Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Ministry

Letters to a Young Pastor: “On Earth As It Is In Heaven”

January 25, 2018 by Gary Neal Hansen 4 Comments

on earth as it is in heaven

Dear ______: Thanks, I’m glad to be back in touch as well. I’m glad you enjoyed my comments on the first line of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father in heaven…” And yes, I’ll happily explain my cryptic comment about the “modifiers” being the really interesting thing about several lines of the Lord’s Prayer. Some of […]

Filed Under: Ministry, Theology Tagged With: Lord's Prayer, on earth as it is in heaven, Thy will be done

Letters to a Young Pastor: “Our Father Who Art in Heaven”

January 18, 2018 by Gary Neal Hansen 3 Comments

Who Art in Heaven

Dear ______: I’m so sorry for not writing for so long! Thanks for your notes. It has been a complicated time, and I’m behind in my correspondence. You bring up a very interesting issue. Some of my friends in seminary say we shouldn’t pray the Lord’s Prayer, at least not in the way we always […]

Filed Under: Ministry, Theology Tagged With: Gendered Language for God, Letters to a Young Pastor, Lord's Prayer, Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Thanksgiving for the Big Picture

November 23, 2017 by Gary Neal Hansen 8 Comments

Giving Thanks for the Big Picture

This is just a quick note on Thanksgiving Day. That’s American Thanksgiving in my family, since we have celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving last month. (Same menu, same gratitude, no Pilgrims.) I am, of course, grateful to you. I’m glad you read what I write here on my blog and elsewhere. What is a writer without readers? […]

Filed Under: Bible, Ministry Tagged With: Psalm 136, Thanksgiving

The Base Hit Sermon (Letters to a Young Pastor)

July 6, 2017 by Gary Neal Hansen 5 Comments

Dear ______: Thanks for your note, which brings me back to the topic at hand: preaching. And baseball. A couple of letters ago I was musing about the “home run” sermon you heard from a famous preacher. I suggested that when you step into a pulpit, hitting a home run is not really a great […]

Filed Under: Ministry, Seminary Tagged With: base hit sermon, baseball, preaching, Ty Cobb

Summer Reading (Letters to a Young Pastor)

June 15, 2017 by Gary Neal Hansen 9 Comments

summer reading

Dear ______: Sorry I haven’t written for a while. Between some travels to speaking engagements and countless medical visits as my hand continues to recover I have not been able to quite keep up. But when you wrote that you had a guilty conscience I had to write back. If you were confessing an actual […]

Filed Under: books, Ministry, Seminary

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Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

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