Oak Ridge Today

Grace Lutheran Church calls new pastor

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Larry Boudon

Larry Boudon

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge has called the Rev. Dr. H. Lawrence Boudon as its new pastor, effective January 1, 2018. Boudon is a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina with a Masters of Divinity. He was ordained May 29, 2010.

Boudon graduated from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Political Science/Spanish. He has a PhD in International Studies from the University of Miami, and a Master’s degree in Government from the University of Virginia. Prior to entering the ministry, Boudon worked as a journalist, then as a college professor and as editor of the Handbook of Latin American Studies at the Library of Congress.

He was born in Olean, New York, and grew up in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania. He is the oldest of three children. Raised Roman Catholic, he became a Lutheran in 2003. He was drawn to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) by the “openness of dialogue at all levels of the denomination.” He is married to Laura, who holds dual U.S.-French citizenship and is presently Director of Study Abroad at Florida International University (FIU). Their son, Lucas, was adopted from Guatemala in 2007. Lucas is in the 6th grade and plays violin and soccer. [Read more…]

Faith column: Shouldn’t we be doing something?

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It’s the holidays—a time of year when churches are often on the move and active in a community. Anytime a church is in motion and doing something in the community, that action reveals something of the character and nature of the church and her mission. But what if a church decides to lay low? What if little to no movement is taking place at all? Is this a “bad” thing for a church? Shouldn’t we all be doing something???

We live in a culture defined by motion and noise. The bigger the motion and the louder the noise, the more people stop to take notice—just check out your favorite Black Friday YouTube video for examples of motion and noise over the holiday. We’re all human and sometimes we can start chasing noise for all the wrong reasons. That’s why I believe it’s critical for churches to first ask if the lack of motion is really such a bad thing.

What does it say about a church that decides to loaf over the holiday? The word “loaf” has received a bad rap in our society. A loafer is seen as a lazy person in a culture that is obsessed with work and productivity. If the loafer isn’t doing anything to contribute to his or her own financial well-being, then the assumption is that something must be wrong with them (which may or may not be true). As working and being a productive member of society, you could make an argument that maybe Jesus’ was a loafer. Yikes! [Read more…]

Faith column: Building on the firm foundation of spiritual gifts

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The new mindset compared to the old way of thinking

Have you checked your thinking closet lately? What old ways and what new ways are going on all around you? The struggle with many people is: What are the old ways that I want to keep, and what are the new ways I want to accept.

Jesus noticed the problem and used a parable of wine skins to illustrate his point. (Luke 5:33-39) He understood. He knew the reality of change. He fought against some of the need for change that he was bringing himself.

Here are a few thoughts on the subject of churches and changes. Many, many more could be added to the list. [Read more…]