive Family

People take off their public masks when around relatives. They let their darkness shine. That’s why Manuel spends his December 25 in the graveyard, talking to the dead.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/30/12

Vulnerability in the Pulpit

A few weeks ago, the pastor of my congregation did something in his sermon I’ve never heard a pastor do: he confessed a failure. He had once been ashamed of his brother, he admitted, and had acted in a way toward him that was not in keeping with love.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/13/12

Washing Down Antidepressants with Eggnog

Perhaps part of the mistake we’ve made is in forgetting that the first Christmas, the actual birthday of Jesus, started out as the worst of times.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/21/12

Whiskey Baptism

A few people can endure a Job-like hell, get up, bless God, and face the future stronger than ever. Most of us aren’t such saints. We hobble along, half-walking, half-crawling into the will-be from the what-was.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/24/12

My Three-Year-Old Daughter's Sermon: Baptism Theology at Its Finest

Sometimes, the best sermons aren’t preached by preachers at all.
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