Resource Center 2.0

If Lutherans were asked to define resource center, how many would respond along the lines of "a place for books and DVDs"? Perhaps some of the savvier would add that the center's catalog is online.

But ask directors of ELCA resource centers the same question, and you'll get a different response. Darlene Kalfahs, resource director for the East Central Synod of Wisconsin in Appleton, said it's a place for lay and clergy leaders "to discover resources, share ideas and brainstorm with experienced people who truly care about the ministry they do."

Julie Aageson, resource director for the Eastern North Dakota Synod and coordinator for the ELCA's 76 centers, is ready to provide materials, information and support to congregations and their leaders for "building up the body of Christ."

Karen Kaufman of the Northeastern Ohio Synod Resource Center, Cuyahoga Falls, said it's "a link to a vast network of human and published resources" that support and inspire congregational leaders.

As an example, Julie Aageson, resource director for the Eastern North Dakota Synod, recounted a recent conversation with a first-call pastor. He told her the small congregation had no history of a Christian education committee. Instead, the council would identify a person to coordinate all education for a three-year term, at the end of which the member typically felt burned out and left the church.