My name is Jackson Gilbert and I am a senior biology and religion double major at St. Olaf College. I like to spend my time reading and watching movies, and I am an active leader on the St. Olaf Water Polo and Swim Clubs. I had the opportunity to work with the Lutheran Center as an intern for Church Anew this summer. Church Anew is an Eden Prairie-based parachurch organization that functions to help spread the mission of Christian congregations by providing resources for churches that anyone can use. Church Anew also supports this mission through their blog that promotes the voices of marginalized and forward-thinking leaders in the church. 

I got to witness the church making its own place in the modern world and how it’s adapting to become a more inclusive, thoughtful institution. In my time with Church Anew, I got to be at the epicenter of a group that is bringing the church to more and more people of all origins, fostering a sense of vocation, of spiritual inquiry, and of love in as many people as possible.

Jackson Gilbert ’25

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from my time as a Lutheran Center-sponsored intern with Church Anew, it would be that the Lutheran Church is truly active. As a biology and religion major, the Lutheran Center recommended the job to me at the end of my Spring 2024 semester. I was drawn in by Church Anew’s mission to provide resources and a voice for pastors ready to push the church to new heights. Although I was baptized Lutheran, I had not had much interaction with the Lutheran church since I was young, and my interactions were exclusively from the perspective of a worshiper. My time with Church Anew changed my view. I spent much of my time working on the blog, which gave me a first-hand view of thinkers at the cutting edge of pastoral life, from scholars like Michael Chan and Walter Brueggemann. I was also deeply involved with the search for donors and endowments, researching churches who had interacted with Church Anew in the past. Finally, I had the opportunity to attend the Conference for Theology and the Arts, a bi-annual conference held at St. Olaf that offers professional development, spiritual nourishment and networking opportunities for persons engaged in congregational ministry; and I got to have a look at the planning process behind A Living Catechism, a joint Lutheran Center and Church Anew project that seeks to explore and nourish a vibrant Lutheranism for the 21st Century. 

Being behind the scenes for these events helped me realize that the Lutheran church is a living creature. Like all living beings, it grows and it requires resources. My work with the blog and with A Living Catechism helped me see how the church is alive and growing. I got to witness the church making its own place in the modern world and how it’s adapting to become a more inclusive, thoughtful institution. In my time with Church Anew, I got to be at the epicenter of a group that is bringing the church to more and more people of all origins, fostering a sense of vocation, of spiritual inquiry, and of love in as many people as possible. I also got a firsthand look at the need for resources in the modern day. The church does not, and should not, exist apart from the people. Instead, it is directly entrenched in the day-to-day lives of the people that make up congregations. To continue to live and thrive alongside its people, it needs funds, and for funds it needs donors. I was privileged enough to get a firsthand view of how Church Anew interacted with donors so as to continue to spread the Word of God as interpreted by 21st century Lutheran tradition.

By studying scripture and Christian history, I hope to be able to provide the groundwork for new and exciting developments in the church. Ultimately, I too wish to contribute to the church as a living organism.

Jackson Gilbert ’25

I am incredibly thankful to the Lutheran Center for the opportunity to be so intertwined with the living church. My time with Church Anew has further convinced me of the necessity of the academic study of religion, and by introducing me to so many different thinkers my vocation has been concretized. I am certain that I wish to study religion in graduate school after St. Olaf to better understand the cultural milieu that the church is entrenched in. By studying scripture and Christian history, I hope to be able to provide the groundwork for new and exciting developments in the church. Ultimately, I too wish to contribute to the church as a living organism.