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The Rev. Michael D. Gutzler
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Pastor Michael D. Gutzler was educated in Berkeley CA at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. After completing his Master of Divinity in 2005 he went on to complete a Master of Arts degree from the Graduate Theological Union also in Berkeley CA. His thesis looked at the earliest evidence of Lutheran-Muslim interaction in North America. Originally from Harvard MA, Pastor Gutzler and his wife Emma currently reside the Abington area. When not performing pastoral duties, Pastor Gutzler teaches at Penn State: Abington where he is a member of the Religious Studies Department and teaches classes on the world religions, Islam, Islamic cultures and Christianity. “I find the Lutheran witness of a gracious God to be the most powerful voice of hope in people’s lives. To know that God comes to you first, with unconditional love, empowers believers to look at the world through a different set of lens. A worldview set on sharing the gift of Love as God has first loved us. The final importance of this love is the realization that we are individually called by God to respond to that love. The fun part is figuring that out. My job as pastor is to help others hear that calling and give them the opportunities to respond accordingly.”
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Arrows
“Well look at this,” I said to another pastor that was standing in line behind me. “It’s a dry erase board, but in the shape of an arrow.” Now for some of you who may not be familiar with a dry erase board, it is a white piece of plastic that you write on with a marker, and then erasable with a piece of cloth. Essentially, it is the item that has replaced chalkboards and have created a lot more “convenience” not to mention trash and loads of markers in our landfills. But that is another soapbox.
The arrow shaped dry erase board was indeed clever and remarkably light. I could pick it up and make the arrow point up, or down, left or right. With the swipe of my shirt I could erase the “s” off “Lutheran Pastors” and point it at my friend, or I could whip out one of my own markers and write “weird” or “crazy” or even “forgiven” on top. This little sign had such potential.
We have potential, but our life arrows can have us going the wrong ways. Our God given life should be God centered, as we all know. But what tends to happen is that we are pushed or pulled in all sorts of different directions. The picture that comes to mind is a big mess or arrows pointing in different directions, and each of those arrows are labeled with items like: gym, grocery store, children, sports, crafts, home, garden, thank you notes, and work. Hopefully in that mass of arrows there are a couple that are labeled: church, Christian education, Aid for Friends, Bible study, worship, and/or prayer.
Sometimes we try and point the arrows in the same direction. “Can I listen to the Bible as I drive to work?” Or, “can I cook a little extra tonight so I have some left over for Aid for Friends?” And sometimes it works. However, there are just some arrows that will not line up. “Can I clean my home and watch my children’s extracurricular activities at the same time?” Probably not.
All these arrows change direction daily, even hourly, but there is one arrow that is consistent, constant, and permanent. The one big arrow, that trumps all of our little arrows, is the arrow of God’s grace. God’s arrow comes into our lives, no matter how chaotic we are, freely without asking for it. The arrow of grace is the Holy Spirit reminding us that God is with us no matter where our little arrows are pointing. That one big arrow can be the thing that picks us up off the crazy map of personal arrows, or it could be the foundation that plants our feet in God’s creation. In either case, God’s arrow of grace is not going anywhere.
So as you travel, visit new places, or ventures into new territories this summer, may our God of the big grace-filled arrow guide your every step. And may God work through you so you can be a bright neon arrow for those who have lost their way.
Pastor Gutzler
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Reclaiming the E Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity
by Kelly A. Fryer
Editorial Reviews
In this third book in the best-selling reclaiming series, Kelly A. Fryer asks and answers such important questions as:
1· What does the word evangelical actually mean?
2· Why do so many Christians, including those who appeared to have been left behind by theologically conservative and fundamentalist Christian churches over the past two decades, think this word is so important that they are stubbornly attempting to reclaim it for themselves?
3· What is the biblical message that these new evangelicals have to share?
4· What does a truly evangelical life and evangelical congregation look like?
5· What kinds of things do evangelical people and an evangelical church do?
6· What would happen if we who believe the Christian message really and truly is good news for the whole world without exception woke up to our evangelical identity?
About the Author
Kelly A. Fryer is a missiologist with nearly twenty years experience leading congregations in renewal. She is the author of the best-selling Reclaiming the L Word: Renewing the Church from Its Lutheran Core and Reclaiming the C Word: Daring to Be Church Again in addition to writing for the No Experience Necessary Bible study series.
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Publications
Books Gutzler, Michael D. Lutheran Salzburgers and Muslim African Moors. Berkeley: Three Trees Press. 2006. Articles
Gutzler, Michael D. , Moses Penumaka, and Daren Erisman. "Pastor, are You a Religious Illiterate?" Dialog: A Journal of Theology Winter 2007 - Vol. 46 Issue 4
Gutzler, Michael D. “Lutheran Salzburgers and Islam” Essays and Reports 22 (2006). Gutzler, Michael D. “Looking Back Before Looking Ahead: Preparing for the Future of Lutheran-Muslim Relations in America.” Christus Lux Advent (2006). Reviews
No god, but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. by: Reza Aslan (Random House, 2005)
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Organizations of Affiliation American Academy of Religion Lutheran Historical Conference Penn State: Abington CoachNet Ministries The Society of the Three Trees Three Trees Press
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