The Salt Shaker Blog
The Salt Shaker
Flavoring the world with justice and love.
Jesus told his followers, “You are the salt of the earth”. Salt, in the right amounts and in the right situations, preserves, flavors, and enables life. When love is shared and justice prevails for all people, the world is preserved, flavored and enabled with the Divine Life of God. So pass the salt and let’s do a little shaking. Pastor Tim Koester
An ‘Uh Oh’ Moment of Grace
A new year is upon us and its celebration is one of the few things the planet does together (although in 24 different time zones!) In the church, we are in the season of Epiphany - a season of expanding good news that pairs well with the start of a new year- but it...
Get Cozy with Your Church Family: Join Us for Pajama and Pines Sunday
This December, we're doing something wonderfully different at our church—and we want you to be part of it! Mark your calendars for Pajama and Pines Sunday on December 21, a special dress-down service where comfort meets community. Yes, you read that right: leave your...
Annual meeting recap: Are we ready?
Thank you to everyone who attended the annual congregation meeting this past Sunday. Read through to the end of this article for the biggest news! Another strong showing of folks prayed for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, gave thanks for all that God has done among us,...
Responding to Need with Compassion and Connection
During a recent Adult Forum at our church, we heard from Toby, the director of the Kountze Food Pantry, who shared some troubling trends. In the weeks since government food assistance programs were shut off, there has been a significant increase in people seeking...
Daily Bread for All: Beyond the Prayer
While substitute teaching in mid-October, my wife Shelli witnessed a conversation between two students that embodies a poignant disconnect humans can have from one another: Student A: “I’m really worried. SNAP could end next month”. Student B: “Really! Why?” Student...
A Letter to Nebraska’s Leaders
A letter sent to Governor Pillen, Senators Ricketts and Fischer, along with Congressman Bacon and my Unicameral representative Wendy DeBoer August 25, 2025. To the Honorable Jim Pillen, Governor US Senators Pete Rickets, Deb Fischer US Representative Don Bacon State...
My Experience at the Tall Grass Festival
Spending time with adult children can be a true joy! (Just a note for those of you who are in the trenches right now with school-aged kids or little ones tearing down the house—you can get through this!) Kayleigh and I attended the Tall Grass Festival, sponsored by...
Being the Body of Christ in a Divisive World
Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 provide a vision for seeing others in new ways: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." That’s a revolutionary claim! If true, it...
A Journey Through Canyons, Clouds, and Quiet Renewal
After a couple of weeks on the road through the American Southwest, it felt good to return home. We’d visited some of the region’s most breathtaking national parks—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde—each providing a...
Fighting a Fire of Lies
A message from both Pastor Tim and Pastor Cara Dear church, "How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire." - James 3:5-6. In this case the 'tongue' was a tweet but the result is still the same. Blatantly false and irresponsible...
Little Angels Preschool’s 20th Anniversary
This year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Little Angels Preschool. Tami Curran and Jodie Hankins have been working at the preschool together since its conception in 2003, and opening in 2004. “Tami and I work in an environment full of love, creativity,...
A Framework for Two Pastors
As we begin a new phase of pastoral leadership at Saint Michael, it’s important to share the framework we are using for our work together. That structure leans toward a “dual-pastoring” approach with the two of us sharing many pastoral responsibilities such as worship...
How to Call a Pastor (hint: prayer required)
In the Evangelical Lutheran Church, pastors are "called" as opposed to "assigned" or "hired". I know it can feel strange. Believe me, it was strange for me when I went through it. The hope however, is a process where the Holy Spirit brings both a congregation and a...
Bonhoeffer – A Mixed Movie Review
Ok. Hold on. This is going to be more complex than your usual movie review. I can’t remember when I first learned who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was. I know it wasn’t in the Lutheran school of my childhood but it could have been in the spiritual crisis I had while at...
Annual Congregational Meeting – A Success!
On Sunday, November 17th, Saint Michael Lutheran met for our annual congregational meeting. I want to express my personal thanks to Jon Fredricks, outgoing council president, for his four years of dedicated and skilled work on behalf of the congregation. Thank you...
Why can’t we just leave politics out of the church? Part 2
As we continue this series on the draft statement “Civic Life and Faith”, I want to go back to the question I began with last week, “Why can’t we just leave politics out of the church?” This week, I answer, “Because political decisions have real-world and real-life...
Can we just leave politics out of the church, please?
I can tell you with 100% certainty that some read the above line and wholeheartedly thought, “Yes!” while others read the words and passionately thought, “No!” Some even voiced those thoughts out loud. But this will not be an argument “for or against” either of the...
A Time for ‘Wandering’ and ‘Wondering’
Last year at about this time, I was consumed with a grant application to the Lily Foundation for a short sabbatical. The Oxford Dictionary defines sabbatical as "a period of paid leave granted to a university teacher or other worker for study or travel, traditionally...