[See our Video Library page for video resources.]
Newly released: Tanque Verde Lutheran Church in Tucson AZ recently developed conversation starting cards for use with their Life of Faith work. You can find it here. Maybe you develop your own card(s) and share them with the rest of us. (Note Life of Faith logos are available for download under Resources > Graphics. Feel free to use the graphics in your printed and web materials.)
A book from many decades ago that is incredibly relevant to today. Click here for more.
In the summer 2023 issue of the Word & World journal, Craig Nessan draws on the theological work of Scandinavian Lutheran theologians such as Gustaf Wingren and Knud E. Løgstrup to examine the relationship between vocation and personal wellness, seeing them as reciprocal expressions of living out our baptism calling.
In the same summer 2023 issue of Word & World, Tammy Devine narrates her own journey to a sense of call from God, resulting in her current vocation. Her study, along with practices such as spiritual auto-biography, have helped her help others by discerning their own vocational journey. The article concludes with a series of framing questions to help define and guide these journeys.
There are nine other articles on vocation in the Word & World journal. Take a look at the index.
The January 2019 issue of Currents in Theology and Mission focuses on the Life of Faith Initiative. Multiple authors examine the many facets of the initiative. Book reviews focus on helpful books for more reading.
Find resources for use with the initiative at Select Learning. Included there, among others, is Down + Out: Where Grace Takes You, and Connecting Sunday to Monday.
Wartburg Seminary’s Connections curriculum contains four units of six sessions each and a leader guide for each unit. It is a free resource.
Download this free, six-session Intergenerational Curriculum Based on Affirmation of Baptism: A Life of Faith Resource. Written by Craig Nessan. La version en espanol aqui.
One of the most central activities of the church is worship. Yet very often we do not see the deep connections between the practices of worship and their significance for daily life. This document highlights how everything we do at worship is God’s way in Christ of forming us in specific Christian life practices, shaping us as disciples of Jesus for service to neighbors in every arena of daily life.
The ELCA’s Christian Education Network is resourcing this initiative. In this article they interview leaders at Peace Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota who have been working to implement Life of Faith principles in their congregation.
This excellent Bible study by Sandy Block, formerly a features editor for a local newspaper, looks at Ephesians through the lens of the ministry we all are called to in the everyday activities of our lives.
Use this litany at your next congregational meeting to highlight both the gathered and the scattered purposes of the church.
A member of the Life of Faith group on Facebook asked, “What movies speak to you about vocation?” The member wanted to develop discussion questions around mainstream movies to help folks engage in vocation conversations. Within minutes the group generated this long list of favorites.
The ELCA provides relevant and related resources on its Faith Practices website and at Ministry Links Online.
Lutheran Men in Mission have a YouTube channel with videos of men bearing witness to the intersection of faith and life.
Use this resource to expand “God’s Work. Our Hands.” from a single day of service to a two-month emphasis that will equip our people for a life of faith every day. (Right-click or Option-click the link to download this file to your computer.)
The Church of England has undertaken a project similar to the Life of Faith Initiative; it’s called Everyday Faith. Resources are available on the home page as well as their Resources page. One of more helpful items is a document that lists Seven Shifts that have proven to make a difference in enabling everyday faith. “These shifts are not about adding new things, but more about doing the things we already do in a slightly different way.” There are two versions of the document; each brings helpful insights. The original is here, and a rewritten (contextual) version is here.
Download a model resolution that you can adapt for use in your synod or congregation.
Check out an article on “The Neighborliness of All Believers” by Craig Nessan, published in The Lutheran magazine in September 2013.
Vocation: From worship to the world is an article by Dwight DuBois that was the cover article for the May 2016 issue of Living Lutheran.
St. John’s University hosts The Collegeville Institute; part of their work focuses on vocation. Check out this page for some excellent resources.
The Theology of Work website “exists to help people explore what the Bible and the Christian faith can contribute to ordinary work.” The site provides an exhaustive (and free) Bible commentary that “explores what the Bible says about faith and work, book by book.”
The Member Mission Network provides resources for the baptized to explore the specific processes and issues at work in each area of daily life.