New York Times bestselling author and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks at Luther College

(Photo courtesy of www.nadiabolzweber.com)

Nadia Bolz-Weber doesn't fit in the box we typically place clergy in by any stretch of the imagination. Her website states it plainly right on its homepage -  "Nobody really believes she's an ordained pastor in the ELCA. Maybe it's the sleeve tattoos or the fact that she swears like a truck driver. Either way… she's fine with it."

Bolz-Weber is a former alcoholic, drug abuser and standup comic turned ordained ELCA pastor. She is the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. She is also the author of the best selling theological memoir, "Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint," and New York Times best seller, "Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People."

Before she entered the ministry, she often felt like one of "society's outsiders." The turning point  was in 2004 when she was asked to give the eulogy for a fellow comedian who had committed suicide. It was then that she felt a calling to the ministry. She felt called to start a church where people like her would feel comfortable.

In 2008, Bolz-Weber was ordained as a pastor after graduating from the Illiff School of Theology. That same year she started her own ELCA church and began her work to defy the assumption that church is for people who have it together. Her church, House for All Sinners and Saints, welcomes people with drug addiction, depression, gays, lesbians, and atheists alike. Bolz-Weber is challenging the stereotypes of Christianity and the church, and she is committed to her calling. She says, "My job is to point to Christ and to preach the Gospel and to remind people that they're absolutely loved... and all of their mess-ups are not more powerful than God's mercy."

Nadia Bolz-Weber is in Decorah this weekend as part of Luther College's Liberating Grace Conference. She addressed a large audience in Chapel on Friday morning as she shared her thoughts on what it means to love your enemies and pray for your enemies.  

Bolz-Weber will also will present the 2017 Farwell Distinguished Lecture, unpacking her vision of the role of the church in broader society as that vision connects to its Reformation roots, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in the Main Hall of the CFL. Her lecture "What's Worth Reforming" is sold out, but will be live-streamed to an auditorium next door. After the lecture, all are welcome to join her book signing.

(Nadia Bolz-Weber speaking with College Pastor Mike Blair and Associate Professor of History Robert Christman after her chapel address)