Lutheran Society for Missiology
Publications
Lutheran Mission Matters continues the publication of Missio Apostolica, the journal of the Lutheran Society for Missiology founded in 1993. Lutheran Mission Matters is a journal published in May and November for LSFM members. Printed copies of selected back issues may be ordered by emailing lsfmissiology@gmail.com.
Lutheran Mission Matters is missional at its core. This journal is committed to be Lutheran and missional at the same time. The one without the other is unimaginable for Lutherans. A major emphasis of this journal is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the eternal truth of the one true God and Savior of all, in contextually meaningful and applicable ways to each generation across nations and peoples. Inside this issue readers will find that this is most certainly true...
Inside This Issue
The Church’s Mission? The Mission’s Church?
ARTICLES
- A Missional Reading of the Church and World; Victor Raj
- The Divine Service and Mission Dei; Robert Newton
- Liturgy and Mission; James Marriott
- Church and Mission: A Historical Lens; William W. Schumacher
- Unraveling the Interplay between the Church and the Mission of God—A Lutheran Perspective; Samuel Deressa
- Luther on the Church as Mission of God; Robert Kolb
- Mission and the Theology of the Cross; Joel Okamoto
- Ecclesial Amnesia: How the Church Forgot its Mandate and Ways to Return to Faithfulness; Robert Scudieri
- Staying within the Story—Understanding the Great Commission According to Matthew’s Gospel; Scott Geminn
- “Is a Church with No Mission Still a Church?”Messiah Lutheran Church, Midland, MI Addresses Its World; Edward Doerner
- The Meaning of the Word Church; Miriam Carter
May 2024
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2024 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
A Missional Reading of the Church and World; Victor Raj
This essay reflects on two foundational principles of Christian mission. The first is an appreciation that mission flows from God's heart. By His very nature God is missional in everything He says and does. God scatters His people as agents of His mission and gathers into the household of faith everyone who heeds His word. The second is the awareness that God has set apart His Church as an instrument of His mission worldwide. The Church serves God and the world by preaching and teaching what God has accomplished uniquely in Jesus Christ. In His infinite mercy God has redeemed the whole creation solely in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In every generation, the Church continues the mission of God by speaking the Gospel and putting into action God's promises for life and salvation.
The Divine Service and Missio Dei; Robert Newton
A funny thing happened on my way home from the mission field. My American family had changed hymnals. My mother’s congregation had changed from Red to Blue and my sister’s congregation from Red to Green. With the change of hymnals came a change in language regarding worship. The “Order of Morning Worship” and the “Order of Holy Communion” were now called “Divine Service.” This new title intended to signal a renewed understanding in the theology of worship, a proper Lutheran understanding. It signified that God is the primary actor in worship, the one serving His gathered people, not the other way around. What began as a rubric change in our hymnal in the late 1970s has since replaced the title “Worship Service” on the signboards of many Lutheran churches in America. The term “Divine Service” seems to have been adopted as the official nomenclature of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, as the January 2024 issue of The Lutheran Witness might suggest.
Liturgy and Mission; James Marriott
A quarter century ago, Thomas Schattauer published “Liturgical Assembly as Locus of Mission” as part of a seminal collection of articles entitled Inside Out: Worship in an Age of Mission. I have used Schattauer’s article many times in my university and seminary courses on the theology and practice of liturgy. Here, I hope to revisit and refresh some paradigms Schattauer set forth in his article, and to suggest ways in which the ongoing work of liturgical inculturation might enrich the efforts that Schattauer summarized a generation ago.
Church and Mission: A Historical Lens; William W. Schumacher
David Bosch’s magisterial Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, though written more than three decades ago, still engages and challenges mission thinkers today. It is still an indispensable text for all who would reflect deeply about God’s work in the world and the implications for Christians as we are drawn into that mission of God. This essay makes use of the second part of Bosch’s book, in which he develops his ideas of how mission theology has gone through multiple transformations in Christian history, in an effort to illuminate the variety of ways “church” and “mission” have been understood in relation to each other through the centuries.
Unraveling the Interplay between the Church and the Mission of God—A Lutheran Perspective; Samuel Deressa
Although a vast array of research has been published on Martin Luther’s theology, there is not adequate research on the missiology of Martin Luther. Luther’s understanding and contribution to mission theology are often disregarded. Yet, as rightly noted by David Bosch, “In fact, [Luther] provided the church’s missionary enterprise with clear and important guidelines and principles.” This article is about church and mission from a Lutheran perspective. It focuses on Martin Luther’s conception of the church and its mission as articulated in the Augsburg Confession, in which the church is defined as the assembly of believers who preach the Gospel and administer the Holy Sacraments according to the Gospel.
Luther on the Church as Mission of God; Robert Kolb
Martin Luther did not get around much. He had journeyed to Rome early in his career as an Augustinian brother, but his 500-kilometer trip to Worms in 1521 resulted in the charge of outlawry, which limited his ability to travel. Nonetheless, he viewed the Christian life as a pilgrimage, though a more detailed description of the way from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City came from John Bunyan a century and a half later. However, Luther’s commentary on Galatians did shape Bunyan’s thinking. Luther calls believers “pilgrims” and comments on the progress the Holy Spirit causes in believers’ lives, even as he also describes the setbacks and false paths that form part of the experience of the Christian life. In 1537, he told students gathered in his home, “the saints went to Rome, Jerusalem, Compostela, for the satisfaction of their sins, but as true pilgrims, we are able to make our way in faith, when we read the psalms, prophets, gospels, etc. diligently. Then we take a walk not through holy towns, but we visit their thoughts and hearts, the true promised land and paradise of eternal life.”
Mission and the Theology of the Cross; Joel Okamoto
Abstract: Luther’s theology of the cross and his distinction between the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross were revolutionary ideas when he presented them in 1518. They remain revolutionary and therefore helpful for all theology and practice, including mission and mission thinking. This article summarizes Luther’s theology of the cross and then suggests how it might frame discussion about mission and mission thinking today.
Ecclesial Amnesia: How the Church Forgot its Mandate and Ways to Return to Faithfulness; Robert Scudieri
Abstract:
In thinking about how mission has changed since I served with the Board for Mission Services, it would be easy to say that the mission has not changed but the methods have. Some today are not sure. The calling is to do in His Name, so that salvation, won for us on the cross of Christ, can be brought to all people. “Mission” when I was privileged to serve was to bring the gospel into the entire world. Today it seems we see the mission as establishing Lutheran icons. Our leaders are well meaning. They know and love the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully a conversation can occur around what it is the Lord of the Church is calling us to do.
Staying within the Story—Understanding the Great Commission According to Matthew’s Gospel; Scott Geminn
Abstract: We often read Matthew 28:16–20, the Great Commission, outside its narrative context. Unfortunately, this can lead to a truncated understanding of the Church’s mission and what it means to be missional according to Matthew’s Gospel. Such an understanding often results in an emphasis on proclamation toward the non-Christian that is soteriological, with little attention given to “observing the commands of Jesus.” However, reading Matthew 28:16–20 within the narrative framework of Matthew’s Gospel can provide the Church with a more holistic and reinvigorating understanding of its mission that is both outward and inward, with a renewed emphasis on learning and obeying the teachings of the Matthean Jesus.
“Is a Church with No Mission Still a Church?” Messiah Lutheran Church, Midland, MI Addresses Its World; Edward Doerner
Some argue that a group of people who gather around the Word and Sacraments is a church regardless of mission. Others argue that a group of believers who gather around the Word and Sacrament without a mission to save the lost is no longer a church but a club acting like a church. Whether a church with “no mission” is still a church or not is for the Lord of the Church to decide.
The Meaning of the Word Church; Miriam Carter
Abstract: The author demonstrates how the word church with its several English usages can be explained to children or a language learner. She notes such usages of church as the building where believers gather, or as the worship service where there is singing, praying, Bible reading, preaching, and often an order of worship. A wider meaning can signify God’s people throughout the world. Clarity about the meaning of church is important since how the term is understood can affect how people work in God’s mission.
Inside This Issue
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“Faith and Culture”; James Marriott
ARTICLES
- A Lutheran View of Culture; Robert Kolb
- Postmodernism and Mission; James Marriott
- Anthropological Considerations of Acts 17; Jack M. Schultz
- Unfairness Is Not a Virtue: Exploring One of Critical Race Theory’s Concerns; Matthew E. Borrasso
- Confessions Contingent on Culture: Exactly How Jesus Wanted Them; Christian J. Einertson
- Reforming Homo Consumens: Consumer Culture, Consumerism, and Contemporary Christian Witness; William G. Fredstrom
- How Not to Become God: What Watchmen Can Teach Christians about Living in a Godless World; Benjamin Leeper
- “Lights . . . Cameras . . . Faith?!” Christian Interaction with the Culture as It is Shared in Cinema; Jeffrey E. Skopak
- Impacting the Workplace: A New Conceptual Framework Where Vocational Calling Meets Missional Competencies; Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher
- Relevant Gospel Message; Herb Hoefer
- Faith and Culture: An Interview with FLAME; James Marriott
November 2023
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2023 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
A Lutheran View of Culture; Robert Kolb
Abstract: Robert Kolb has supplied us with a foundational essay on the Lutheran engagement of culture. He references Niebuhr and other renown scholars who posit various definitions of “culture” and various ways the church might engage cultures.
Postmodernism and Mission, James Marriott
Abstract: In my experience teaching in Lutheran academic institutions over the last decade, talk about postmodernism rarely fails to elicit a response. The responses, though, are varied. Some reject postmodernism outright, decrying the propensity for relativism as an affront to the Gospel and to our society.1 For these students, I have tried to gently probe their posture, asking them what exactly they are rejecting, or, more importantly, by what method are they facilitating that rejection (how postmodern of me, I know). Others accept postmodernism rather holistically, embracing its central tenets uncritically and spiraling deeper and deeper into deconstructed identities, whether spiritual, ecclesial, or cultural. Ambiguity, for these students, becomes a captor rather than a liberator. For these students, I have tried to gently pump the brakes, as one does while driving on icy roads with poor traction. Other students, often the ones most educated in philosophy and anthropology, maintain a more nuanced and balanced approach to postmodernism. In this essay, I hope to offer the reader some of my own thoughts and research, closely mirroring what I have taught, seen, and learned from these students who hold this balanced, nuanced approach. This approach is a keen tool for the mission field, as throughout my teaching and ministry career I have witnessed this approach being applied in the pulpit, the choir loft, the classroom, the theater stage, the basketball court, on social media, and in many other places of cultural engagement.
Anthropological Considerations of Acts 17, Jack M. Schultz
Abstract: The following is an explication of the significance of a portion of Acts 17 qua a Lutheran Christian informed by my vocation of anthropologist. This investigation considers the implications of the easily overlooked assertion that St. Paul makes to the people of Athens: God determines the times and places for people to live.
Unfairness Is Not a Virtue: Exploring One of Critical Race Theory’s Concerns, Matthew E. Borrasso
Abstract: The intent of this article is to explore the use of narrative within the field of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and offer some theological reflection on how it comports with Lutheran approaches to theology and ethics. Rather than offer an unfair, quick, or easy answer, this article offers extended engagement with recent scholarship in the field of CRT prior to critical analysis through both broadly Christian as well as specifically Lutheran lenses. Far from being an idea to reject wholesale, the narrative focus common to CRT can dovetail with Lutheran theological and ethical thought and approaches to life in the world.
Confessions Contingent on Culture: Exactly How Jesus Wanted Them, Christian J. Einertson
Abstract: While the cultural distance between the confessional writings of the Book of Concord and today’s mission contexts is readily apparent, how Lutherans should navigate that cultural distance is less apparent. In this essay, Einertson considers three potential approaches to navigating the cultural differences between the situations of the Lutheran symbols and the situations of today’s Lutherans before outlining an approach that is faithful both to the way in which our Lord Jesus has called His Church to continue His mission in the world and to the way in which the confessional writings themselves understand that mission.
Reforming Homo Consumens: Consumer Culture, Consumerism, and Contemporary Christian Witness, William G. Fredstrom
Abstract: God’s people work, play, live, worship, pray, and witness in cultures and societies with various institutions, problems, ideas, neighbors, and conflicts. Because Christians live within such varying cultural contexts, many desire to maintain a clear distinction between themselves and the cultures in which they live. Theologians have described the distinctiveness of God’s people amid their secular cultures by describing the Church as its own culture or public constituted by unique narratives, rituals, and practices that contrast the narratives, rituals, and practices of other surrounding cultures.
How Not to Become God: What Watchmen Can Teach Christians about Living in a Godless World; Benjamin Leeper
Abstract: (None provided)
“Lights . . . Cameras . . . Faith?!” Christian Interaction with the Culture as It is Shared in Cinema; Jeffrey E. Skopak
Abstract: (None provided)
Impacting the Workplace: A New Conceptual Framework Where Vocational Calling Meets Missional Competencies, Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher
Abstract: While some Christians work in specifically Christian workplaces or contexts, the majority of Christians work in environments that would not be described as Christian or that might even be characterized as hostile toward Christian morals and values. No matter the environment, Christians can embrace a vocational mindset and recognize ways they are able to serve others in both left-hand and right-hand kingdom opportunities as they present in mundane as well as miraculous moments. Yet it is often the opportunities to explicitly share about one’s faith that go unnoticed or even ignored due to feelings of inadequacy, apprehension, or unpreparedness. This is where the concept of missional competencies can be utilized for training, supporting, and encouraging Christians working in secular fields and workplaces. The authors of the current paper suggest a new conceptual framework where vocational calling meets missional competencies and discuss the impact on individuals, churches, schools, and institutions of higher education. Suggestions for future research are also provided regarding ways to measure, analyze, and continue the discussion on how best to apply and study the benefits of this new framework of support for Christians working in but not of the world.
Relevant Gospel Message; Herb Hoefer
Abstract: In my theological training, I was told that the two great messages of the Gospel were the assurance of forgiveness of sin and the assurance of heaven. Those were the burning issues of the church where Lutheranism was born. Central to these messages was the substitutionary atonement achieved by the crucifixion. However, both in my missionary service and in my congregational ministry, these were not the most important messages of the Gospel. In some contexts, in fact, I found these messages to be irrelevant and even counterproductive.
Faith and Culture: An Interview with FLAME; James Marriott
Abstract: Missiology regularly deals with abstract ideas about communicating the Gospel and the reaction to that Gospel in cross-cultural settings. A highly influential crosscultural setting in the contemporary world is the musical genre of hip-hop. The Christian rap artist FLAME recently spoke with an editor of Lutheran Mission Matters, James Marriott, to describe in his own words his personal spiritual journey and the contribution rap music makes to the communication of the Christian faith. LMM thanks him for his contribution. What follows is an edited transcription of the interview, which took place on July 13, 2023.
Inside This Issue
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Theological Education for Pastoral-Missional Leadership; Andrew H. Bartelt
ARTICLES
- Here We Stand; Here We Go!, Patrick Ferry
- “Here We Stand; Here We Go!”: An Interview with Pat Ferry
- Theological Education: What Does This Mean? What’s That?, Rich Carter
- The Mission of the Church and Pastoral Formation, James Baneck
- A “Conversation” about Seminary Formation for Mission Leadership, Andrew H. Bartelt
- The Missio Dei Under the Southern Cross: Some Considerations, Acir Raymann
- Theological Education for Ministerial Formation: An Indian Reading, Christu Das
- The “End” of Seminary Education: Healthy and Flourishing Congregations, William Utech
- The Challenges of Distance Theological Education, Douglas L. Rutt
- Integrating Theology & Mission in the Cross-cultural Ministry Center (CMC), Glenn K. Fluegge
- From the Field: Forming Mission Leaders through Contextual Education in the Specific Ministry Pastor Program, James F. Marriott
BOOK REVIEWS
- WE ARE NOT THE HERO: A Missionary’s Guide to Sharing Christ, Not a Culture of Dependency. By Jean Johnson. Reviewed by Miriam Carter
-
TEACHING AND LEARNING THEOLOGY IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT. By Matthew C. Ogilvie. Reviewed by Daniel Mattson.
-
VIABILITY IN CONTEXT: The Theological Seminary in the Third World— Seedbed or Sheltered Garden? By Herbert M. Zorn. Reviewed by Andrew H. Bartelt.
May 2023
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2023 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Inside This Issue
Theological Education for Pastoral-Missional Leadership; Andrew H. Bartelt
Abstract: Pastoral formation and theological education remain crucial issues for almost all church bodies. It has always been so, but the dramatic decline in seminary enrollment corresponds to a similar decline in church membership and attendance. What is important to the mission focus of this journal is the fact that many of the same social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that are affecting the institutional church structures in decline are also opening up a vast mission field, filled with opportunities and challenges.
Articles
Here We Stand; Here We Go!; Patrick T. Ferry
Abstract: In this commencement address delivered at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, on May 20, 2022, Rev. Dr. Patrick Ferry compares the preparation at seminary to the foundation of our faith that Paul speaks about in Romans 5:1–2. He uses the analogy of preparing to run a race, by which we are “on our marks” and have been securely “set.” But now it’s time to “go!” He calls on seminary graduates—and all the church—to go, to go forward, to go forward into the mission field of today’s world.
“Here We Stand; Here We Go!”: An Interview with Pat Ferry
Abstract: In answering questions raised by his Commencement Address (published as the previous essay), Patrick Ferry unpacks some of the specific issues he touched upon, especially regarding pastoral formation for mission leadership in today’s world. In short, though grounded in the past, the mission is before us, and today’s context is not that of previous generations. Key areas of focus are evangelism and mission, education, and encouragement. Pastoral leaders need to understand the next generation, to be able to bridge to other cultures, to build relationships, and to present Christianity positively in a culture where we are no longer the “home team.”
Theological Education: What Does This Mean? What’s That?; Rich Carter
Abstract: The two basic questions in Luther’s Small Catechism—What does this mean? What is that?—frame this exploration of the significance of the words “theological” and “education.” In the field of education, various professional resources invite personal reflection, such as David Kolb’s learning cycle and Bloom’s taxonomy. Thus, this article asks, What are readers’ definitions and assumptions for the terms “theological” and “education”? Personal and professional choices regarding course work, the larger picture of a school’s curriculum, and the largest picture of what serves mission, are all part of the reflection invited in this article.
The Mission of the Church and Pastoral Formation, James Baneck
Abstract: How is The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) intentionally preparing men to be pastors for the mission of Christ’s Church, that is to shepherd those “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9)?
A “Conversation” about Seminary Formation for Mission Leadership, Andrew H. Bartelt
Abstract:Based on a review of curriculum and conversations with academic leaders, the author provides a summary of observations about the current formation programs of four North American seminaries, including his own thoughts, all in the spirit of contributions to this ongoing conversation. He notes, positively, what courses and practica are in place, but he also calls attention to the need for more urgency and creativity in dealing with the challenges of a declining church body in the face of an expanding mission field.
The Missio Dei Under the Southern Cross: Some Considerations, Acir Raymann
Abstract: This essay aims to present the history, challenges, and development of God’s mission in Brazil. These are some observations that come from a short and humble analysis of my alma mater, where I also had the privilege of teaching for the last fortyeight years. These observations also deal with the challenges and opportunities faced by seminarians in relation to theology and culture. Academic programming is an ongoing process and requires regular analysis and revision. New horizons may also illuminate the curriculum that can be amplified when we look at the proclamation of the officium proprium of Christ under the Southern Cross.
Theological Education for Ministerial Formation: An Indian Reading, Christu Das
Abstract:The word seminary comes from the Latin seminarium, meaning “seedbed” or “nursery,” where plants are nurtured before they are transplanted.1 Seminaries are like good soil for ministers-in-training: they support growth and maturation so that graduates can thrive within the church system upon their graduation. Seminaries are meant to train ministers of the Gospel. Therefore, those who train seminarians should have a clear perspective of the Gospel; that is, whatever they do, say, teach, and criticize should be in the interest of the Gospel.
The “End” of Seminary Education: Healthy and Flourishing Congregations, William Utech
Abstract: Historically, most American seminaries have not been overly or overtly concerned with the health and well-being of the congregations that receive their graduates as pastors. This lack of concern was born of these seminaries being founded under “Christendom,” wherein the dominant culture of the country affirmed and supported Christianity and her institutions. For seminaries, this meant a guaranteed “market” for their graduates. In these post-Christendom times, that luxury is gone, and seminaries must get better at raising up leaders who will shepherd congregations toward health and vitality.
The Challenges of Distance Theological Education, Douglas L. Rutt
Abstract: Distance models of theological education are here to stay. As a result of the pandemic, many seminaries, institutions and faculty members that approached it with derision, or at least a high degree of skepticism, were forced to experiment with distance models, making the best of it with the technology at hand. This has meant that more and more theological educators have had experience with distance learning and bring to the debate new experiences and insights regarding its pros and cons. While distance learning is here to stay, it is no universal remedy for the ministerial training needs of the church. However, those interested in moving to distance learning models must do so with a clear picture of both the significant challenges and the opportunities.
Integrating Theology & Mission in the Cross-cultural Ministry Center (CMC), Glenn K. Fluegge
Abstract:How does one go about forming pastoral, missional leaders? That question is part of a larger ongoing conversation about the appropriate relation between theology and mission. In this article, I attempt to get at that question and add to the conversation. I do that by giving the reader a glimpse of how one pastoral education program—the Cross-cultural Ministry Center at Concordia University Irvine—strives to integrate theology and mission with the goal of forming what we often refer to as “missionary pastors.”
From the Field: Forming Mission Leaders through Contextual Education in the Specific Ministry Pastor Program, James F. Marriott
Abstract: As one well acquainted with students in the SMP program, the author provides background and verbatim interviews with four students who represent those who participate in this seminary program of pastoral formation while engaged in their local mission contexts. Their personal reflections on both their contexts and this certification program provide insight into how one way of delivering seminary formation can intersect with actual mission experience.
Book Reviews
WE ARE NOT THE HERO: A Missionary’s Guide to Sharing Christ, Not a Culture of Dependency. By Jean Johnson. Reviewed by Miriam Carter
Abstract: In this book Johnson looks at what missions in different cultures can be. She was a missionary for many years in Cambodia. She is fluent in the language, having served Cambodians in the Twin Cities for six years. In Cambodia she discovered that, along with Jesus, she brought her own culture with her. She recognized that Western-style mission work brings baggage along with the Gospel, which isn’t necessary and can even be harmful. Her new approach mirrors how Paul went about mission work.
TEACHING AND LEARNING THEOLOGY IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT. By Matthew C. Ogilvie. Reviewed by Daniel Mattson
Abstract: I stumbled into this little treasure trove while researching some mission history. As happens more frequently than I’d like to admit, here was a study that already answered a host of questions that have churned in the back of my mind for years.
VIABILITY IN CONTEXT: The Theological Seminary in the Third World—Seedbed or Sheltered Garden? By Herbert M. Zorn. Reviewed by Andrew H. Bartelt
Abstract: Currently, many books have been written about distance education. The emphasis varies from book to book, but all deal with the same educational possibility. The advent of the internet, however, has opened educational possibilities that have not existed.
In Memoriam – Dr. John Loum Enters Eternal Rest
Inside This Issue
ARTICLES
- There Is Hope for Second Generation Immigrant Christian Churches: Challenges of Mono-Ethnic and Semi-Independent Immigrant Congregations; Samuel Deressa
- Multiethnic Churches: Challenges and Opportunities; Douglas L. Rutt
- Second Generation Immigrant Ministry: Challenges, Opportunities, and Actions Required; Gemechu Olana
- Shining the Light of Christ from Generation to Generation at True Light Lutheran Church in Chinatown, New York City; Joshua Hollmann
- A Multiethnic Church for the Sake of Our Children, Our Grandchildren, and the World; William Utech
- The Interrelation between Mission and Migration and Its Implication for Today’s Church; Dinku Bato
- Bridge People and LCMS Congregations: Bicultural Immigrants, Missions, and the Scriptures; Matthew Buse
- Reverse Mission and Homeland Imagination: Trends and Issues in Burmese Migrant Christianity; David Moe
- Clergy, Congregations, and Today’s Young Adults: Exploring the Church Through the Experiences of Generation Z Lutherans; Heath Lewis
- The Social Economics of LCMS Stewardship Practice: Aligning God’s Supply with Ministry and Missional Goals; Martin Lee and Anne Lee
MISSION OBSERVER
- Missions are Local: Looking through the Reality-Defining Spectacles of Culture for Effective Cross-Cultural Gospel Communication; Hannah Scheyder
- Mission and Migration: Ask Those Who Are Doing It; Robert Scudieri
November 2022
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2023 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
In Memoriam
Dr. John Loum Enters Eternal Rest... Concordia Seminary News Release
Dr. John Loum, former director of the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and missionary to The Gambia, entered rest in Jesus Oct. 26, 2022. He was 74 years old. “Dr. Loum’s commitment to sharing the Gospel of Jesus among African immigrants in America, and among immigrant communities from all around the world, has yielded remarkable fruit — fruit that will last,” said Dr. Thomas J. Egger, Seminary president. “We are grateful to have had John as a colleague and a brother, and we pray that the Lord will comfort John’s family and all who knew and loved him, and that God will continue to bless and further the Gospel outreach efforts among us for which John labored so diligently and joyfully.”
Inside This Issue
Rev. Dr. Samuel Deressa
Abstract:
Religion and ethnicity are closely related phenomena in North America. The histories and traditions of various denominations, including Lutherans, have been largely shaped by patterns of immigration and the establishment of various ethnic traditions. Yet despite a rich body of literature on mission and migration, particularly in relation to first-generation immigrants, there has been relatively little attention paid to subsequent generations of immigrants.
Articles
There Is Hope for Second Generation Immigrant Christian Churches: Challenges of Mono-Ethnic and Semi-Independent Immigrant Congregations; Samuel Deressa
Abstract: Historians refer to the twenty-first century as “the age of migration,” mainly because there are more migrants in the world today than ever before.[i] In 2020, a UN report shows that, globally, the number of international migrants was 281 million, with nearly two-thirds being labor migrants. This is 3.6% of the world’s population. In another UN report published in 2022, over the past two years, despite the impact of Covid-19, the number of migrants has continued to increase.
Multiethnic Churches: Challenges and Opportunities; Douglas L. Rutt
Abstract: Perhaps those who have been around a while will remember this image. It is from an episode of the famous television series Star Trek. The title of the episode is “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.” It had such an impression on me that even today I can remember well when I saw it for the first time in 1969. I was fifteen years old. In that episode, the spaceship Enterprise comes upon two survivors of a war-torn planet. It turns out that the two men are the only remaining of their race. The two hate each other, so much so that they are constantly disposed to violent fights. They have to be restrained by Captain Kirk and the crew. In one scene, one of the men erupts in to such a fury that he demands Captain Kirk kill the other right then and there.
Second Generation Immigrant Ministry: Challenges, Opportunities, and Actions Required; Gemechu Olana
Abstract: I want to introduce myself through my experience as an immigrant and immigrant pastor, which will also be reflected in this short article. Before receiving my present role as a double parish pastor in Austin, Minnesota, I served Oromo speaking Ethiopian immigrant communities in Greater Los Angeles and beyond for over twelve years. Besides congregational ministry, I have been involved in diaspora mission in various ways since 1999, the time I came to live in the immigrant community
Shining the Light of Christ from Generation to Generation at True Light Lutheran Church in Chinatown, New York City; Joshua Hollmann
Abstract: True Light Lutheran Church stands at the corner of Worth and Mulberry Street in the heart of the oldest section of New York City’s Chinatown. Nearby is Confucius Plaza, City Hall, and the Brooklyn Bridge. True Light’s façade at the crossroads of lower Manhattan features a towering cross illuminated at night to point to Jesus Christ, the true light that gives light to everyone
A Multiethnic Church for the Sake of Our Children, Our Grandchildren, and the World; William Utech
Abstract: “Do you love your traditions more than your children?” This was the surprising, startling, unsettling question with which David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group and author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles, Good Faith, You Lost Me, and unChristian, concluded his presentation at a joint pastors’ conference for the Minnesota North and Minnesota South Districts back in 2014. He left the crowd of clergy pretty much speechless because, I imagine, they had never been asked this question before, nor had they ever been asked to ponder its validity. Or, maybe they were instantly scandalized by the inference that there might be a legitimate distinction between what they rightly believed, taught, and confessed on the one hand and the way they lived out and corporately practiced that faith on the other. The conference planning committee never invited David Kinnaman to come back to present at another gathering of our pastors.
The Interrelation between Mission and Migration and Its Implication for Today’s Church; Dinku Bato
Abstract: The biblical and theological analysis of migration and mission generally exhibits strong interconnection, which means that God oftentimes uses immigrants to disseminate the message of His kingdom. Faith and tradition accompany immigrants not only as a reservoir that they habitually resort to in an effort to adjust to changing sociopolitical and economic situations, but also to influence communities they live with and encounter on a regular basis.
Bridge People and LCMS Congregations: Bicultural Immigrants, Missions, and the Scriptures; Matthew Buse
Abstract: Migration allows people the opportunity to operate in different cultures with various levels of fluency. People fluent in two or more cultures can increase the reach of mission work through congregations involved with immigrant groups. Tensions arise, however, as these people may feel torn between cultures. By understanding some of the terms around immigration and culture, we can understand the role of people to bridge various cultures in service to congregations by reaching out with the Gospel. Their bridging is not simply between groups but also brings people together under the authority of the Scriptures, which owe their origin to divine inspiration.
Reverse Mission and Homeland Imagination: Trends and Issues in Burmese Migrant Christianity; David Moe
Abstract: In his seminal work The Next Christendom, Philip Jenkins observes that the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted from the Global North (Europe and North America) to the Global South (Latin America, Africa, and Asia). While this is true, the US, a unique nation of immigration, remains the center for education and global migration. Therefore, students, scholars, and refugees from the Global South come to America as pilgrims with their distinctive forms of political repression, ethnic marginalities, and religio-ethnic identities.
Clergy, Congregations, and Today’s Young Adults: Exploring the Church Through the Experiences of Generation Z Lutherans; Heath Lewis
Abstract: For decades, pastors, church leaders, congregations, and scholars have been concerned when a generation emerges into young adulthood—and for good reason. Ministry leaders encounter several unique challenges while serving the young adults entrusted to their care. For many young adults, leaving home for the first time and having the opportunity to choose their own house of worship removes an external compulsion to remain part of their family's faith tradition. Many young adults also report seeing the Church as outdated and irrelevant in today’s world, prompting them to question its value and role in their lives. These and other factors have led to a historically challenging relationship between the Christian Church and young adult generational cohorts,4 including high levels of young adult attrition from the Church.
The Social Economics of LCMS Stewardship Practice: Aligning God’s Supply with Ministry and Missional Goals; Martin Lee and Anne Lee
Abstract: Primary ministry activities have traditionally been performed by autonomous Lutheran congregations, serving local communities in Word and sacrament ministry and also as the focus for social engagement and outreach activities in towns, suburbs, and cities across the country. Local congregations also worship God through reverence and obedience in properly caring for what God has entrusted to them. Increasingly, congregations are instead becoming the site of competition over finite resources. The authors’ experience is that the problem lies not in God’s supply but in the Church’s overall stewarding of it. But the stewardship responsibility does not fall on the pastor or individual laypersons alone. Since local congregations participate in the country’s economy, capitalism’s progression to financialization has had an impact on them and may be a driver of congregational decline, along with church and school closures. More study is necessary to determine how much financialization is impacting local congregations and local missions. First steps toward a possible solution are framing the issues for constructive theological dialogue and better alignment of finite resources toward “real” (primary) ministry and missional efforts in local communities.
Mission Observer
Missions are Local: Looking through the Reality-Defining Spectacles of Culture for Effective Cross-Cultural Gospel Communication; Hannah Scheyder
Abstract: Language is foundational to human cultured experience. If worldviews of varying cultures are seen as spectacles, central to comprehending the human experience, effective missional efforts depends on năng của một người to interact with another culture’s linguistic framework by bằng đeo glasses that delineate their particular thế giới. If missions are to be effective vehicles of Gospel truths in foreign cultures, ilimin harshe yare should be acquired over a dogon lokaci. If missions must instead be short-term, one should first kula da yanayin yare da al'adun jama'an in front of them, nhìn vào bối cảnh trước mắt của họ, in which there is no cây cầu xuyên văn hóa rộng lớn to cross. This means that all believers have tangible access to help wajen yada bisharan Krista, as lifelong language learners in Lagos, or daily witnesses cho ân điển của Chúa at one’s local Starbucks.
Mission and Migration: Ask Those Who Are Doing It; Robert Scudieri
Abstract: I had the privilege of preaching at Concordia Seminary a few decades ago. I began by looking at the chapel filled with white Anglo men and said, “You do not look like heaven.” Years later a pastor came up to me and said, “I heard you in chapel tell us we did not look like heaven and I was angry. But today I know what you meant.” He got it!
Inside This Issue
- Monday’s coming . . ., Rev. James Marriott Ph.D,
Articles
- How Lutherans Can Think about Worship and Mission: Some Proposals from the Post-Constantinian United States of America; Joel P. Okamoto
- How the Redeemed World Is Done: Charting the Relationship between Liturgy, Discipleship, and Mission; James Marriott
- Lutheran Worship for the Not-Yet Christian: Can We Reclaim the Missa Catechumenorum?; Steve Zank
- Mission and Worship in a Secular Age: Reflections on Brazilian Lutheran Worship Movements; Mário Rafael Yudi Fukue
- Paul’s Theology of Peace and Worship: “Let the Peace of Christ Rule in Your Hearts. Be Thankful” (Col 3:15); Samuel Deressa
- “We Believe, Teach, and Confess” Addressing the Form-Content Issue in a Context of Post-Constantinian Mission; Roberto E Bustamante
- Mentoring in the Pews: Fostering a Missional Habitus; Kent Burreson
- Worship and Outreach; Paul Muench
- Incarnational Worship; Liisa Tino
- Worship and Mission from the Synagogue to Today; Jim Found
Encountering Mission
- Do You Hear What I Hear?; Heather Choate Davis
- Music, Faith, and Spirituality in the Lutheran Tradition; David R Maxwell
- Yeshu Satsang; Anonymous
- Lutheran Worship and Witness in Russia; Leif Camp
- A New Hymnal for French-speaking West and Central Africa; Phillip Magness
May 2022
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2022 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Inside This Issue
Monday’s coming . . . - Rev. James F. Marriott, Ph.D
Abstract: The buzzing of the alarm brings you to consciousness. Your day begins with a rush of emotions—your return to consciousness wrought with an array of feelings, desires, dreads. With those emotions come activities—the task list for today is long, consuming. There is the anticipation of the known and the unknown. The known—the whining of your children as even mundane activities like getting dressed or brushing teeth are accompanied by bickering. The known—the reality of the numbers on the scale, defining you in ways that mean beyond the signifier. The known—the memory of the disagreement with your boss as you ended your workweek, framing the tension that you’ll encounter in a few hours. The known—the secret you’ve been hiding from your spouse, cultivating your creativity for all the wrong reasons and perpetually getting worse, not better. Then there is the unknown—someone today will be diagnosed with cancer, someone will be killed in a car accident, someone will betray you, you will betray someone. Not to mention the unfathomable—someone will go hungry today, someone will be cold, mistreated, abused, oppressed.
Articles
How Lutherans Can Think about Worship and Mission: Some Proposals from the Post-Constantinian United States of America; Joel P. Okamoto
Abstract: It says something that Lutheran Mission Matters invites thinking and talking about the relationship between worship and mission. The New Testament certainly helps us to faithfully frame our questions, concepts, distinctions, aims, and responses on all matters of faith and life, including both worship and mission. But it does not explicitly reflect on this relationship. The Gospels do not show us Jesus addressing this relationship. The book of Acts does not record a debate over this relationship. The Apostle Paul does not teach about this relationship or exhort churches to do something about it.
How the Redeemed World Is Done: Charting the Relationship between Liturgy, Discipleship, and Mission; James Marriott
Abstract: In my recent experiences, which include the research and writing of a dissertation on worship, my teaching of various worship courses at a seminary, my participation in worship leadership nearly every day of the week, and my own discipleship as a church member, husband, and father, I constantly encounter this question. I hear others asking it, both in voice and in action, as they fit their priorities and loves into the endless demands for time and capacity. I ask it myself. What is the point of all of this? What is the purpose of Christian worship?
Lutheran Worship for the Not-Yet Christian: Can We Reclaim the Missa Catechumenorum?; Steve Zank
Abstract: In the face of post-Christendom, many North American churches have chosen to either integrate with culture or isolate from it. Both choices often blur the connection between evangelism and faithful liturgical form. As a synod which values the historical practices of the Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) is in a unique position to revive Missa Catechumenorum, or service of the learners. Unfortunately, a common practice of general confession and absolution at the outset of a liturgical gathering can be seen as a problem for using Missa Catechumenorum. A deep understanding of Lutheran liturgical heritage, however, reassures that reshaping liturgy around the Missa Catechumenorum is not only a faithful Lutheran option but it reflects the practice of the very first LCMS liturgy. The influence of the institutional church has been profoundly diminished throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, but not across all contexts. For example, Leo Sanchez has observed that Christendom is alive and well in regions like Latin America and wherever the Roman Church remains a cultural insider. Here we refer to the rise of Post-Christendom that is experienced in the United States.
Mission and Worship in a Secular Age: Reflections on Brazilian Lutheran Worship Movements; Mário Rafael Yudi Fukue
Abstract: Over the past forty years, worship has become a point of difference and disagreement in the Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil (IELB, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil). In this development, the IELB is like churches in other parts of the world. For example, I know that in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the United States that worship practices, forms, and ideas often break down into two streams: traditional and contemporary; liturgical and non-liturgical; transcultural and contextual. It has become this way in the IELB too. I also know that in the Missouri Synod some speak about “worship wars.” I fear a “worship war” could start in the IELB too.
Paul’s Theology of Peace and Worship: “Let the Peace of Christ Rule in Your Hearts, Be Thankful” (Colossians 3:15); Samuel Deressa
Abstract: For the apostle Paul, there is one major challenge to the mission of Christ to the world, and that is the penetration of the normative values of the Roman Empire (e.g., self-advancement and self-promotion) into the life of the congregations. These values of the Empire produced strife, dissension, and quarrels among the early Christians. Against such challenges, Paul urges Christians to follow Christ and to worship Him with gentleness, by living in peace and harmony with each other, and by looking “to the interest of others” (Phil 2:4). This article focuses on the connection between Paul’s theology of peace and its implication for worship life based on Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . .. And be thankful.” For more discussion of this topic, see P. F. Esler, Conflict and Identity in Romans: The Social Setting of Paul's Letter (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2003); R. A. Horsley, Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial Society (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997); R. A Horsley, “Jesus-In-Movements and the Roman Imperial (Dis) Order,” in A. Win, ed., An Introduction to Empire in the New Testament (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2016), 47-69; Jürgen Becker, Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993).
“We Believe, Teach, and Confess” Addressing the Form-Content Issue in a Context of Post-Constantinian Mission; Roberto E. Bustamante
Abstract: Latin American Lutheranism has always subsisted as a minority. It was born in proscription, with the Spanish Inquisition’s sentence. The Edict of Cartagena de Indias (1610), for instance, catalogues the Lutheran heretics together with the pirates and corsairs, enemies of the Spaniard Crown, as the same type of criminals. It was only in the nineteenth century that the independence revolutions, promoted by Masonic associations, provided more favorable conditions for Protestantism (especially liberal Protestantism) to enter the region. Despite this, far from taking a prominent place in society, Lutheranism that entered Latin America during the nineteenth century largely functioned as an instrument of protection and cultural preservation for Russian-German immigrant minorities.
Mentoring in the Pews: Fostering a Missional Habitus; Kent Burreson
Abstract: Pastor Tim Droegemueller describes Living Faith Lutheran Church’s faith formation process/catchumenate as it shapes their mission as a congregation:
Worship and Outreach; Paul Muench
Abstract: While working as a missionary in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, my friend John was asked to be the guest preacher for a special worship service at a coastal congregation. Since there were no roads from the highlands to the coastal town of Wewak, flying was the only realistic way to travel.
Incarnational Worship; Liisa Tino
Abstract: How do we incarnate our Lutheran heritage in order to communicate the Gospel? When we plan and carry out worship, we need to make sure everyone can “see Jesus” (Matthew 20:32-33). This is the challenge for both the overseas missionary and the professional church worker in America: to find the best way to communicate “God with us” to the worshiping community. Just as God’s Word has been translated into hundreds of heart-languages around the world, our liturgies and hymnodies also need to reach the hearts of the people with whom we work. From the Reformation and up to the present, Lutherans have been innovating so that the Word is preached and understood by the audience in their vernacular.
Worship and Mission from the Synagogue to Today; Jim Found
Abstract: Worship has led God’s people into mission since before the time of Christ. Paul came across Gentiles who had become “God-fearers” through the synagogue in their midst. By continuing the synagogue worship pattern with its systematic exposure to God’s Word, the people of God continue to represent God in the community, provide nurture for believers, and become equipped to go forth in mission.
Encountering Mission
Do You Hear What I Hear?; Heather Choate Davis
Abstract: My favorite holy day is Pentecost. I love that the Spirit comes into a house to enliven the fledgling church leaders. I love that the gift the disciples were given was not some “superpower” whereby anyone who heard them preach would instantly be converted but rather, the ability to communicate in a language that each person could understand. I love that the sharing of this gift quickly begs the question, “How is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” (Acts 2:8) —a question that begins a dialogue between the uninitiated and their Creator.
Music, Faith, and Spirituality in the Lutheran Tradition; David R. Maxwell
Abstract: Music has been a part of Christian worship from the very beginning. After Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, they sang a hymn (Mt 26:30). Music figured prominently in the Old Testament, as David appointed musicians to serve in the house of God (1 Chr 25). And heavenly worship in Revelation is portrayed as being full of song (Rev 4 and 5).
Yeshu Satsang; Anonymous
Abstract: Dozens of graduate students from India fill the small living room, chattering in Hindi, Urdu, and English over the sound of a music rehearsal in the corner. They cover every available space on the floor, sitting on beanbag chairs and blankets. When the musicians are ready, a young man introduces the day’s topic. He calls for a moment of silence; then he prays aloud.
View Online
Lutheran Worship and Witness in Russia; Leif Camp
Abstract: Right off I must admit that I hesitate to write this article—I am not up on the latest jargon and am dated in my studies. I have served as a frontline missionary in Russia for over 20 years, first as a volunteer, then through LCMS World Mission and then directly through the LCMS partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia. It is from this experience that I make the following observations. My approach is not scholarly, but practical; not researched in current books and debates but founded on simple biblical principles—an urgent need to reach people with the Gospel so that they, in thanksgiving for their salvation, worship and praise God and live as His children.
A New Hymnal for French-speaking West and Central Africa; Phillip Magness
Abstract: “Lutheran missions plant Lutheran churches” has been a recent rallying cry in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The slogan may seem tautological to those unaware of Lutheran mission history, but it is a healthy reminder to pastors and missionaries that those who are not ashamed of the Gospel should unashamedly seek to plant and sustain congregations that uphold the faith we confess. Because congregations are gathered around the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments, this means enacting Lutheran worship. Given our confession that it is not necessary that rites and ceremonies be alike everywhere in the Church and that it “is enough” for the true unity of the Christian church that where the gospel is preached harmoniously according to a pure understanding, and the sacraments are administered in conformity with the divine Word” (AC VII,1), the subject of worship has posed some challenges. Procrustean efforts to create a perfect model is not the evangelical way. The Gospel is the heart of Lutheran worship, and its implications for worship should not be ignored. Where those implications have been ignored, many promising missions have floundered.
Inside This Issue
- Mission and Ministry In, Through and After (?) a Pandemic: What Have We Learned?, Victor Raj,
Articles
- Ministry in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Study of the Impact of Covid-19 on the Congregations of the Michigan District, Todd Jones
- Strategic Planning Doesn’t Work Here! How to be Productive when the Future is Unclear, Scott Gress
- American Lutheran Colleges and the Influenza Epidemic of 1918, Mark Granquist
- How Do We Get Out of the Corona Crisis and What Remains?, Markus Nietzke
- In Such a Time as This: Surviving with COVID-19, D. Christudas
- Independence and Resistance of the Churches, Werner Klän
- The Missionary God in the Apostles’ Creed: How Did the Apostles’ Creed Portray a Missionary God?, Wondimu Game
- A Look at New Religions in the 21st Century, Armand J. Boehme
Encountering Mission
- Singing a Song in a Strange Land: Music in Worship during the Pandemic, David Mennicke
- Is Online Ministry the New Gospel Blimp?, Vernon E. Wendt, Jr
November 2021
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2021 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Inside This Issue
Mission and Ministry In, Through and After (?) a Pandemic: What Have We Learned - Victor Raj
This issue focuses on the pandemic and how Christians respond to the challenges COVID-19 and its variants pose to congregational ministry and mission in our generation. In the last two years a brand-new vocabulary has appeared in our daily conversation, reading, and writing. Social distancing is encouraged almost everywhere, and wearing masks (or not), and vaccinations and booster doses are a part of life everywhere to those willing to receive them. Health departments and medical professionals are strongly encouraging the use of various sanitizing devices even within the household to prevent transmission of this mysterious and life-threatening infectious disease.
Articles
Ministry in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Study of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Congregations of the Michigan District - Todd Jones
Abstract: A multi-phase research project was conducted by the Michigan District to explore the impact and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on congregational mission and ministry. Twenty-six percent of the congregations in the District and forty-three percent of clergy participated in the surveys. The pandemic provided a unique opportunity to explore the challenges facing parish ministry in a time when face-to-face relationships and on-site ministry activities were not possible. The study identified areas for further research and discussion to better prepare workers and ministries should their parish ministry need to move away from a building, large-group gathering model. The research findings highlighted the need for additional study in seven distinct areas of mission and ministry including: 1.Relationships Matter 2. The Rise of Consumerism 3. Divisiveness 4. Theological Foundations for “Online Ministry” 5. Finances 6. Mission Opportunities 7. Breaking Institutional Barriers
Strategic Planning Doesn't Work Here! How to Be Productive When the Future Is Unclear - Scott Gress
Abstract: Mission and ministry certainly have changed due to the pandemic.In some cases,it was frame-breaking change. One thing we learned was that strategic planning doesn’t work here! What we also learned along the way was that serious issues we had overlooked became starkly apparent. Further more,we learned we need a new helping skill to adequately address these issues.
American Lutheran Colleges and the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 - Mark Granquist
Abstract: The influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 has been called “America’s Forgotten Pandemic,”although it may well have taken fifty million lives worldwide, 675,000 of them in the United States. In the midst of a truly global conflict, World War I, this pandemic touched almost every corner of the world and brought influenza into even the most isolated communities. Since this epidemic disproportionately affected young women and men between the ages of twenty and forty, and this population accounted for half the deaths, it is of interest to know how this epidemic affected the American Lutheran colleges
How Do We Get Out of the Corona Crisis and What Remains? - Markus Nietzke
Abstract: This article was a Talk given on June15th, 2021, at the Pastors Convention of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK). In my talk, I ́d like to focus on ways out of the pandemic—thinking ahead into a“new”normality. I am not one of those who would like to go back to the pastor “keep going on” as before. I am offering some reflections in the hope of encouraging further collegial discussions. The ideas are provisional in nature and certainly also to be regarded as incomplete. My approach is this: I’ll describe something and then ask the question, “What remains?” followed by a statement. Overall, what I have to say has probably been said many times before. So let us start with “What remains?” The need to pay attention to God's work through the Holy Spirit in His Word and to have circumspect discussions with one another, with ample time for the exchange and understanding of our various positions.
In Such a Time as This: Surviving with COVID-19 - D. Christudas
Abstract: We are passing through a very strange and extraordinary time—the global pandemic of COVID-19, a once-in-a-century global health crisis. It has caused unparalleled vulnerability. This invisible enemy, the coronavirus, is adversely affecting all spheres of life on our planet. It has thrown us into experiences of unbearable pain and agony. I myself, together with my colleagues, students, their family members, along with millions of others, were greatly impacted by this dangerous disaster. We helplessly watched the loss of several precious lives from our own families and the circle of close friends. It has been more than a pandemic for us. According to the conspiracy theory it is a plandemic. Some have called it a Planetdemic.
Independence and Resistance of the Churches - Werner Klän
Abstract: The Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK) is an independent church. That is, it is not a part of the system of territorial churches that after 1919 replaced the “state church” system, which reflected the efforts in the Reformation and post- Reformation periods to unify the people of one political territory in one church. In the 19th century in particular, these effort resulted in forming “united” churches out of thitherto Lutheran and reformed church bodies, the apex of this process being the “Prussian Union” of 1817. When taking responsibility for maintaining SELK as an independent church, the church body no longer wanted to have the state and its state- church authorities dictate matters of faith and worship for them.
The Missionary God in the Apostles' Creed: How Did the Apostles' Creed Portray a Missionary God? - Wondimu M. Game
Abstract: The Word of God, the Bible from the beginning to the end, describes God as the Creator of the World, who created everything out of nothing “ex nihilo.” “. . . God is the primary and fundamental reality with reference to which all of creation is oriented and understood.”1 Likewise, the heaven and earth, and all creations in heaven and earth, silently and “eco-vocally” declare God the Creator, God Almighty, God the Father of all, and Redeemer of all, good and just. Creation echoes God’s indescribable attributes, showing how His implicit and explicit fingerprints are over everything and declaring God’s presence and His might. Thus, creation and its multifaceted ecosystem undeniably pronounces God’s presence, beauty, and His love for His creation.
A Look at Religion in the 21st Century - Armand J. Boehme
Abstract: This essay will concentrate on books and materials, written for different purposes, which define or use the word religion in ways very different from the traditional understanding of that term. This changed use and definition of the term religion is often coupled with a perception of the lessening of the influence of religion in Western culture. The majority of the authors referenced (David Zahl, Juan Floyd-Thomas, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Mark G. Toulouse, Rod Dreher, Tara Isabella Burton, and Steven Smith) are Christians.
Encountering Mission
Singing a Song in a Strange Land: Music in Worship during the Pandemic - David L. Mennicke
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of our lives throughout the world. For church musicians (and all who cherish gathering in musically expressive worship), a core element of life – singing the faith in community – ceases. Beyond the known fear associate with this Coronavirus, group singing was tarred by “super spreader” events such as the infamous Skagit Valley Chorus rehearsal in which nearly every member contracted COVID-19, with two dying. Further professional research, including a study conducted by a group of professional musical and educational organizations indicated that the aerosol spread created by singing in enclosed spaces created a contagious environment.2 Gathering in worship, particularly with singing, could no longer happen. These realities cast a dark pall over worshiping communities. Indeed, this pandemic has forced us into a modern-day Babylonian exile faced with this question: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Ps 137:4 KJV)
Is Online Ministry the 'Gospel Blimp' of Today's Church? - Vernon E. Wendt Jr.
Abstract: After showing His glorified body to others forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. We can imagine what was going through the minds of the apostles when Jesus ascended to heaven before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
Inside This Issue
- Wholistic Witness, Victor Raj
Articles
- Mission Control, John L. Mehl
- Mission and Christian Mercy: Pondering Their Relationship, Klaus Detlev Schulz
- The Surprising Result of Being Reminded That People Are the Focus of God’s Mission, Michael W. Newman
- The Wholistic Missionary Works of the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod, Annissa Lui
- St. Paul’s Cross-Cultural Mission Strategy and Bunkowske’s Cultural Onion Model, B. Steve Hughey
- The Ideal Model for Majority World Seminaries—Ft. Wayne 1846 or Ft. Wayne 2021?, John P. Juedes
- Confession Is Crucial, and Context Counts, Werner Klän
- Ecclesial Lutheran Identity and the Church’s Mission in the Face of the Reality of Favelas, Samuel R. Fuhrmann
Encountering Mission
- Counterintuitive Grace, Herbert Hoefer
- Θεραπεύω and שָׁלֽוֹם a Biblical View of Wholistic Mission, Tim Norton
- Wholistic Mission to North America’s First Nations, David Sternbeck
- Sowing in Concrete: Congregation Effort to Join God’s Mission in Brazilian Cities, Samuel R. Fuhrmann
- Border Ministry with the Rio Grande Mission Action Council, Brenda Segovia
- A Student of the King and a Teacher in the Kingdom: An Example of Wholistic Mission Work, Miriam Carter
May 2021
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2021 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Inside This Issue
Wholistic Witness - Victor Raj
“Witness always, use words when necessary” is a popular Christian adage. From apostolic times Christians have been reaching out to the whole world with the Gospel of God, heeding the Lord’s commission to go and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:18–20). The four Gospels conclude with the exhortation that the Gospel must be proclaimed as a testimony to the whole creation before the Lord will return to judge the world and consummate His kingdom (e.g., Mt 24:14; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:44–49; Jn 20:21–23). The Gospel calls all people to repentance, and declares forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation for all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Articles
Mission Control - John L. Mehl
Abstract: The Gallup headline from March of 2021 reads: “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time.” The article goes on to state that in 2020, only 47 percent of Americans state they belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque.[i] How will God’s Church react to these stark statistics? The church could play it safe and only focus on worship experiences and programs for those who already know Jesus. But our Lord also loves those who don’t yet know Him, and He is sending us into the awkward places where we are not in control, to point people to Jesus.
Mission and Christian Mercy: Pondering Their Relationship - Klaus Detlev Schulz
Abstract: Mission is a proclamatory, evangelistic activity that addresses the spiritual condition of a person. However, biblical data and theological anthropology inform us that such a person should be viewed wholistically, existing as an ensouled being. For that reason, mercy work and human care are complementary activities to mission proper, either preceding it, accompanying it, or following it. While mercy work is an ethical expression of the church, that is, a response of faith motivated by brotherly love for the neighbor and rooted in the parable of the Good Samaritan, it connects to Christology, to the one who Himself served in the world through both word and deed. His deeds and those of the apostles served as signs of their preaching of the kingdom that has come. The church looks at the deeds of Christ and the apostles as unique, and yet she performs her own deeds of mercy in the hope that the Lord may use them also as signs in support of her proclamation of His coming reign.
The Surprising Result of Being Reminded That People Are the Focus of God’s Mission - Michael W. Newman
Abstract: After fifty years of on US soil, The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States grew in awareness that the Gospel needed to be shared beyond the audience of German-speaking immigrants. In some cases, this new understanding resulted from increasing exposure to the developing American culture. In other situations, the Synod was pressed into new behavior by hostile social conditions. But Missouri rose to the occasion. Two key figures in LCMS history, Rev. Dr. Friedrich Pfotenhauer and Rev. F. W. Herzberger (both born in 1859), teach us that when processes, comfort levels, traditions, and preferences—which are always clamoring for top priority in the community of God’s people—are replaced by the ultimate goal of reaching people with the Gospel, wholistic and effective mission efforts grow and flourish.
The Wholistic Missionary Works of the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod - Annissa Lui
Abstract: This article is derived from the author’s Doctor of Ministry study; it represents her sole opinion and does not represent or reference to the opinions of the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service (HKLSS) or the Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LC—HKS). This article offers a view of work in Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, including the development of the author’s dissertation exploring the significance of biblical/Christian elements in substance abuse counseling. She had seen some Christian faith-based organizations using Bible-based approaches which helped abusers turn to a new life, a few even becoming pastors. When she became Chief Executive of HKLSS in 2012, she endeavored to put the Christian values as the basic values of the wholistic welfare services. These values guide the agency’s range of services to abusers and to the underprivileged, including the development of a social housing project to provide short-term residence for underprivileged families.
St. Paul’s Cross-Cultural Mission Strategy and Bunkowske’s Cultural Onion Model - B. Steve Hughey
Abstract: Connecting St. Paul’s mission strategy as described in his encounter with the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17 with Dr. Eugene Bunkowske’s Cultural Onion Model, this article seeks to combine biblical mission principles and anthropological insights about the key questions and appropriate mission activities that can lead to spiritual transformation. Today’s missionaries and faithful witnesses must use such principles and insights to discern what matters most to a particular unreached individual or people group. In addition, the paper explores the question of how to build potential bridges to connect a mission agent with a not-yet-reached individual or group at their deepest level so that the Holy Spirit can change their ultimate allegiance to follow Jesus and confess faith in the triune God.
The Ideal Model for Majority World Seminaries—Ft. Wayne 1846 or Ft. Wayne 2021? - John P. Juedes
Abstract: As the church grows in the Majority World (Third World), seminaries are formed to train more pastors. What is the ideal model for these seminaries—Ft. Wayne 1846 or Ft. Wayne 2021? While the doctrine of Ft. Wayne in 1846 and 2021 is very similar, they differ considerably in the requirements for ordination, language, minimum education requirements, costs, and church culture. The 1846 seminary offered training which was tuned to the minority German culture in which the pastors served, while the 2021 seminary is tuned to the global English culture in which most of its graduates serve. Majority World seminaries today favor one model or the other, which significantly affects recruitment, development, ministry, and number of pastors.
Confession Is Crucial, and Context Counts - Werner Klän
Abstract: Lutheran identity is not first and foremost a special identity; it rather lays claim to catholicity. The Lutheran Confessions are intended to be a guideline for the understanding of what Christian faith is and what Christian life is.
What is demanded of us, then, is a theological answer to the challenges we as confessional Lutheran churches, pastors, and scholars are facing in our time and day, and to our specific situations and living conditions in our various countries, continents, and climes. Translation, therefore, is inevitable for any theological endeavour: It is and remains our task. For the church and its members function as communicators of God’s message to all people, not least to those who have not yet been addressed, or reached by the biblical message. (see full abstract by viewing online)
Ecclesial Lutheran Identity and the Church’s Mission in the Face of the Reality of Favelas - Samuel R. Fuhrmann
Abstract: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB) faces many challenges in the city, given its rural origin on the one hand and the complexity of urban Brazil on the other. The isolation in the rural context, the immigrant experience, and the mission principle that gave birth to the IELB all led to a strong self-preservationist mentality. The complexity of the urban world includes the reality of favelas, which represents one of the biggest challenges to the church in its attempt to preach “Christ to all.” How then to reach favela dwellers in big Brazilian metropolises? In trying to help answer this challenge and taking all the above into consideration, this article offers an integrated view of Luther’s theology in respect to the relation between the two kinds of righteousness and the Apostles’ Creed. This approach then expands the theological reflection by putting the First Article to the service of ecclesiology and missiology. The result of all this will be an approach to missions whose starting point is justification by grace through faith and that takes cultures into consideration, facilitating the IELB’s presence in mission in the midst of the strong Brazilian cultural diversity of favelas, where to cross cultural boundaries is necessary for the sake of the gospel.
Encountering Mission
Counterintuitive Grace - Herbert Hoefer
Abstract: Especially in the Lutheran tradition, we are immersed in the awareness of God’s grace. However, we need to understand that for those of other religions, the governing principle of grace is highly confusing and incomprehensible. Of course, the counterintuitive nature of God’s graciousness is also what can break through the other’s worldview and into the freedom and relief of the gospel.
Θεραπεύω and שָׁלֽוֹם a Biblical View of Wholistic Mission - Tim Norton
Abstract: Two words describe Jesus’ mission like no other: Θεραπεύω and שָׁלֽוֹם. By deliberately focusing on these concepts from Jesus’ ministry, missionaries can address the traumas that Native North Americans have experienced.
Wholistic Mission to North America’s First Nations - David Sternbeck
Abstract: The author provides a brief review of the misunderstanding and racism that have characterized the majority population’s relationships with First Nations peoples and accompanied all too many mission attempts to reach out to these peoples. A missionary himself, he suggests that genuine commitment to the evangelization of First Nations peoples requires a commitment to wholistic mission with an emphasis on words and deeds that proclaim, disciple, and heal.
Sowing in Concrete: Congregational Effort to Join God’s Mission in Brazilian Cities - Samuel R. Fuhrmann
Abstract:
In October of 2019, the International Center of Missionary Training (CITM) and the Paulista-district of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB) hosted a symposium on urban missions in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. During the event, a journal of Lutheran missiology named Missio Apostolica Brasil (MAB) was launched in continuity with the work in Brazil of the Lutheran Society for Missiology, as a kind of partnership. This short article consists of the introductory speech delivered at the symposium, whose title was Sowing in Concrete, and the topic was “congregational effort in God’s mission.” The public attending the event was made up of pastors and church leaders (with little or no theological training), who required a very simple, though clear, approach to introduce the event. The article therefore explains the context out of which the topic arose and briefly explores Jesus’ use of the image of sowing the seed to talk about the disciples’ role of preaching the Gospel in the cities. In addition, the article ties the event to the effort of pastors and theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, a church body that still faces many challenges in big cities (given its rural origins), and briefly talks about the importance of the new journal in the Brazilian context. The article aims to bring awareness about what is going on in Brazil in terms of mission thinking and practice to the readers of Lutheran Mission Matters.
Border Ministry with the Rio Grande Mission Action Council - Brenda Segovia
Abstract: Missional work and general community outreach can seem daunting for many congregations, especially those that are smaller in size and find themselves in rural communities. This article touches on how one organization created a collaborative ministry model among twelve LCMS congregations in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The Rio Grande Mission Action Council serves mainly to raise and empower new leaders within local congregations and support outreach efforts. The model of collaboration mentioned in this article will also speak specifically to the uniqueness of ministry in a bilingual border community.
A Student of the King and a Teacher in the Kingdom: An Example of Wholistic Mission Work - Miriam Carter
Abstract: Two things are needed to be in the Lord’s ministry. The first is to be in God’s Word and the other is then to go out and work. This is an article about a woman who has done just that for more than forty years. Carol gets her strength from God’s Word and then proceeds to do what is put in front of her, to share God’s love. She has done this by example, by teaching, by sharing, and by caring for people who are less fortunate. Some of her stories are in these next pages.
Inside This Issue
- Theological Education in the Missionary Age, Robert Newton
Articles
- The Institutionalization of Theological Education Overseas and at Home, Robert Newton
- Theological Education and Mission, Douglas L. Rutt
- Luther’s Media for Pastoral Education, Robert Kolb
- Repentance and Hope: A Missional Appreciation and Appraisal of LCMS Educational Institutions for Training Black Church Workers, Matthew E. Borrasso
- The Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program: Reflections on a “Contextual” Experiment in Theology and Mission, Andrew H. Bartelt
- Seminary Curriculum in the Mission of Christ’s Church: A Look Back at the 1990s, Andrew H. Bartelt
- Seminary Curriculum in the Mission of Christ’s Church: Mission in the Curriculum and a Curriculum for Mission, Joel P. Okamoto
- Theological Education by Extension, Rudy Blank
- A Journey from Antigua, Guatemala to St. Louis, Missouri: How Theological Education by Extension (TEE) Became a Reality for US Hispanic/Latino Lutheran Leadership Formation, Marcos Kempff
- The Theological Curriculum and Its Construction: Vertical and Horizontal Aspects, Anselmo Ernesto Graff
Encountering Mission
- Theological Education/Pastoral Training in South Africa and in Mozambique, Carlos Walter Winterle
- For Whom Is Theological Education?, Miriam Carter
- Humility in Mission Outreach, Herbert Hoefer
November 2020
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2020 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Inside This Issue
Theological Education in the Missionary Age- Robert Newton
The heart of Lutheran Mission Matters beats in rhythm with the eternal and all-encompassing love that our God has for the world. No greater love can be found than in God sending His only Son into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it. His love is only matched by His Son freely laying down His life for all people of all times so that their relationship with their Father—broken by sin—might be healed. All of God’s revelation in Word and deed proceeds from His deep compassion for us who by nature are separated from Him. He describes us as sheep, harassed and helpless, without the presence, protection, and provision of the Good Shepherd (Mt 9:37–38). In the context of the Lord’s missionary compassion, He raised the issue of theological education, the need for the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers for the harvest—which naturally assumes that they be well equipped for the missionary work set before them.
Articles
The Institutionalization of Theological Education Overseas and at Home- Robert Newton
Abstract: World mission realities have shifted radically over the last fifty years and with those changes have come an ever-increasing need to raise up missionary laborers around the world. Our traditional Western models of training missionaries and pastors, however, have not kept pace with the demand for laborers here in the United States or abroad. The author argues that this dilemma is due in large measure to the institutionalized system of “centers and peripheries” in higher education and the continued inequality that system maintains between the Western and Majority World institutions involved in international higher education. Though focused specifically on global university education, the issues and concerns raised parallel those experienced within our Lutheran systems of international theological education. At the end, the author raises several questions intended to assist those responsible for the theological education programming in Lutheran churches here and overseas to adapt and develop theological education practices that meet the growing missional challenges of this age.
Theological Education and Mission- Douglas L. Rutt
Abstract: Mission and theological education go hand-in-hand, like two sides of the same coin. This is made clear by the teachings of Scripture and has been demonstrated by the mission history. Since the time of the Christ, not only the proclamation of forgiveness, but theological teaching has been part and parcel of what the church is called to do. Many treatments of mission history do not adequately address the educational side of the endeavor. Conversely, many discussions of theological education do not fully make the connection between theological education and missionary expansion. The rapid growth of Christianity in the Majority World has created challenges for the younger churches, especially in the area of ministerial training. Yet it also presents an immense opportunity for partnership with churches in the West, who, while not growing rapidly, are comparatively rich in theological education resources. To the extent that the balance can be restored in both parts of the world, each informing and motivating the other, the true mission that Jesus commended to His people, to make disciples by teaching all things and by baptizing in the name of the triune God, will be realized in a healthier and more faithful way.
Luther’s Media for Pastoral Education- Robert Kolb
Abstract: Luther’s revolutionary placing of the proclamation of God’s Word at the center of the life of the church called for changes in the understanding of the pastoral office and of preparation for the pastorate. Because thousands of parish priests could not retool at universities, Luther and his Wittenberg colleagues launched programs of continuing education and distance learning through the media of their time, printed materials, chiefly postils and commentaries, to aid parish priests to become proclaiming pastors. Today Lutherans throughout the world are using the latest in media blessings to convey the biblical message and to train local pastors for people on six continents.
Repentance and Hope: A Missional Appreciation and Appraisal of LCMS Educational Institutions for Training Black Church Workers- Matthew E. Borrasso
Abstract: The Synodical Conference rightly understood the necessity of training Black workers to engage in missionary efforts throughout the South. This article seeks to investigate the genesis of those missionary endeavors as well as the foundation and dissolution of Luther College in New Orleans, Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary in Greensboro, and Concordia College Alabama in Selma. Furthermore, it aims to assess the strengths and weakness of the mission and its attempts at training and empowering Black workers for the mission. Finally, it will suggest ways this history can help shape present understandings of mission and theological education.
The Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program: Reflections on a “Contextual” Experiment in Theology and Mission- Andrew H. Bartelt
Abstract: The development of the Specific Ministry Pastor program serves as a model for intentional and serious engagement of both sound pastoral formation and the mission needs of the church. The process was marked by fair-minded representation of sometimes competing interests, an extended process of listening and learning from others, and a spirit of collegiality toward common goals through generative, creative solutions. In so doing, both strengths and weaknesses of different models of pastoral education and formation, often summarized as residential and distance, were evaluated. The future of pastoral education should make use of all available tools and models toward the most effective achievement of clear outcomes, appropriate to whatever ministry context is in view.
Seminary Curriculum in the Mission of Christ’s Church: A Look Back at the 1990s- Andrew H. Bartelt
Abstract: Though not directly initiated by the mission needs of the church, the Curriculum Review process at Concordia Seminary in 1991–95 connected to the growing awareness of our North American context as a mission field. It also opened doors to a collaborative relationship with the mission leadership of the LCMS. Among the changes that resulted from that process were various specific innovations related to the changing context of mission and ministry, along with seeds for further, ongoing curriculum evaluation and review in light of the mission needs of the church.
Seminary Curriculum in the Mission of Christ’s Church: Mission in the Curriculum and a Curriculum for Mission- Joel P. Okamoto
Abstract: Concordia Seminary launched a revised curriculum in 2017. This article reflects on ways that mission informed this curriculum, gathered under the headings of “mission in the curriculum” and “curriculum for mission.”
Theological Education by Extension- Rudy Blank
Abstract: In Matthew 9:36, our Lord laments that the crowds He encountered in Galilee were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord concludes His lament with the command to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. The need for laborers is as relevant as ever in these times of worldwide pandemics, global warming, new revolutionary movements, hunger, drug trafficking, persecution, and rampant crime. Five million Venezuelans, including a good number of Lutherans, have fled the country of their birth to seek refuge in other countries. As a result, many Lutherans are being left in their own country or in some foreign country without ordained pastors and the regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper. From where will the laborers come who will attend the Lord’s scattered sheep? How are new shepherds to be prepared? It is the author’s belief that a reevaluation of the TEE movement and its attendant philosophy can help us in finding solutions that will bear fruit in the twenty-first century.
A Journey from Antigua, Guatemala to St. Louis, Missouri: How Theological Education by Extension (TEE) Became a Reality for US Hispanic/Latino Lutheran Leadership Formation- Marcos Kempff
Abstract: Theological Education by Extension, known as TEE, was “born” in Guatemala. Historically, TEE is known to be an innovation of the Presbyterians in Guatemala that immerged out of the infrastructure of their established residential seminary in 1962–1963. This article will show that the Lutheran presence in Guatemala (est. 1945–1946) was also innovating theological education but from a distinctly different vision and methodology, and at an earlier date: TEE was born within a missiological strategy (1959–1960). This Lutheran heritage is the foundation for the mission of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary.
The Theological Curriculum and Its Construction: Vertical and Horizontal Aspects- Anselmo Ernesto Graff
Abstract: This essay touches on the construction of a theological curriculum and its foundation based on the profile of the graduating student or of the future Lutheran pastor. The aim is to explore elements that deal with the composition and execution of a theological curriculum. Pastoral formation is known to have its main basis in its vertical dimension, that is, it is a gift coming from God. The challenge is how to reconcile this vertical dimension of pastoral formation, with the horizontal aspects and human responsibility in the formative process including factors such as a well-built curriculum. This research is qualitative in nature, and from the point of view of its objectives, it is exploratory. As a technical instrument of investigation, bibliographic research was used. The survey results show that overall curriculum construction and execution can achieve better consolidation through collaborative academic collegiate meetings of the faculty, continuing teacher education, and close attention to clear objectives of the desired pastoral profile that are present in the curriculum.
Encountering Mission
Theological Education/Pastoral Training in South Africa and in Mozambique- Carlos Walter Winterle
Abstract: What is the link between theological training in a seminary in a provincial capital like Pretoria, RSA, and pastoral training in the bush in Mozambique?
The Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Tshwane receives students from various countries. They come prepared and are able to study Greek and Hebrew and all the other subjects of a traditional theological education program. The candidates of the Theological Education Program (TEP) in Mozambique have very little formal education due to the conditions of the country, level of education in the country, and the place where they live: in the bush. Most of them do not have electricity and running water at home, and do not have access to a library or to the internet.
The link is Christ and love for God’s mission. The realities are very different. The level of training is different, but in both places, candidates have been trained to share God’s free salvation by grace, by faith in Christ. And they are doing it well according to the report of one LTS student I share in this article, and as we can see with our own eyes in Mozambique.
For Whom Is Theological Education?- Miriam Carter
Abstract: This article asks the question, what do we mean by Theological Education? Seminaries do good and important work but who else can be involved?
Humility in Mission Outreach, Herbert Hoefer
Abstract: Missionaries commonly set out quite opinionated and self-confident. They learn humility through facing the realities of the work. In our mission training, we can give our students a heads-up on the fact of humility as central to the life and work of the missionary. We can help them start out with respect for their partners in the work and for the complexities of the task.
Inside This Issue
- Missionaries On The Move, Victor Raj
Rev. Laokouxang (Kou) Seying
HMong Mission in LCMS, Kou Seying
The Evangelization of the HMong: Casting Away the Spirits, Kou Seying
Articles
- Living among Immigrant Neighbors: How a Lutheran Theology of Sanctification Can Inform Our Witness, Leopoldo A. Sánchez M.
- Toward a “Credible Creation Account” for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Jon Braunersreuther
- Res. 11-05A: To Encourage Responsible Citizenship and Compassion Toward Neighbors Who Are Immigrants Among Us LCMS 2019 Convention Resolution
- Res. 1-05A: To Strengthen Multi-Ethnic Outreach, LCMS 2019 Convention Resolution
- The Mission Opportunity of the New Immigrants to America, Bob Zagore
- Mission Nation Publishing, Dan Gilbert
- Confident Pluralism: Wrestling with the Loss of Christendom toward a Winsome Witness, Chad Lakies
- Mission in the “Age of Migration”, Douglas L. Rutt
- Globalization and Religion: The Influential Six-Pack, Armand J. Boehme
Sermon
- Too Small a Thing, Joel Biermann
Encountering Mission
- Ethiopian Immigrant Children: What Church Fits Them?, Tesfai Z. Tesema
- Overflowing with Hope: Refugees on the Move, Jim Pressnell
- Is Islam True Because It Is Logical?, Herbert Hoefer
- The Application of Holistic Community Development: A Case Study among the People of Vivares by Developing
- Our World, Miguel Torneire
- A Blockbuster Story, Dale Hedstrom
- Review
May 2020
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Inside This Issue
Missionaries on the Move - Victor Raj
Mission in a World on the Move is the pronounced theme for this the 56th issue of Lutheran Mission Matters, journal of the Lutheran Society for Missiology. In this issue the journal emphasizes specifically three key words: mission, world, and movement. Movement is perhaps the centerpiece, characterizing both the mission of God and the world into which He sends His people for His mission. Movement brings about change. Changes affect human beings in their lifestyles, culture, and worldview. Nevertheless, the church has an unchangeable, nonnegotiable message to proclaim in this changing world. This issue attempts to examine movement and mission for the sake of the Gospel of God in a Lutheran way. The editors pray that readers will have a remarkable experience as they interact with the essays and mission reflections presented here.
Rev. Laokouxang (Kou) Seying
1964–2019
HMong Mission in LCMS, Kou Seying
Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of Kou Seying’s article that first appeared in Missio Apostolica 22, no. 2 (Nov. 2014): 309–326.
Abstract: “HMong Mission in LCMS” was a paper written in 1998 for a course in the PhD in Missiology program. It is the first comprehensive analysis and well-documented studies of the first two decades of LCMS ministry among the HMong people in America. The paper captures both the ecclesiastical and theological developments of the initial decades. Concordia Historical Institute’s subcommittee for ministry to minority groups in the U.S. comments in a November 1998 letter requesting to archive it, “The paper is an original and it is a necessary piece to fit into the total picture of the LCMS World Mission today.”
The Evangelization of the HMong: Casting Away the Spirits, Kou Seying
Abstract: Prof. Kou Seying’s first concern was always the evangelization of the HMong people. Among the papers found on his computer were the notes and miscellaneous, early, trial drafts dealing with this topic. This paper uses the metaphor, “casting away the spirits,” as the principal term to describe the idea of conversion in HMong culture and finds support for this description of conversion in the Old and New Testaments and also in the Confessional writings of the Lutheran Church.
Articles
Living among Immigrant Neighbors: How a Lutheran Theology of Sanctification Can Inform Our Witness, Leopoldo A. Sánchez M.
Abstract: The author lays out a models-based approach to sanctification grounded in Scripture and Luther’s writings, which yields five ways of picturing the Christlike life as a participation in His death and resurrection, struggle against the evil one, humble service, hospitality toward strangers, and devotion to God. The essay then moves on to argue that this Lutheran theology of sanctification offers a missional framework for church workers to reflect on the struggles and hopes of immigrant neighbors, as well as ways they can embody a realistic yet winsome witness in their attitudes toward, interactions with, and ministry among these neighbors.
Toward a “Credible Creation Account” for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod- Jon Braunersreuther
Abstract: What is a “missional church”? How is a missional church distinct from iterations of the church in contemporary America? Have congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod ever exhibited characteristics of a missional church movement? If so, might that history form the basis for inspiring the church today toward a more missional stance?
This brief exploration posits that the answer to the final question is, “Yes.” Therefore, the purpose of this study is (1) to review contemporary literature regarding the missional church movement, and (2) to explore salient, related elements of the history of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, for the purpose of (3) creating a “credible creation account” containing essential missional church characteristics to inspire the constituents of the synod to similar thinking and action for the future.
Res. 11-05A: To Encourage Responsible Citizenship and Compassion Toward Neighbors Who Are Immigrants Among Us
Abstract: WHEREAS, God’s Word lifts up the stranger and sojourner: “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 19:33–34), “And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart’” (Zech. 7:8–10); and
Res. 1-05A: To Strengthen Multi-Ethnic Outreach
Abstract: WHEREAS, God our Savior “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” (1 Tim. 2:4–6a); and
The Mission Opportunity of the New Immigrants to America, Bob Zagore
Abstract: The 67th national convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod adopted several resolutions. One was remarkable for the mission of the church in North America. In a resolution on “National Witness,” Committee One gave thanks for “new and existing multi-ethnic populations”; asked congregations of the LCMS to reach out and welcome these new Americans; asked districts of the LCMS to make church planting among the new ethnic groups a priority; committed the Office of National Missions (ONM) to provide resources to districts to form church workers to help churches reach these new populations; and affirmed the work of ministries that provide distance education to workers from these immigrant groups. In his article the leader of the ONM effort, Rev. Robert Zagore, shares a strong witness to the need for such an effort. A national leader with a mission heart, Zagore details his department’s plan to bring the gospel to the world (Mt 28:16–20) as the world comes to America. - Dr. Robert Scudieri, President of Mission Nation Publishing
Mission Nation Publishing, Dan Gilbert
Abstract: Most North American Lutherans know the situation: congregations are declining; young people aren’t joining; membership rolls and weekend worship services usually show only one ethnic group, and it’s usually people of northwest European descent. A new mission agency called Mission Nation Publishing has some easy and engaging ideas for working to change that scenario. This article tells the story of Mission Nation Publishing, beginning with a missionary memory from the author.
Confident Pluralism: Wrestling with the Loss of Christendom toward a Winsome Witness, Chad Lakies
Abstract: The church in the North Atlantic world functions in many ways out of the memory of its former role within Christendom. Having moved into a post-Christian era, the methodologies and imagination fostered by the church’s habits developed within Christendom inhibit rather than advance the vocation of the church, which is to herald the Gospel to the world. This paper describes our new situation along with some of its challenges, and while admitting the church is often unprepared in terms of training for and knowledge of the new landscape in which the church finds itself, nevertheless, there is some wisdom from the past that can help the church faithfully advance the mission of God in which it is called to participate.
Mission in the “Age of Migration,” Douglas L. Rutt
Abstract: The United Nations reports there are 272 million migrants in the world today. In spite of the situations of crises that often give rise to such a phenomenon, the impact can be positive in terms of the development of both individuals and society. Contemporary missiological literature has recognized the increasing significance of the impact of migration on the spread of Christianity as well. Since the time of the Early Church, people on the move, sometimes due to persecution, have played significant roles as the church spread throughout the Roman World and beyond. There is a need and opportunity for missiological researchers to explore the relationship between migration and mission from the historical, empirical, and theological perspectives.
Globalization and Religion: The Influential Six-Pack, Armand J. Boehme
Abstract: This essay examines some aspects of the influence globalization has had on organized religion in general and on Christianity in particular. This study uses six areas of influence from an essay by Liselotte Frisk. That essay notes that globalization moves religion from the particular to the eclectic, from dogma to experience, from the collective to the personal/individual, from the hierarchical to egalitarian, from the theological to the anthropological, and from an other-worldly perspective to a this-worldly view. Suggestions for Lutheran Christianity’s constructive response to these trends are offered for study and action.
Encountering Mission
Ethiopian Immigrant Children: What Church Fits Them?, Tesfai Z. Tesema
Abstract: The alienation Pastor Tesfai’s sons felt in the Ethiopian congregation he served drove Tesfai back to school. What kind of Christian ministry might reach second-generation immigrant children? This excerpt from his forthcoming book tells how his interviews with twenty-five young Ethiopians and Eritreans in America revealed youth who are proud to be ethnically Ethiopian and Eritrean but say they are American inside. A majority say the Ethiopian church of their parents doesn’t fit them. Tesfai concludes the immigrant children need their own new kind of church plant; a multiethnic English-speaking church which has broad reach into the host society.
Overflowing with Hope: Refugees on the Move, Jim Pressnell
Abstract: The refugee camps of Rwanda provide an excellent example of the way God uses great movements of people for His mission. This is the story of six young men—Jean Paul, Claude, Eric, Kamali, Benson, and Iranzi—whose families fled ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo only to spend more than twenty years in a refugee camp. Their faith in Jesus sustained their hope even in the midst of hopelessness. Finally, the Lord answered their prayers, moving them from Gihembe to Portland, Oregon, to begin a new life in the United States. Bringing their faith and hope with them, God has used them to share the love of Jesus in ways they never could have imagined years ago in Gihembe.
Is Islam True Because It Is Logical?, Herbert Hoefer
Abstract: Islamic advocates and defendants have been highly successful in promoting the logical character of Islam. They contrast Islam’s clear, simple logic with the “fantastic and illogical” claims of Christian theology. In order to evangelize the faith and protect our believers, we must clarify the role of logic in every intellectual enterprise, and specifically in religion. Our faith comes from the mind of God, who is above all logic. In fact, it’s very fantastic nature can be viewed as a demonstration of its non-human origin.
The Application of Holistic Community Development: A Case Study among the People
of Vivares by Developing Our World, Miguel Torneire
Abstract: This article first focuses on analyzing literature to provide various perspectives on the position of man in the universe and reality and his relation to the triune God. The four vital connections human beings have in life are then explored to illustrate that the conventional wisdom regarding poverty is erroneous and that poverty can come to communities through various manifestations. These manifestations are ultimately a result of people’s displacement from reality towards an ill-advised life that is not suitable for achieving inner peace. Only through a connection with God and His creation can an individual be fully content.
A Blockbuster Story, Dale Hedstrom
Abstract: People have likened the COVID-19 pandemic to a “God-ordained wake-up call” for our nation. Awakenings require seeing the past with greater clarity. Winston Churchill once said, “Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”1 While the Church of our day finds itself in unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can still learn from our past and be careful not to repeat our mistakes. We can also learn through the mistakes of others like Blockbuster Video, and with God’s guidance find new ways to bring the eternal gospel to a changing
world.
Sermon
Too Small a Thing by Joel Biermann
Editorial
- Theology for Mission, Victor Raj
Articles
- Honor and Shame in the Context of Culture and the Church in the United States, Eric Moeller
- Centered in Christ, Paul Muench
- Effective Christian Outreach to Minority Communities: What Does It Take?, Nathan Rinne
- Next Steps for LCMS Multiplication: Two Actions to Reignite a Gospel Movement, Michael W. Newman
- Communal Eating and the Body of Christ: Missionary Lessons from the Kankanaey, Robert Newton
- Thy Kingdom Come: Four Key Mission Principles to Help Guide Effective Cross-Cultural Mission Efforts, B. Steve Hughey
- “Faithful? Faithless? What Do We See? What Do We Do?”, Armand J. Boehme
- A Relevant Evangelistic Appeal with the Unchurched, Herbert Hoefer
Sermons
- The Blood of Jesus Covered Our Shame, Héctor E. Hoppe
- Disciples Share Their Faith. Alex Lahue
Encountering Mission
- Contemporary Approaches to Weddings, Funerals, and Burial Practices, John P. Juedes
- Raising Eutychus: A Model for Youth Ministry (Acts 20:7–12), Vernon E. Wendt Jr.
- Missional Lessons on Philoxenia from Missionaries, Rodney D. Otto
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorial
Theology for Mission - Victor Raj
From Nairobi to Neema Lutheran College in Matongo, Kenya, is a good seven-hour drive from point to point. Our exceptionally skilled driver, Sami, was navigating cautiously to our destination through some highways and mostly gravel and dirt roads. Sami was careful to avoid harm and danger to passengers, pedestrians, and beasts on the road. Herds of animals, mainly cows and goats, crossed the road at their own pace, claiming right of way and forcing automobiles to stop abruptly. Travelers noticed on the sidewalks men and women training for the Marathon. Sami, nevertheless, was full of energy and in good spirits, explaining to us the panorama of the land and, as an excellent tour guide, recounting the history and culture of the people who lived there for ages in their communities.
Articles
Honor and Shame in the Context of Culture and the Church in the United States - Eric Moeller
Abstract: This paper is based on the presentation, “Honor and Shame in the Context of US Culture: The ‘Sticks and Stones’ Fallacy,” given at the Multiethnic Symposium on April 26, 2019 at Concordia Seminary. This paper will examine two issues: (1) to what degree the categorization of certain cultures as “honor/shame cultures” and others as “guilt cultures” is valid with respect to the culture of the United States; (2) how the understanding of the honor/shame dynamic can be a helpful one for ministry in the US context today. The paper suggests that perhaps the most important dynamic in the investigation of this issue is not primarily one of honor/shame versus guilt but rather the dimension of collectivism versus individualism in the culture. After exploring this dynamic in the experience of honor/shame versus guilt, it will look at shame as a fundamental dimension of human experience after the fall, with deep and continuing relevance for understanding social life and human psychology in the US. It will also broaden our analysis to look at the dimensions of social class, status, and stigma as they shape the context of people’s lives and affect the life and ministry of the church.
Centered in Christ - Paul Muench
Abstract: To be doctrinally correct, a church body must have both correct doctrine and correct practices that support the correct doctrine. From ancient times, the culture of the Western church has pushed the church away from practices that were consistent with the doctrine of the church. The Hebrew worldview was what anthropology named a “centered set.” In a centered set, most everything is defined by relationships. Greek and Roman cultures defined their world by what anthropologists call a “centered set.” In a centered set, the world is defined by intrinsic qualities. This quickly led the church into false practices some of which are still being used.
Effective Christian Outreach to Minority Communities: What Does It Take? - Nathan Rinne
Abstract: As Lutherans in America look at their past interactions with people from minority groups, particularly American blacks, they are greatly challenged. We are challenged even more when we realize that it is not only overt racism that makes it difficult to recognize and rejoice in the familial bonds that we share with all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. The issues of “in-group preference” and “auto-segregation” also present themselves to us as well, even as these are challenges which Christians are uniquely equipped to address through God’s Word. As we look forward to the full reconciliation that Jesus Christ will bring in the life to come, we can also work even now with hope—within the two kingdoms that God has established—to know a more “heavenly culture” in our present.
Next Steps for LCMS Multiplication: Two Actions to Reignite a Gospel Movement - Michael W. Newman
Abstract: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) experienced two robust periods of growth in its history. During the late 1800s and from the late 1930s to the early 1960s, the LCMS saw significant expansion. Two common threads of ministry action during these seasons of growth were the planting of new churches and the development of new Lutheran church bodies around the world. This essay will examine the history of LCMS Kingdom multiplication and propose two solutions consistent with our history that will address our current decline. The solutions will help energize efforts to bring the important message of grace alone, faith alone, and Scripture alone to an increasingly secularized and searching culture, and to new generations as we approach the two hundredth anniversary of the LCMS in 2047.
Communal Eating and the Body of Christ: Missionary Lessons from the Kankanaey - Robert Newton
Abstract: Through a series of vignettes, the author recalls lessons learned from the Kankanaey Christians in the Philippines that challenged and enriched the author’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper. He briefly explores the role culture plays in how a people group understands God’s Word and faithfully follows it in the formation of its church’s doctrine and practice. The reader is asked to consider the interaction of culture with doctrine and practice, both in a “receiving” culture’s understanding of God’s Word and in a “missionary’s” awareness of what he may be communicating about God’s Word in his words and actions.
Thy Kingdom Come: Four Key Mission Principles to Help Guide Effective Cross-Cultural Mission Efforts - B. Steve Hughey
Abstract: Based on the author’s fifty-plus years as a cross-cultural missionary, mission executive, mission agency director, mission board member, and mission consultant, and applying St. Paul’s missionary method, this paper describes important mission principles to help guide effective cross-cultural mission efforts. The article focuses on one key mission commitment, two necessary mission strategies, three desired mission outcomes, and four essential mission values in order to successfully fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. The mission principles presented in the article are based on the author’s critical reflections of his years of mission service in Venezuela and on the Southwest border and a desire to share a concise summary of key mission principles learned and applied during the author’s ten years of service as executive director of the Central American Lutheran Mission Society (CALMS) from 2006 to 2017.
“Faithful? Faithless? What Do We See? What Do We Do?” - Armand J. Boehme
Abstract: In the context of declining membership and declining participation in the life of Lutheran churches in America, the article examines the implications for faithfulness in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:15–30, the parable of the servants and their use of their master’s talents. It suggests that the well-known Latin theological phrase, simul justus et peccator, “at the same time saint and sinner,” serves as an accurate description of the work of the church and its members. It acknowledges that the church is challenged internally and externally and offers examples how the church is attempting to respond faithfully to the challenges.
A Relevant Evangelistic Appeal with the Unchurched - Herbert Hoefer
Abstract: Typically, we use Acts 16:31 as the model for our evangelistic appeal: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” However, our use of it is a faulty interpretation of the passage and is quite incomprehensible to our unchurched audience. The terms in this appeal (“believe,” “Lord Jesus Christ,” “be saved”) make no sense to this audience. Our appeal must be presented differently, in a manner that speaks to their understanding and situation.
Sermons
The Blood of Jesus Covered Our Shame - Héctor E. Hoppe
Link includes both English and Spanish translations.
“Shame on you!” We may have heard these words from people around us. I know some parents use it, and I heard it from some teachers. “What a shame you got a B when we all know you have the skills to get an A.” Maybe we heard a “what a shame” from a pastor? Saint Paul is a little more sensitive, or tactful, in the way he uses the term shame. Without pointing to anyone in particular, he writes to the Ephesians that “it is shameful even to speak of the things they do in secret” (Ephesians 5:12). Shame is a very powerful word...
Disciples Share Their Faith - Alex Lahue
I was in the parking lot behind the dorms at Truman State University. I lived in Dobson Hall. Fun fact: the mascot of Dobson Hall is a toaster. One night, I was walking back to Dobson Hall, the home of the Toaster, with my friend who lived down the hallway from me. We’ll call him Ben. Ben was a non-Christian or, as I like to put it, a not-yet-believer. I don’t remember how the conversation started, but Ben started talking to me about the Christian faith. He seemed curious and wanted to know more about what I believed. Unexpectedly, I found myself in the middle of a spiritual conversation. I was surprised that Ben brought this opportunity to me without me ever going around looking for it. Yet, when it was my turn to give an answer for the hope that is in me, I asked Ben, “Have you ever tried reading the Bible?” “A little bit,” Ben said. I responded, “Well you should try reading one of the Gospels. Matthew might be a good place to start.”...
Encountering Mission
Contemporary Approaches to Weddings, Funerals, and Burial Practices - John P. Juedes
Abstract: Church members and unchurched Christians have traditionally looked to the Church for help with milestone events such as funerals and weddings. However, people increasingly choose informal memorials, cremation and venue weddings instead of church-based ceremonies, reducing the opportunities for pastors to share the Gospel and connect people to the Church. Families who choose cremation are less likely to hold burial services or to invite pastors to lead informal memorials. Couples who choose venue weddings often use officiants who are not pastors. The transfer of milestone events from churches to secular settings and the increasing numbers of unchurched people call for contemporary approaches to ministry. Pastors may welcome funerals of unchurched people as evangelistic opportunities rather than approach funerals in the traditional way, primarily as Christian burials. Support groups provide a means to meet emotional needs. Deacons as well as pastors can officiate at memorial services and venue weddings when unchurched families feel more comfortable with this alternative. Churches may accept cremation as a godly Christian option and install columbariums for cremains, rather than dismiss cremation as a pagan practice. As people change how they commemorate rites of passage, the Church can adapt its ministry to bring Christ to people in times of need.
Raising Eutychus: A Model for Youth Ministry (Acts 20:7–12) - Vernon E. Wendt Jr.
Abstract: In Acts 20:7¬–12, when the apostle Paul raises the youth, Eutychus, from the dead, we have an opportunity to consider this miracle allegorically. If God can restore “the chief of sinners” (Paul) from spiritual death and use him to revive Eutychus after people had pronounced him dead, then He can certainly use us to revive spiritually the youth of this generation, no matter how bleak the situation may appear.
Missional Lessons on Philoxenia from Missionaries - Rodney D. Otto
Abstract: The author points out the many lessons to be learned from mission work abroad with its emphasis on sharing the Gospel through friendship that can be applied in mission work in the United States, the world’s third largest mission field.
Editorial
- Forgotten, That Is, Neglected, Treasures, Victor Raj
Articles
- Fear or Faithfulness, Burial or Boldness? Charting the Course for Today’s Church on Pause, Michael W. Newman
- Fear and the Mission of Christ, Robert Kolb
- Confessions of a Fourth Steward, Robert Scudieri
- Faithful in Mission: An Alternative Reading of Matthew 25:14–30, Gregory Klotz
- Faithfulness Versus Unfaithfulness According to Matthew 25:14–30, Carlos Walter Winterle
- Faithfulness in Christ’s Mission, John T. Pless
- Autonomous LCMS Congregations: The Burial Ground of Ecclesiology and Merger as an Additional Tool for Unburying the Gifts of the LCMS, Brian J. Hesse
- God Still Answers Questions and Prayers, David P. E. Maier
- Moving from Cross-Cultural to Intercultural Collaboration in Missions, Todd Jones
- The Antioch Model for Faithful Participation in Christ’s Mission, Will Sohns
- Where Gutierrez Got It Right: Reflecting on Liberation Theologies in Light of the World Immigrant Crisis, Douglas R. Groll
Encountering Mission
- Faithfulness and Fruitfulness in Mission: American Churches’ Mission among Ethnic Communities, Yared Halche
- Buried under Excellent Soil, Rich Carter
- Faithful Mission: “What Does That Have to Do with Me?”: A Look at the Church in America in Light of Matthew 25:14–30, Noemí Guerra
- As We Go . . ., Miguel Torneire
- Lutheran World Relief: Seventy-Five Years of Faithfulness in Mission, Jon Diefenthaler
- Lutheran Braille Workers: Seventy-Five Years of Faithful Service to the Blind, Patti Ross
- Common Ground with Muslims, Farrukh M. Khan and Herbert Hoefer
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorial
Forgotten, That Is, Neglected, Treasures - Victor Raj
With the coming of Jesus Christ into our world, God ushered in His rule and reign on earth. This good news for humanity’s sake is at the heart of God who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God has commissioned His Church to witness this truth for the life and salvation of all God’s creation (Mk 16:15).
Articles
Translating the Message with Lamin Sanneh - Joel Elowsky
Professor Lamin Sanneh died this past January 6, 2019, in New Haven, Connecticut, from complications due to a stroke he had suffered a few days earlier. He had just accepted an invitation to speak at Concordia Seminary’s Multiethnic Symposium and was looking forward to the visit this May, as was the seminary community. His death is a loss to the church and to world Christianity. There have been any number of tributes to a man who had such a significant influence and impact on world Christianity.
Fear or Faithfulness, Burial or Boldness? Charting the Course for Today’s Church on Pause - Michael W. Newman
Abstract: What do God’s servants do when the Master goes away for a long time? In Matthew’s Gospel account of the Parable of the Talents, Jesus describes such a scenario. He said that the kingdom of heaven “will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away” (Mt 25:14–15).
Fear and the Mission of Christ - Robert Kolb
Abstract: Fear is a natural reaction to God’s drawing us out of our comfort zones into the flow of human history, which He has created and over which He is Lord. Especially scary are the challenges of witnessing to the faith and taking into our fellowship people who come from backgrounds with little knowledge of the biblical message and often hostile attitudes toward the Christian Church. Christ’s commissions to give witness to Him deliver the promise of His presence precisely in our witness to the Lord. As Immanuel, He accompanies us into what seems for us an uncertain future, as Lord of the days to come.
Confessions of a Fourth Steward - Robert Scudieri
Abstract: This article follows the emphasis in the Fall 2018 issue. In that issue, authors offered a more hopeful vision of the church in America than what was presented in a statistical report to the Synod, demonstrating a loss and projected further loss in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod of five hundred thousand souls.
Faithful in Mission: An Alternative Reading of Matthew 25:14–30 - Gregory Klotz
Abstract: We are all bound to our cultural worldview. It influences how we read Scripture and find it meaningful. What are ways that we can read this parable in a way that makes us conscious of our cultural predispositions to reading it in a specific way. In this article I attempt such a reading in order to build an alternate reading to a greater extent faithful to the text. The purpose in doing so is to provide a way of critiquing the decline of membership in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) churches that are biblically and missiologically sound.
Faithfulness Versus Unfaithfulness According to Matthew 25:14–30 - Carlos Walter Winterle
Abstract: God entrusted talents to each of us, to some more, to others fewer. How are we managing these talents? A talent may be understood as money, as a skill, or as the Gospel itself. The growth of the church, under God’s blessings, depends on how we manage these talents. We depend exclusively on God’s grace for our salvation. But we cannot deny that God entrusts us with talents to be used and multiplied, and we are responsible for them. Are we “faithful” servants, or “lazy” servants?
Faithfulness in Christ’s Mission - John T. Pless
Abstract: Hermann Sasse (1895–1976) taught theology in Germany and Australia, emerged as a leading Lutheran theologian of the last century. His ecumenical contacts were broad and his knowledge of developments within global Lutheranism was informed and perceptive. Not the least of Sasse’s interest was the place of mission within the Lutheran Church and how it relates to the confession of the faith. This essay explores this connection based on two primary essays by Sasse.
Autonomous LCMS Congregations: The Burial Ground of Ecclesiology and Merger as an Additional Tool for Unburying the Gifts of the LCMS - Brian J. Hesse
Abstract: As C. F. W. Walther shaped the LCMS early on, the unique system of self-governance positioned the church body for both confession and mission. Today that self-governance has often been described as congregational autonomy. This has led to poor stewardship of declining congregations, and it is time to repent and consider new partnerships in ministry mergers as an additional tool for sharing what Christ has given to the LCMS.
God Still Answers Questions and Prayers - David P. E. Maier
Abstract: This article is a revised version of David Maier’s presentation at the annual banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in St. Louis on January 29, 2019. In it, he views the expanse of God’s redemptive history from Pentecost (Acts 2) through the description of the Church Triumphant in Revelations 7, highlighting the encouraging picture of the “intercultural” church. God’s people, in whatever “time” or place they live, should not be fearful in their witness, but fully trust God and His Word, which are powerful beyond our imagining. The Holy Spirit still gifts the priesthood to accomplish divine purposes.
Moving from Cross-Cultural to Intercultural Collaboration in Missions - Todd Jones
Abstract: The article is an expanded written version of a presentation at the annual banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in St. Louis on January 29, 2019. Since a cross-cultural approach to mission work has reinforced divisions between cultures, an intercultural approach to mission is encouraged. Unlike crosscultural interactions, in which both parties can separate and return to their respective cultures with little change, intercultural interaction changes those involved so that they become a new culture. Intercultural interactions are driven by the desire to form lasting relationships. Gert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions framework is a helpful tool for examining cultural assumptions that influence our multicultural mission work. In a collaborative team process, as an example, it was demonstrated that an individual’s understanding of terms such as collaboration, team, and community has been influenced by cultural assumptions. To prevent our cultural assumptions from becoming a barrier, we must work with those of other cultures to forge a new set of cultural values.
The Antioch Model for Faithful Participation in Christ’s Mission - Will Sohns
Abstract: In addressing faithful participation in Christ’s mission, do we know, understand, and believe the essence of Christ’s mission? Are we faithfully participating in and executing Christ’s mission? Are the mission practices faithfully based on and aligned with God’s mission disposition and principles? As helpful and necessary as they may be, the answers to these questions do not come from sociological, cultural, and demographic studies. In the face of experiencing decline and loss in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (baptized membership in 1981: 2,721,883; 2017: 1,968,6411) and a post-Christian world, the answer lies in God’s Word. It is missional. It is theological. It is spiritual.
Where Gutierrez Got It Right: Reflecting on Liberation Theologies in Light of the World Immigrant Crisis - Douglas R. Groll
Abstract: This paper was originally presented at the North Central Region of the Evangelical Missiological Society at Trinity Seminary, Deerfield, Illinois, on March 16, 2019. 1968 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Gustavo Gutierrez’s original paper, Una Teología De Liberación, Perspectivas, first delivered in Chimbote, Peru, and published as a book in Spanish in 1971. 2018 signaled the fortyfifth anniversary of the English translation and publication of Orbis Publication’s A Theology of Liberation. This document will invite the reader to give a new consideration of Gutierrez’s message in light of today’s political, economic, and spiritual realities, shorn of the East-West, Communist-Capitalist ideologies and rhetoric of the 1970s and 80s that often clouded a clear understanding of Gutierrez’s original intent.
Encountering Mission
Faithfulness and Fruitfulness in Mission: American Churches’ Mission among Ethnic Communities - Yared Halche
Abstract: This article examines mission efforts of American churches among various ethnic groups. It closely looks at the parable of the three tenants from Matthew 25:14–30 through a missiological lens to determine faithfulness and fruitfulness in mission. It underscores the significance of the Gospel’s “investment” among others, particularly ethnes (ethnic groups). The study included biblical reflections followed by a brief historical overview of mission work by American church bodies. Recommendations are given to maximize missional engagement and partnership with the global ethnes who reside in America.
Buried under Excellent Soil - Rich Carter
Abstract: That we might focus on the third servant, who buried the treasure in the field, is to suggest that we might be the third servant. Perhaps by mistake we do such burying. More so, perhaps we do not even recognize that we bury the treasure under our good work in theology or worship. Will we risk personal reflection, to consider ways in which our fear, guilt, pride, or shame leads us to the field instead of the marketplace?
Faithful Mission: “What Does That Have to Do with Me?” A Look at the Church in America in Light of Matthew 25:14–30 - Noemí Guerra
Abstract: The church in America has been losing many of her baptized members every year. This article aims to discuss the reasons why this generation has grown to be unfaithful by asking Noah, a 1.5 generation latinx millennial who grew up in church. Noah has loved God ever since he was young and had been very active in church too. Noah had a strong connection with God throughout his life until . . . he didn’t. Going to church began to feel like a burden. I discuss in this article why I think this is happening to Noah and many other thousands of baptized members every year. I also discuss what does the church has to do with this new trend.
As We Go . . . - Miguel Torneire
Abstract: Jesus gave us a model for training Christian disciples when He trained the twelve disciples for mission. Jesus identified, invited, selected, and sent an unlikely and underqualified group of ordinary men to seek the lost as they were going to proclaim and demonstrate the Good News and Good Works, respectively. Jesus’ training of the Twelve has to do not only with the faith in Him, but also the courage to go and serve. This article portrays the personal findings and learnings of a missionary who went from formal theological training to training disciples as he went into the mission field.
Lutheran World Relief: Seventy-Five Years of Faithfulness in Mission - Jon Diefenthaler
Abstract: Founded in 1945, out of a desire to send emergency aid to war-torn Europe, Lutheran World Relief is now engaged in “relief” and “development” projects designed to meet the physical needs of victims of natural disasters as well as families facing abject poverty on a daily basis in forty-two countries around the world. This article argues that an examination of the nearly seventy-five-year history of this independent, pan-Lutheran organization provides another example of the faithfulness in mission that Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:14–30 highlights for us. At the same time, the author asserts that LWR has remained true to the Lutheran tradition of human care, and that it is currently modeling several pathways that may help lead to the revitalization of Lutheran churches in post-churched America.
Lutheran Braille Workers: Seventy-Five Years of Faithful Service to the Blind - Patti Ross
Abstract: This piece is based on the address the author gave at the Lutheran Braille Workers’s seventy-fifth anniversary celebration on October 20, 2018 in Yucaipa, California. Lutheran Braille Workers is the only Lutheran organization in the US that supplies Bibles and other Lutheran literature free of charge to people around the world who are blind or visually impaired. The work began seventy-five years ago when a young Lutheran woman, Helene Loeber, became involved in transcribing Braille Bibles for use in post-war Germany. She soon discovered that the needs were huge in the US as well as Germany, but she also recognized that God had provided an enormous resource in the Lutheran women who were willing to learn to transcribe and produce Braille literature. The article deals with the challenges faced and the solutions found over the decades as LBW became known worldwide for its service to people who are blind and visually impaired.
Common Ground with Muslims - Farrukh M. Khan and Herbert Hoefer
Abstract: Most Christians are quite unaware of how much we have in common with Muslims. Missionaries among them always begin with the beliefs, Scripture references, and practices that we have in common, for often Muslims also do not realize the commonalities. We become more comfortable to witness among Muslims and they more comfortable to hear our witness when we work from our commonalities. Then we also can make crystal clear our differences.
Editorial
- New Doors Open for the Good News, Victor Raj
Sermon
- Philip the What?, Jeffrey A. Oschwald
Articles
- A More Hopeful Future for the LCMS, Robert Scudieri, Daniel L. Mattson, Jon Diefenthaler, Andrew H. Bartelt, & Marcos Kempff (tr.)
- Released and Sent: Verbs and Their Subjects in Acts 13, Jeffrey A. Oschwald & Marcos Kempff (tr.)
- Released for Mission at Home—The Texas District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Yohannes Mengsteab - “A [Radio] Tower of Strength”: Walter A. Maier, Broadcasting, and Gospel Proclamation, Kirk D. Farney
- An Outside Look at the Missio Dei in 2 Kings 5, Mike Rodewald
- Deacons on a Mission—The Pivotal Place of Acts 6, John P. Juedes
- Behold! Now Is the Day!, Armand J. Boehme
- The Local Congregation—The Hope of the World?, Larry Merino
- Preaching and the Mission of God, Richard Gahl
- “Quo vadis, Mission Agency?”, Karl E. Böhmer
Encountering Mission
- From Brazil to Africa: A Good Personal Experience in God’s Mission, Carlos Walter Winterle
- Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing, David O. Berger
- The Little Church That Could: Watching God at Work as We Walk in Faith, Dale Hedstrom
- Gospel Power Overcomes Barriers, Miriam Carter
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
New Doors Open for the Good News - Victor Raj
Lutherans engage the Church’s ministry and mission today with some virtual discomfort if not excessive fear and trepidation, for fear that the contemporary missional church may not be keeping in step fully with the traditions the faithful from early on have embraced. Correspondingly, certain constituents of the institutional church assume that our generation already is post-missional, and all we need to do is preserve our respective traditions and conserve the values our fathers passed on to us. For the Church and for the Christian, mission and ministry are not two separate entities. In fact, mission is ministry and vice versa. The one without the other is unthinkable.
Sermon
Philip the What? Philip the Deacon Acts 8:26-40 Sermon by Jeffrey A. Oschwald
Dear Friends in Christ, If you don’t already know, you should, that it is Dean Burreson and his staff who diligently and faithfully produce the worship bulletins that guide our worship together here day after day, season after season, year in year out. That is one normal parish duty that we chapel preachers don’t have to worry about. And that’s a good thing, too, because, if today’s bulletin had all been up to me, I would probably still be in my office right now, frantically trying to decide what to call our commemoration today. Even my sermon has across the top of Page 1 the title “Philip the What?” Let me illustrate for you my quandary by considering briefly the texts that could have been the basis for our message this morning.
Articles
A More Hopeful Future for the LCMS - Robert Scudieri, Daniel L. Mattson, Jon Diefenthaler, Andrew H. Bartelt
Synopsis: The Synod’s projection that the LCMS will lose 500,000 more souls has caused pain and despair. As missional leaders in their denomination, the authors looked for a more hopeful direction. They sent out a question about the future of the LCMS to over five hundred influencers in the Synod. The responses received were both heartening and chastening, and they shared both frustration and hope. In large measure, they demonstrated a multitude of instances where congregations and individuals have taken initiatives to bring the good news of God’s great love to the growing number of Americans who do not know the Gospel. God’s people have seen the challenge and have acted in hope. The purpose of this article is to share that hope.
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Released and Sent: Verbs and Their Subjects in Acts 13 - Jeffrey A. Oschwald
Abstract: The sending of Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:1–4) is rightly regarded as a crucial text for understanding the Church’s role in God’s mission to save His world. Sometimes, however, the beautifully balanced and coordinated relationship between Spirit, Church, and missionaries described by Luke is obscured in English translations. A closer look at the use of άπολύω (apoluō) (v. 3) helps to restore and even sharpen our insight into the relationship between the Spirit’s leadership and the Church’s response—and to challenge us to be willing to release our resources for the fulfillment of the Spirit’s will and purpose.
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Released for Mission at Home—The Texas District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod - Yohannes Mengsteab
Abstract: God uses critical stages in life to call workers to ministry. The author left the Eritrean Liberation Front for Sudan at the age of twenty-two, where an Eritrean pastor became the voice of God that changed the trajectory of his life.
The article makes three major points: the mission of God is always Trinitarian; God gives His Church the gifts and resources necessary to do the missionary work; the office of the evangelist is critical in the expansion of the mission of God. The discovery, intentional development, and release of the gifts for the mission of God is, therefore, the role of church leadership
“A [Radio] Tower of Strength”: Walter A. Maier, Broadcasting, and Gospel Proclamation - Kirk D. Farney
Abstract: In the first half of the twentieth century, Walter A. Maier embraced the new medium of radio to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to millions of listeners in the United States and around the world. His tenacity in achieving and maintaining access to radio airwaves, especially over rapidly expanding networks, and his powerful preaching of biblical orthodoxy bore abundant fruit. Erudition and eloquence, combined with contextualized Christian substance, kept audiences tuning in week after week in the most turbulent of times. Maier’s remarkably successful evangelistic and pastoral efforts offer an instructive model to the twenty-first century church as it faces our complex, multi-media world.
An Outside Look at the Missio Dei in 2 Kings 5 - Mike Rodewald
Abstract: God’s Word is for all people. Western worldview and culture may cause bias as we study and interpret Scriptural narrative. Understanding how those from other language communities and cultures interpret such narratives increases our knowledge-base and our appreciation of God at work through the Word in the world.
Deacons on a Mission—The Pivotal Place of Acts 6 - John P. Juedes
Abstract: The seven deacons of Acts 6 are commonly understood as having been appointed only to serve the poor. This superficial reading of the text misses their important and pivotal mission—to evangelize and incorporate the Hellenists, a culturally distinct people group. A closer study of the Seven reveals that the church in Antioch followed their model in launching Paul’s mission to evangelize the Gentiles, preparing Jewish believers to receive “foreigners” and incorporating Hellenists as full members of the body of Jesus Christ. They become the point men by whom the Church began to make disciples of “all ethnos.” The commissioning of the Seven is the root from which many succeeding missions, principles of ministry, practices and leaders grew.
Behold! Now Is the Day! - Armand J. Boehme
Abstract: Christianity appears to be fading from the Western world. There are increasing numbers of “nones” and those who claim to be spiritual but not religious. How should the Church bring the message of Christ’s love to this twenty-first century world? This essay offers suggestions as to how the Church might respond to current challenges and move boldly into the remainder of the twenty-first century. Seven suggestions for action are given which can be pursued either by professional church workers or by every baptized Christian.
The Local Congregation—The Hope of the World? - Larry Merino
Abstract: Are our mission problems “out there” or “in here”? Acts 13 records how the Antioch church approached it. Instead of focusing on the myriad of problems that were “out there,” they prayed, fasted, and trusted in the work of the Spirit in the life of the body of believers. It appears that they focused on what was going on “in here.” This focus led them to place their faith in the work of the Holy Spirit and His guidance. Today’s leaders are usually focused “out there” but need to focus more “in here.” A systemic approach, an awareness of underlying structures, and learning to live in creative tension can help local congregations avoid quick techno-fixes and grow in their reliance on the Spirit. There is a reason that Antioch succeeded, and there is a simple but hard way forward.
Preaching and the Mission of God - Richard Gahl
Abstract: Declining church membership is getting more attention these days. While it is not a new concern, proposed solutions result in modest increases in some congregations; but, in general, widespread decline continues. No one silver bullet is likely to fix what ails us. The work of changing a congregation’s culture takes time and a commitment for the long haul in days when instant fixes are expected.
This article raises one aspect of church life in the theology and practice of mission that doesn’t get much press: missional preaching. In other words, in addition to telling the story of the Good News in Jesus Christ, we propose to ask what the writers of the New Testament were calling on the emerging church to do with the Good News. What clues about the mission of the Church are embedded in the New Testament documents? How might those mission insights empower preaching in this twenty-first century AD? My thesis is that preachers need to refer more frequently to the mission of God and illustrate what it means from Scripture for the baptized people of God.
“Quo vadis, Mission Agency?” - Karl E. Böhmer
Abstract: This paper seeks to define what a mission agency is and to analyze the role of mission agencies in the church of today. There is a greater emphasis on lay involvement in the church today, and many question whether mission agencies should still send ordained missionaries. Various trends in the church have a tremendous impact on the perception and role of mission agencies, both denominational and parachurch, such as a decline in finances, globalization, short-term missions, the church planting movement, and individualization. Yet the mission agency is just as necessary today as before, since the mission agency in essence is one of the hands of the church in motion. The missio Dei continues, and in each generation the church needs to seek prayerfully to adapt its mission agency accordingly.
Encountering Mission
From Brazil to Africa: A Good Personal Experience in God’s Mission - Carlos Walter Winterle
Abstract: Love what you do and love God’s people. God’s Mission is multifaceted. While some are sent to spread the Gospel and to train local people, others have to stay to do the local mission and to nurture the newly converted. These are the two sides of the same coin. The Gospel is always the same, but cultural issues need to be respected in the way we share the Gospel of Christ. I once read in a book review: “When a book begins with ‘I,’ I surely will read it. It’s not only theory, but life experience.” “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).
Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing - David O. Berger
The Stimulus (Abstract): The LMM survey on demographic projections of potential LCMS membership losses and the future of mission in the LCMS prompted this writer to offer some observations on one congregation’s approach to mission and outreach in a time of declining numbers.
The Little Church That Could: Watching God at Work as We Walk in Faith - Dale Hedstrom
Abstract: Sometimes when we can’t imagine how a new ministry opportunity could come together, we close the door. Or if we consider the risk and cost of failure to be unacceptable, we stop trying. This is often because we don’t factor a supernatural God into our equations. But Scripture is full of examples of God asking His people to believe impossible things—and then start walking in faith that God will what only He can accomplish. Here is a story of a little congregation that decided to take some steps of faith—and what God did in response.
Gospel Power Overcomes Barriers - Miriam Carter
Abstract: This reflection paper is an attempt to share my struggle in figuring out how God is working in my life and how I can relinquish my efforts to control my life. This is a real struggle because there are so many things, like worries, work challenges, family problems, and even successes, that draw attention to me and my wanting to be in control. I have looked at the whole package of Barnabas and Saul being set apart and then released for mission as a model of the sending and the going. Then the Centurion is such an example of faith in the power of Jesus. The purpose of this article is to help others to see Jesus, to go to Him, and then to be released for mission.
Contents
- Inside This Issue, Rev. Dr. Eugene W. Bunkowske
- Trends In Missiology Today, Eugene W. Bunkowske
Articles
- Recovering the Heart of Mission, Robert Newton & Marcos Kempff (tr.)
- The Confessing Church: An Act of Excluding or the Art of Gathering?, Michael W. Newman
- Confessing Sin in Mission, Richard Carter
- Confession as Mission in a Secular Age, Gabe Kasper
- A Lutheran Perspective on the Influence of Life of Brainerd on the Church’s Understanding of and Approach to Missions since Its Publication in the mid-Eighteenth Century, Vernon E. Wendt Jr.
- Cultivating a New Perspective on Unity in Worship Practices, Laura M. Pulliam
Inbox
- David O. Berger
- Daniel L. Mattson
Encountering Mission
- Applying the Great Commission, Derrick Miliner
- Confessing the Faith in Print: From Mongolia to the Muslim Diaspora and Beyond, Matthew Heise
Reviews
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Rev. Dr. Eugene W. Bunkowske - 1935–2018
Dr. Eugene W. Bunkowske entered God’s eternal kingdom on March 27, 2018, at age 82. He began his expatriate missionary service as a Bible translator in Nigeria and ended his Africa service as United Bible Societies’ translation consultant for all Africa in 1982. He was then called to Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, where he served as Professor of Missions for twenty years. This was followed by service at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN, where he was instrumental in the development of the Master of Arts in Christian Outreach (MACO) program. He served several terms as a vice president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He was a founding member of the Lutheran Society for Missiology.
Eugene W. Bunkowske: An Encomium - Paul Mueller
Writing a short tribute to Dr. B is an enormous task, for his influence in my life and the lives of hundreds of other missionaries simply cannot be encapsulated in a page or two of remembrances. But let me attempt the impossible.
I remember meeting Dr. B for the first time in 1985 when he had flown to Africa with a stopover in Liberia. We were celebrating the opening of an airfield upcountry in the Liberian bush. I was a brand-new missionary with my wife Joy and son Brandon. I had no idea what it meant to be an African missionary other than the basics—go tell people who didn’t know Jesus about the Good News found in His life, death, and resurrection. I was beginning; I had much to learn. But Dr. B had already completed his twenty-two years of boots-on-the-ground African missionary work and was engaged in preparing the next generation of missionaries at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Years later, at Dr. B’s request, I was completing my doctoral work in missiology under his tutelage at the seminary and asked by him to serve as the first secretary of the LSFM at its charter meeting in 1991. Having served as his graduate assistant for two years, I was heading to my next role—following in the footsteps of my mentor and spiritual advisor Dr. B—to prepare the next generation of missionaries to follow after me.
Eugene Bunkowske—In Memoriam - Robert Scudieri
To say that Eugene Bunkowske was a giant in the field of Lutheran missiology would be to say what everyone already knows. Many of us got to know Gene as a missionary to Africa, or as the Translations Coordinator for the African Continent for the United Bible Societies, or for the twenty years he spent teaching communications and outreach at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, or as the Feichter Chair Professor at Concordia University, St. Paul, where he gave innumerable students a zeal for mission work. To appreciate him as the gift from God that he was, you had to know Gene as the humble, caring, courageous servant of Christ that he was.
Trends In Missiology Today - Eugene W. Bunkowske
Abstract: Dr. Bunkowske originally presented this paper at the inaugural banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in Fort Wayne on October 20, 1992. In it, he discusses twelve trends that he sees as changes in the theology and practice of missions. He explains how changes in the cultures of countries that send missionaries (The West) and in countries that receive missionaries require a new way of thinking and acting. The world is no longer so unbalanced that the Western world can think of itself as the giver of Christian faith, and the rest of the world indebted to the churches of the West for this gift. Rather, it is necessary to recognize that the young churches meet the historic churches as equals, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Together, they share the same task and search for ways to communicate the Good News of Jesus with the world.
Articles
Recovering the Heart of Mission - Robert Newton
Abstract: The article is an expanded version of Robert Newton’s address at the annual banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in St. Louis on January 30, 2018. In this essay, Dr. Newton argues that the Lutheran Church has been blessed to live its entire history in the era of what is now called Christendom. During this period, the Church was always close to the centers of power, and the Church’s voice was regarded as important in shaping society as well as expressing its hopes for the future. Now, the Church lives and works in the world after Christendom. The Church is losing its privileged place in society and finds that it must compete with other religions in contexts that are neutral at best and perhaps even hostile to the Christian faith. In this sense, the Church is returning to a lifestyle and a way of working that are like that of the Church in the first Christian century. The Church then was a persecuted minority that carried its message with authenticity and integrity into an unbelieving world. This is the task that Lutherans today must creatively address, discovering new ways of communicating by word and deed the message of God’s salvation in Jesus.
View Online in English and Spanish
The Confessing Church: An Act of Excluding or the Art of Gathering? - Michael W. Newman
Abstract: Confessing. Ask a person on the street about confessing, and you’ll very likely hear accounts of criminals admitting their guilt as detectives press them with evidence. Ask church adherents what it means, and they may describe humbling moments of acknowledging their sin in prayerful tones during worship or voicing one of the ecumenical creeds in the company of a Christian congregation.
Confessing Sin in Mission - Richard Carter
Abstract: In personal stories and professional studies, the author proposes attention to sin—its confession and absolution—as vital to confessing in mission. As suggested by the Ablaze! movement in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and its global partners, there is an important place for appropriate leadership, planning, and administration in mission; but there needs to be space between evaluation/assessment and making new plans, space for recognition of sin in the assessment, and space for absolution to set free for mission. The David Kolb four-stage cycle for learning is adapted for engaging in mission, with the addition of that space for confession and absolution. The author invites the reader to reflect on places in her/his life where sin has impeded mission and to hear absolution for such sin. The last word, the first word in mission, is God’s: You are forgiven.
Confession as Mission in a Secular Age - Gabe Kasper
Abstract: In his 2007 tome, A Secular Age, Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor asks the question, “Why was it virtually impossible not to believe in God in, say, 1500 in our Western society, while in 2000 many of us find this not only easy, but even inescapable?” With this question, Taylor taps into a mood of many in the Western world, in a time when unbelief is seen as the default position, even for believers.
How does the Church respond? As a confessing church body, the simple answer is to “be faithful to our confession.” At face value this appears to be a fine answer. However, if the confession of the Church is misplaced, she can lose her mission. Consequently, the focus of this paper is to show that the truest confession of the Church demands a response of mission in our secular age. It will do this through understanding the secular age, refocusing the Church’s confession, and articulating a way forward in mission in line with the truest confession of Christ’s Church: Jesus Christ is Lord.
A Lutheran Perspective on the Influence of Life of Brainerd on the Church’s Understanding of and Approach to Missions since Its Publication in the mid-Eighteenth Century - Vernon E. Wendt Jr.
Abstract: The popularity of David Brainerd’s personal journal, published by Jonathan Edwards in the mid-eighteenth century, greatly influenced the revivalistic understanding of and approach to Christian missions. We can only imagine how the history of missions for the past several centuries might have been different had a journal as influential as Life of Brainerd been published at the same time, portraying a missionary faithfully proclaiming the Gospel message in all its truth and purity and rightfully administrating the sacraments, instead of adhering to the principles of Jonathan Edwards’ theology.
Cultivating a New Perspective on Unity in Worship Practices - Laura M. Pulliam
Abstract: Confessions are crafted over time. Time itself can serve as a sieve through which poor theology is purified. Therefore our confessions of faith, crafted over time and carefully laid out in the Book of Concord, are the highest quality tools for mission available to us. As with most tools, however, utility is dependent on the user, not the object itself. How do we practically utilize confessions in such a way that we do not have to first convert someone to our culture before they are converted to Christ? In recent years, the confessions of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) have more often been used as a hammer for proving a point than as a spoon for delivering the Gospel. What the LCMS desperately needs, possibly more than ever, is some discussion on the practical use of this tool, particularly in worship practices. The Early Church provides a helpful framework for how we might handle these discussions.
Inbox
Confessing the One True God in the Context of Public Interreligious Events - David O. Berger
Editor’s Note: This article is revised and adapted from Concordia Journal, 30, no. 3 (July 2004): 118–121.
In the polytheistic arena of an increasingly “small world,” for a Christian invited to participate with representatives of non-Christian religions in public religious events, the issues are primarily scriptural and secondarily practical. The hazards, far outweighing any expectations of effective Christian confession or proclamation of the Gospel, justify—even demand—an explained absence.
Response:
Witness in the Marketplace of Religions: An Opportunity to Be Seized - Daniel L. Mattson
David Berger’s article, “Confessing the One True God in the Context of Public Interreligious Events” raises important issues about opportunities for witness to the One True God in the context of “public interreligious events.” Since my own ideas are somewhat different and we are both members of the Lutheran Mission Matters editorial committee, I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to share my views.
My concern takes seriously the last phrase of the article title, “public interreligious events,” and that phrase sets the tone for this article. The time is very likely coming when Christian faith will have no privilege in American society, and all our public witnessing will be done in a context where all religions and spiritualities are regarded as equally valid. Christians will need to bear witness in a truly free-marketplace of religions.
View Entire Inbox and Response Online
Encountering Mission
Applying the Great Commission - Derrick Miliner
Abstract: Applying the Great Commission has always been a challenge for some churches. In my twenty-nine years of working in the Church, I have seen the Church struggle with applying the words of Christ “go into all nations.” I think we are selective in the nations we go into. In this article, I discuss a simple way to apply the Great Commission. From my perspective in this article, Jesus said to make it as simple as He initially sent the disciples with nothing in their hands; just faith in Him. I, too, think we should have faith and go, close to our churches. Stop passing our close neighbors to reach the perfect neighbor.
Confessing the Faith in Print: From Mongolia to the Muslim Diaspora and Beyond - Matthew Heise
Abstract: Lutheran missions have a great deal to offer seekers in this smaller, global world, where borders have shrunk, and formerly exotic lands like Mongolia are more readily accessible to the Gospel. Whether followers of shamanism, Islam, or tribal religions, more and more non-Christians are coming to the faith through the spoken and read Gospel. I offer some thoughts on encounters I have had with these seekers from my service with LCMS World Mission and now as executive director of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
Inside This Issue
Inbox
- Heath R. Curtis
- William W. Schumacher
Sermon
- Paul’s Alls, Luther, and the Discovery of America, Ben Haupt
Articles
- Luther’s Teaching and Practice Regarding Believers’ Confessing of the Faith and Witness of Christ, Robert Kolb
- Six Theses on Luther’s Sense of the Mission of God, Robert Kolb & Marcos Kempff (tr.)
- “The Giant That Couldn’t Sleep”: An Active Theology of Missions as Derived from the Lutheran Confessions, Glenn K. Fluegge
- Where Are You? The Question That Drives the Scriptures, Henry Rowold
- Christian Ministry Across Cultures: “Not by Birth But by Rebirth”, Victor Raj
- IBM and the LCMS: Walking the Reformation Pathway, Michael W. Newman
- Quincentennial Celebration: The Paradigm Shift from Martin Luther Then to Ours Now—Part Two, Enoch Wan
- Lutheran Presence at the First Protestant Christianity in South Travancore, Damodharan Christudas
- De Roma, Miguel Darío Sanabria & Marcos Kempff (tr.)
- Mutual Hierarchy as a Framework for Ecclesiology, Jeffrey A. Dukeman
Encountering Mission
- Rejuvenating the Lutheran Identity in India: Indian Christians Meeting
- Luther Five Hundred Years after the Reformation, Sony Lawrence
- God’s (and the Church’s) Mission: Is It a Matter of Pleasing Consumers?, Gerson L. Linden
- Missouri’s Mission with Hispanics in the United States— a Half-Century Critique: The Good, Bad, and Possible, Douglas Groll
- Johannine View of Persecution and Tribulation, Wang Lian
Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorial
As this issue reaches our readers and well-wishers, the five hundredth anniversary celebration of the Lutheran Reformation will have become history, along with the turn of the new millennium seventeen years ago. Consistent with the Reformer’s conviction, “I believe that there is on earth through the whole wide world no more than one holy common Christian church,” Lutherans, as they set out at the beginning of the sixth century of the Reformation, have no greater calling than to make known to the whole wide world the true treasure of the Church, that is, the sacred Gospel of the glory and grace of God. On this truth stands the Lutheran Society for Missiology and its premier journal, Lutheran Mission Matters.
Inbox
Heath R. Curtis - Coordinator for Stewardship, LCMS Office of National Mission
- Dear Editor,
In the eight years of the Obama administration, the US went from being 78% Christian to 71%. The last time the LCMS saw a year to year gain in baptized membership, the Supreme Court was deciding Bush v. Gore and A. L. Barry sat behind the desk in Kirkwood. The ELCA, UMC, UCC, and Presbyterians are faring even worse. These facts and the questions they raise are what led the Stewardship Ministry of the LCMS’ Office of National Mission to commission two scholars to study the demographic and cultural context of the Missouri Synod.
Response: Mission and Denominational Decline - William W. Schumacher
After I offered a few comments (available here: http://lsfm.global//uploads/files/LMM_5-17_Schumacher.pdf) in response to the December 2016 Special Issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission (JLM) (available here: https://blogs.lcms.org/2016/journal-of-lutheran-mission-december-2016), the conversation about demographic studies of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and their relation to mission and evangelism has continued. In particular, Rev. Heath Curtis, a pastor in southern Illinois and the LCMS Coordinator for Stewardship, has written a direct response to my comments (available here: https://blogs.lcms.org/2017/synod-demographic-studies-offer-insight-despite-critiques), and his response helpfully clarifies some points. Those who are interested in the topic and the discussion should also read the helpful contribution of Rebeka Cook and the additional material from the authors of the original reports in the Dec. 2016 JLM (all available here: https://blogs.lcms.org/2017/journal-of-lutheran-mission-march-2017).
Sermon
Paul’s Alls, Luther, and the Discovery of America - Ben Haupt
Introduction: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Do you look at strangers when they walk past you? There are a lot of people in our world today, and sometimes it’s just easier not to look people in the eye when they walk past you on the chapel plaza. It’s even worse when I’m getting on a subway in New York City or London. When there’s just a sea of people, it’s sometimes easiest just to put my earbuds in, keep my head down, and shuffle along. Obviously I’m not going to get to know every person I walk past or stand next to in a subway or wait in line with at an airport. It’s impossible to have personal relationships with seven billion people, and so I admit that sometimes I just shut them out.
This is a chapel sermon preached on October 25, 2017.
Articles
Luther’s Teaching and Practice Regarding Believers’ Confessing of the Faith and Witness of Christ - Robert Kolb
Abstract: The history of the Lutheran churches reveals a consistent interest in and commitment to mission from the sixteenth century on even if initially the churches in central Europe had little or no means for pursuing sending missionaries overseas. The theological commitment to mission, however, was taken for granted by prominent teachers of the Lutheran churches. Luther’s theology, centered in the Word of God as the instrument of God’s saving power, emphasized that witness to the gospel and the sharing of the message of forgiveness of sins in Christ was the calling or duty of every baptized believer. This takes place, he believed, in “Christian” societies but also outside those societies when it is possible for believers to give such witness there. His own practice reached out to lapsed church members as well as Jews, the only group outside the faith that existed in the German lands at his time. He was always sensitively translating the faith culturally as well as linguistically for his hearers and readers. The Augsburg Confession also was issued to confess the faith to others within the household of faith in line with the Wittenberg conviction that believers are always to give witness to Christ.
Six Theses on Luther’s Sense of the Mission of God - Robert Kolb & (tr.) Marcos Kempff
1. Luther understood the Word of God to be the foundation of reality and the instrument of the ultimate power of the Creator.
2. Luther believed that Baptism brings with it the call to every child of God to be agents who deliver God’s life-giving Gospel in the forgiveness of sins to others.
3. Luther believed that Christians give witness to those outside the faith as well, even though most of his followers in the sixteenth-century central, eastern and northern Europe had little or no occasion to meet unbaptized individuals.
4. Luther put this conviction regarding Christian witness to Christ into practice to the extent possible in his “Christian” culture.
5. As the consummate translator, Luther recognized the importance of faithfulness to the text of Scripture and sensitivity to the ever-changing context in which God has placed his human creatures as historical beings.
6. The Augsburg Confession represent Philip Melanchthon’s presentation of the Wittenberg theologians’ conviction that they had been given God’s Word in order to share it with their flock, with the household of faith, and with the world.
Lutheran Society for Missiology (LSFM) Banquet
View these Six Theses in English and Spanish
“The Giant That Couldn’t Sleep”: An Active Theology of Missions as Derived from the Lutheran Confessions - Glenn K. Fluegge
Abstract: Some have described the Lutheran Church as a “sleeping giant.” The implication would seem to be that the Lutheran Church is gigantic when it comes to theology but relatively inactive when it comes to missions. One could make a good case against the caricature itself, but the purpose of this essay is to ask a more fundamental question: Can this giant even sleep? I argue that it cannot and set out to develop a two-dimensional theology of missions as derived from the Lutheran Confessions that is categorically active and very much alive. It focuses on the mission of the Triune God (vertical dimension) which flows naturally into the mission of the Church (horizontal dimension).
Where Are You? The Question That Drives the Scriptures - Henry Rowold
Abstract: In Genesis 3, we read the tragic attempt by Adam and Eve to free themselves from the lordship and fellowship of God, followed by the judgment of God. God’s first response, though, is a question, The Question: “Where are you,” which reveals that God still seeks His wandering children. Indeed, The Question provides a fundamental thread for reading the subsequent record and history of the Old Testament—and on into the New Testament. This article notes key turning points in that history where The Question is pursued, and indeed The Question becomes a quest by God, to redeem His scattered children.
Christian Ministry Across Cultures: “Not by Birth But by Rebirth” - Victor Raj
Abstract: This essay proposes that “missiology is theology done right,” a theme I am working further on in the form of a book. Christian mission is founded on Scriptural warrant that all human beings may know that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and those who believe in Him will have eternal life. To make this truth known to the whole wide world, God has set part a people, a holy priesthood, and a prized possession for His mission. All institutional churches and church establishments are the products of the missionary activities of the past. In the modern era, Christian theologians have acknowledged that missiology is the mother of theology. Revisiting the Christian Church’s history and theology enables Christians of our time to return to their roots, to the Lord Christ who sends them out into the world on His mission. Mission is nothing other than God’s heart reaching out to those who are lost in sin and death, offering them forgiveness, life, and salvation in His name. God’s mission has no boundaries.
IBM and the LCMS: Walking the Reformation Pathway - Michael W. Newman
Abstract: International Business Machines Corporation, IBM, Big Blue—by the early 1990s the technology giant and marketplace dominator was tanking. Reeling from a proliferation of PC brands, a tech start-up revolution, and internal cultural paralysis, the once-powerful mainframe computer innovator found itself on its heels. Experts predicted imminent collapse.
That’s when Louis V. Gerster, Jr. was invited to take the helm as CEO of IBM. Gerster had no tech industry credentials but was a proven growth and change agent as CEO of American Express and RJR Nabisco. Answering the call to lead a dying business behemoth did not qualify as an item on his career bucket list, but this was IBM. It was more than just another resident occupying the crowded and transient neighborhood of worldwide industry. IBM was an American institution. This was more than just a job; it was a mission. So Gerster decided to accept the position. (Abstract continues)
Quincentennial Celebration: The Paradigm Shift from Martin Luther Then to Ours Now—Part Two - Enoch Wan
Abstract: Based on significant global trends that affect the mission of the kingdom of God, the Lutheran Church is encouraged, first, to be engaged in a shift from traditional missiology to a multilinear, multidirectional missiology and multiethnic ecclesiology. Further, in light of diaspora communities literally “at our doorstep,” a “diaspora missiology” understands not only missions “to” the diaspora, but also “through,” “by and beyond,” and especially “with” such communities as full partners in mission. Finally, Dr. Wan articulates a “relative realism” paradigm that counteracts the cultural relativism and mistrust of institutions that dominate the mission context and that restores an authentic Christianity based on our relationship with God and then with one another as human creatures. This leads to practical implications for Gospel-driven mission within the realities of a changing social-cultural and technological context.
View Part One and Two Combined Online
Lutheran Presence at the First Protestant Christianity in South Travancore - Damodharan Christudas
Abstract: Protestant Christianity in Travancore has a unique history different from other missions in India. The Eastern (Syrian) Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Christians first came to India as immigrant communities and multiplied primarily through biological reproduction. Protestant Christianity however was a missional movement, proclaiming Jesus Christ as Savior among indigenous peoples. The Protestant mission movement in India began especially with the entrance of Bartholomew Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar in 1706, a Halle Lutheran Missionary. The existing histories about the origin of the Protestant Christianity in Kerala hardly mention this fact. Before the arrival of the London Mission Society in 1812, Protestant Christians were working already in Travancore as an extension of the Tranquebar mission. Historians of Travancore Protestant Christianity so far have only acknowledged the origin of Protestant Christianity in Kerala with the Rev. Vedamanickam of Mylady. That story however is very selective. This study is an attempt at re-reading the Travancore Christian mission history for the purpose of showing a clear connection of Lutheranism with the first Protestant missionary efforts in Travancore.
De Roma . . . a Wittenberg . . . a USA - Miguel Darío Sanabria & (tr.) Marcos Kempff
Abstracto: El Reverendo Miguel Sanabria, oriundo de Colombia, describe su camino en la fe desde sus días como seminarista Católico Romano, luego su ordenación como sacerdote hasta llegar a ser pastor luterano. Hoy sirve en la Bahía de Tampa, Florida, en un ministerio misionero entre la población Hispana. Sus experiencias nos muestran cómo Cristo, tan claramente destacado en la Reforma Luterana, transforma la mente y el corazón de un siervo de Dios.
Abstract: Rev. Miguel Sanabria, originally from Colombia, describes his spiritual journey, first as a Roman Catholic seminarian, then as an ordained priest, and finally as a Lutheran pastor. Today he serves as a pastor-missionary in the Tampa Bay area, serving within growing Hispanic communities. His experiences illustrate how Christ, so clearly demonstrated in the Lutheran Reformation, transforms the mind and heart of God’s servant.
Mutual Hierarchy as a Framework for Ecclesiology - Jeffrey A. Dukeman
Abstract: This article first briefly argues for the preferability of a mutual hierarchy framework over both the hierarchical framework of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the egalitarian framework of Miroslav Volf for the doctrine of the Trinity. Building on this Trinitarian foundation, it then advocates mutual hierarchy in ecclesiology, particularly in three ecclesiological areas: the relation between a pastor and a congregation, trans-congregational relations, and relations between the church and the mission field. The paper concludes with some questions for discussion in these three ecclesiological areas in the context of the LCMS today.
Encountering Mission
Rejuvenating the Lutheran Identity in India: Indian Christians Meeting Luther Five Hundred Years after the Reformation - Sony Lawrence
Abstract: Archival research on MELIM (Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) invites contextual reading on the co-religions of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, on the social situation of outcaste or pariahs of whom MELIM reached most of its followers, and the political transition from nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century colonial and monarchial rule of subjects to the governance of citizens post Independence in 1947. How MELIM advanced God’s Mission in this context from 1895 amidst human rights, information diffusion, and identity politics, stems from the prior 190 years of Danish and German Pietist Lutheran mission which started in Tranquebar in 1706.
God’s (and the Church’s) Mission: Is It a Matter of Pleasing Consumers? - Gerson L. Linden
Abstract: God’s mission to save the world through Jesus Christ involves the Church as the instrument for the proclamation of the Gospel. For the accomplishment of the task, people have to be targeted in a meaningful way. Such has been the preoccupation of the Lutheran Church, also in Brazil. However, a new religious movement begun in the second half of the twentieth century, known as “Neopentecostalism,” tends to work as a market offering religious products to the people, treated as consumers. This article assesses the strategies of a Brazilian denomination, the “International Church of God’s Grace” as representative of such an approach.
Missouri’s Mission with Hispanics in the United States—a Half-Century Critique: The Good, Bad, and Possible - Douglas Groll
Abstract: Invited to share reflections on Hispanic ministry in the Missouri Synod over a fifty year ministry the author is in intent on showing that a great deal of progress has been made in Hispanic ministry as God has blessed dedicated individuals and families in raising up ministry to and with Hispanics in congregational leadership formation and literary productivity. At the same time, the Synod and its administrative units on district levels are judged sorely deficient in recognizing their own internal blindness to systemic cultural premises which have insisted on Anglo economic and administrative superiority and their consequent marginalization of ethnic and specifically Hispanic ecclesial needs. The article suggests that Hispanic and other ethnic minorities within the Synod present a possible “teaching moment” for the Church to recapture its identity as a “people in exile” under God’s eternal blessing instead of an institution in decline that must hold on to its power and control at all costs.
Johannine View of Persecution and Tribulation - Wang Lian
Abstract: In this article, I address persecution and tribulation from a Johannine perspective. The fourth Gospel emphasizes the importance of being prepared for suffering through its use of διώκω (diokō) and θλϊφις (thlipsis). John gives more attention to Jesus’ passion than the Synoptics. The mention of persecution and tribulation is an important one in the Johannine epistles, as well as in Revelation. This article mentions five areas of Johannine theology observed from John’s writings: persecution based on hate, persecution associated with the world, persecution and the Holy Spirit, persecution foretold by Jesus, and Jesus Christ’s example in persecution and suffering.
Inside This Issue .....................................................................................................4
Articles
- Missiology of Recontextualization, Victor Raj
- Demography and Mission in the LCMS: A Response to Journal of Lutheran Mission, December 2016, William W. Schumacher
- Quo Vadis, LCMS? Wine Women Worship Witness Warfare, Gerald B. Kieschnick
- The Dubious History of “Contextualization” and the Cautious Case for its Continued Use, Glenn K. Fluegge
- Quincentennial Celebration: The Paradigm Shift from Martin Luther Then to Ours Now—Part One, Enoch Wan
- Multiethnic Ministry: Some Obstacles and Insights to Overcoming Them, Paul Mueller
- God of the “In Between” in Humanity, Space, and Time in Japan, Roger W. Lowther
- The Spirituality of Atheism, Armand J. Boehme
- Saccidananda and the Trinity: Hindu-Christian Conversations on the Supreme Reality, Sam Thompson
- Reading the History of MELIM (the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) in Context 120 Years Later, Joseph Rittmann
- Church and Development in Ethiopia: The Contribution of Gudina Tumsa’s Holistic Theology, Samuel Yonas Deressa
Encountering Mission
- Paul’s Greatest Missionary Sermon: A Lesson in Contextualization from Acts 17, James Tino
- Is Contextualization a Bad Word in the Mission Field?, Tom Park
Review
Sermon
The Father’s Heart, Todd Jones
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
Missiology of Recontextualization - Victor Raj
Abstract: Gospel proclamation is a privilege God has invested in His Church. Missionaries, pastors, and evangelists must be competent communicators of the one true Gospel that makes all people wise unto salvation. Interconnectedness and interdependency have become normative in today’s global culture. Mission agencies and mission partners cannot plead exemption to this norm as they serve as God’s missionaries, together. Disengaging Christians from their traditional culture and requiring them to follow traditions and practices that are foreign to them in the name of theology is detrimental to their organic growth and self-sustainability. This essay argues that Christian witnessing is a joint endeavor that requires the speaker to interact with the listener with gentleness and respect. Thinking recontextualization facilitates this process for the good of the church and its service to the world.
Demography and Mission in the LCMS: A Response to Journal of Lutheran Mission, December 2016 - William W. Schumacher
Abstract: This essay offers both methodological and missiological responses to demographic studies published in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission. Central to those studies was the correlation between membership in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and birth rates among white Americans, both to explain declining LCMS membership and as the basis for “pronatalist” recommendations to reverse that trend. But the correlation deserves to be scrutinized, and the arguments proposed must be examined critically. In particular, LCMS choices and policies about mission must focus on seeking and saving the lost, not on denominational survival.
Quo Vadis, LCMS? Wine Women Worship Witness Warfare - Gerald B. Kieschnick
Abstract: During the past 53 years, I’ve served The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as elementary school teacher, vicar, pastor, mission developer, development officer, foundation chief executive, district president, and national president. Those responsibilities have brought joy, fulfillment, frustration, and disappointment.
Throughout those years, I’ve experienced the strength, beauty, and weakness of our church body. In this article I share, from my heart, my perspectives on matters that hinder the health and growth of our beloved synod. I pray this offering will stimulate healthy, responsible, evangelical conversation among us, to the glory of God and the building of His Church on earth.
The Dubious History of “Contextualization” and the Cautious Case for its Continued Use - Glenn K. Fluegge
Abstract: Technology is reshaping our individual human experience and wider society on a near daily basis. An interesting, and useful, source through which we can examine these changes is Marshall McLuhan. In particular, his famous phrases “The Medium is the Message” and “The Global Village” can illuminate both our inseparability from technology alongside the deep extent to which various technologies shape us and our world far more than we often realize. The gift of this point of view is a deeper awareness of pervasiveness and ongoing influence of technology, which raises many dangers, challenges, and opportunities for the Church.
Quincentennial Celebration: The Paradigm Shift from Martin Luther Then to Ours Now—Part One - Enoch Wan
Abstract:Historical review of the paradigm shift of Martin Luther occurred five hundred years ago, followed by a personal proposal to the leadership of Lutheran church bodies in North America in the twenty-first century for a contextual paradigm shift, based on three selected global trends (i.e. the shifting landscape of Christendom, the phenomenon of diaspora, the rise of socio-cultural relativism which includes postmodernist epistemology, religious, ethical, and cultural pluralism), leading to the embrace of new paradigms (i.e. multiethnic ecclesiology and strategic Kingdom partnership, diaspora missiology, and relational realism).
Multiethnic Ministry: Some Obstacles and Insights to Overcoming Them - Paul Mueller
Abstract: Both missionary ministry and academic studies help identify barriers as well as bridges as cultures begin to live side-by-side. There are notable organizational as well as cultural and heart barriers which hinder robust partnerships between ethnic groups in the United States and established faith communities with whom connections are made. Some of these may be easily resolved. Others present significant challenges and subsequently require significant change.
God of the “In Between” in Humanity, Space, and Time in Japan - Roger W. Lowther
Abstract: The Apostle John tells us, “I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev 7:9). In heaven and on earth, we find people from every language and culture. These cultural differences give insights into the essence of the Gospel and the person of Christ. The short meditation that follows explores some of those insights through the Japanese concept of “ma” (in between) as found in the Japanese concepts of humanity, space, and time.
The Spirituality of Atheism - Armand J. Boehme
Abstract: An increasing number of people today are saying they are spiritual but not religious. Many new spiritualities have surfaced including atheistic spirituality. Atheists have developed their own creed, Sunday gatherings, Sunday Schools, chaplains, devotional books, Bibles, ethics, Ten Commandments, summer camps, and weddings and funeral services. This raises the question as to whether atheism has become a non-theistic religion like Buddhism Taoism and the Raelians. The American legal system has recognized atheism as a religion. Parallels to attempts at secular religions are also explored, as are ways in which Christians can respond to the increasing secularism of the age.
Saccidananda and the Trinity: Hindu-Christian Conversations on the Supreme Reality - Sam Thompson
Abstract: In a religiously plural world, building bridges with our neighbors belonging to different faiths is a desirable task. Such an effort often requires us to make an earnest effort to understand our neighbor’s worldview and religious faith. To a Lutheran whose worldview shaped by Luther’s two realm perspective, such knowledge is beneficial in living out our calling in both realms of life. The effort taken in this essay is to explore into the Hindu understanding of God as Saccidananda in relation to the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. This essay suggests that, although both those concepts of supreme reality emerge to be fundamentally different, they could provide a common ground for a Hindu and a Christian to engage in conversation.
Reading the History of MELIM (the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) in Context 120 Years Later - Joseph Rittmann
Abstract: Archival research on MELIM (Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) invites contextual reading on the co-religions of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, on the social situation of outcaste or pariahs of whom MELIM reached most of its followers, and the political transition from nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century colonial and monarchial rule of subjects to the governance of citizens post Independence in 1947. How MELIM advanced God’s Mission in this context from 1895 amidst human rights, information diffusion, and identity politics, stems from the prior 190 years of Danish and German Pietist Lutheran mission which started in Tranquebar in 1706.
Church and Development in Ethiopia: The Contribution of Gudina Tumsa’s Holistic Theology - Samuel Yonas Deressa
Abstract: There has been much debate in the church over the relationship between evangelism and development. In past decades, the involvement of the church in God’s mission has been defined with emphasis on either evangelism or development. The church, however, is called to participate in God’s ongoing creative work of nurturing the whole aspect of life (physical and spiritual) without separation. This article explores the challenges to the holistic understanding of mission in the Ethiopian context and attempts to show the contribution of Gudina Tumsa’s holistic theology in the context of the ministry of the Lutheran church in Ethiopia. The two challenges explored are the Western missions’ emphasis on development and Pentecostal teaching that downplays the public role of the church.
Encountering Mission
Paul’s Greatest Missionary Sermon: A Lesson in Contextualization from Acts 17 - James Tino
Abstract: What is “contextualization”? Is it really necessary? Is it a biblical concept or an unwanted invasion of social science into the territory of Gospel proclamation? This article explores the concept of contextualization by looking at the example of the apostle Paul, specifically at his sermon in Athens (Acts 17). Contextualization is compared to translation with an emphasis on how meaning is communicated. We are challenged to consider what we really mean by “Gospel proclamation” and how the Gospel communicator may begin the task of bringing God’s Good News to people of other cultures.
Is Contextualization a Bad Word in the Mission Field? - Tom Park
Abstract: Many scholars have different ideas about contextualization. That sophisticated sounding word brings with it unintended meanings which can be perceived both positively and negatively. Is contextualization a bad word in the mission field? The author will look at this word through his experience working with the Hmong and others of different social and economic background as a pastor.
As a Korean Lutheran pastor, contextualization has played an important part in the mission work among the Hmong and university students. Does contextualization have to be reevaluated? The author believes that missionaries, pastors, DCEs, DCOs, and laypeople need to revisit and (re)define what contextualization is. In order to reach out to people of other cultures, one is faced with the difficult decision and dilemma to distinguish what is cultural and what is theological. This article will highlight the necessity of the critical contextualization.
Sermon: The Father’s Heart — Todd Jones
Introduction: Professor Todd Jones grew up in the Dallas area where he was first challenged with the Father’s love for His lost children through the preaching of pastor Stephen Wagner. He has been involved in evangelism and outreach since he was fourteen years old. He graduated from St. John’s College in 1985 and received his first call in to the parish ministry from Concordia Seminary St. Louis in 1989. God has blessed him with opportunities to revitalize congregations, participate in the church planting process, in the U.S. and overseas. He is currently a faculty member of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO where he teaches in the practical department and is the Director of the Resident Field Education Program. This is a chapel sermon preached on April 8, 2017.
Articles
- God, the Gospel, and Modern Science: Reflections on the Church’s Witness and Message in a Scientific Age, Joel P. Okamoto
- Odd Bedfellows? Churchly Employment of Science and Technology, Timothy P. Dost
- Intelligent Computers in a Christian Worldview, Gary Locklair
- Features of Human Anatomy: Marshall McLuhan on Technology in the Global Village, Michael Knippa
- Music Technology, Worship, and Missions, John P. Juedes
- Privilege, Tragedy, Doubt, Science, and Faith—a Personal Story, John W. Kenney, III
- Where Faith and Science Meet: An Opportunity for Cross-Cultural Outreach, Gillian M. Bond
- Science vs. Religion or Religion vs. Religion?, David O. Berger
Encountering Mission
- Pastor, what about . . . ?, John F. Perling
Book Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
God, the Gospel, and Modern Science: Reflections on the Church’s Witness and Message in a Scientific Age - Joel P. Okamoto
Abstract: Science is certainly important to the contemporary world, not least because it is indispensable to economics, health care, transportation, and communications. But it matters also for Christians because it is often taken as a natural philosophy with a definite ontology (account of what there is) and epistemology (account of knowing and knowledge). This natural philosophy is not only highly successful and influential, but also challenging to Christian faith and life. This article traces out the basic features of science as a type of natural philosophy, and suggests how it matters for faithful Christian witness.
Odd Bedfellows? Churchly Employment of Science and Technology - Timothy P. Dost
Abstract: Although there are exceptions, the church has generally used both science and advances in technology seamlessly to spread the Gospel and promote the Word of God more generally. This article explains this through several examples: the use of technology in spreading information through visual art and architecture, and eventually printing; the use of science to affect the world view and argue for who was right, given the evidence from the creation, particularly in the structure of the solar system; the use of science to prove that there was logic and order to the creation, supported by a mathematical foundation. In addition, the article briefly touches on other topics such as education, healthcare, and other areas the church has used to carry out its work and foster its message, that also support science and technology.
Intelligent Computers in a Christian Worldview - Gary Locklair
Abstract: Thinking Machines! The inflection given when speaking these two simple words can invoke fear, excitement, concern, wonder, skepticism, or hope. This article explores the question of intelligent computers from a Christian worldview perspective. Both the origin and purpose of artificial intelligence are reviewed with an emphasis on how the field should be viewed and shaped within a Christian perspective. Answers to two fundamental AI questions will be presented: Can/will computers be intelligent, and can/will computers be equivalent to human beings?
Features of Human Anatomy: Marshall McLuhan on Technology in the Global Village - Michael Knippa
Abstract: Technology is reshaping our individual human experience and wider society on a near daily basis. An interesting, and useful, source through which we can examine these changes is Marshall McLuhan. In particular, his famous phrases “The Medium is the Message” and “The Global Village” can illuminate both our inseparability from technology alongside the deep extent to which various technologies shape us and our world far more than we often realize. The gift of this point of view is a deeper awareness of pervasiveness and ongoing influence of technology, which raises many dangers, challenges, and opportunities for the Church.
Music Technology, Worship, and Missions - John P. Juedes
Abstract:Church leaders debate about the use of music in churches and missions. This is often framed in terms of theology and practice. Actually, music technology, not theology, both causes and provides answers to the debate. Music technology, that is the kinds of instruments and how they are used, is constantly changing and strongly affects music used in the church. The different types of music technology used in various cultures and the trend toward globalization of music present special challenges for missions. Understanding how music technology works and changes provides a basis for answering questions, such as, “What music is ‘sacred’ or ‘secular’ now? What will be in twenty years? What music is too secular for church use? Are refined hymns better than simple choruses? How is music influenced by, and used to spur open air evangelism? How has recent music technology expanded worship options and weakened denominational control? What valid and competing values have, and always will, drive conflict over church music?”
Privilege, Tragedy, Doubt, Science, and Faith—a Personal Story - John W. Kenney, III
Abstract: This is a personal autobiographical essay by a Lutheran college professor who is also a practicing research scientist, but who is neither theologian, nor philosopher, nor pastor. If you are looking for rigorous, sophisticated, and compelling arguments regarding the interface between the Christian faith and science, the existence and character of God, the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and the veracity of Christ’s claim to be Lord and Savior, let me assure you that these arguments do indeed exist and are well worth reading and pondering, but this is not the place to find them. What I’ve written is intended to be a personal account of my encounters with and explorations of the faith-science interface over the years set against the unfolding backdrop of my life.
Where Faith and Science Meet: An Opportunity for Cross-Cultural Outreach - Gillian M. Bond
Abstract: How should we as Christians respond to science? How should we interact with scientists and others whose worldviews are shaped or impacted by science? These are important questions if we are to equip Christians to nurture the faith of other believers and to share the faith with unbelievers. All too often, however, responses within Christendom range from shifts away from sound theology, to attempts to change science, to fear and/or hostility. However well-meaning, such approaches are detrimental and are based on fundamental misunderstandings of science. A clearer understanding of science is necessary for a faithful alternative based on cross-cultural communication.
Science vs. Religion or Religion vs. Religion? - David O. Berger
Abstract: Metaphysical assumptions underlying science vary through time and by culture. Perceived conflicts between “modern” science and Scripture are most likely to involve theories of origins of life and the universe. Basic to the issues at hand is understanding that certain underlying assumptions and philosophies, such as uniformitarianism and materialism, are not science but belief systems. Christians do well to draw attention to the ever-changing paradigms of origins, contrast them with the unchanging Word found in Scripture, and let the Spirit do the “heavy lifting” of creating faith.
Pastor, what about . . . ? - John F. Perling
Abstract: People in conversation about the promises of God in Jesus Christ wonder whether these promises can be reconciled with commonly accepted scientific natural laws. Their faith leader seems an obvious resource from whom they feel they ought to be able to get integrated answers to questions which overlap science and faith. Pastors, however, are amateurs relative to science. Apologetic approaches among Christian faith leaders are complicated by various approaches the Word of God as well as their facility with scientific approaches to knowledge. Current apologetic resources do not attempt an integrated approach to knowledge. Such approaches prose mission challenges today. The article presents one experience as a case study attempting to retain a lively conversation with a family struggling between life in the church and holding a scientific worldview.
Articles
- An Examination of Strategic Mission Plans Before and After 2010, Richard Gahl
- International Partnerships: A Reflective Assessment, Paul Mueller
- Keeping Our Balance in Our Own Context: Keeping the Cross in Cross-cultural and Taking the Con Out of Contextualization, Andrew Bartelt
- Celebrating the Ministry of Licensed Lay Deacons: A Theological Review of the Task Force Report on 2013 LCMS Convention Resolution 4-06a, Michael T. Von Behren
- “Here Is the Church, Here Are the People . . .”: Ecclesiology Is the Servant of Soteriology, Robert Scudieri
- Faithful Witness in Wounded Cities: Congregations and Race in America, Theodore J. Hopkins and Mark A. Koschmann
- Martyria and Mission: The Witness of Creative Disruption, John Nunes
- Confessing the “Real Present Jesus”: the Power to Overcome Cultural Barriers with the Good News of the Gospel, Gregory P. Seltz
- Signs of Transformation: Communicating the Gospel in an Age of Nones and Dones, Scott Yakimow
- The Biblical Nature of Mission: God’s Mission in Action, Eugene Bunkowske
Encountering Mission
- Scattering for Gathering, Victor Raj
Book Reviews
Sermon
- I Will Build My Church, William Utech
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
God, the Gospel, and Modern Science: Reflections on the Church’s Witness and Message in a Scientific Age - Joel P. Okamoto
Abstract: Science is certainly important to the contemporary world, not least because it is indispensable to economics, health care, transportation, and communications. But it matters also for Christians because it is often taken as a natural philosophy with a definite ontology (account of what there is) and epistemology (account of knowing and knowledge). This natural philosophy is not only highly successful and influential, but also challenging to Christian faith and life. This article traces out the basic features of science as a type of natural philosophy, and suggests how it matters for faithful Christian witness.
Odd Bedfellows? Churchly Employment of Science and Technology - Timothy P. Dost
Abstract: Although there are exceptions, the church has generally used both science and advances in technology seamlessly to spread the Gospel and promote the Word of God more generally. This article explains this through several examples: the use of technology in spreading information through visual art and architecture, and eventually printing; the use of science to affect the world view and argue for who was right, given the evidence from the creation, particularly in the structure of the solar system; the use of science to prove that there was logic and order to the creation, supported by a mathematical foundation. In addition, the article briefly touches on other topics such as education, healthcare, and other areas the church has used to carry out its work and foster its message, that also support science and technology.
Intelligent Computers in a Christian Worldview - Gary Locklair
Abstract: Thinking Machines! The inflection given when speaking these two simple words can invoke fear, excitement, concern, wonder, skepticism, or hope. This article explores the question of intelligent computers from a Christian worldview perspective. Both the origin and purpose of artificial intelligence are reviewed with an emphasis on how the field should be viewed and shaped within a Christian perspective. Answers to two fundamental AI questions will be presented: Can/will computers be intelligent, and can/will computers be equivalent to human beings?
Features of Human Anatomy: Marshall McLuhan on Technology in the Global Village - Michael Knippa
Abstract: Technology is reshaping our individual human experience and wider society on a near daily basis. An interesting, and useful, source through which we can examine these changes is Marshall McLuhan. In particular, his famous phrases “The Medium is the Message” and “The Global Village” can illuminate both our inseparability from technology alongside the deep extent to which various technologies shape us and our world far more than we often realize. The gift of this point of view is a deeper awareness of pervasiveness and ongoing influence of technology, which raises many dangers, challenges, and opportunities for the Church.
Music Technology, Worship, and Missions - John P. Juedes
Abstract:Church leaders debate about the use of music in churches and missions. This is often framed in terms of theology and practice. Actually, music technology, not theology, both causes and provides answers to the debate. Music technology, that is the kinds of instruments and how they are used, is constantly changing and strongly affects music used in the church. The different types of music technology used in various cultures and the trend toward globalization of music present special challenges for missions. Understanding how music technology works and changes provides a basis for answering questions, such as, “What music is ‘sacred’ or ‘secular’ now? What will be in twenty years? What music is too secular for church use? Are refined hymns better than simple choruses? How is music influenced by, and used to spur open air evangelism? How has recent music technology expanded worship options and weakened denominational control? What valid and competing values have, and always will, drive conflict over church music?”
Privilege, Tragedy, Doubt, Science, and Faith—a Personal Story - John W. Kenney, III
Abstract: This is a personal autobiographical essay by a Lutheran college professor who is also a practicing research scientist, but who is neither theologian, nor philosopher, nor pastor. If you are looking for rigorous, sophisticated, and compelling arguments regarding the interface between the Christian faith and science, the existence and character of God, the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and the veracity of Christ’s claim to be Lord and Savior, let me assure you that these arguments do indeed exist and are well worth reading and pondering, but this is not the place to find them. What I’ve written is intended to be a personal account of my encounters with and explorations of the faith-science interface over the years set against the unfolding backdrop of my life.
Where Faith and Science Meet: An Opportunity for Cross-Cultural Outreach - Gillian M. Bond
Abstract: How should we as Christians respond to science? How should we interact with scientists and others whose worldviews are shaped or impacted by science? These are important questions if we are to equip Christians to nurture the faith of other believers and to share the faith with unbelievers. All too often, however, responses within Christendom range from shifts away from sound theology, to attempts to change science, to fear and/or hostility. However well-meaning, such approaches are detrimental and are based on fundamental misunderstandings of science. A clearer understanding of science is necessary for a faithful alternative based on cross-cultural communication.
Science vs. Religion or Religion vs. Religion? - David O. Berger
Abstract: Metaphysical assumptions underlying science vary through time and by culture. Perceived conflicts between “modern” science and Scripture are most likely to involve theories of origins of life and the universe. Basic to the issues at hand is understanding that certain underlying assumptions and philosophies, such as uniformitarianism and materialism, are not science but belief systems. Christians do well to draw attention to the ever-changing paradigms of origins, contrast them with the unchanging Word found in Scripture, and let the Spirit do the “heavy lifting” of creating faith.
Pastor, what about . . . ? - John F. Perling
Abstract: People in conversation about the promises of God in Jesus Christ wonder whether these promises can be reconciled with commonly accepted scientific natural laws. Their faith leader seems an obvious resource from whom they feel they ought to be able to get integrated answers to questions which overlap science and faith. Pastors, however, are amateurs relative to science. Apologetic approaches among Christian faith leaders are complicated by various approaches the Word of God as well as their facility with scientific approaches to knowledge. Current apologetic resources do not attempt an integrated approach to knowledge. Such approaches prose mission challenges today. The article presents one experience as a case study attempting to retain a lively conversation with a family struggling between life in the church and holding a scientific worldview.
Articles
- Messengers of the Message: Preparing Tomorrow’s Pastors, Dale A. Meyer
- One Pastor’s Efforts to Nurture: A Congregation of Priests, Gerhard C. Michael, Jr.
- Missio Trinitatis: Averting the Trifurcation of Witness, Service, and Life Together, John Nunes
- God’s Plan, My Mission, Gerald Perschbacher
- The Word, the Baptized, and the Mission of God, Robert Newton
- Vocation and Mission: The Role of the Laity in the Mission of Christ, Dean Nadasdy
- Faithful and Missional from the Beginning: One Hundred Years of LCMS Mission, Paul Heerboth
- The New Religious Context in the North Atlantic World: God’s Mission in a Secular Age, Chad Lakies
- Category Error, Common Sense, and the Office of the Public Ministry in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Dust Kunkel
- Rehabilitating the Doctrine of the Call: Building Strength and Agility for Mission, Michael T. Von Behren
- Useless and Bankrupt: Confession and Mission in Light of the Symbols, Matthew Borrasso
- How Lutherans Have Done Mission: A Historical Survey, Volker Stolle
- Vocation in Missiological Perspective, Douglas L. Rutt
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
Messengers of the Message: Preparing Tomorrow’s Pastors - Dale A. Meyer
Abstract: Perhaps your child or grandchild has stopped attending church. We all know people who have walked away from regular worship. For us it’s a worrisome trait in contemporary American culture, and there are many reasons why it’s happening. Among the reasons is one that concerns seminaries: the conduct of some pastors. Some messengers display pastoral demeanors and personal lives that do not reflect positively on the message of Jesus Christ.
More than ever before, seminaries need to form pastors who are continually growing in personal sanctification, men who take theological head knowledge down into their hearts, first and foremost because it is the message of their own salvation. Then, as a consequence, they go to congregations and communities as messengers of salvation, pastors who model the Christian life. Because these are changed times, Concordia Seminary is revising its curriculum. The message of the Gospel continues to be paramount, non-negotiable, but new curricular emphases will focus on the messenger of the message of Jesus Christ. One pastor who works with people who have disconnected from church says, “We are in a time when what you are saying is as important as how you are saying it. What you are saying needs to be genuine and authentic.” As Paul said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
One Pastor’s Efforts to Nurture: A Congregation of Priests - Gerhard C. Michael, Jr.
Abstract: The author describes his efforts in a small congregation in Dahlonega, Georgia to help it understand its role in God’s mission from the perspective of the priesthood of all believers. The priesthood is a corporate reality, but the way a congregation accomplishes its priestly service is through the individual members working together, with each doing his or her part. Paying close attention to the role of priests in the Old and New Testaments, the author helped the congregation to see that their role as the priesthood of all believers was to present God to the nations through their witness and service and the nations to God through their prayers. Consequently, this pastor sought to help his whole flock realize how their conduct is an integral part of their service. He taught the vital role intercessory prayer plays in God’s mission. He highlighted the critical role listening plays in knowing how to witness to people in their various situations. He emphasized how Scripture reveals the all-sufficiency of Christ, who meets the entire range of human needs. If the priesthood is to declare the wonderful deeds of God, the priests need to know the story of salvation. He showed how special occasions provide opportunities to connect a congregation with the workplace, marriage and family, and society for their witness, service, and prayers.
Missio Trinitatis: Averting the Trifurcation of Witness, Service, and Life Together - John Nunes
Abstract: The Trinitarian God calls the church to be in mission through redeemed relationships (koinonia) in which witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (martyria) enact works of service (diakonia). While professionalization and progress contribute many benefits to the Christian West, a negative consequence is the tendency toward operational separation of ministry functions.
God’s Plan, My Mission - Gerald Perschbacher
Abstract: This article unfolds the shaping of mission from a Lutheran/biblical perspective. The goal is to “reach” with the Gospel, through a motivated body of believers (the Church) which is heavily lay orientated. With the action of witnessing comes the practical application of mercy and the comprehension of grace. Examples of “doing mission” past and present, with special reference to the work of the Lutheran Laymen’s League (LLL) and Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM), are explored and elaborated as signposts on the trek of future outreach in an era of multicultural realization amid a shrinking world with a burgeoning population.
The Word, the Baptized, and the Mission of God - Robert Newton
Abstract: Many in the LCMS recognize that the United States is a vast “mission field” as exotic to our American churches as any mission field overseas. At the same time we primarily follow patterns of Gospel ministry developed in and for a highly churched society rather than the mission field. In order to proclaim the Gospel faithfully in our present American context we need to embrace God’s mission paradigm. That first requires that we understand the essential differences between the church dominated world (Western Christendom) and the non-churched dominated world (mission field). Secondly, we must consider God’s missionary paradigm as described the New Testament and amply demonstrated in present-day mission fields. Two questions guide this consideration: (1) “Are the dynamics of missionary outreach presented in the New Testament and regularly found on our foreign mission fields applicable for the missionary context of twenty-first-century America?” and (2) “If they are applicable, how do we employ them in our churches?”
Vocation and Mission: The Role of the Laity in the Mission of Christ - Dean Nadasdy
Abstract: Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, calls both clergy and laity to serve in the priesthood of all believers. Vocation, a crucial aspect of this priesthood, places us in specific and varied settings in His mission.
Faithful and Missional from the Beginning: One Hundred Years of LCMS Mission - Paul Heerboth
Abstract: The Saxon immigrants from Germany who first settled in Perry County, Missouri, were strongly motivated by the desire to live in a country where they could organize their lives around their commitment to the Lutheran church and its teachings. In that group of believers, however, there were pastors and people who recognized that the Lutheran Church had much to offer a world in need, and over time the church grew in its commitment to the missionary task.
The New Religious Context in the North Atlantic World: God’s Mission in a Secular Age - Chad Lakies
Abstract: In our modern, so-called “secular age,” religion in the North Atlantic world continues to flourish unabated, yet its shape and character seem undoubtedly to be changing. This essay aims to articulate the nature and character of our secular age in order to help the pastor, professional church worker, or missionary gain a better grasp of our contemporary religious milieu. The scope is not comprehensive, but it is broad enough to give the reflective practitioner some resources to help map and navigate our present moment, especially in terms of anticipating mission efforts, reflecting on faith formation in the lives of the youngest to the oldest, and attempting to give a helpful description about how we came to be the kinds of religious people we are in the North Atlantic.
Category Error, Common Sense, and the Office of the Public Ministry in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod - Dust Kunkel
Abstract: The report by Synod Task Force pursuant to Resolution 4-06A of the 2013 LCMS Convention on Licensed Lay Deacons is used as the starting point to explore assumptions and the application of The Office of the Public Ministry within the secular context of the twenty-first century. On the eve of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, with the Western church destabilized by vast cultural change, a founding community practice built on Scripture and congregation polity is offered as a qualitatively Lutheran way forward.
Rehabilitating the Doctrine of the Call: Building Strength and Agility for Mission - Michael T. Von Behren
Abstract: The great mission that Christ has given to His body, the Church, to proclaim the Gospel to all nations necessitates the strength and agility that only a fully developed understanding of the divine call publicly to preach His Word and administer His Sacraments can provide. Unfortunately aspects of that call have atrophied from disuse in some confessional Lutheran circles, thus hampering the ability to flex and reach as mission contexts require. As rehabilitation restores the body’s health by exercising underused muscles, a bit of rehabilitation of the doctrine of the call may be just what the Great Physician has in order.
Useless and Bankrupt: Confession and Mission in Light of the Symbols - Matthew Borrasso
Abstract: When misunderstood or misaligned, confession and mission are useless and bankrupt. Confession is useless, or without purpose, when it exists only for its own sake. Mission is bankrupt, or empty, when it fails to bring the content of the Gospel to the life of one in need of receiving it. This article seeks to learn from the Symbols the nature and purpose of confession and mission. Specifically, it seeks to understand and suggest how Lutheran confession shapes Lutheran mission, not just for those who first confessed, but for those who by God’s grace continue to live in accord with that same confession.
How Lutherans Have Done Mission: A Historical Survey - Volker Stolle
Abstract: “Mission is the one Church of God in motion,” wrote Wilhelm Löhe in his Three Books on the Church of 1848. Lutherans have recognized that on the basis of their theology they have an obligation to address the unbelieving world. Their mission efforts have always begun with prayer for missions and missionaries and in the field have included clear catechetical instruction, frequent use of Bible translation into vernacular languages, and an emphasis on holistic mission. The nearly five hundred years of Lutheran mission history demonstrate well how forces and ideas outside the church inevitably shape how mission is organized and done (or not), and how Lutheran people with mission vision, guided and led by the Spirit of God, have found a variety of ways to make a Lutheran contribution to the evangelization of the world.
Vocation in Missiological Perspective - Douglas L. Rutt
Abstract: For some, additional ministerial offices in the church would lead to more efficient and effective proclamation of the gospel to the unbelieving world. Yet God’s Word and history teach that it is in vocation, the calling of the common Christian, where the gospel is proclaimed in purity and power. Every believer receives a call to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pt 2:9). If Justification is the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae, vocation can be seen in a similar way, for it is a doctrine where all aspects of biblical teaching are brought to bear on the Christian’s life of good works and witness. In vocation God has given the church the commission and method for bringing light to the darkness of unbelief.
Editorials
- “Framing” the Age—Cautionary Observations, Marcus Kunz
- Is There Hope for Lutheran Education in the Inner City?, Marlene Lund
- An Open Letter to Lutheran Brothers and Sisters on Theological Education, Christopher M. Thomforde
- Why Lutheran Education in Africa?, Glenn Fluegge
- Educación para la Misión, Mark “Marcos” Kempff
Articles
- Missionary Use of the Gospel as Hidden Curriculum, Andrew R. Jones
- Destroying Education to Save It, Paul Hillmer
- The State of Adult Catechesis/Confirmation in the LCMS, Mark C. Larson
- The Written Word Enriching Minds and Souls: a Case Study of the Function of the Religious Literature Provided by The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LCHKS), Sam L. S. Yeung (楊力生)
- Teaching Cross-Cultural Evangelism, Jim Found
- Mission in Crisis, Kurtis Smith
- The LISA Curriculum: Theological Education in the Service of God’s Mission, Gerhard C. Michael, Jr.
- Education and Mission: Just. Do it., Jeanette Dart
- “Oh Worship the King” Understanding Culture and Semiotics in Christian Worship for Responsible Worship Design, Greg Klotz
- Location, Location, Location, Jeremy Pekari
- Mission-driven Strategic Planning in Lutheran Education, Tom Ries
- A Global Perspective on Education in Mission, Shirley Miske
Encountering Mission
- A Backpacking Semester in the Shadow of Global Missionaries, Adam Lee
- Education—An Invitation to Restricted Mission Fields, Karin L. Semler
- Rediscovering Disciple Making, Dale Critchley
- Setting a Vision for SEKOLAH PAPUA HARAPAN (Papua School of Hope), Robert W. Smith
- The Process of Creation and Development of the M.I.S.E. (Silesian)Evangelism Centre’s Work, Daniel Chlebek
- “Where Does Your Agape Stick?”, David Seabaugh
- No Half-Baked Pastors in East Africa, Shauen Trump
- Sending Isn’t Easy Seth Gehrke
- Education in Mission: Why It’s Important Matthew Scott
Book Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorials
“Framing” the Age—Cautionary Observations - Marcus Kunz
Organizing narratives by periods, types, and similar schemes has long been a staple of historical analysis. The reason for doing so is sound. History is more than the simple listing of events in an accurate chronology. Neither events nor the people who participate in them are disconnected accidents that appear in random sequence. Historical analysis seeks to illuminate the deeper connections that allow us to understand more clearly the time and place we inhabit and the people who are around us.
Is There Hope for Lutheran Education in the Inner City? - Marlene Lund
Introduction Lutherans have a long tradition of supporting education. Martin Luther’s letter “To the Councilmen of All Cities in Germany That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools” (1524) was written in response to the decline of church-run schools. Luther saw the reform movement as a way to affirm the responsibility of parents, the church, and the public authorities to ensure the education of all children. Luther said, “A city’s best and greatest welfare, safety, and strength consist rather in its having many able, learned, wise, honorable, and well-educated citizens.” Luther, Melanchthon, and other reformers paved the way in advocating for a strong classical education for all regardless of wealth or stature.
An Open Letter to Lutheran Brothers and Sisters on Theological Education - Christopher M. Thomforde
Salutation
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
What follows is an open letter on the subject of theological education. It is addressed to you, the men and women of the Church who have direct responsibility for theological education and to all those of us who wonder about its current effectiveness and future vitality.
Why Lutheran Education in Africa? - Glenn Fluegge
As an LCMS missionary and theological educator in Africa for some fourteen years, I was asked a few years back to give a presentation on the work to which God had called us. I diligently set about preparing the presentation but was immediately confronted with a rather heavy question: Why are we even involved in theological education in Africa? The question hit me rather unexpectedly. I am quite accustomed to talking about “what” we did in Africa. But this was different. This was a question of “why?” Is education for the Lutheran churches in Africa really that important?
Editorial en español
Educación para la Misión - Mark “Marcos” Kempff
No existió, ni existe, ni existirá otra persona como Jesucristo. Nadie puede vivir una vida perfecta y a la vez sobrellevar todas las penas y culpas que todos sufrimos en esta vida. Nadie, como Jesús, ha demostrado un amor incondicional. Nadie murió como él, dando su vida como precio para perdonar toda nuestra maldad. Nadie, ni con todos los avances de la ciencia, después de muerto, puede resucitar al tercer día, para vivir eternamente con un perfecto cuerpo humano.
Articles
Missionary Use of the Gospel as Hidden Curriculum - Andrew R. Jones
Abstract: Christ instructs His disciples to make disciples of all nations, but in today’s world some nations refuse missionary activity of any kind. Through anonymous interviews with missionaries in countries which do not openly welcome missionaries, Andrew R. Jones highlights the tension between following Christ’s commission and living within the legal parameters of such a government. This article compares such missionary activity to the educational concept of “hidden curriculum,” showcasing how missionaries in these contexts are able to share the Gospel despite the challenges and limits of their situations.
Destroying Education to Save It - Paul Hillmer
Abstract: The following article is slightly adapted from the 14th Annual Poehler Lecture on Faith and Learning, delivered by the author at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN, on March 3, 2015. It is a rumination on the increasing commoditization of higher education and its corresponding emphasis on job preparation. While reflecting on the possible implications of these trends, Hillmer also considers how commoditization has shaped American Christianity and promotes the sustained significance of the liberal arts.
The State of Adult Catechesis/Confirmation in the LCMS - Mark C. Larson
Abstract: In the late 1980s, the LCMS confirmed around thirty thousand adults per year in its six thousand congregations. Now the average is between two or three adult confirmations per congregation per year, about half of the level of the 1980s and as recently as fifteen years ago. This article explores the nature of and need for adult catechesis, examines obstacles and opportunities inherent in LCMS culture and U.S. society in general, and calls for a renewal of this vital ministry in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
The Written Word Enriching Minds and Souls: a Case Study of the Function of the Religious Literature Provided by The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LCHKS) - Sam L. S. Yeung (楊力生)
Abstract: This essay examines the function of the Literature Department as a provider of sound Lutheran literature on behalf of The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod. The paper notes the relevance of the written and proclaimed Word in Lutheran theology and the function of the written Word as God’s means of enriching the human mind and soul. The paper then describes the service of the Literature Department of the LCHKS to its congregations and schools as well as to the Chinese audience worldwide, including a view of the historical origins of the department.
Teaching Cross-Cultural Evangelism - Jim Found
Abstract: Evangelism is conducted within human cultures and is supported by knowledge and understanding of cultural contexts. To that end, this article presents frameworks for lifelong learning about cultures and religions, provides basic premises for learning to announce the salvation message in the context of a given culture, and illustrates the importance of familiarity with the culture for the nurture and support of new Christians.
Mission in Crisis - Kurtis Smith
Abstract: In recognition of the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this article addresses the missiological aspects of critical incidents (large and small disasters) and presents best practices for these fertile mission fields that are often “ripe for harvest.” Small crises can change individual lives. Massive disasters can transform entire institutional systems, economics, language, and even the nature of mission work. Through trauma and shared travail, people learn new patterns for life. This article proposes that (a) Christians in mission can respond to crises and help turn such events into “transformissional” moments, (b) the missio Dei might be helpfully defined as “a heavenly disaster response to the crisis of a broken world,” and that (c) the church’s practices in mission and ministry reflect the emergency of God’s passionate restoration of paradise in Christ’s gutsy response.
The LISA Curriculum: Theological Education in the Service of God’s Mission - Gerhard C. Michael, Jr.
Abstract: The article presents an overview of the curriculum which the Luther Institute—Southeast Asia has developed in response to the request of churches there. Presented first are the principles which have guided its development as a theological education program in the service of God’s mission. After the curriculum overview, challenges ahead are suggested. As a “work in progress,” the LISA Board invites your response and constructive suggestions so that it might continue to revise and improve its curriculum for a strengthened program of missionary service as it moves into the future.
Education and Mission: Just. Do it. - Jeanette Dart
Abstract: Although similar to the well-known Nike slogan, Just. Do it. is an abbreviation for Justified. Do it. As in, “now that you are justified, do the life of sanctification.” Ideas from early childhood education, foreign language learning, and coaching identify action and obedience as helpful for education in our faith, for living our faith, and for our mission to share Christ with our world.
“Oh, Worship the King” Understanding Culture and Semiotics in Christian Worship - Greg Klotz
Abstract: God has hard-wired us with unique qualities and behaviors that find their ultimate fulfillment only when He is at the center of worship. Worship is a ritualistic performed expression that serves to foreshadow our ultimate communion with God. It is a structured encounter centered on a dialogue between God and man. Three analytical frameworks from anthropology help to focus on the uniqueness of the human in ritual. Applying these to the worship setting provides valuable insights to church workers for discerning the choice of semiotically significant socio-cultural media and aesthetics that contextualize God’s message effectively—and avoiding possible syncretistic pitfalls in the worship design—allowing church members to affectively express their identity as God’s people.
Location, Location, Location - Jeremy Pekari
Abstract: Education in the Lutheran church primarily takes place in a classroom. Unfortunately, learning doesn’t always transfer from there into the everyday life of disciples on the mission field. Educators must move beyond the classroom walls to design intentional learning experiences that more closely relate to the real life contexts in which the content will be used. This article uses prayer as an example of an important aspect of the life of a disciple that is limited by teaching about in a classroom, but can be enhanced through intentionally designed experiences across the life of a congregation. Readers are introduced to a simple three-part design structure to enable them to develop learning experiences in a variety of learning arenas.
Mission-driven Strategic Planning in Lutheran Education - Tom Ries
Abstract: Mission-driven strategic planning originated in the military, migrated to for-profit businesses, and has been used increasingly in non-profit organizations for over three decades. In his doctoral research, the author studied planning at 38 Lutheran colleges and universities in the United States and found that all have conducted some kind of centrally-coordinated strategic planning process within the past ten years, and that they will continue to conduct this kind of planning in the future. This article discusses the purpose and function of strategic planning in a Lutheran education context, and specifically the role of planning in developing and allocating financial resources to support mission.
A Global Perspective on Education in Mission - Shirley Miske
Abstract: The article provides a global overview of education in mission, and it proposes frameworks for dialogue on education in mission in the twenty-first century grounded in the field of Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE). The author calls for a global mapping of Lutheran education in mission and explores its potential uses. She also offers a theoretical framework of critical components or “commonplaces” of educational thinking to stimulate global, intercultural dialogue on education, especially schooling, in mission.
Encountering Mission
A Backpacking Semester in the Shadow of Global Missionaries - Adam Lee
Statistics shape an artful attempt to introduce the story of Concordia University Irvine’s Around-the-World Semester: two professors, twenty-eight students, twenty weeks, ten countries, five continents, three thousand pages of reading, one hundred pages of writing, and just one backpack. These make great stats for physically bringing admissions tours to an intrigued halt on campus or for impressing marketing consultants hired to identify university distinctives. These numbers also tell the story of God’s transformative power in the lives of students willing to be physically, intellectually, and spiritually challenged for one semester of their college lives.
Rediscovering Disciple Making - Dale Critchley
In my freshman year of college, God pointed me toward the pastoral ministry. I argued with Him. My roommate and most of my friends weren’t Christians. They knew what I believed, we respected one another, and we had lots of meaningful faith conversations as a result. Most of them had an aversion to all Christians except me. Were I to enter the pastoral ministry, I would spend most of my life surrounded by Christians and have little time for the lost. Why would God pull me out of the mission field for the rest of my life? But learning from Jonah, I knew that I could either enroll in seminary or avoid large bodies of water for the rest of my life. Four years later, I resided in St. Louis.
Setting a Vision for SEKOLAH PAPUA HARAPAN (Papua School of Hope) - Robert W. Smith
Why would a Christian teacher teach overseas? Where is the greatest possibility to make an impact sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with students who have never heard of it or only have a limited understanding? Often, families in other countries enroll their children in Christian schools. They choose these schools because they generally offer the best education in the area, and the curriculum is delivered in English. God has unlocked the doors to a unique opportunity for Christian teachers and administrators in newly-founded Christian schools. The location is Papua, Indonesia, the eastern-most province of Indonesia in the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly called Irian Jaya.
The Process of Creation and Development of the M.I.S.E. (Silesian) Evangelism Centre’s Work - Daniel Chlebek
The M.I.S.E. Project originated in 2005 in response to God’s call to establish groups of believers praying for one another, growing spiritually together, and sharing their faith with people around them in places without any Christian fellowships. The M.I.S.E. Project began activities in 2006 among young people as a mission project of the youth ministry department in the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession. It helped to make disciples of Jesus Christ of many young people in the congregations, based on 2 Tim 2:2: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
“Where Does Your Agape Stick?” - David Seabaugh
A couple years ago I was invited to my children’s Lutheran school to conduct chapel. I had done this before, and it was always a delightful time. However, this particular chapel would change my life. The chapel services involved a series on the Ten Commandments, and I had been asked to speak on the Sixth Commandment, “Do not commit adultery.” No problem. I teach this stuff in confirmation. I’ll just talk “in code” to the seventh and eighth graders and conveniently avoid the challenges of speaking directly about adultery to the younger children. A day or so before the service, I was informed that the seventh and eighth graders were away that day, leaving the preschool through sixth grade for my adultery talk. Lovely! There went my avoidance strategy. Oh, and talk about a delicate situation! Not only did I have to speak to children of multiple developmental stages about a really sensitive issue, but I knew for a fact that there were many children in the room with challenging home situations which likely involved adultery of one form or another.
No Half-Baked Pastors in East Africa - Shauen Trump
“We don’t want half-baked pastors,” says General Secretary Fred Magezi of the Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU), as he bristles at the idea of anyone less than a seminary-trained ordained clergyman administering the sacraments. According to Magezi, it is the Christians themselves in Uganda’s Lutheran congregations who want men trained “through the seminary, the Lutheran culture.” The LCU’s President Charles Bameka explains:
It is very clear and important that every congregation at least has a trained and ordained pastor. I know that is a far-fetched desire because in Uganda the congregations are growing faster than we can train men. But the ultimate desire is that every congregation is served and manned by a trained and ordained minister.
While the fervent desire to be served by a pastor is hindered by a shortage of ordained men in most countries in East Africa in the midst of significant growth in the church, the continent also celebrates increased capacity and capabilities of the region’s seminaries.
Sending Isn’t Easy - Seth Gehrke
“Next to the Word of God, the art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” – Martin Luther
Music.
It builds community, friendships, teamwork and support.
It teaches us how to express an emotion without words.
It provides us an avenue for service.
It inspires and enlivens our faith.
Education in Mission: Why It’s Important - Matthew Scott
Why is education in mission important? What does education look like on the mission field? How is education inspiring more missions? I hope to share a little bit about these topics by relating to you my experiences as one who has been educated on the mission field and as one hoping to go back as a teacher in the future.
Articles
- Truly Confessional: Responding to the Collapse of Christendom, Robert Newton
- Spirituality and Religion: The Shift From East to West and Beyond, Armand J. Boehme
- My Pilgrimage in Spiritism, Herbert Hoefer
- Spiritism in Papua New Guinea: The Challenges It Sets Before Western Christians, John Eggert
- Powers and Principalities/Signs and Wonders, Kent R. Hunter
- Partnering in Ministry with Amerindians, John J. Babbitts, Jr.
- Spirits and Spiritism among the LDS, Phillip L. Brandt
- HMong Spiritism, Kou Seying
- Halloween: A Fun Neighborhood Event or Participation in the World of Spirits?, Miriam Carter & Jeanette Dart
- Big Challenges for Small-Town Congregations, R. Lee Hagan
- Theology of Holy Spirit: Experiences of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Mekane Yesus Hailu, Yohannes Bulaka
- From Everyday Language to a Culturally-Embedded Metaphor: Identifying a Tool for Teaching about the Christian Life in Brazil, Samuel Fuhrmann
- Great Things through Little Preachers, Jeffrey A. Oschwald
- Story from Saudi Arabia, Farrukh Khan
- “Religious but not Spiritual?” Mid-Winter Convocation, Armand J. Boehme
- Learning about Home from The Hobbit, Andrew R. Jones
Book Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorials
Conflicting Missiologies - Victor Raj
English Protestant Missionary James Hudson Taylor (1832–1905) is credited with the coining of the popular catchphrase, “The Great Commission,” although it is widely acknowledged that the actual origin of the term among Christians predates Taylor. Heeding the Lord’s directive (Mt 28:18¬–20; Acts 1:8), the people of God had been engaging God’s mission long before mission societies were constituted and the Church became institutionalized in its historic and contemporary forms.
Articles
Truly Confessional: Responding to the Collapse of Christendom - Robert Newton
Abstract: Postmodernism has pushed many Christian churches in America to a state of cultural, theological, and ecclesiastical crisis, marked by profound questions of identity. “What’s our purpose as Christ’s church in America?” “How do we remain faithful to Christ and His Word?” Its confessional moorings enable Lutheran churches to avoid two pitfalls prevalent among other Christian churches: Compromise of biblical truth and/or shallow discipleship. In their desire to remain faithful, however, Lutherans are tempted to circle their confessional wagons in defense of the Gospel, thereby diminishing their missionary vocation in the world. To remain truly confessional Lutherans must keep first and foremost their evangelical identity and purpose.
Spirituality and Religion: The Shift From East to West and Beyond - Armand J. Boehme
Abstract:The spiritual but not religious phenomena is receiving increasing attention. People are becoming more individually religious, some are spiritual and religious, and some describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. Historical trends toward a more individualistic religion and spirituality are investigated. Various parameters of the religious/spiritual divide are examined. An overview of the broad range of modern spirituality is given. The conclusion sets forth avenues the church might pursue to address the trend to a more individualistic view of religion and spirituality and the need for further study of these trends.i
My Pilgrimage in Spiritism - Herbert Hoefer
Abstract:Herbert Hoefer shares with us his experiences and reflections concerning Spiritism. He draws both on experiences from his service in India and also from here in the States. He shares the challenges he has wrestled with as his Western worldview and theology have been challenged by these experiences.
My organizing principle in this article is chronological, basically my pilgrimage of views and experiences on the topic of Spiritism. My thought is that the readers might possibly identify themselves with me somewhere in this account.
Spiritism in Papua New Guinea: The Challenges It Sets Before Western Christians - John Eggert
Abstract:Christians acknowledge the realities of the spiritual world. However, spiritual activity among the people of Papua New Guinea, where animistic traditions and Christianity exist side by side, provide interesting challenges to Western Christian practices. This article leads one to think about Paul’s words in Ephesians 6—“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” How is our world influenced by spiritual ways, not only with our Western scientific understanding of how the world works?
Powers and Principalities/Signs and Wonders - Kent R. Hunter
Abstract:The power of God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, though our culture, training, and worldviews challenge us to believe this. Comfort levels are stretched when we start to personally experience the power that is in the name of Jesus Christ. The supernatural elements of our faith (spiritual gifts, signs, and wonders) are still active and at work today. Many Christians in North America may be surprised to learn of the increasing numbers of deliverances and healing taking place in churches and ministries across the country. There is power in the name of Jesus, and revival is upon us.
Partnering in Ministry with Amerindians - John J. Babbitts, Jr.
Abstract:Outreach to the Amerindian people requires that we overcome both internal and external challenges. These challenges touch upon current conditions, matters of culture, heritage, and old wounds. It also requires that we look beyond our own contributions to be made so that our Amerindian brothers and sisters in Christ can take their rightful place in the work of God’s kingdom. This article will address what partnership should look like and the necessity of genuine reconciliation.
Spirits and Spiritism among the LDS - Phillip L. Brandt
Abstract: Despite being the product of post-Enlightenment culture and rooted in the industrialized West, the LDS tradition has retained significant space within its piety for practices and sensibilities which admit a spiritual realm which has a direct impact upon the person. The author, through personal reflection and experiences, seeks to introduce the reader to LDS approaches to that spirit realm and the consequences of those approaches. The article focuses primarily on experiences with LDS individuals with whom he came into contact during a decade of pastoral service in Utah and subsequently as a professor of Theology at Concordia University, Portland, Oregon.
HMong Spiritism - Kou Seying
Abstract: At the heart of any Spiritism is suffering—a suffering without hope. Articles written about the HMong religious practices rarely touch on this aspect of life. This article exposes the central difficult issues, presents the historical problems of remedies, and finally offers a true theology of the cross approach to deal with this devastating disguise of the devil, namely HMong Spiritism.
Halloween: A Fun Neighborhood Event or Participation in the World of Spirits? - Miriam Carter & Jeanette Dart
Abstract:Halloween is a very popular holiday in the United States. This article reviews its history and explores connections to spirits, witches, fear, and ongoing practices. The article seeks to clarify ways in which Christians can respond to this holiday and even be in mission.
Big Challenges for Small-Town Congregations - R. Lee Hagan
Abstract: There are significant challenges facing rural communities and congregations today. However, there has been little consideration of the great mission opportunities that exist in rural and small-town settings. This article will identify some of the challenges that exist, but also point out the opportunities for community engagement by our congregations. Rather than simply ignoring our rural congregations or writing them off altogether, this article seeks to affirm the congregations by reminding them of the gifts with which God has blessed them and encourage them in God’s mission to their particular communities.
Theology of Holy Spirit: Experiences of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus - Hailu Yohannes Bulaka
Abstract:The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) is the largest Lutheran church in Africa which proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ and fast growing Church. The Church is not only serving for spiritual needs of a person but also physical needs. The motto of church service is “serving the whole person” better known as Wholistic Ministry. The church has been called by God to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior of all humankind. The church believes and professes that the Bible both Old and New Testaments are the Holy Word of God and the only guiding source of her life and ministry. My article is to show the role in its evangelistic growth and its challenges as the church grows very fast. The article meant to give sound and biblical understanding of “Theology of Holy Spirit” and experience of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. I hope this article blesses many believers around the globe. May God bless those who read this article.
From Everyday Language to a Culturally-Embedded Metaphor: Identifying a Tool for Teaching about the Christian Life in Brazil - Samuel Fuhrmann
Abstract: By noticing how people speak of life in everyday language, one can better understand their cultures. Such an understanding can help one think about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be preached and lived out in particular contexts. This paper is an attempt toward that end. In what follows, then, we apply metaphor theory to Brazilian culture and move on to a theological reflection in order to offer a tool to teach about the Christian life in Brazilian context. In such an attempt, we pay special attention to the important distinction between salvation and Christian life narratives, in order that the biblical teaching about the Christian life may be fostered and the believer comforted in times of distress.
Great Things through Little Preachers - Jeffrey A. Oschwald
Abstract: Martin Luther’s high esteem for the pastoral office is well known, well documented, and well loved. Although Luther did not write extensively on the Acts of the Apostles, he does return again and again in a variety of contexts to the apparent contradiction of the “little preachers”: Stephen, Philip, and Apollos. Luther’s discussions of the way God used these men forces us to ask important questions about our understanding of the task laid upon the church today and the situation(s) of the church around the world. Luther’s words also invite us to celebrate the great things God continues to do through His “little preachers.”
Editorials
Articles
- Fresh Wineskins for Christ’s Mission, Robert Newton
- The Expanding Edge of Mission: Missouri’s (uneasy) Relationshipwith Mission Societies, James Tino
- Mission of Christ Network, Kermit W. (Butch) Almstedt
- Vulnerability in Mission, Rich Carter
- Building Bridges: Toward Constructing a Christian Foundation for Inter-Religious Relationships in the Shift from Religious Privilege to Spiritual Plurality, Ken Chitwood
- Reaching Out to the Non-Baptized Believers: Missiological Implications from a Lutheran Perspective, Sam Thompson
- Contextualizing the Faith in Amerindian Culture, John Babbitts
- The Korean Lutherans’ Perspective of Lutheranism and Lutheran Identity, Jin-Seop Eom
- LCMS Missionaries and an Alien Indian Culture: A Gospel-Culture Engagement at the Margins of Indian Society, Stanish Stanley
- HMong Mission in LCMS, Kou Seying
- Transformational Mission Work—A Definition, Paul Mueller
Book Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorials
Modalities and Sodalities - Allan Buckman
Though unfamiliar to most Christians, even those within the mission community, these church/mission structures have been around a long time. Credit for the rediscovery of these helpful and dynamic concepts goes to Dr. Ralph Winter, who first drew attention to these realities in an address given to the All-Asia Mission consultation in Seoul, Korea in August 1973. A full blown treatment later appeared in Perspectives in the World Christian Movement, under the title, “The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mission.”
Observations of a District President Emeritus - by Jon Diefenthaler
“Thank God! At last we have a pastor! He will perform the marriage of our daughter, baptize our grandchildren, and be on our doorstep whenever we need him!” Such words are commonly heard when a pastor or seminary graduate accepts the call to one of our congregations. They also are sentiments that seem to me to be reinforced by the wording and spirit of the rites of Ordination and Installation that we tend to use in our churches, almost without exception.
Articles
Fresh Wineskins for Christ’s Mission - Robert Newton
Abstract: Congregations and leaders in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have been called into a new era of ministry, a missionary era. As a church rooted deeply in Northern Europe it enjoyed, until recently, the favor of America’s dominant “White, Anglo - Saxon, Protestant” culture and structured its ministries accordingly. Those days are gone, that favor has waned, and many Christians find themselves underequipped and inadequately structured to proclaim the Gospel in their once churched America, now turned mission field. . .
The Expanding Edge of Mission: Missouri’s (uneasy) Relationship with Mission Societies - James Tino
Abstract: Ralph Winter contends that there are two structures at work in the church, the sodality and the modality, and that both are necessary. Utilizing that framework, the development of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is briefly examined, with special emphasis on the development of foreign missions. Today, LCMS sodalities play a vital role in the expansion of foreign mission. Although the LCMS prefers to operate from the modal perspective, her history demonstrates that Winter was correct: both sodal and modal structures are necessary.
Mission of Christ Network (A “New Kid on the Block”) It’s All about Intentional Gospel Proclamation! - Kermit W. (Butch) Almstedt
Abstract: The following article provides the reader with a glimpse into an exciting new, laity led, mission society—called Mission of Christ Network (or MCN)—that has but a single, yet critically important, purpose that is about intentional Gospel proclamation, under a long-term strategy of involvement with connection to local Christian worshipping communities. . .
Vulnerability in Mission - Rich Carter
Abstract: This article explores personal vulnerability in eight facets of human and mission life: spiritual, intellectual, occupational, physical, financial, social-interpersonal, sexual, and emotional. Professional readings and a number of missionary stories illustrate vulnerability in these facets. Confidence for the exploration comes from Christ’s Gospel vulnerability for us.
Building Bridges: Toward Constructing a Christian Foundation for Inter-Religious Relationships in the Shift from Religious Privilege to Spiritual Plurality - Ken Chitwood
Abstract: Religious pluralism is a fact in an ever more globalized, individualized, and post-modern society. The reality of religious pluralism, and its attendant ideology of tolerance, presupposes a serious shift for the Christian Church from a position of privilege to one of marginality among many. It is necessary then that faithful, missional, Christians reconsider their foundational theology concerning other religions and worldviews and begin constructing a revitalized and benevolent approach to the “religious other.”
Reaching Out to the Non-Baptized Believers: Missiological Implications from a Lutheran Perspective - Sam Thompson
Abstract: It is estimated that there are millions of non-baptized believers in India. This essay, drawing insights from Luther’s understanding of sacraments, argues that sacraments as means of grace cannot be relegated to a secondary place. However, this zeal should also be matched by our efforts to take seriously the sociological and cultural struggles that these believers face because of their new faith. While challenging readers to explore theologically sound and missionally sensitive ways to reach out to the spiritual needs of these believers, this essay points out that the mission of the church should always be to go and serve people where they are.
Contextualizing the Faith in Amerindian Culture - John Babbitts
Abstract: Amerindian accounts of creation vary in their detail. Yet, a survey of the accounts reveals interesting similarities and possible opportunities to bridge between tribal traditions and biblical accounts. This article will survey the traditional stories of several Amerindian tribes in regard to creation accounts in order to identify insights and possible opportunities to communicate the Gospel using these accounts as a starting point.
The Korean Lutherans’ Perspective of Lutheranism and Lutheran Identity - Jin-Seop Eom
Abstract: This paper is a revision of the paper originally delivered at the Lutheran World Federation’s conference on Asian Lutheranism and Identity, Nov. 5–8, 2013, Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia. It gives an account of how Lutherans in Korea understand their Reformation heritage and think of their Lutheran identity in an environment surrounded by other branches of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism as well as traditional religions. In so doing, it deals with some of the characteristic Lutheran teachings which the young Lutheran church can re-appropriate and with which it can contribute to the Korean Protestantism.
LCMS Missionaries and an Alien Indian Culture: A Gospel-Culture Engagement at the Margins of Indian Society - Stanish Stanley
Abstract: Does the Gospel message have within it the inherent potential to engage and transform a culture that seems to be alien and at odds with its worldview? A look into the early twentieth century history of the evangelizing efforts of LCMS missionaries in South India provides a glimpse into how the missionaries as the ‘bearers of the Gospel” encountered a native culture at odds with the Biblical message and vision. . .
HMong Mission in LCMS - Kou Seying
Abstract: “HMong Mission in LCMS” was a paper written in 1998 for a course in the PhD in Missiology program. It is the first comprehensive analysis and well-documented studies of the first two decades of LCMS ministry among the HMong people in America. The paper captures both the ecclesiastical and theological developments of the initial decades. Concordia Historical Institute’s subcommittee for ministry to minority groups in the U.S. comments in a November 1998 letter requesting to archive it, “The paper is an original and it is a necessary piece to fit into the total picture of the LCMS World Mission today.”
Transformational Mission Work—A Definition - Paul Mueller
Abstract: Navigating collaborative relationships involved in effective and successful international church partnerships requires knowledge gained through study as well as experience learned through years of practice. This article attempts to define an appropriate approach to international partnerships and then identify some of the difficulties encountered as those partnerships are developed and maintained.
Editorials
Articles
- Response to “A Theological Statement for Mission in the 21st Century”, Robert Newton
- Evangelism in “an Age of Normal Nihilism”, Joel P. Okamoto
- Dreaming of Bithynia, Bob Scudieri
- Barriers to the Gospel: Approaching Contextualization from a Confessional Lutheran Perspective, Mike Rodewald
- Properly Dividing: Distinguishing the Variables of Culture from the Constants of Theology or It’s Not How You Look, It’s How You Think You Look, Jack M. Schultz
- Wilhelm Loehe and the Chippewa Outreach at Frankenmuth, James M. Kaiser
- “A Bishop’s House Church–Luther’s Thoughts”Some Mission Truths Regarding Missional Communities, James D. Buckman
- Why Jesus Is Not an Avatar: A Critique of the Indian Hindu and Christian Incarnation Idea of Jesus as ‘Avatar’ on the Basis of Nicene Affirmation for Future Missions, Subin Raj
- Holy Spirit, Church, and the Outsiders: A Brief Study of the Relation between Baptism and Holy Spirit in Acts 8:14–17, Alexandre Vieira
- Thrive Community Church: A Mission of the LCMS, John D. Roth
- A Church Planting Journey, Andy Audette
- Isaiah 42: The Mission of the Servant, Celiane Vieira
- The Book of Generations, Victor Raj
Mission Observers
- Outreach to Atheists, Herbert Hoefer
- Drunk in His Own Wine: Overcoming the Obstacles Necessary to Do Ethnic Ministry, Giacomo Cassese
Book Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorials
Faith Expressions Victor Raj
From the beginning, the Gospel of God has transformed the lives of people of humble beginnings and living on the edge, such as fishermen and tax collectors, as well as men and women of status and intelligence in high places, such as governors and businesswomen (Acts 12:7; 16:14). In Acts we read that the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of the early Jewish Christians to include in the faith community non-Jewish believers, imposing on them “no greater burden” (Acts 15:25). Acts goes on to illustrate how both Peter and Paul and their companion missionaries were instrumental in bringing the Gospel out from its initial command center in Jerusalem to Rome, the capital of the then-known world. Both history and tradition confirm that the Apostle Thomas reached India before the Apostle Paul set out on his third missionary journey into Europe. Tradition also informs us that the Apostle Thaddeus established the church in Armenia and Andrew was crucified in a peninsula of Greece. The first Christians in France were reported already by AD 80. Since apostolic times, Christians have been reaching out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christians in their neighborhoods and in faraway lands with intentionality, letting the Gospel light shine brightly in the lives of those who sat in the darkness of ignorance, doubt, and death.
Articles
Response to “A Theological Statement for Mission in the 21st Century” -Robert Newton
Abstract: In this article, Newton reviews “A Theological Statement for Mission in the 21st Century,” written by President Matthew Harrison at the request of the LCMS at its 2013 Synodical Convention. Newton affirms the Christ-centered foundation laid down by the “Statement” noting the solid Biblical and Confessional theology upon which sound Lutheran missiology must build. He raises the concern that the “Statement” seems informed more by certain issues of LCMS doctrine and practice than by theological and practical issues particular to the global missionary enterprise. That limits its value for charting the course for LCMS missions at home and abroad.
Evangelism in “an Age of Normal Nihilism” Joel P. Okamoto
Abstract: This article considers how Christians should understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its proclamation where “nihilism” is the normal condition. “Nihilism” means, as Nietzsche put it, that “the highest values devalue themselves; the aim is lacking; ‘why?’ has no answer.” Nihilism is a normal condition for many in North America (and elsewhere), and its effects are both subtle and profound for Christian identity, life, and witness. This article will focus on the effects for the third term—Christian witness.
Among the challenges confronting contemporary followers of Jesus Christ is the nihilism that has become the normal condition for life in Europe, North America, and other parts of the world. For Nietzsche in the late nineteenth century, “Nihilism [stood] at the door.”1 But in the twenty-first century, nihilism has come through the door and made itself at home. We live in “an age of normal nihilism.”2
Nihilism as a condition of life raises vital questions for Christians as they consider their lives today, including questions about the Gospel and evangelism.
Barriers to the Gospel: Approaching Contextualization from a Confessional Lutheran Perspective -Mike Rodewald
Abstract: The term contextualization has undergone a series of definitions based upon differing theological understandings of the Gospel in mission. This article explores a confessional Lutheran understanding of the Gospel message in Gospel proclamation and what this means for defining contextualization from a confessional Lutheran Christian perspective.
Properly Dividing: Distinguishing the Variables of Culture from the Constants of Theology or It’s Not How You Look, It’s How You Think You Look - Jack M. Schultz
Abstract: This article is an anthropological investigation of cultural forces at play within our Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and their impact on our institution. It is an examination of the complex entanglement between a theological understanding and a cultural context. The article includes observations about our current demographic profile, our stated ideas about ourselves and what we’d like to be, and discussion of what needs to be done for us to become that which we say we’d like to be.
Wilhelm Loehe and the Chippewa Outreach at Frankenmuth - James M. Kaiser
Abstract: Even though he was only the pastor of a small insignificant church in Germany, Wilhelm Loehe was an innovator in missions. This article will briefly examine Loehe’s background in order to identify some of the influences that helped develop his unusual missionary motivation and that led to the founding of the Frankenmuth mission settlement as an outreach to the Chippewa Indians. It will also evaluate some of the missionary methodologies used in the outreach to the Chippewa in order to identify some of the factors that contributed to the ultimate failure of the settlement in achieving its mission.
“A Bishop’s House Church–Luther’s Thoughts” Some Mission Truths Regarding Missional Communities - James D. Buckman
Abstract: The Church in the first three centuries was a House Church community. A living example is the basilica of Santa Pudenziana—the oldest church in Rome. This basilica is literally an expansion of the home owned by a Christian family who lived when Constantine made our faith the religion of his empire. This House Church was also the residence of Pope Siricius. The Church today seems to almost frantically thrash about in search of a way forward. I suggest we consider when Christianity was persecuted; and reflect on the approaches of Paul and Peter as framed by our understanding in the Confessions—after all, the Church grew explosively in spite of those harsh conditions.
Why Jesus Is Not an Avatar: A Critique of the Indian Hindu and Christian Incarnation Idea of Jesus as ‘Avatar’ on the Basis of Nicene Affirmation for Future Missions - Subin Raj
Abstract: Christians believe and confess that God in His chosen time sent His son incarnated in human flesh for the salvation of humans and all creation. This ‘incarnation’ idea has been equated with the Indian Hindu religious idea of ‘Avatar’ by Indian Christians to inculturate the Gospel message in Indian terms. The Hindus, on the other hand, have used it to challenge Gospel proclamation. The author in this article argues that based on the Nicene Affirmation of Christian faith, the ‘Avatar’ concept brings along with it a religio-cultural baggage that does not adequately explain the uniqueness of Jesus’ incarnation, and also misleads people from a proper understanding of God and His work of salvation in Jesus Christ. This has consequences for the teaching and mission of the Church.
Holy Spirit, Church, and the Outsiders: A Brief Study of the Relation between Baptism and Holy Spirit in Acts 8:14–17 - Alexandre Vieira
Abstract: The church of God always suffers with the difficulties of reaching out to people who are different, as well as with divisions within. The New Testament gives some examples of these problems, but also witnesses to God’s actions to overcome them. In Acts 8:14–17, we see how God intervened in the long history of animosity between Jews and Samaritans, sending His Spirit to welcome outsiders and to create an undivided church.
Thrive Community Church: A Mission of the LCMS - John D. Roth
Abstract: As the planning and work of a mission planter began in Southwest Florida among a campus community and a growing suburb, reflections on God’s Trinitarian nature became foundational for a reworking of the mission approach. The importance of community, relationships, and discipleship took a central role in shaping the beginnings of this ministry prior to the public worship launch in August 2014. Rather than an attractional model, this missional model finds its heartbeat in Luther’s theology of the cross and is structured through discipleship groups and gatherings, community events, mission events, and in worship.
A Church Planting Journey: What I saw will stick with me for the rest of my life - Andy Audette
Abstract: In 2007, the North American Mission Board surveyed over 1,000 church plants and found some significant results in regards to the success of new church plants. It was found that when a church planter received leadership development training within a church plant, their odds of survivability when they plant increased by over 250%. When the church planter was mentored to have realistic expectations of what the church planting process would be like, the odds of survivability increased over 400%!1 In this paper, I tracked my training and found that the key to effective church planting is having an unyielding focus on mission and vision.
Isaiah 42: The Mission of the Servant - Celiane Vieira
Abstract: This study is intended to focus on some aspects of Isaiah 42 related to comprehending and connecting the mission and the servant, that is, how we, as the church and people of God, are to be a light to the world and to make the good news of God available to peoples outside the church, as well as to bring comfort and hope to the church herself.
The Book of Generations- Victor Raj
Abstract: This essay focuses on but a few aspects of Gospel proclamation in a changing world. Christian witnesses remain faithful to Scripture and the church’s tradition as they in each generation boldly present the claim the Lord Jesus Christ has on the human race in a world lost in sin and its aftermath. An appreciation of the Church’s origins in the apostolic times is an incentive for Christians of every age to better identify the world around them and the opportunities it presents for Gospel proclamation in contextually meaningful ways. The Scriptures present witnesses that took advantage of their knowledge of the first-century world as they were addressing an audience estranged from God’s ways. They did so with confidence in the Holy Spirit’s leading and directing that transforms people’s lives to return through Jesus to their Creator. These models speak directly to the church and the world that is as competent as the church in everything except the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Mission Observers
Outreach to Atheists - Herbert Hoefer
Abstract: We all recognize that atheists are increasing in number and aggressiveness. They are getting organized with their own “Sunday Assemblies” and slogans and advertisements and social networks and community service projects. As one lady in a community book discussion said last week with a wry smile: “I’m an atheist who has finally come out of the closet.”
Drunk in His Own Wine: Overcoming the Obstacles Necessary to Do Ethnic Ministry - Giacomo Cassese
Abstract: The 2014 Multi-Ethnic Symposium at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis was a great opportunity to reflect upon the life and mission of the Lutheran Church in the United States.
Editorials
Articles
- The Role of Sacramental Theology Among Emerging Post-Evangelicals, Tony Cook
- Missional Communities and Community Formation: What Does the New Testament Have to Say?, Justin Smith
- A Small Expression of Faith, Matthew Wait
- Change: What Can We, and Why Should We?, Scott F. Rische
- Acuerdo de Güigüe Theological Consultation Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela (ILV) Instituto Teológico “, Juan de Frías” (JdeF
- The Gates of Jerusalem: Rethinking and Rebuilding Missionsin the Light of Nehemiah’s Approach, Getachew Kiros
- The Contribution of Fifohazana to Mission–Evangelizing in the Malagasy Lutheran Church, Randrianasolo Dimbiniaina Havanjanahar
- Roland Allen and the Coming Kingdom, Robert Schmidt
Mission Observers
- The Power of Prayer in the Birth of a Nation Victor J. Belt
Book Reviews
Please Note
All articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2019 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Editorials
“Framing” the Age—Cautionary Observations - Marcus Kunz
Organizing narratives by periods, types, and similar schemes has long been a staple of historical analysis. The reason for doing so is sound. History is more than the simple listing of events in an accurate chronology. Neither events nor the people who participate in them are disconnected accidents that appear in random sequence. Historical analysis seeks to illuminate the deeper connections that allow us to understand more clearly the time and place we inhabit and the people who are around us.
Is There Hope for Lutheran Education in the Inner City? - Marlene Lund
Introduction Lutherans have a long tradition of supporting education. Martin Luther’s letter “To the Councilmen of All Cities in Germany That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools” (1524) was written in response to the decline of church-run schools. Luther saw the reform movement as a way to affirm the responsibility of parents, the church, and the public authorities to ensure the education of all children. Luther said, “A city’s best and greatest welfare, safety, and strength consist rather in its having many able, learned, wise, honorable, and well-educated citizens.” Luther, Melanchthon, and other reformers paved the way in advocating for a strong classical education for all regardless of wealth or stature.
An Open Letter to Lutheran Brothers and Sisters on Theological Education - Christopher M. Thomforde
Salutation
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
What follows is an open letter on the subject of theological education. It is addressed to you, the men and women of the Church who have direct responsibility for theological education and to all those of us who wonder about its current effectiveness and future vitality.
Why Lutheran Education in Africa? - Glenn Fluegge
As an LCMS missionary and theological educator in Africa for some fourteen years, I was asked a few years back to give a presentation on the work to which God had called us. I diligently set about preparing the presentation but was immediately confronted with a rather heavy question: Why are we even involved in theological education in Africa? The question hit me rather unexpectedly. I am quite accustomed to talking about “what” we did in Africa. But this was different. This was a question of “why?” Is education for the Lutheran churches in Africa really that important?
Editorial en español
Educación para la Misión - Mark “Marcos” Kempff
No existió, ni existe, ni existirá otra persona como Jesucristo. Nadie puede vivir una vida perfecta y a la vez sobrellevar todas las penas y culpas que todos sufrimos en esta vida. Nadie, como Jesús, ha demostrado un amor incondicional. Nadie murió como él, dando su vida como precio para perdonar toda nuestra maldad. Nadie, ni con todos los avances de la ciencia, después de muerto, puede resucitar al tercer día, para vivir eternamente con un perfecto cuerpo humano.
Articles
Missionary Use of the Gospel as Hidden Curriculum - Andrew R. Jones
Abstract: Christ instructs His disciples to make disciples of all nations, but in today’s world some nations refuse missionary activity of any kind. Through anonymous interviews with missionaries in countries which do not openly welcome missionaries, Andrew R. Jones highlights the tension between following Christ’s commission and living within the legal parameters of such a government. This article compares such missionary activity to the educational concept of “hidden curriculum,” showcasing how missionaries in these contexts are able to share the Gospel despite the challenges and limits of their situations.
Destroying Education to Save It - Paul Hillmer
Abstract: The following article is slightly adapted from the 14th Annual Poehler Lecture on Faith and Learning, delivered by the author at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN, on March 3, 2015. It is a rumination on the increasing commoditization of higher education and its corresponding emphasis on job preparation. While reflecting on the possible implications of these trends, Hillmer also considers how commoditization has shaped American Christianity and promotes the sustained significance of the liberal arts.
The State of Adult Catechesis/Confirmation in the LCMS - Mark C. Larson
Abstract: In the late 1980s, the LCMS confirmed around thirty thousand adults per year in its six thousand congregations. Now the average is between two or three adult confirmations per congregation per year, about half of the level of the 1980s and as recently as fifteen years ago. This article explores the nature of and need for adult catechesis, examines obstacles and opportunities inherent in LCMS culture and U.S. society in general, and calls for a renewal of this vital ministry in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
The Written Word Enriching Minds and Souls: a Case Study of the Function of the Religious Literature Provided by The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LCHKS) - Sam L. S. Yeung (楊力生)
Abstract: This essay examines the function of the Literature Department as a provider of sound Lutheran literature on behalf of The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod. The paper notes the relevance of the written and proclaimed Word in Lutheran theology and the function of the written Word as God’s means of enriching the human mind and soul. The paper then describes the service of the Literature Department of the LCHKS to its congregations and schools as well as to the Chinese audience worldwide, including a view of the historical origins of the department.
Teaching Cross-Cultural Evangelism - Jim Found
Abstract: Evangelism is conducted within human cultures and is supported by knowledge and understanding of cultural contexts. To that end, this article presents frameworks for lifelong learning about cultures and religions, provides basic premises for learning to announce the salvation message in the context of a given culture, and illustrates the importance of familiarity with the culture for the nurture and support of new Christians.
Mission in Crisis - Kurtis Smith
Abstract: In recognition of the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this article addresses the missiological aspects of critical incidents (large and small disasters) and presents best practices for these fertile mission fields that are often “ripe for harvest.” Small crises can change individual lives. Massive disasters can transform entire institutional systems, economics, language, and even the nature of mission work. Through trauma and shared travail, people learn new patterns for life. This article proposes that (a) Christians in mission can respond to crises and help turn such events into “transformissional” moments, (b) the missio Dei might be helpfully defined as “a heavenly disaster response to the crisis of a broken world,” and that (c) the church’s practices in mission and ministry reflect the emergency of God’s passionate restoration of paradise in Christ’s gutsy response.
The LISA Curriculum: Theological Education in the Service of God’s Mission - Gerhard C. Michael, Jr.
Abstract: The article presents an overview of the curriculum which the Luther Institute—Southeast Asia has developed in response to the request of churches there. Presented first are the principles which have guided its development as a theological education program in the service of God’s mission. After the curriculum overview, challenges ahead are suggested. As a “work in progress,” the LISA Board invites your response and constructive suggestions so that it might continue to revise and improve its curriculum for a strengthened program of missionary service as it moves into the future.
Education and Mission: Just. Do it. - Jeanette Dart
Abstract: Although similar to the well-known Nike slogan, Just. Do it. is an abbreviation for Justified. Do it. As in, “now that you are justified, do the life of sanctification.” Ideas from early childhood education, foreign language learning, and coaching identify action and obedience as helpful for education in our faith, for living our faith, and for our mission to share Christ with our world.
“Oh, Worship the King” Understanding Culture and Semiotics in Christian Worship - Greg Klotz
Abstract: God has hard-wired us with unique qualities and behaviors that find their ultimate fulfillment only when He is at the center of worship. Worship is a ritualistic performed expression that serves to foreshadow our ultimate communion with God. It is a structured encounter centered on a dialogue between God and man. Three analytical frameworks from anthropology help to focus on the uniqueness of the human in ritual. Applying these to the worship setting provides valuable insights to church workers for discerning the choice of semiotically significant socio-cultural media and aesthetics that contextualize God’s message effectively—and avoiding possible syncretistic pitfalls in the worship design—allowing church members to affectively express their identity as God’s people.
Location, Location, Location - Jeremy Pekari
Abstract: Education in the Lutheran church primarily takes place in a classroom. Unfortunately, learning doesn’t always transfer from there into the everyday life of disciples on the mission field. Educators must move beyond the classroom walls to design intentional learning experiences that more closely relate to the real life contexts in which the content will be used. This article uses prayer as an example of an important aspect of the life of a disciple that is limited by teaching about in a classroom, but can be enhanced through intentionally designed experiences across the life of a congregation. Readers are introduced to a simple three-part design structure to enable them to develop learning experiences in a variety of learning arenas.
Mission-driven Strategic Planning in Lutheran Education - Tom Ries
Abstract: Mission-driven strategic planning originated in the military, migrated to for-profit businesses, and has been used increasingly in non-profit organizations for over three decades. In his doctoral research, the author studied planning at 38 Lutheran colleges and universities in the United States and found that all have conducted some kind of centrally-coordinated strategic planning process within the past ten years, and that they will continue to conduct this kind of planning in the future. This article discusses the purpose and function of strategic planning in a Lutheran education context, and specifically the role of planning in developing and allocating financial resources to support mission.
A Global Perspective on Education in Mission - Shirley Miske
Abstract: The article provides a global overview of education in mission, and it proposes frameworks for dialogue on education in mission in the twenty-first century grounded in the field of Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE). The author calls for a global mapping of Lutheran education in mission and explores its potential uses. She also offers a theoretical framework of critical components or “commonplaces” of educational thinking to stimulate global, intercultural dialogue on education, especially schooling, in mission.
Encountering Mission
A Backpacking Semester in the Shadow of Global Missionaries - Adam Lee
Statistics shape an artful attempt to introduce the story of Concordia University Irvine’s Around-the-World Semester: two professors, twenty-eight students, twenty weeks, ten countries, five continents, three thousand pages of reading, one hundred pages of writing, and just one backpack. These make great stats for physically bringing admissions tours to an intrigued halt on campus or for impressing marketing consultants hired to identify university distinctives. These numbers also tell the story of God’s transformative power in the lives of students willing to be physically, intellectually, and spiritually challenged for one semester of their college lives.
Rediscovering Disciple Making - Dale Critchley
In my freshman year of college, God pointed me toward the pastoral ministry. I argued with Him. My roommate and most of my friends weren’t Christians. They knew what I believed, we respected one another, and we had lots of meaningful faith conversations as a result. Most of them had an aversion to all Christians except me. Were I to enter the pastoral ministry, I would spend most of my life surrounded by Christians and have little time for the lost. Why would God pull me out of the mission field for the rest of my life? But learning from Jonah, I knew that I could either enroll in seminary or avoid large bodies of water for the rest of my life. Four years later, I resided in St. Louis.
Setting a Vision for SEKOLAH PAPUA HARAPAN (Papua School of Hope) - Robert W. Smith
Why would a Christian teacher teach overseas? Where is the greatest possibility to make an impact sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with students who have never heard of it or only have a limited understanding? Often, families in other countries enroll their children in Christian schools. They choose these schools because they generally offer the best education in the area, and the curriculum is delivered in English. God has unlocked the doors to a unique opportunity for Christian teachers and administrators in newly-founded Christian schools. The location is Papua, Indonesia, the eastern-most province of Indonesia in the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly called Irian Jaya.
The Process of Creation and Development of the M.I.S.E. (Silesian) Evangelism Centre’s Work - Daniel Chlebek
The M.I.S.E. Project originated in 2005 in response to God’s call to establish groups of believers praying for one another, growing spiritually together, and sharing their faith with people around them in places without any Christian fellowships. The M.I.S.E. Project began activities in 2006 among young people as a mission project of the youth ministry department in the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession. It helped to make disciples of Jesus Christ of many young people in the congregations, based on 2 Tim 2:2: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
“Where Does Your Agape Stick?” - David Seabaugh
A couple years ago I was invited to my children’s Lutheran school to conduct chapel. I had done this before, and it was always a delightful time. However, this particular chapel would change my life. The chapel services involved a series on the Ten Commandments, and I had been asked to speak on the Sixth Commandment, “Do not commit adultery.” No problem. I teach this stuff in confirmation. I’ll just talk “in code” to the seventh and eighth graders and conveniently avoid the challenges of speaking directly about adultery to the younger children. A day or so before the service, I was informed that the seventh and eighth graders were away that day, leaving the preschool through sixth grade for my adultery talk. Lovely! There went my avoidance strategy. Oh, and talk about a delicate situation! Not only did I have to speak to children of multiple developmental stages about a really sensitive issue, but I knew for a fact that there were many children in the room with challenging home situations which likely involved adultery of one form or another.
No Half-Baked Pastors in East Africa - Shauen Trump
“We don’t want half-baked pastors,” says General Secretary Fred Magezi of the Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU), as he bristles at the idea of anyone less than a seminary-trained ordained clergyman administering the sacraments. According to Magezi, it is the Christians themselves in Uganda’s Lutheran congregations who want men trained “through the seminary, the Lutheran culture.” The LCU’s President Charles Bameka explains:
It is very clear and important that every congregation at least has a trained and ordained pastor. I know that is a far-fetched desire because in Uganda the congregations are growing faster than we can train men. But the ultimate desire is that every congregation is served and manned by a trained and ordained minister.
While the fervent desire to be served by a pastor is hindered by a shortage of ordained men in most countries in East Africa in the midst of significant growth in the church, the continent also celebrates increased capacity and capabilities of the region’s seminaries.
Sending Isn’t Easy - Seth Gehrke
“Next to the Word of God, the art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” – Martin Luther
Music.
It builds community, friendships, teamwork and support.
It teaches us how to express an emotion without words.
It provides us an avenue for service.
It inspires and enlivens our faith.
Education in Mission: Why It’s Important - Matthew Scott
Why is education in mission important? What does education look like on the mission field? How is education inspiring more missions? I hope to share a little bit about these topics by relating to you my experiences as one who has been educated on the mission field and as one hoping to go back as a teacher in the future.
Editorials
Articles
- Candy Machine God, or, Going to Church without Going to Church: Millennials and the Future of the Christian Faith, Chad Lakies
- Working the Harvest in Digital Fields, Joel C. Oesch
- The Millennials: Reflections on Reaching a Lost Generation for Christ, Sarah Guldalian
- On Millennials and Story, Jeff Cloeter
- Millennials and Maslow: First Article Needs and Christian Apologetics, Jonathan Ruehs
- Embracing Luther‘s Theology of Tentatio as Key to Reaching the Millennial Generation, Ryan Fouts
- Bringing the Gospel to a New Culture, Matthew J. Peeples
- Sacramental Theology and the Third Place, Paul Mueller
- The church and the culture of the millennials-The best or Worst of Times?, Armand Boehme
- It Is About Us, Not Them, Timothy Sternberg
- The Church that Is, Not Just the Place Where, Joshua Gale
Book Reviews
Bibliography Dr. Won Yong Ji
Presentations
Living in God‘s Now Lutheran Church Extension Fund Annual Conference Orlando, Florida November 18, 2012 Jon Diefenthaler
Editorials
Articles
- Surfing Shifting Sands of Contextuality: Appropriate Flexibility in Handling Conclusions as an Approach to Communicating the Gospel, Timothy Dost
- Cross-Cultural Missions Is Building the Body of Christ, Don Hougard
- Christian Worship in the Context of Cultures Jeff Thormodson
- Theology in Context: Music as a Test Case, Leopoldo A. Sánchez M
- Dealing with Theology Culturally: A Response to Leopoldo A. Sánchez, Jack M. Schultz
- Missiological Thoughts on Evangelizing ―the Nations‖ A Response to, Leopoldo A. Sánchez, with Further Reflections Douglas L. Rutt
- Diversity and Contextualization, John Loum
- Contextualization in an Urban Setting, Allan Buckman
- The Road to Diversity–An Evaluation of the Mission History of the LCMS, Yohannes Mengsteab
- A Church for All Nations: Christian Unity from a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Yared Halche
- Toward Understanding the Matrifocal African-American Urban Family, Ruth McDonnell
- The Neighbor Among Us: Hispanics and the 2010 U.S. Census, MarkKempff
Social Stratification, Power, and Contextualization: A Perspective from Latino Theology, Eric Moeller - History of Lutheranism in Korea, Jin-seop Eom
- Divine Safari—Kenya and the missio Trinitatis, Thomas V. Aadland
- Under One Roof: One Faith Many Cultures, Mark Koch
Book Review
SERMONS
- God Sends His Servants into Ministry: Call Day and Theological Diploma Service Sermons Commencement Address Concordia Seminary St. Louis, 2012, Jon Diefenthaler, William Utech, and Hector Hoppe
Editorials
Articles
- Those Who Are Sent: Christ and His Church Christology, Missiology, and Ecclesiology in the Gospel of John, Robert Kolb
- As the Father Has Sent Me, Henry R. Schriever
- Lutheran Churches Drive Lutheran Missions, Markus Nietzke
- How Does God Build His Kingdom? A Case Study Approach, Eugene Bunkowske
- Gifts-Offices from Our Ascended Lord: Toward a Christological Balance, Anthony Steinbronn
- Reflection on the Mission of God, Norb Oesch
- The Economic Ecclesiology and the Costly Christology of the ―Missio Missouri :a Pastoral Memoir from Hispanic Ministry, Steve Morfitt
- A Case for Romans 1:16 . . . Again!, Steve Cohen
- Our Innovating God, Herb Hoefer
- Theological Progression in the Process and Strategy for Appalachian Mission Work, Kevin Wilson
Book Review
Editorials
Articles
- When a Missionary Says Goodbye: Lessons from Miletus, Daniel L. Mattson
- Luther‘s Theology as a Foundation for Twenty-First Century Missiology, Robert Kolb
- These Post-MissionaryTimes, Victor Raj
- Your Church Is Not What You Think It Is: Four Decades of Mission in Foreign Lands, Henry Rowold
- The Future of Lutheran Missiology, Robert Scudieri
- Some Thoughts about the Attractional, Sending, Engaged Church, Paul Mueller
- Some Thoughts on Doing Mission in a Russian Context, Matthew Hei
Book Review
Editorials
Articles
- Un vistazo al escudo de Lutero, Rudolph Blank
- At the Edge of the Nation Reprised, Eloy S. González
- In Search for a Lutheran Latino Church Planting Model, Mark Junkans
- The Call to Community, Melissa Salomón
- On Mission Work among Hispanics/Latinos, Michael Doyle
Mission Observers
- On the Human Face of the Migrant, Daniel G. Groody
- Misión e inmigración, Leopoldo A. Sánchez M.
- Who Are These Peoples?, Douglas R. Groll
- Testimonio de una pareja cubana, Benito y Jessie Pérez
- Pedagogy for Working among the Poor, Leopoldo A. Sánchez M.
| Publication | Title | Author | Abstract | View | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | LMM | A Missional Reading of the Church and World | Victor Raj | No Abstract | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | The Divine Service and Mission Dei | Robert Newton | No Abstract | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Liturgy and Mission | James Marriott | No Abstract | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Church and Mission: A Historical Lens | William W. Schumacher | No Abstract | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Unraveling the Interplay between the Church and the Mission of God—A Lutheran Perspective | Samuel Deressa | Although a vast array of research has been published on Martin Luther’s theology, there is not adequate research on the missiology of Martin Luther. Luther’s understanding and contribution to mission theology are often disregarded. Yet, as rightly noted by David Bosch, “In fact, [Luther] provided the church’s missionary enterprise with clear and important guidelines and principles.” This article is about church and mission from a Lutheran perspective. It focuses on Martin Luther’s conception of the church and its mission as articulated in the Augsburg Confession, in which the church is defined as the assembly of believers who preach the Gospel and administer the Holy Sacraments according to the Gospel. | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Luther on the Church as Mission of God | Robert Kolb | No Abstract | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Mission and the Theology of the Cross | Joel Okamoto | Luther’s theology of the cross and his distinction between the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross were revolutionary ideas when he presented them in 1518. They remain revolutionary and therefore helpful for all theology and practice, including mission and mission thinking. This article summarizes Luther’s theology of the cross and then suggests how it might frame discussion about mission and mission thinking today. | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Ecclesial Amnesia: How the Church Forgot its Mandate and Ways to Return to Faithfulness | Robert Scudieri | In thinking about how mission has changed since I served with the Board for Mission Services, it would be easy to say that the mission has not changed but the methods have. Some today are not sure. The calling is to do in His Name, so that salvation, won for us on the cross of Christ, can be brought to all people.“Mission” when I was privileged to serve was to bring the gospel into the entire world. Today it seems we see the mission as establishing Lutheran icons. Our leaders are well meaning. They know and love the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully a conversation can occur around what it is the Lord of the Church is calling us to do. | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | Staying within the Story—Understanding the Great Commission According to Matthew’s Gospel | Scott Geminn | We often read Matthew 28:16–20, the Great Commission, outside its narrative context. Unfortunately, this can lead to a truncated understanding of the Church’s mission and what it means to be missional according to Matthew’s Gospel. Such an understanding often results in an emphasis on proclamation toward the non-Christian that is soteriological, with little attention given to “observing the commands of Jesus.” However, reading Matthew 28:16–20 within the narrative framework of Matthew’s Gospel can provide the Church with a more holistic and reinvigorating understanding of its mission that is both outward and inward, with a renewed emphasis on learning and obeying the teachings of the Matthean Jesus. | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | “Is a Church with No Mission Still a Church?” Messiah Lutheran Church, Midland, MI Addresses Its World | Edward Doerner | No Abstract | View Online |
| May 2024 | LMM | The Meaning of the Word Church | Miriam Carter | The author demonstrates how the word church with its several English usages can be explained to children or a language learner. She notes such usages of church as the building where believers gather, or as the worship service where there is singing, praying, Bible reading, preaching, and often an order of worship. A wider meaning can signify God’s people throughout the world. Clarity about the meaning of church is important since how the term is understood can affect how people work in God’s mission. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | A Lutheran View of Culture | Robert Kolb | Robert Kolb has supplied us with a foundational essay on the Lutheran engagement of culture. He references Niebuhr and other renown scholars who posit various definitions of “culture” and various ways the church might engage cultures. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Postmodernism and Mission | James Marriott | In my experience teaching in Lutheran academic institutions over the last decade, talk about postmodernism rarely fails to elicit a response. The responses, though, are varied. Some reject postmodernism outright, decrying the propensity for relativism as an affront to the Gospel and to our society.1 For these students, I have tried to gently probe their posture, asking them what exactly they are rejecting, or, more importantly, by what method are they facilitating that rejection (how postmodern of me, I know). Others accept postmodernism rather holistically, embracing its central tenets uncritically and spiraling deeper and deeper into deconstructed identities, whether spiritual, ecclesial, or cultural. Ambiguity, for these students, becomes a captor rather than a liberator. For these students, I have tried to gently pump the brakes, as one does while driving on icy roads with poor traction. Other students, often the ones most educated in philosophy and anthropology, maintain a more nuanced and balanced approach to postmodernism. In this essay, I hope to offer the reader some of my own thoughts and research, closely mirroring what I have taught, seen, and learned from these students who hold this balanced, nuanced approach. This approach is a keen tool for the mission field, as throughout my teaching and ministry career I have witnessed this approach being applied in the pulpit, the choir loft, the classroom, the theater stage, the basketball court, on social media, and in many other places of cultural engagement. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Anthropological Considerations of Acts 17 | Jack M. Schultz | The following is an explication of the significance of a portion of Acts 17 qua a Lutheran Christian informed by my vocation of anthropologist. This investigation considers the implications of the easily overlooked assertion that St. Paul makes to the people of Athens: God determines the times and places for people to live. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Unfairness Is Not a Virtue: Exploring One of Critical Race Theory’s Concerns | Matthew E. Borrasso | The intent of this article is to explore the use of narrative within the field of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and offer some theological reflection on how it comports with Lutheran approaches to theology and ethics. Rather than offer an unfair, quick, or easy answer, this article offers extended engagement with recent scholarship in the field of CRT prior to critical analysis through both broadly Christian as well as specifically Lutheran lenses. Far from being an idea to reject wholesale, the narrative focus common to CRT can dovetail with Lutheran theological and ethical thought and approaches to life in the world. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Confessions Contingent on Culture: Exactly How Jesus Wanted Them | Christian J. Einertson | While the cultural distance between the confessional writings of the Book of Concord and today’s mission contexts is readily apparent, how Lutherans should navigate that cultural distance is less apparent. In this essay, Einertson considers three potential approaches to navigating the cultural differences between the situations of the Lutheran symbols and the situations of today’s Lutherans before outlining an approach that is faithful both to the way in which our Lord Jesus has called His Church to continue His mission in the world and to the way in which the confessional writings themselves understand that mission. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Reforming Homo Consumens: Consumer Culture, Consumerism, and Contemporary Christian Witness | William G. Fredstrom | God’s people work, play, live, worship, pray, and witness in cultures and societies with various institutions, problems, ideas, neighbors, and conflicts. Because Christians live within such varying cultural contexts, many desire to maintain a clear distinction between themselves and the cultures in which they live. Theologians have described the distinctiveness of God’s people amid their secular cultures by describing the Church as its own culture or public constituted by unique narratives, rituals, and ices that contrast the narratives, rituals, and practices of other surrounding cultures. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | How Not to Become God: What Watchmen Can Teach Christians about Living in a Godless World | Benjamin Leeper | No Abstract | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | “Lights . . . Cameras . . . Faith?!” Christian Interaction with the Culture as It is Shared in Cinema | Jeffrey E. Skopak | No Abstract | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Impacting the Workplace: A New Conceptual Framework Where Vocational Calling Meets Missional Competencies | Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher | While some Christians work in specifically Christian workplaces or contexts, the majority of Christians work in environments that would not be described as Christian or that might even be characterized as hostile toward Christian morals and values. No matter the environment, Christians can embrace a vocational mindset and recognize ways they are able to serve others in both left-hand and right-hand kingdom opportunities as they present in mundane as well as miraculous moments. Yet it is often the opportunities to explicitly share about one’s faith that go unnoticed or even ignored due to feelings of inadequacy, apprehension, or unpreparedness. This is where the concept of missional competencies can be utilized for training, supporting, and encouraging Christians working in secular fields and workplaces. The authors of the current paper suggest a new conceptual framework where vocational calling meets missional competencies and discuss the impact on individuals, churches, schools, and institutions of higher education. Suggestions for future research are also provided regarding ways to measure, analyze, and continue the discussion on how best to apply and study the benefits of this new framework of support for Christians working in but not of the world. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Relevant Gospel Message | Herb Hoefer | In my theological training, I was told that the two great messages of the Gospel were the assurance of forgiveness of sin and the assurance of heaven. Those were the burning issues of the church where Lutheranism was born. Central to these messages was the substitutionary atonement achieved by the crucifixion. However, both in my missionary service and in my congregational ministry, these were not the most important messages of the Gospel. In some contexts, in fact, I found these messages to be irrelevant and even counterproductive. | View Online |
| Nov 2023 | LMM | Faith and Culture: An Interview with FLAME | James Marriott | Missiology regularly deals with abstract ideas about communicating the Gospel and the reaction to that Gospel in cross-cultural settings. A highly influential crosscultural setting in the contemporary world is the musical genre of hip-hop. The Christian rap artist FLAME recently spoke with an editor of Lutheran Mission Matters, James Marriott, to describe in his own words his personal spiritual journey and the contribution rap music makes to the communication of the Christian faith. LMM thanks him for his contribution. What follows is an edited transcription of the interview, which took place on July 13, 2023. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Inside This Issue | Andrew H. Bartelt | Pastoral formation and theological education remain crucial issues for almost all church bodies. It has always been so, but the dramatic decline in seminary enrollment corresponds to a similar decline in church membership and attendance. What is important to the mission focus of this journal is the fact that many of the same social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that are affecting the institutional church structures in decline are also opening up a vast mission field, filled with opportunities and challenges. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Inside This Issue | Andrew H. Bartelt | Pastoral formation and theological education remain crucial issues for almost all church bodies. It has always been so, but the dramatic decline in seminary enrollment corresponds to a similar decline in church membership and attendance. What is important to the mission focus of this journal is the fact that many of the same social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that are affecting the institutional church structures in decline are also opening up a vast mission field, filled with opportunities and challenges. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Here We Stand; Here We Go! | Patrick T. Ferry | In this commencement address delivered at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, on May 20, 2022,1 Rev. Dr. Patrick Ferry compares the preparation at seminary to the foundation of our faith that Paul speaks about in Romans 5:1–2. He uses the analogy of preparing to run a race, by which we are “on our marks” and have been securely “set.” But now it’s time to “go!” He calls on seminary graduates—and all the church—to go, to go forward, to go forward into the mission field of today’s world. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | “Here We Stand; Here We Go!”: An Interview with Pat Ferry | Patrick T. Ferry | In answering questions raised by his Commencement Address (published as the previous essay), Patrick Ferry unpacks some of the specific issues he touched upon, especially regarding pastoral formation for mission leadership in today’s world. In short, though grounded in the past, the mission is before us, and today’s context is not that of previous generations. Key areas of focus are evangelism and mission, education, and encouragement. Pastoral leaders need to understand the next generation, to be able to bridge to other cultures, to build relationships, and to present Christianity positively in a culture where we are no longer the “home team.” | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Theological Education: What does this Mean? What's That? | Richard E. Carter | The two basic questions in Luther’s Small Catechism—What does this mean? What is that?—frame this exploration of the significance of the words “theological” and “education.” In the field of education, various professional resources invite personal reflection, such as David Kolb’s learning cycle and Bloom’s taxonomy. Thus, this article asks, What are readers’ definitions and assumptions for the terms “theological” and “education”? Personal and professional choices regarding course work, the larger picture of a school’s curriculum, and the largest picture of what serves mission, are all part of the reflection invited in this article. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | The Mission of the Church and Pastoral Formation | James A. Baneck | How is The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) intentionally preparing men to be pastors for the mission of Christ’s Church, that is to shepherd those “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9)? | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | A “Conversation” about Seminary Formation for Mission Leadership | Andrew H. Bartelt | Based on a review of curriculum and conversations with academic leaders, the author provides a summary of observations about the current formation programs of four North American seminaries, including his own thoughts, all in the spirit of contributions to this ongoing conversation. He notes, positively, what courses and practica are in place, but he also calls attention to the need for more urgency and creativity in dealing with the challenges of a declining church body in the face of an expanding mission field. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | The Missio Dei Under the Southern Cross: Some Considerations | Acir Raymann | This essay aims to present the history, challenges, and development of God’s mission in Brazil. These are some observations that come from a short and humble analysis of my alma mater, where I also had the privilege of teaching for the last forty eight years. These observations also deal with the challenges and opportunities faced by seminarians in relation to theology and culture. Academic programming is an ongoing process and requires regular analysis and revision. New horizons may also illuminate the curriculum that can be amplified when we look at the proclamation of the officium proprium of Christ under the Southern Cross. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Theological Education for Ministerial Formation: An Indian Reading | Christu Das | The word seminary comes from the Latin seminarium, meaning “seedbed” or “nursery,” where plants are nurtured before they are transplanted.1 Seminaries are like good soil for ministers-in-training: they support growth and maturation so that graduates can thrive within the church system upon their graduation. Seminaries are meant to train ministers of the Gospel. Therefore, those who train seminarians should have a clear perspective of the Gospel; that is, whatever they do, say, teach, and criticize should be in the interest of the Gospel. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | The “End” of Seminary Education: Healthy and Flourishing Congregations | William Utech | Historically, most American seminaries have not been overly or overtly concerned with the health and well-being of the congregations that receive their graduates as pastors. This lack of concern was born of these seminaries being founded under “Christendom,” wherein the dominant culture of the country affirmed and supported Christianity and her institutions. For seminaries, this meant a guaranteed “market” for their graduates. In these post-Christendom times, that luxury is gone, and seminaries must get better at raising up leaders who will shepherd congregations toward health and vitality. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | The Challenges of Distance Theological Education | Douglas L. Rutt | Distance models of theological education are here to stay. As a result of the pandemic, many seminaries, institutions and faculty members that approached it with derision, or at least a high degree of skepticism, were forced to experiment with distance models, making the best of it with the technology at hand. This has meant that more and more theological educators have had experience with distance learning and bring to the debate new experiences and insights regarding its pros and cons. While distance learning is here to stay, it is no universal remedy for the ministerial training needs of the church. However, those interested in moving to distance learning models must do so with a clear picture of both the significant challenges and the opportunities. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Integrating Theology & Mission in the Cross-cultural Ministry Center (CMC) | Glenn K. Fluegge | How does one go about forming pastoral, missional leaders? That question is part of a larger ongoing conversation about the appropriate relation between theology and mission. In this article, I attempt to get at that question and add to the conversation. I do that by giving the reader a glimpse of how one pastoral education program—the Cross-cultural Ministry Center at Concordia University Irvine—strives to integrate theology and mission with the goal of forming what we often refer to as “missionary pastors.” In what follows, I briefly describe the Cross-cultural Ministry Center, lay out the theoretical framework undergirding the curriculum, explain our educational model, and try to show how this plays out practically in our coursework and through the CMC missional vicarage (i.e., internship) experience. Then, two recent graduates of the Cross-cultural Ministry Center, Pastor Joel Rockemann and Pastor Carlos Velazquez, will offer personal reflections on their current ministries and describe how their time in the program helped prepare them for the mission contexts in which they now find themselves. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | From the Field: Forming Mission Leaders through Contextual Education in the Specific Ministry Pastor Program | James F. Marriott | As one well acquainted with students in the SMP program, the author provides background and verbatim interviews with four students who represent those who participate in this seminary program of pastoral formation while engaged in their local mission contexts. Their personal reflections on both their contexts and this certification program provide insight into how one way of delivering seminary formation can intersect with actual mission experience. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Book Review: WE ARE NOT THE HERO: A Missionary’s Guide to Sharing Christ, Not a Culture of Dependency. By Jean Johnson. | Miriam Carter | In this book Johnson looks at what missions in different cultures can be. She was a missionary for many years in Cambodia. She is fluent in the language, having served Cambodians in the Twin Cities for six years. In Cambodia she discovered that, along with Jesus, she brought her own culture with her. She recognized that Western-style mission work brings baggage along with the Gospel, which isn’t necessary and can even be harmful. Her new approach mirrors how Paul went about mission work. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Book Review: TEACHING AND LEARNING THEOLOGY IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT. By Matthew C. Ogilvie. | Daniel Mattson | Currently, many books have been written about distance education. The emphasis varies from book to book, but all deal with the same educational possibility. The advent of the internet, however, has opened educational possibilities that have not existed. previously. | View Online |
| May 2023 | LMM | Book Review: VIABILITY IN CONTEXT: The Theological Seminary in the Third World— Seedbed or Sheltered Garden? By Herbert M. Zorn. | Andrew H. Bartelt | I stumbled into this little treasure trove while researching some mission history. As happens more frequently than I’d like to admit, here was a study that already answered a host of questions that have churned in the back of my mind for years. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Dr. John Loum Enters Eternal Rest | Concordia Seminary News Release | Dr. John Loum, former director of the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and missionary to The Gambia, entered rest in Jesus Oct. 26, 2022. He was 74 years old. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Inside This Issue | Rev. Dr. Samuel Deressa | Religion and ethnicity are closely related phenomena in North America. The histories and traditions of various denominations, including Lutherans, have been largely shaped by patterns of immigration and the establishment of various ethnic traditions. Yet despite a rich body of literature on mission and migration, particularly in relation to first-generation immigrants, there has been relatively little attention paid to subsequent generations of immigrants. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | There Is Hope for Second Generation Immigrant Christian Churches: Challenges of Mono-Ethnic and Semi-Independent Immigrant Congregations | Samuel Deressa | Historians refer to the twenty-first century as “the age of migration,” mainly because there are more migrants in the world today than ever before. In 2020, a UN report shows that, globally, the number of international migrants was 281 million, with nearly two-thirds being labor migrants. This is 3.6% of the world’s population. In another UN report published in 2022, over the past two years, despite the impact of Covid-19, the number of migrants has continued to increase. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Multiethnic Churches: Challenges and Opportunities | Douglas L. Rutt | Perhaps those who have been around a while will remember this image. It is from an episode of the famous television series Star Trek. The title of the episode is “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.” It had such an impression on me that even today I can remember well when I saw it for the first time in 1969. I was fifteen years old. In that episode, the spaceship Enterprise comes upon two survivors of a war-torn planet. It turns out that the two men are the only remaining of their race. The two hate each other, so much so that they are constantly disposed to violent fights. They have to be restrained by Captain Kirk and the crew. In one scene, one of the men erupts in to such a fury that he demands Captain Kirk kill the other right then and there. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Second Generation Immigrant Ministry: Challenges, Opportunities, and Actions Required | Gemechu Olana | I want to introduce myself through my experience as an immigrant and immigrant pastor, which will also be reflected in this short article. Before receiving my present role as a double parish pastor in Austin, Minnesota, I served Oromo speaking Ethiopian immigrant communities in Greater Los Angeles and beyond for over twelve years. Besides congregational ministry, I have been involved in diaspora mission in various ways since 1999, the time I came to live in the immigrant community. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Shining the Light of Christ from Generation to Generation at True Light Lutheran Church in Chinatown, New York City | Joshua Hollmann | True Light Lutheran Church stands at the corner of Worth and Mulberry Street in the heart of the oldest section of New York City’s Chinatown. Nearby is Confucius Plaza, City Hall, and the Brooklyn Bridge. True Light’s façade at the crossroads of lower Manhattan features a towering cross illuminated at night to point to Jesus Christ, the true light that gives light to everyone. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | A Multiethnic Church for the Sake of Our Children, Our Grandchildren, and the World | William Utech | “Do you love your traditions more than your children?” This was the surprising, startling, unsettling question with which David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group and author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles, Good Faith, You Lost Me, and unChristian, concluded his presentation at a joint pastors’ conference for the Minnesota North and Minnesota South Districts back in 2014. He left the crowd of clergy pretty much speechless because, I imagine, they had never been asked this question before, nor had they ever been asked to ponder its validity. Or, maybe they were instantly scandalized by the inference that there might be a legitimate distinction between what they rightly believed, taught, and confessed on the one hand and the way they lived out and corporately practiced that faith on the other. The conference planning committee never invited David Kinnaman to come back to present at another gathering of our pastors. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | The Interrelation between Mission and Migration and Its Implication for Today’s Church | Dinku Bato | The biblical and theological analysis of migration and mission generally exhibits strong interconnection, which means that God oftentimes uses immigrants to disseminate the message of His kingdom. Faith and tradition accompany immigrants not only as a reservoir that they habitually resort to in an effort to adjust to changing sociopolitical and economic situations, but also to influence communities they live with and encounter on a regular basis. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Bridge People and LCMS Congregations: Bicultural Immigrants, Missions, and the Scriptures | Matthew Buse | Migration allows people the opportunity to operate in different cultures with various levels of fluency. People fluent in two or more cultures can increase the reach of mission work through congregations involved with immigrant groups. Tensions arise, however, as these people may feel torn between cultures. By understanding some of the terms around immigration and culture, we can understand the role of people to bridge various cultures in service to congregations by reaching out with the Gospel. Their bridging is not simply between groups but also brings people together under the authority of the Scriptures, which owe their origin to divine inspiration. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Reverse Mission and Homeland Imagination: Trends and Issues in Burmese Migrant Christianity | David Moe | In his seminal work The Next Christendom, Philip Jenkins observes that the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted from the Global North (Europe and North America) to the Global South (Latin America, Africa, and Asia). While this is true, the US, a unique nation of immigration, remains the center for education and global migration. Therefore, students, scholars, and refugees from the Global South come to America as pilgrims with their distinctive forms of political repression, ethnic marginalities, and religio-ethnic identities. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Clergy, Congregations, and Today’s Young Adults: Exploring the Church Through the Experiences of Generation Z Lutherans. | Heath Lewis | For decades, pastors, church leaders, congregations, and scholars have been concerned when a generation emerges into young adulthood—and for good reason. Ministry leaders encounter several unique challenges while serving the young adults entrusted to their care. For many young adults, leaving home for the first time and having the opportunity to choose their own house of worship removes an external compulsion to remain part of their family's faith tradition. Many young adults also report seeing the Church as outdated and irrelevant in today’s world, prompting them to question its value and role in their lives. These and other factors have led to a historically challenging relationship between the Christian Church and young adult generational cohorts,4 including high levels of young adult attrition from the Church. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | The Social Economics of LCMS Stewardship Practice: Aligning God’s Supply with Ministry and Missional Goals | Martin Lee and Anne Lee | Primary ministry activities have traditionally been performed by autonomous Lutheran congregations, serving local communities in Word and sacrament ministry and also as the focus for social engagement and outreach activities in towns, suburbs, and cities across the country. Local congregations also worship God through reverence and obedience in properly caring for what God has entrusted to them. Increasingly, congregations are instead becoming the site of competition over finite resources. The authors’ experience is that the problem lies not in God’s supply but in the Church’s overall stewarding of it. But the stewardship responsibility does not fall on the pastor or individual laypersons alone. Since local congregations participate in the country’s economy, capitalism’s progression to financialization has had an impact on them and may be a driver of congregational decline, along with church and school closures. More study is necessary to determine how much financialization is impacting local congregations and local missions. First steps toward a possible solution are framing the issues for constructive theological dialogue and better alignment of finite resources toward “real” (primary) ministry and missional efforts in local communities. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Missions are Local: Looking through the Reality-Defining Spectacles of Culture for Effective Cross-Cultural Gospel Communication | Hannah Scheyder | Language is foundational to human cultured experience. If worldviews of varying cultures are seen as spectacles, central to comprehending the human experience, effective missional efforts depends on năng của một người to interact with another culture’s linguistic framework by bằng đeo glasses that delineate their particular thế giới. If missions are to be effective vehicles of Gospel truths in foreign cultures, ilimin harshe yare should be acquired over a dogon lokaci. If missions must instead be short-term, one should first kula da yanayin yare da al'adun jama'an in front of them, nhìn vào bối cảnh trước mắt của họ, in which there is no cây cầu xuyên văn hóa rộng lớn to cross. This means that all believers have tangible access to help wajen yada bisharan Krista, as lifelong language learners in Lagos, or daily witnesses cho ân điển của Chúa at one’s local Starbucks. | View Online |
| Nov 2022 | LMM | Mission and Migration: Ask Those Who Are Doing It | Robert Scudieri | I had the privilege of preaching at Concordia Seminary a few decades ago. I began by looking at the chapel filled with white Anglo men and said, “You do not look like heaven.” Years later a pastor came up to me and said, “I heard you in chapel tell us we did not look like heaven and I was angry. But today I know what you meant.” He got it! | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | How the Redeemed World Is Done: Charting the Relationship between Liturgy, Discipleship, and Mission | James Marriott | In my recent experiences, which include the research and writing of a dissertation on worship, my teaching of various worship courses at a seminary, my participation in worship leadership nearly every day of the week, and my own discipleship as a church member, husband, and father, I constantly encounter this question. I hear others asking it, both in voice and in action, as they fit their priorities and loves into the endless demands for time and capacity. I ask it myself. What is the point of all of this? What is the purpose of Christian worship? | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Lutheran Worship for the Not-Yet Christian: Can We Reclaim the Missa Catechumenorum? | Steve Zank | In the face of post-Christendom1, many North American churches have chosen to either integrate with culture or isolate from it. Both choices often blur the connection between evangelism and faithful liturgical form. As a synod which values the historical practices of the Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) is in a unique position to revive Missa Catechumenorum, or service of the learners. Unfortunately, a common practice of general confession and absolution at the outset of a liturgical gathering can be seen as a problem for using Missa Catechumenorum. A deep understanding of Lutheran liturgical heritage, however, reassures that reshaping liturgy around the Missa Catechumenorum is not only a faithful Lutheran option but it reflects the practice of the very first LCMS liturgy. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | How Lutherans Can Think about Worship and Mission: Some Proposals from the Post-Constantinian United States of America | Joel P. Okamoto | It says something that Lutheran Mission Matters invites thinking and talking about the relationship between worship and mission. The New Testament certainly helps us to faithfully frame our questions, concepts, distinctions, aims, and responses on all matters of faith and life, including both worship and mission. But it does not explicitly reflect on this relationship. The Gospels do not show us Jesus addressing this relationship. The book of Acts does not record a debate over this relationship. The Apostle Paul does not teach about this relationship or exhort churches to do something about it. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Mission and Worship in a Secular Age: Reflections on Brazilian Lutheran Worship Movements | Mário Rafael Yudi Fukue | Over the past forty years, worship has become a point of difference and disagreement in the Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil (IELB, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil). In this development, the IELB is like churches in other parts of the world. For example, I know that in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the United States that worship practices, forms, and ideas often break down into two streams: traditional and contemporary; liturgical and non-liturgical; transcultural and contextual. It has become this way in the IELB too. I also know that in the Missouri Synod some speak about “worship wars.” I fear a “worship war” could start in the IELB too. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Paul’s Theology of Peace and Worship: “Let the Peace of Christ Rule in Your Hearts, Be Thankful” (Colossians 3:15) | Samuel Deressa | For the apostle Paul, there is one major challenge to the mission of Christ to the world, and that is the penetration of the normative values of the Roman Empire (e.g., selfadvancement and self-promotion) into the life of the congregations. These values of the Empire produced strife, dissension, and quarrels among the early Christians.1 Against such challenges, Paul urges Christians to follow Christ and to worship Him with gentleness, by living in peace and harmony with each other, and by looking “to the interest of others” (Phil 2:4). This article focuses on the connection between Paul’s theology of peace and its implication for worship life based on Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . .. And be thankful.” | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | “We Believe, Teach, and Confess” Addressing the Form-Content Issue in a Context of Post- Constantinian Mission | Roberto E. Bustamante | Latin American Lutheranism has always subsisted as a minority. It was born in proscription, with the Spanish Inquisition’s sentence. 1 The Edict of Cartagena de Indias (1610), for instance, catalogues the Lutheran heretics together with the pirates and corsairs, enemies of the Spaniard Crown, as the same type of criminals. 2 It was only in the nineteenth century that the independence revolutions, promoted by Masonic associations, provided more favorable conditions for Protestantism (especially liberal Protestantism) to enter the region. 3 Despite this, far from taking a prominent place in society, Lutheranism that entered Latin America during the nineteenth century largely functioned as an instrument of protection and cultural preservation for Russian-German immigrant minorities. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Mentoring in the Pews: Fostering a Missional Habitus | Kent Burreson | Pastor Tim Droegemueller describes Living Faith Lutheran Church’s faith formation process/catchumenate as it shapes their mission as a congregation | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Worship and Outreach | Paul Muench | While working as a missionary in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, my friend John was asked to be the guest preacher for a special worship service at a coastal congregation. Since there were no roads from the highlands to the coastal town of Wewak, flying was the only realistic way to travel. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Incarnational Worship | Liisa Tino | How do we incarnate our Lutheran heritage in order to communicate the Gospel? When we plan and carry out worship, we need to make sure everyone can “see Jesus” (Matthew 20:32-33). This is the challenge for both the overseas missionary and the professional church worker in America: to find the best way to communicate “God with us” to the worshiping community. Just as God’s Word has been translated into hundreds of heart-languages around the world, our liturgies and hymnodies also need to reach the hearts of the people with whom we work. From the Reformation and up to the present, Lutherans have been innovating so that the Word is preached and understood by the audience in their vernacular. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Worship and Mission from the Synagogue to Today | Jim Found | Worship has led God’s people into mission since before the time of Christ. Paul came across Gentiles who had become “God-fearers” through the synagogue in their midst. By continuing the synagogue worship pattern with its systematic exposure to God’s Word, the people of God continue to represent God in the community, provide nurture for believers, and become equipped to go forth in mission. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Do You Hear What I Hear? | Heather Choate Davis | My favorite holy day is Pentecost. I love that the Spirit comes into a house to enliven the fledgling church leaders. I love that the gift the disciples were given was not some “superpower” whereby anyone who heard them preach would instantly be converted but rather, the ability to communicate in a language that each person could understand. I love that the sharing of this gift quickly begs the question, “How is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” (Acts 2:8) —a question that begins a dialogue between the uninitiated and their Creator. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Music, Faith, and Spirituality in the Lutheran Tradition | David R. Maxwell | Music has been a part of Christian worship from the very beginning. After Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, they sang a hymn (Mt 26:30). Music figured prominently in the Old Testament, as David appointed musicians to serve in the house of God (1 Chr 25). And heavenly worship in Revelation is portrayed as being full of song (Rev 4 and 5). | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | Yeshu Satsang | Anonymous | View Online | |
| May 2022 | LMM | Lutheran Worship and Witness in Russia | Leif Camp | Right off I must admit that I hesitate to write this article—I am not up on the latest jargon and am dated in my studies. I have served as a frontline missionary in Russia for over 20 years, first as a volunteer, then through LCMS World Mission and then directly through the LCMS partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia.1 It is from this experience that I make the following observations. My approach is not scholarly, but practical; not researched in current books and debates but founded on simple biblical principles—an urgent need to reach people with the Gospel so that they, in thanksgiving for their salvation, worship and praise God and live as His children. | View Online |
| May 2022 | LMM | A New Hymnal for French-speaking West and Central Africa | Phillip Magness | “Lutheran missions plant Lutheran churches” has been a recent rallying cry in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The slogan may seem tautological to those unaware of Lutheran mission history, but it is a healthy reminder to pastors and missionaries that those who are not ashamed of the Gospel should unashamedly seek to plant and sustain congregations that uphold the faith we confess. Because congregations are gathered around the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments, this means enacting Lutheran worship. Given our confession that it is not necessary that rites and ceremonies be alike everywhere in the Church and that it “is enough” for the true unity of the Christian church that where the gospel is preached harmoniously according to a pure understanding, and the sacraments are administered in conformity with the divine Word”1 (AC VII,1), the subject of worship has posed some challenges. Procrustean efforts to create a perfect model is not the evangelical way. The Gospel is the heart of Lutheran worship, and its implications for worship should not be ignored. Where those implications have been ignored, many promising missions have floundered. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | Ministry in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Study of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Congregations of the Michigan District | Todd Jones | A multi-phase research project was conducted by the Michigan District to explore the impact and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on congregational mission and ministry. Twenty-six percent of the congregations in the District and forty-three percent of clergy participated in the surveys. The pandemic provided a unique opportunity to explore the challenges facing parish ministry in a time when face-toface relationships and on-site ministry activities were not possible. The study identified areas for further research and discussion to better prepare workers and ministries should their parish ministry need to move away from a building, large-group gathering model. The research findings highlighted the need for additional study in seven distinct areas of mission and ministry including: | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | Ministry in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Study of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Congregations of the Michigan District | Todd Jones | A multi-phase research project was conducted by the Michigan District to explore the impact and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on congregational mission and ministry. Twenty-six percent of the congregations in the District and forty-three percent of clergy participated in the surveys. The pandemic provided a unique opportunity to explore the challenges facing parish ministry in a time when face-toface relationships and on-site ministry activities were not possible. The study identified areas for further research and discussion to better prepare workers and ministries should their parish ministry need to move away from a building, large-group gathering model. The research findings highlighted the need for additional study in seven distinct areas of mission and ministry including: | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | Strategic Planning Doesn’t Work Here! How to be Productive when the Future is Unclear | Scott Gress | Mission and ministry certainly have changed due to the pandemic. In some cases, it was frame-breaking change. One thing we learned was that strategic planning doesn’t work here! What we also learned along the way was that serious issues we had overlooked became starkly apparent. Furthermore, we learned we need a new helping skill to adequately address these issues. Historically, church and ministry moved forward with strategic planning approaches that ran the gamut from detailed goals, strategies, and tactics to a more casual approaches that merely asked, “what did we do last year?” Most planning was based upon what we knew and was forecasted into the future. But then comes a pandemic. It upends not only what we had planned or hoped to do, but it also unsettles our assumptions. The impact couldn’t have been predicted. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | American Lutheran Colleges and the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 | Mark Granquist | The influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 has been called “America’s Forgotten Pandemic,” although it may well have taken fifty million lives worldwide, 675,000 of them in the United States. In the midst of a truly global conflict, World War I, this pandemic touched almost every corner of the world and brought influenza into even the most isolated communities. Since this epidemic disproportionately affected young women and men between the ages of twenty and forty, and this population accounted for half the deaths, it is of interest to know how this epidemic affected the American Lutheran colleges. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | How Do We Get Out of the Corona Crisis and What Remains? | Markus Nietzke | This article was a Talk given on June 15th, 2021, at the Pastors Convention of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK). In my talk, I´d like to focus on ways out of the pandemic —thinking ahead into a “new” normality. I am not one of those who would like to go back to the past or “keep going on” as before. I am offering some reflections in the hope of encouraging further collegial discussions. The ideas are provisional in nature and certainly also to be regarded as incomplete. My approach is this: I’ll describe something and then ask the question, “What remains?” followed by a statement. Overall, what I have to say has probably been said many times before. So let us start with “What remains?” The need to pay attention to God's work through the Holy Spirit in His Word and to have circumspect discussions with one another, with ample time for the exchange and understanding of our various positions. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | In Such a Time as This: Surviving with COVID-19 | D. Christudas | We are passing through a very strange and extraordinary time—the global pandemic of COVID-19, a once-in-a-century global health crisis. It has caused unparalleled vulnerability. This invisible enemy, the corona virus, is adversely affecting all spheres of life on our planet. It has thrown us into experiences of unbearable pain and agony. I myself, together with my colleagues, students, their family members, along with millions of others, were greatly impacted by this dangerous disaster. We helplessly watched the loss of several precious lives from our own families and the circle of close friends. It has been more than a pandemic for us. According to the conspiracy theory it is a plandemic. Some have called it a Planetdemic. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | Independence and Resistance of the Churches | Werner Klan | Thoughts on the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in times of COVID-19. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | The Missionary God in the Apostles’ Creed: How Did the Apostles’ Creed Portray a Missionary God? | Wondimu Game | The Word of God, the Bible from the beginning to the end, describes God as the Creator of the World, who created everything out of nothing “ex nihilo.” “. . . God is the primary and fundamental reality with reference to which all of creation is oriented and understood.” Likewise, the heaven and earth, and all creations in heaven and earth, silently and “eco-vocally” declare God the Creator, God Almighty, God the Father of all, and Redeemer of all, good and just. Creation echoes God’s indescribable attributes, showing how His implicit and explicit fingerprints are over everything and declaring God’s presence and His might. Thus, creation and its multifaceted ecosystem undeniably pronounces God’s presence, beauty, and His love for His creation. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | A Look at New Religions in the 21st Century | Armand J. Boehme | What does “religion” look like in the 21st century? Members of traditional religions (in this article using the word traditional to describe what Americans have understood by religion) might say that it looks pretty much the same as it had in the past. But there are other voices that speak about the winds of change that have occurred for some in the religious realm in the latter half of the 20th century and on into the 21st century. One of the dramatic changes has been the understanding of religion itself. | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | ENCOUNTERING MISSION Singing a Song in a Strange Land: Music in Worship during the Pandemic | David Mennicke | The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of our lives throughout the world. For church musicians (and all who cherish gathering in musically expressive worship), a core element of life – singing the faith in community – ceases. Beyond the known fear associate with this Coronavirus, group singing was tarred by “super spreader” events such as the infamous Skagit Valley Chorus rehearsal in which nearly every member contracted COVID-19, with two dying. Further professional research, including a study conducted by a group of professional musical and educational organizations indicated that the aerosol spread created by singing in enclosed spaces created a contagious environment. Gathering in worship, particularly with singing, could no longer happen. These realities cast a dark pall over worshiping communities. Indeed, this pandemic has forced us into a modern-day Babylonian exile faced with this question: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Ps 137:4 KJV) | View Online |
| Nov 2021 | LMM | Is Online Ministry the New Gospel Blimp? | Vernon E. Wendt, Jr | After showing His glorified body to others forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. We can imagine what was going through the minds of the apostles when Jesus ascended to heaven before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. We infer from Acts 1:10 that they were so in awe of Jesus’ ascension into the clouds, that for a while at least, they simply stared up into the sky, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them. And where did Jesus go? But, then suddenly two angels appeared to them, saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Mission Control | John L. Mehl | The Gallup headline from March of 2021 reads: “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time.” The article goes on to state that in 2020, only 47 percent of Americans state they belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque. How will God’s Church react to these stark statistics? The church could play it safe and only focus on worship experiences and programs for those who already know Jesus. But our Lord also loves those who don’t yet know Him, and He is sending us into the awkward places where we are not in control, to point people to Jesus. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Mission and Christian Mercy: Pondering Their Relationship | Klaus Detlev Schulz | Mission is a proclamatory, evangelistic activity that addresses the spiritual condition of a person. However, biblical data and theological anthropology inform us that such a person should be viewed wholistically, existing as an ensouled being. For that reason, mercy work and human care are complementary activities to mission proper, either preceding it, accompanying it, or following it. While mercy work is an ethical expression of the church, that is, a response of faith motivated by brotherly love for the neighbor and rooted in the parable of the Good Samaritan, it connects to Christology, to the one who Himself served in the world through both word and deed. His deeds and those of the apostles served as signs of their preaching of the kingdom that has come. The church looks at the deeds of Christ and the apostles as unique, and yet she performs her own deeds of mercy in the hope that the Lord may use them also as signs in support of her proclamation of His coming reign. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | The Surprising Result of Being Reminded That People Are the Focus of God’s Mission | Michael W. Newman | After fifty years of on US soil, The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States grew in awareness that the Gospel needed to be shared beyond the audience of German-speaking immigrants. In some cases, this new understanding resulted from increasing exposure to the developing American culture. In other situations, the Synod was pressed into new behavior by hostile social conditions. But Missouri rose to the occasion. Two key figures in LCMS history, Rev. Dr. Friedrich Pfotenhauer and Rev. F. W. Herzberger (both born in 1859), teach us that when processes, comfort levels, traditions, and preferences—which are always clamoring for top priority in the community of God’s people—are replaced by the ultimate goal of reaching people with the Gospel, wholistic and effective mission efforts grow and flourish. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | The Wholistic Missionary Works of the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod | Annissa Lui | This article is derived from the author’s Doctor of Ministry study; it represents her sole opinion and does not represent or reference to the opinions of the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service (HKLSS) or the Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LC—HKS). This article offers a view of work in Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, including the development of the author’s dissertation exploring the significance of biblical/Christian elements in substance abuse counseling. She had seen some Christian faith-based organizations using Bible-based approaches which helped abusers turn to a new life, a few even becoming pastors. When she became Chief Executive of HKLSS in 2012, she endeavored to put the Christian values as the basic values of the wholistic welfare services. These values guide the agency’s range of services to abusers and to the underprivileged, including the development of a social housing project to provide short-term residence for underprivileged families. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | St. Paul’s Cross-Cultural Mission Strategy and Bunkowske’s Cultural Onion Model | B. Steve Hughey | Connecting St. Paul’s mission strategy as described in his encounter with the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17 with Dr. Eugene Bunkowske’s Cultural Onion Model, this article seeks to combine biblical mission principles and anthropological insights about the key questions and appropriate mission activities that can lead to spiritual transformation. Today’s missionaries and faithful witnesses must use such principles and insights to discern what matters most to a particular unreached individual or people group. In addition, the paper explores the question of how to build potential bridges to connect a mission agent with a not-yet-reached individual or group at their deepest level so that the Holy Spirit can change their ultimate allegiance to follow Jesus and confess faith in the triune God. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | The Ideal Model for Majority World Seminaries—Ft. Wayne 1846 or Ft. Wayne 2021? | John P. Juedes | As the church grows in the Majority World (Third World), seminaries are formed to train more pastors. What is the ideal model for these seminaries—Ft. Wayne 1846 or Ft. Wayne 2021? While the doctrine of Ft. Wayne in 1846 and 2021 is very similar, they differ considerably in the requirements for ordination, language, minimum education requirements, costs, and church culture. The 1846 seminary offered training which was tuned to the minority German culture in which the pastors served, while the 2021 seminary is tuned to the global English culture in which most of its graduates serve. Majority World seminaries today favor one model or the other, which significantly affects recruitment, development, ministry, and number of pastors. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Confession Is Crucial, and Context Counts | Werner Klän | Lutheran identity is not first and foremost a special identity; it rather lays claim to catholicity. The Lutheran Confessions are intended to be a guideline for the understanding of what Christian faith is and what Christian life is. What is demanded of us, then, is a theological answer to the challenges we as confessional Lutheran churches, pastors, and scholars are facing in our time and day, and to our specific situations and living conditions in our various countries, continents, and climes. Translation, therefore, is inevitable for any theological endeavour: It is and remains our task. For the church and its members function as communicators of God’s message to all people, not least to those who have not yet been addressed, or reached by the biblical message. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Ecclesial Lutheran Identity and the Church’s Mission in the Face of the Reality of Favelas | Samuel R. Fuhrmann | The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB) faces many challenges in the city, given its rural origin on the one hand and the complexity of urban Brazil on the other. The isolation in the rural context, the immigrant experience, and the mission principle that gave birth to the IELB all led to a strong self-preservationist mentality. The complexity of the urban world includes the reality of favelas, which represents one of the biggest challenges to the church in its attempt to preach “Christ to all.” How then to reach favela dwellers in big Brazilian metropolises? In trying to help answer this challenge and taking all the above into consideration, this article offers an integrated view of Luther’s theology in respect to the relation between the two kinds of righteousness and the Apostles’ Creed. This approach then expands the theological reflection by putting the First Article to the service of ecclesiology and missiology. The result of all this will be an approach to missions whose starting point is justification by grace through faith and that takes cultures into consideration, facilitating the IELB’s presence in mission in the midst of the strong Brazilian cultural diversity of favelas, where to cross cultural boundaries is necessary for the sake of the gospel. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Counterintuitive Grace | Herbert Hoefer | Especially in the Lutheran tradition, we are immersed in the awareness of God’s grace. However, we need to understand that for those of other religions, the governing principle of grace is highly confusing and incomprehensible. Of course, the counterintuitive nature of God’s graciousness is also what can break through the other’s worldview and into the freedom and relief of the gospel. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Θεραπεύω and שָׁלֽוֹם a Biblical View of Wholistic Mission | Tim Norton | Two words describe Jesus’ mission like no other: Θεραπεύω and שָׁלֽוֹם. By deliberately focusing on these concepts from Jesus’ ministry, missionaries can address the traumas that Native North Americans have experienced. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Wholistic Mission to North America’s First Nations | David Sternbeck | The author provides a brief review of the misunderstanding and racism that have characterized the majority population’s relationships with First Nations peoples and accompanied all too many mission attempts to reach out to these peoples. A missionary himself, he suggests that genuine commitment to the evangelization of First Nations peoples requires a commitment to wholistic mission with an emphasis on words and deeds that proclaim, disciple, and heal. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Sowing in Concrete: Congregational Effort to Join God’s Mission in Brazilian Cities | Samuel R. Fuhrmann | In October of 2019, the International Center of Missionary Training (CITM) and the Paulista-district of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB) hosted a symposium on urban missions in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. During the event, a journal of Lutheran missiology named Missio Apostolica Brasil (MAB) was launched in continuity with the work in Brazil of the Lutheran Society for Missiology, as a kind of partnership. This short article consists of the introductory speech delivered at the symposium, whose title was Sowing in Concrete, and the topic was “congregational effort in God’s mission.” The public attending the event was made up of pastors and church leaders (with little or no theological training), who required a very simple, though clear, approach to introduce the event. The article therefore explains the context out of which the topic arose and briefly explores Jesus’ use of the image of sowing the seed to talk about the disciples’ role of preaching the Gospel in the cities. In addition, the article ties the event to the effort of pastors and theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, a church body that still faces many challenges in big cities (given its rural origins), and briefly talks about the importance of the new journal in the Brazilian context. The article aims to bring awareness about what is going on in Brazil in terms of mission thinking and practice to the readers of Lutheran Mission Matters. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | Border Ministry with the Rio Grande Mission Action Council | Brenda Segovia | Missional work and general community outreach can seem daunting for many congregations, especially those that are smaller in size and find themselves in rural communities. This article touches on how one organization created a collaborative ministry model among twelve LCMS congregations in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The Rio Grande Mission Action Council serves mainly to raise and empower new leaders within local congregations and support outreach efforts. The model of collaboration mentioned in this article will also speak specifically to the uniqueness of ministry in a bilingual border community. | View Online |
| May 2021 | LMM | A Student of the King and a Teacher in the Kingdom: An Example of Wholistic Mission Work | Miriam Carter | Two things are needed to be in the Lord’s ministry. The first is to be in God’s Word and the other is then to go out and work. This is an article about a woman who has done just that for more than forty years. Carol gets her strength from God’s Word and then proceeds to do what is put in front of her, to share God’s love. She has done this by example, by teaching, by sharing, and by caring for people who are less fortunate. Some of her stories are in these next pages. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | The Institutionalization of Theological Education Overseas and at Home | Robert Newton | World mission realities have shifted radically over the last fifty years and with those changes have come an ever-increasing need to raise up missionary laborers around the world. Our traditional Western models of training missionaries and pastors, however, have not kept pace with the demand for laborers here in the United States or abroad. The author argues that this dilemma is due in large measure to the institutionalized system of “centers and peripheries” in higher education and the continued inequality that system maintains between the Western and Majority World institutions involved in international higher education. Though focused specifically on global university education, the issues and concerns raised parallel those experienced within our Lutheran systems of international theological education. At the end, the author raises several questions intended to assist those responsible for the theological education programming in Lutheran churches here and overseas to adapt and develop theological education practices that meet the growing missional challenges of this age. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Theological Education and Mission | Douglas L. Rutt | Mission and theological education go hand-in-hand, like two sides of the same coin. This is made clear by the teachings of Scripture and has been demonstrated by the mission history. Since the time of the Christ, not only the proclamation of forgiveness, but theological teaching has been part and parcel of what the church is called to do. Many treatments of mission history do not adequately address the educational side of the endeavor. Conversely, many discussions of theological education do not fully make the connection between theological education and missionary expansion. The rapid growth of Christianity in the Majority World has created challenges for the younger churches, especially in the area of ministerial training. Yet it also presents an immense opportunity for partnership with churches in the West, who, while not growing rapidly, are comparatively rich in theological education resources. To the extent that the balance can be restored in both parts of the world, each informing and motivating the other, the true mission that Jesus commended to His people, to make disciples by teaching all things and by baptizing in the name of the triune God, will be realized in a healthier and more faithful way. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Luther’s Media for Pastoral Education | Robert Kolb | Luther’s revolutionary placing of the proclamation of God’s Word at the center of the life of the church called for changes in the understanding of the pastoral office and of preparation for the pastorate. Because thousands of parish priests could not retool at universities, Luther and his Wittenberg colleagues launched programs of continuing education and distance learning through the media of their time, printed materials, chiefly postils and commentaries, to aid parish priests to become proclaiming pastors. Today Lutherans throughout the world are using the latest in media blessings to convey the biblical message and to train local pastors for people on six continents. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Repentance and Hope: A Missional Appreciation and Appraisal of LCMS Educational Institutions for Training Black Church Workers | Matthew E. Borrasso | The Synodical Conference rightly understood the necessity of training Black workers to engage in missionary efforts throughout the South. This article seeks to investigate the genesis of those missionary endeavors as well as the foundation and dissolution of Luther College in New Orleans, Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary in Greensboro, and Concordia College Alabama in Selma. Furthermore, it aims to assess the strengths and weakness of the mission and its attempts at training and empowering Black workers for the mission. Finally, it will suggest ways this history can help shape present understandings of mission and theological education. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | The Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program: Reflections on a “Contextual” Experiment in Theology and Mission | Andrew H. Bartelt | The development of the Specific Ministry Pastor program serves as a model for intentional and serious engagement of both sound pastoral formation and the mission needs of the church. The process was marked by fair-minded representation of sometimes competing interests, an extended process of listening and learning from others, and a spirit of collegiality toward common goals through generative, creative solutions. In so doing, both strengths and weaknesses of different models of pastoral education and formation, often summarized as residential and distance, were evaluated. The future of pastoral education should make use of all available tools and models toward the most effective achievement of clear outcomes, appropriate to whatever ministry context is in view. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Seminary Curriculum in the Mission of Christ’s Church: A Look Back at the 1990s | Andrew H. Bartelt | Though not directly initiated by the mission needs of the church, the Curriculum Review process at Concordia Seminary in 1991–95 connected to the growing awareness of our North American context as a mission field. It also opened doors to a collaborative relationship with the mission leadership of the LCMS. Among the changes that resulted from that process were various specific innovations related to the changing context of mission and ministry, along with seeds for further, ongoing curriculum evaluation and review in light of the mission needs of the church. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Seminary Curriculum in the Mission of Christ’s Church: Mission in the Curriculum and a Curriculum for Mission | Joel P. Okamoto | Concordia Seminary launched a revised curriculum in 2017. This article reflects on ways that mission informed this curriculum, gathered under the headings of “mission in the curriculum” and “curriculum for mission.” | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Theological Education by Extension | Rudy Blank | In Matthew 9:36, our Lord laments that the crowds He encountered in Galilee were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord concludes His lament with the command to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. The need for laborers is as relevant as ever in these times of worldwide pandemics, global warming, new revolutionary movements, hunger, drug trafficking, persecution, and rampant crime. Five million Venezuelans, including a good number of Lutherans, have fled the country of their birth to seek refuge in other countries. As a result, many Lutherans are being left in their own country or in some foreign country without ordained pastors and the regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper. From where will the laborers come who will attend the Lord’s scattered sheep? How are new shepherds to be prepared? It is the author’s belief that a reevaluation of the TEE movement and its attendant philosophy can help us in finding solutions that will bear fruit in the twenty-first century. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | A Journey from Antigua, Guatemala to St. Louis, Missouri: How Theological Education by Extension (TEE) Became a Reality for US Hispanic/Latino Lutheran Leadership Formation | Marcos Kempff | Theological Education by Extension, known as TEE, was “born” in Guatemala. Historically, TEE is known to be an innovation of the Presbyterians in Guatemala that immerged out of the infrastructure of their established residential seminary in 1962–1963. This article will show that the Lutheran presence in Guatemala (est. 1945–1946) was also innovating theological education but from a distinctly different vision and methodology, and at an earlier date: TEE was born within a missiological strategy (1959–1960). This Lutheran heritage is the foundation for the mission of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | The Theological Curriculum and Its Construction: Vertical and Horizontal Aspects | Anselmo Ernesto Graff | This essay touches on the construction of a theological curriculum and its foundation based on the profile of the graduating student or of the future Lutheran pastor. The aim is to explore elements that deal with the composition and execution of a theological curriculum. Pastoral formation is known to have its main basis in its vertical dimension, that is, it is a gift coming from God. The challenge is how to reconcile this vertical dimension of pastoral formation, with the horizontal aspects and human responsibility in the formative process including factors such as a well-built curriculum. This research is qualitative in nature, and from the point of view of its objectives, it is exploratory. As a technical instrument of investigation, bibliographic research was used. The survey results show that overall curriculum construction and execution can achieve better consolidation through collaborative academic collegiate meetings of the faculty, continuing teacher education, and close attention to clear objectives of the desired pastoral profile that are present in the curriculum. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Theological Education/Pastoral Training in South Africa and in Mozambique | Carlos Walter Winterle | What is the link between theological training in a seminary in a provincial capital like Pretoria, RSA, and pastoral training in the bush in Mozambique? The Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Tshwane receives students from various countries. They come prepared and are able to study Greek and Hebrew and all the other subjects of a traditional theological education program. The candidates of the Theological Education Program (TEP) in Mozambique have very little formal education due to the conditions of the country, level of education in the country, and the place where they live: in the bush. Most of them do not have electricity and running water at home, and do not have access to a library or to the internet. The link is Christ and love for God’s mission. The realities are very different. The level of training is different, but in both places, candidates have been trained to share God’s free salvation by grace, by faith in Christ. And they are doing it well according to the report of one LTS student I share in this article, and as we can see with our own eyes in Mozambique. | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | For Whom Is Theological Education? | Miriam Carter | This article asks the question, what do we mean by Theological Education? Seminaries do good and important work but who else can be involved? | View Online |
| Nov 2020 | LMM | Humility in Mission Outreach | Herbert Hoefer | Missionaries commonly set out quite opinionated and self-confident. They learn humility through facing the realities of the work. In our mission training, we can give our students a heads-up on the fact of humility as central to the life and work of the missionary. We can help them start out with respect for their partners in the work and for the complexities of the task. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Rev. Laokouxang (Kou) Seying 1964–2019 A Partial Biography of Kou Seying | Rick Marrs | Lao Kou Xang Thao (as his name is listed in the yearbook) began his career in higher education as a freshman at St. John’s College (SJC) in Winfield, Kansas, in August 1983. We knew him then as Kou Thao. Later he chose to go by his surname, Seying. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Words on Behalf of the Center for Hispanic Studies at the Visitation of Our Dean and Brother, Kou Seying | Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. | My name is Leo Sánchez. Through the Center for Hispanic Studies, my colleague, Marcos Kempff, and I worked closely with brother Kou at Concordia Seminary. Together, Marcos and I prepared some words that I would like to read from the two of us. When we learned that our brother Kou was coming to serve with us at Concordia, we wanted to be among the first to greet and welcome him to his new seminary family. We wanted to do that in the best way Latinos know how, with a big hug. We wanted to encourage him the best we could. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | A Memorial for Kou Seying | Robert Holst | Concordia University, St. Paul [CSP] continues to be blessed by the ministry of Professor Kou Seying. He served as a pioneer HMong missionary in Minnesota and was CSP’s first HMong professor. While Pastor Seying served as missionary-pastor of a HMong congregation at Jehovah Lutheran in St. Paul, his first connection with CSP came as coach of the men’s soccer team beginning in 1992. He helped me, as Concordia’s president, to understand the challenges, opportunities, and blessings of reaching out in ministry to the HMong people. At that time and today, the largest gathering of HMong immigrants in the USA live in Minnesota—about 90,000. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Rev. Laokouxang (Kou) Seying, A Missionary’s Missionary in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) | Michael Lange and Robert Newton | Missiologist Donald Larson suggests that missionary development takes place in three stages: Learner, Trader, and Storyteller. These stages well capture the person and ministry of missionary Kou Seying and the legacy that he leaves us to follow as Lutheran missionaries. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | HMong Mission in LCMS | Kou Seying | Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of Kou Seying’s article that first appeared in Missio Apostolica 22, no. 2 (Nov. 2014): 309–326. Abstract: “HMong Mission in LCMS” was a paper written in 1998 for a course in the PhD in Missiology program. It is the first comprehensive analysis and well-documented studies of the first two decades of LCMS ministry among the HMong people in America. The paper captures both the ecclesiastical and theological developments of the initial decades. Concordia Historical Institute’s subcommittee for ministry to minority groups in the U.S. comments in a November 1998 letter requesting to archive it, “The paper is an original and it is a necessary piece to fit into the total picture of the LCMS World Mission today.” | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | The Evangelization of the HMong: Casting Away the Spirits | Kou Seying | Prof. Kou Seying’s first concern was always the evangelization of the HMong people. Among the papers found on his computer were the notes and miscellaneous, early, trial drafts dealing with this topic. This paper uses the metaphor, “casting away the spirits,” as the principal term to describe the idea of conversion in HMong culture and finds support for this description of conversion in the Old and New Testaments and also in the Confessional writings of the Lutheran Church. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Living among Immigrant Neighbors: How a Lutheran Theology of Sanctification Can Inform Our Witness | Leopoldo A. Sánchez M | The author lays out a models-based approach to sanctification grounded in Scripture and Luther’s writings, which yields five ways of picturing the Christlike life as a participation in His death and resurrection, struggle against the evil one, humble service, hospitality toward strangers, and devotion to God. The essay then moves on to argue that this Lutheran theology of sanctification offers a missional framework for church workers to reflect on the struggles and hopes of immigrant neighbors, as well as ways they can embody a realistic yet winsome witness in their attitudes toward, interactions with, and ministry among these neighbors. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Toward a “Credible Creation Account” for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod | Jon Braunersreuther | What is a “missional church”? How is a missional church distinct from iterations of the church in contemporary America? Have congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod ever exhibited characteristics of a missional church movement? If so, might that history form the basis for inspiring the church today toward a more missional stance? This brief exploration posits that the answer to the final question is, “Yes.” Therefore, the purpose of this study is (1) to review contemporary literature regarding the missional church movement, and (2) to explore salient, related elements of the history of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, for the purpose of (3) creating a “credible creation account” containing essential missional church characteristics to inspire the constituents of the synod to similar thinking and action for the future. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Res. 11-05A: To Encourage Responsible Citizenship and Compassion Toward Neighbors Who Are Immigrants Among Us | 2019 LCMS Convention Resolution | View Online | |
| May 2020 | LMM | Res. 1-05A: To Strengthen Multi-Ethnic Outreach | 2019 LCMS Convention Resolution | View Online | |
| May 2020 | LMM | The Mission Opportunity of the New Immigrants to America | Bob Zagore | The 67th national convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod adopted several resolutions. One was remarkable for the mission of the church in North America. In a resolution on “National Witness,” Committee One gave thanks for “new and existing multi-ethnic populations”; asked congregations of the LCMS to reach out and welcome these new Americans; asked districts of the LCMS to make church planting among the new ethnic groups a priority; committed the Office of National Missions (ONM) to provide resources to districts to form church workers to help churches reach these new populations; and affirmed the work of ministries that provide distance education to workers from these immigrant groups. In his article the leader of the ONM effort, Rev. Robert Zagore, shares a strong witness to the need for such an effort. A national leader with a mission heart, Zagore details his department’s plan to bring the gospel to the world (Mt 28:16–20) as the world comes to America. - Dr. Robert Scudieri, President of Mission Nation Publishing | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Mission Nation Publishing | Dan Gilbert | Most North American Lutherans know the situation: congregations are declining; young people aren’t joining; membership rolls and weekend worship services usually show only one ethnic group, and it’s usually people of northwest European descent. A new mission agency called Mission Nation Publishing has some easy and engaging ideas for working to change that scenario. This article tells the story of Mission Nation Publishing, beginning with a missionary memory from the author. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Confident Pluralism: Wrestling with the Loss of Christendom toward a Winsome Witness | Chad Lakies | The church in the North Atlantic world functions in many ways out of the memory of its former role within Christendom. Having moved into a post-Christian era, the methodologies and imagination fostered by the church’s habits developed within Christendom inhibit rather than advance the vocation of the church, which is to herald the Gospel to the world. This paper describes our new situation along with some of its challenges, and while admitting the church is often unprepared in terms of training for and knowledge of the new landscape in which the church finds itself, nevertheless, there is some wisdom from the past that can help the church faithfully advance the mission of God in which it is called to participate. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Mission in the “Age of Migration” | Douglas L. Rutt | The United Nations reports there are 272 million migrants in the world today. In spite of the situations of crises that often give rise to such a phenomenon, the impact can be positive in terms of the development of both individuals and society. Contemporary missiological literature has recognized the increasing significance of the impact of migration on the spread of Christianity as well. Since the time of the Early Church, people on the move, sometimes due to persecution, have played significant roles as the church spread throughout the Roman World and beyond. There is a need and opportunity for missiological researchers to explore the relationship between migration and mission from the historical, empirical, and theological perspectives. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Globalization and Religion: The Influential Six-Pack | Armand J. Boehme | This essay examines some aspects of the influence globalization has had on organized religion in general and on Christianity in particular. This study uses six areas of influence from an essay by Liselotte Frisk. That essay notes that globalization moves religion from the particular to the eclectic, from dogma to experience, from the collective to the personal/individual, from the hierarchical to egalitarian, from the theological to the anthropological, and from an other-worldly perspective to a this-worldly view. Suggestions for Lutheran Christianity’s constructive response to these trends are offered for study and action. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Ethiopian Immigrant Children: What Church Fits Them? | Tesfai Z. Tesema | The alienation Pastor Tesfai’s sons felt in the Ethiopian congregation he served drove Tesfai back to school. What kind of Christian ministry might reach second-generation immigrant children? This excerpt from his forthcoming book tells how his interviews with twenty-five young Ethiopians and Eritreans in America revealed youth who are proud to be ethnically Ethiopian and Eritrean but say they are American inside. A majority say the Ethiopian church of their parents doesn’t fit them. Tesfai concludes the immigrant children need their own new kind of church plant; a multiethnic English-speaking church which has broad reach into the host society. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Overflowing with Hope: Refugees on the Move | Jim Pressnell | The refugee camps of Rwanda provide an excellent example of the way God uses great movements of people for His mission. This is the story of six young men—Jean Paul, Claude, Eric, Kamali, Benson, and Iranzi—whose families fled ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo only to spend more than twenty years in a refugee camp. Their faith in Jesus sustained their hope even in the midst of hopelessness. Finally, the Lord answered their prayers, moving them from Gihembe to Portland, Oregon, to begin a new life in the United States. Bringing their faith and hope with them, God has used them to share the love of Jesus in ways they never could have imagined years ago in Gihembe. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Is Islam True Because It Is Logical? | Herbert Hoefer | Islamic advocates and defendants have been highly successful in promoting the logical character of Islam. They contrast Islam’s clear, simple logic with the “fantastic and illogical” claims of Christian theology. In order to evangelize the faith and protect our believers, we must clarify the role of logic in every intellectual enterprise, and specifically in religion. Our faith comes from the mind of God, who is above all logic. In fact, it’s very fantastic nature can be viewed as a demonstration of its non-human origin. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | The Application of Holistic Community Development: A Case The Application of Holistic Community: Study among the People of Vivares by Developing Our World | Miguel Torneire | This article first focuses on analyzing literature to provide various perspectives on the position of man in the universe and reality and his relation to the triune God. The four vital connections human beings have in life are then explored to illustrate that the conventional wisdom regarding poverty is erroneous and that poverty can come to communities through various manifestations. These manifestations are ultimately a result of people’s displacement from reality towards an ill-advised life that is not suitable for achieving inner peace. Only through a connection with God and His creation can an individual be fully content. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | A Blockbuster Story | Dale Hedstrom | People have likened the COVID-19 pandemic to a “God-ordained wake-up call” for our nation. Awakenings require seeing the past with greater clarity. Winston Churchill once said, “Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” While the Church of our day finds itself in unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can still learn from our past and be careful not to repeat our mistakes. We can also learn through the mistakes of others like Blockbuster Video, and with God’s guidance find new ways to bring the eternal gospel to a changing world. | View Online |
| May 2020 | LMM | Too Small a Thing | Sermon by Joel Biermann | The good news is that there is still time. It may be the third week of the new year, but it’s not too late, not yet, you can still get started on that resolution for the new year—or maybe you can even get around actually to making one. For weeks the gyms and health clubs have been blitzing us with their great deals thoughtfully timed and designed to make it easy for those motivated by the arrival of a new year to get after those 2020 resolutions. Yes, we are now into the “last chance” extension period—but there is still a sliver of time. You can still do it. Or, maybe not. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Honor and Shame in the Context of Culture and the Church in the United States | Eric Moeller | This paper is based on the presentation, “Honor and Shame in the Context of US Culture: The ‘Sticks and Stones’ Fallacy,” given at the Multiethnic Symposium on April 26, 2019 at Concordia Seminary. This paper will examine two issues: (1) to what degree the categorization of certain cultures as “honor/shame cultures” and others as “guilt cultures” is valid with respect to the culture of the United States; (2) how the understanding of the honor/shame dynamic can be a helpful one for ministry in the US context today. The paper suggests that perhaps the most important dynamic in the investigation of this issue is not primarily one of honor/shame versus guilt but rather the dimension of collectivism versus individualism in the culture. After exploring this dynamic in the experience of honor/shame versus guilt, it will look at shame as a fundamental dimension of human experience after the fall, with deep and continuing relevance for understanding social life and human psychology in the US. It will also broaden our analysis to look at the dimensions of social class, status, and stigma as they shape the context of people’s lives and affect the life and ministry of the church. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Centered in Christ | Paul Muench | To be doctrinally correct, a church body must have both correct doctrine and correct practices that support the correct doctrine. From ancient times, the culture of the Western church has pushed the church away from practices that were consistent with the doctrine of the church. The Hebrew worldview was what anthropology named a “centered set.” In a centered set, most everything is defined by relationships. Greek and Roman cultures defined their world by what anthropologists call a “centered set.” In a centered set, the world is defined by intrinsic qualities. This quickly led the church into false practices some of which are still being used. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Effective Christian Outreach to Minority Communities: What Does It Take? | Nathan Rinne | As Lutherans in America look at their past interactions with people from minority groups, particularly American blacks, they are greatly challenged. We are challenged even more when we realize that it is not only overt racism that makes it difficult to recognize and rejoice in the familial bonds that we share with all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. The issues of “in-group preference” and “auto-segregation” also present themselves to us as well, even as these are challenges which Christians are uniquely equipped to address through God’s Word. As we look forward to the full reconciliation that Jesus Christ will bring in the life to come, we can also work even now with hope—within the two kingdoms that God has established—to know a more “heavenly culture” in our present. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Next Steps for LCMS Multiplication: Two Actions to Reignite a Gospel Movement | Michael W. Newman | The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) experienced two robust periods of growth in its history. During the late 1800s and from the late 1930s to the early 1960s, the LCMS saw significant expansion. Two common threads of ministry action during these seasons of growth were the planting of new churches and the development of new Lutheran church bodies around the world. This essay will examine the history of LCMS Kingdom multiplication and propose two solutions consistent with our history that will address our current decline. The solutions will help energize efforts to bring the important message of grace alone, faith alone, and Scripture alone to an increasingly secularized and searching culture, and to new generations as we approach the two hundredth anniversary of the LCMS in 2047. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Communal Eating and the Body of Christ: Missionary Lessons from the Kankanaey | Robert Newton | Through a series of vignettes, the author recalls lessons learned from the Kankanaey Christians in the Philippines that challenged and enriched the author’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper. He briefly explores the role culture plays in how a people group understands God’s Word and faithfully follows it in the formation of its church’s doctrine and practice. The reader is asked to consider the interaction of culture with doctrine and practice, both in a “receiving” culture’s understanding of God’s Word and in a “missionary’s” awareness of what he may be communicating about God’s Word in his words and actions. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Thy Kingdom Come: Four Key Mission Principles to Help Guide Effective Cross-Cultural Mission Efforts | B. Steve Hughey | Based on the author’s fifty-plus years as a cross-cultural missionary, mission executive, mission agency director, mission board member, and mission consultant, and applying St. Paul’s missionary method, this paper describes important mission principles to help guide effective cross-cultural mission efforts. The article focuses on one key mission commitment, two necessary mission strategies, three desired mission outcomes, and four essential mission values in order to successfully fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. The mission principles presented in the article are based on the author’s critical reflections of his years of mission service in Venezuela and on the Southwest border and a desire to share a concise summary of key mission principles learned and applied during the author’s ten years of service as executive director of the Central American Lutheran Mission Society (CALMS) from 2006 to 2017. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | “Faithful? Faithless? What Do We See? What Do We Do?” | Armand J. Boehme | In the context of declining membership and declining participation in the life of Lutheran churches in America, the article examines the implications for faithfulness in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:15–30, the parable of the servants and their use of their master’s talents. It suggests that the well-known Latin theological phrase, simul justus et peccator, “at the same time saint and sinner,” serves as an accurate description of the work of the church and its members. It acknowledges that the church is challenged internally and externally and offers examples how the church is attempting to respond faithfully to the challenges. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | A Relevant Evangelistic Appeal with the Unchurched | Herbert Hoefer | Typically, we use Acts 16:31 as the model for our evangelistic appeal: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” However, our use of it is a faulty interpretation of the passage and is quite incomprehensible to our unchurched audience. The terms in this appeal (“believe,” “Lord Jesus Christ,” “be saved”) make no sense to this audience. Our appeal must be presented differently, in a manner that speaks to their understanding and situation. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Contemporary Approaches to Weddings, Funerals, and Burial Practices | John P. Juedes | Church members and unchurched Christians have traditionally looked to the Church for help with milestone events such as funerals and weddings. However, people increasingly choose informal memorials, cremation and venue weddings instead of church-based ceremonies, reducing the opportunities for pastors to share the Gospel and connect people to the Church. Families who choose cremation are less likely to hold burial services or to invite pastors to lead informal memorials. Couples who choose venue weddings often use officiants who are not pastors. The transfer of milestone events from churches to secular settings and the increasing numbers of unchurched people call for contemporary approaches to ministry. Pastors may welcome funerals of unchurched people as evangelistic opportunities rather than approach funerals in the traditional way, primarily as Christian burials. Support groups provide a means to meet emotional needs. Deacons as well as pastors can officiate at memorial services and venue weddings when unchurched families feel more comfortable with this alternative. Churches may accept cremation as a godly Christian option and install columbariums for cremains, rather than dismiss cremation as a pagan practice. As people change how they commemorate rites of passage, the Church can adapt its ministry to bring Christ to people in times of need. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Raising Eutychus: A Model for Youth Ministry (Acts 20:7–12) | Vernon E. Wendt Jr. | In Acts 20:7¬–12, when the apostle Paul raises the youth, Eutychus, from the dead, we have an opportunity to consider this miracle allegorically. If God can restore “the chief of sinners” (Paul) from spiritual death and use him to revive Eutychus after people had pronounced him dead, then He can certainly use us to revive spiritually the youth of this generation, no matter how bleak the situation may appear. | View Online |
| Nov-19 | LMM | Missional Lessons on Philoxenia from Missionaries | Rodney D. Otto | The author points out the many lessons to be learned from mission work abroad with its emphasis on sharing the Gospel through friendship that can be applied in mission work in the United States, the world’s third largest mission field. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Translating the Message with Lamin Sanneh | Joel Elowsky | Professor Lamin Sanneh died this past January 6, 2019, in New Haven, Connecticut, from complications due to a stroke he had suffered a few days earlier. He had just accepted an invitation to speak at Concordia Seminary’s Multiethnic Symposium and was looking forward to the visit this May, as was the seminary community. His death is a loss to the church and to world Christianity. There have been any number of tributes to a man who had such a significant influence and impact on world Christianity. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Forgotten, That Is, Neglected, Treasures | Victor Raj | With the coming of Jesus Christ into our world, God ushered in His rule and reign on earth. This good news for humanity’s sake is at the heart of God who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God has commissioned His Church to witness this truth for the life and salvation of all God’s creation (Mk 16:15). | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Fear or Faithfulness, Burial or Boldness? Charting the Course for Today’s Church on Pause | Michael W. Newman | What do God’s servants do when the Master goes away for a long time? In Matthew’s Gospel account of the Parable of the Talents, Jesus describes such a scenario. He said that the kingdom of heaven “will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away” (Mt 25:14–15). | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Fear and the Mission of Christ | Robert Kolb | Fear is a natural reaction to God’s drawing us out of our comfort zones into the flow of human history, which He has created and over which He is Lord. Especially scary are the challenges of witnessing to the faith and taking into our fellowship people who come from backgrounds with little knowledge of the biblical message and often hostile attitudes toward the Christian Church. Christ’s commissions to give witness to Him deliver the promise of His presence precisely in our witness to the Lord. As Immanuel, He accompanies us into what seems for us an uncertain future, as Lord of the days to come. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Confessions of a Fourth Steward | Robert Scudieri | This article follows the emphasis in the Fall 2018 issue. In that issue, authors offered a more hopeful vision of the church in America than what was presented in a statistical report to the Synod, demonstrating a loss and projected further loss in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod of five hundred thousand souls. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Faithful in Mission: An Alternative Reading of Matthew 25:14–30 | Gregory Klotz | We are all bound to our cultural worldview. It influences how we read Scripture and find it meaningful. What are ways that we can read this parable in a way that makes us conscious of our cultural predispositions to reading it in a specific way. In this article I attempt such a reading in order to build an alternate reading to a greater extent faithful to the text. The purpose in doing so is to provide a way of critiquing the decline of membership in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) churches that are biblically and missiologically sound. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Faithfulness Versus Unfaithfulness According to Matthew 25:14–30 | Carlos Walter Winterle | God entrusted talents to each of us, to some more, to others fewer. How are we managing these talents? A talent may be understood as money, as a skill, or as the Gospel itself. The growth of the church, under God’s blessings, depends on how we manage these talents. We depend exclusively on God’s grace for our salvation. But we cannot deny that God entrusts us with talents to be used and multiplied, and we are responsible for them. Are we “faithful” servants, or “lazy” servants? | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Faithfulness in Christ’s Mission | John T. Pless | Hermann Sasse (1895–1976) taught theology in Germany and Australia, emerged as a leading Lutheran theologian of the last century. His ecumenical contacts were broad and his knowledge of developments within global Lutheranism was informed and perceptive. Not the least of Sasse’s interest was the place of mission within the Lutheran Church and how it relates to the confession of the faith. This essay explores this connection based on two primary essays by Sasse. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Autonomous LCMS Congregations: The Burial Ground of Ecclesiology and Merger as an Additional Tool for Unburying the Gifts of the LCMS | Brian J. Hesse | As C. F. W. Walther shaped the LCMS early on, the unique system of self-governance positioned the church body for both confession and mission. Today that self-governance has often been described as congregational autonomy. This has led to poor stewardship of declining congregations, and it is time to repent and consider new partnerships in ministry mergers as an additional tool for sharing what Christ has given to the LCMS. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | God Still Answers Questions and Prayers | David P. E. Maier | This article is a revised version of David Maier’s presentation at the annual banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in St. Louis on January 29, 2019. In it, he views the expanse of God’s redemptive history from Pentecost (Acts 2) through the description of the Church Triumphant in Revelations 7, highlighting the encouraging picture of the “intercultural” church. God’s people, in whatever “time” or place they live, should not be fearful in their witness, but fully trust God and His Word, which are powerful beyond our imagining. The Holy Spirit still gifts the priesthood to accomplish divine purposes. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Moving from Cross-Cultural to Intercultural Collaboration in Missions | Todd Jones | The article is an expanded written version of a presentation at the annual banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in St. Louis on January 29, 2019. Since a cross-cultural approach to mission work has reinforced divisions between cultures, an intercultural approach to mission is encouraged. Unlike crosscultural interactions, in which both parties can separate and return to their respective cultures with little change, intercultural interaction changes those involved so that they become a new culture. Intercultural interactions are driven by the desire to form lasting relationships. Gert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions framework is a helpful tool for examining cultural assumptions that influence our multicultural mission work. In a collaborative team process, as an example, it was demonstrated that an individual’s understanding of terms such as collaboration, team, and community has been influenced by cultural assumptions. To prevent our cultural assumptions from becoming a barrier, we must work with those of other cultures to forge a new set of cultural values. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | The Antioch Model for Faithful Participation in Christ’s Mission | Will Sohns | In addressing faithful participation in Christ’s mission, do we know, understand, and believe the essence of Christ’s mission? Are we faithfully participating in and executing Christ’s mission? Are the mission practices faithfully based on and aligned with God’s mission disposition and principles? As helpful and necessary as they may be, the answers to these questions do not come from sociological, cultural, and demographic studies. In the face of experiencing decline and loss in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (baptized membership in 1981: 2,721,883; 2017: 1,968,6411) and a post-Christian world, the answer lies in God’s Word. It is missional. It is theological. It is spiritual. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Where Gutierrez Got It Right: Reflecting on Liberation Theologies in Light of the World Immigrant Crisis | Douglas R. Groll | This paper was originally presented at the North Central Region of the Evangelical Missiological Society at Trinity Seminary, Deerfield, Illinois, on March 16, 2019. 1968 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Gustavo Gutierrez’s original paper, Una Teología De Liberación, Perspectivas, first delivered in Chimbote, Peru, and published as a book in Spanish in 1971. 2018 signaled the fortyfifth anniversary of the English translation and publication of Orbis Publication’s A Theology of Liberation. This document will invite the reader to give a new consideration of Gutierrez’s message in light of today’s political, economic, and spiritual realities, shorn of the East-West, Communist-Capitalist ideologies and rhetoric of the 1970s and 80s that often clouded a clear understanding of Gutierrez’s original intent. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Faithfulness and Fruitfulness in Mission: American Churches’ Mission among Ethnic Communities | Yared Halche | This article examines mission efforts of American churches among various ethnic groups. It closely looks at the parable of the three tenants from Matthew 25:14–30 through a missiological lens to determine faithfulness and fruitfulness in mission. It underscores the significance of the Gospel’s “investment” among others, particularly ethnes (ethnic groups). The study included biblical reflections followed by a brief historical overview of mission work by American church bodies. Recommendations are given to maximize missional engagement and partnership with the global ethnes who reside in America. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Buried under Excellent Soil | Rich Carter | That we might focus on the third servant, who buried the treasure in the field, is to suggest that we might be the third servant. Perhaps by mistake we do such burying. More so, perhaps we do not even recognize that we bury the treasure under our good work in theology or worship. Will we risk personal reflection, to consider ways in which our fear, guilt, pride, or shame leads us to the field instead of the marketplace? | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Faithful Mission: “What Does That Have to Do with Me?” A Look at the Church in America in Light of Matthew 25:14–30 | Noemí Guerra | The church in America has been losing many of her baptized members every year. This article aims to discuss the reasons why this generation has grown to be unfaithful by asking Noah, a 1.5 generation latinx millennial who grew up in church. Noah has loved God ever since he was young and had been very active in church too. Noah had a strong connection with God throughout his life until . . . he didn’t. Going to church began to feel like a burden. I discuss in this article why I think this is happening to Noah and many other thousands of baptized members every year. I also discuss what does the church has to do with this new trend. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | As We Go . . . | Miguel Torneire | Jesus gave us a model for training Christian disciples when He trained the twelve disciples for mission. Jesus identified, invited, selected, and sent an unlikely and underqualified group of ordinary men to seek the lost as they were going to proclaim and demonstrate the Good News and Good Works, respectively. Jesus’ training of the Twelve has to do not only with the faith in Him, but also the courage to go and serve. This article portrays the personal findings and learnings of a missionary who went from formal theological training to training disciples as he went into the mission field. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Lutheran World Relief: Seventy-Five Years of Faithfulness in Mission | Jon Diefenthaler | Founded in 1945, out of a desire to send emergency aid to war-torn Europe, Lutheran World Relief is now engaged in “relief” and “development” projects designed to meet the physical needs of victims of natural disasters as well as families facing abject poverty on a daily basis in forty-two countries around the world. This article argues that an examination of the nearly seventy-five-year history of this independent, pan-Lutheran organization provides another example of the faithfulness in mission that Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:14–30 highlights for us. At the same time, the author asserts that LWR has remained true to the Lutheran tradition of human care, and that it is currently modeling several pathways that may help lead to the revitalization of Lutheran churches in post-churched America. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Lutheran Braille Workers: Seventy-Five Years of Faithful Service to the Blind | Patti Ross | This piece is based on the address the author gave at the Lutheran Braille Workers’s seventy-fifth anniversary celebration on October 20, 2018 in Yucaipa, California. Lutheran Braille Workers is the only Lutheran organization in the US that supplies Bibles and other Lutheran literature free of charge to people around the world who are blind or visually impaired. The work began seventy-five years ago when a young Lutheran woman, Helene Loeber, became involved in transcribing Braille Bibles for use in post-war Germany. She soon discovered that the needs were huge in the US as well as Germany, but she also recognized that God had provided an enormous resource in the Lutheran women who were willing to learn to transcribe and produce Braille literature. The article deals with the challenges faced and the solutions found over the decades as LBW became known worldwide for its service to people who are blind and visually impaired. | View Online |
| May-19 | LMM | Common Ground with Muslims | Farrukh M. Khan and Herbert Hoefer | Most Christians are quite unaware of how much we have in common with Muslims. Missionaries among them always begin with the beliefs, Scripture references, and practices that we have in common, for often Muslims also do not realize the commonalities. We become more comfortable to witness among Muslims and they more comfortable to hear our witness when we work from our commonalities. Then we also can make crystal clear our differences. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | New Doors Open for the Good News | Victor Raj | Lutherans engage the Church’s ministry and mission today with some virtual discomfort if not excessive fear and trepidation, for fear that the contemporary missional church may not be keeping in step fully with the traditions the faithful from early on have embraced. Correspondingly, certain constituents of the institutional church assume that our generation already is post-missional, and all we need to do is preserve our respective traditions and conserve the values our fathers passed on to us. For the Church and for the Christian, mission and ministry are not two separate entities. In fact, mission is ministry and vice versa. The one without the other is unthinkable. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Sermon Philip the What? Philip the Deacon Acts 8:26-40 | Jeffrey A. Oschwald | Dear Friends in Christ, If you don’t already know, you should, that it is Dean Burreson and his staff who diligently and faithfully produce the worship bulletins that guide our worship together here day after day, season after season, year in year out. That is one normal parish duty that we chapel preachers don’t have to worry about. And that’s a good thing, too, because, if today’s bulletin had all been up to me, I would probably still be in my office right now, frantically trying to decide what to call our commemoration today. Even my sermon has across the top of Page 1 the title “Philip the What?” Let me illustrate for you my quandary by considering briefly the texts that could have been the basis for our message this morning. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | A More Hopeful Future for the LCMS | Robert Scudieri, Daniel L. Mattson, Jon Diefenthaler, Andrew H. Bartelt | The Synod’s projection that the LCMS will lose 500,000 more souls has caused pain and despair. As missional leaders in their denomination, the authors looked for a more hopeful direction. They sent out a question about the future of the LCMS to over five hundred influencers in the Synod. The responses received were both heartening and chastening, and they shared both frustration and hope. In large measure, they demonstrated a multitude of instances where congregations and individuals have taken initiatives to bring the good news of God’s great love to the growing number of Americans who do not know the Gospel. God’s people have seen the challenge and have acted in hope. The purpose of this article is to share that hope. | Read in English and Spanish View Survey Results |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Released and Sent: Verbs and Their Subjects in Acts 13 | Jeffrey A. Oschwald | The sending of Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:1–4) is rightly regarded as a crucial text for understanding the Church’s role in God’s mission to save His world. Sometimes, however, the beautifully balanced and coordinated relationship between Spirit, Church, and missionaries described by Luke is obscured in English translations. A closer look at the use of άπολύω (apoluō) (v. 3) helps to restore and even sharpen our insight into the relationship between the Spirit’s leadership and the Church’s response—and to challenge us to be willing to release our resources for the fulfillment of the Spirit’s will and purpose. | Read in English and Spanish |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Released for Mission at Home—The Texas District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod | Yohannes Mengsteab | God uses critical stages in life to call workers to ministry. The author left the Eritrean Liberation Front for Sudan at the age of twenty-two, where an Eritrean pastor became the voice of God that changed the trajectory of his life. The article makes three major points: the mission of God is always Trinitarian; God gives His Church the gifts and resources necessary to do the missionary work; the office of the evangelist is critical in the expansion of the mission of God. The discovery, intentional development, and release of the gifts for the mission of God is, therefore, the role of church leadership. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | “A [Radio] Tower of Strength”: Walter A. Maier, Broadcasting, and Gospel Proclamation | Kirk D. Farney | In the first half of the twentieth century, Walter A. Maier embraced the new medium of radio to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to millions of listeners in the United States and around the world. His tenacity in achieving and maintaining access to radio airwaves, especially over rapidly expanding networks, and his powerful preaching of biblical orthodoxy bore abundant fruit. Erudition and eloquence, combined with contextualized Christian substance, kept audiences tuning in week after week in the most turbulent of times. Maier’s remarkably successful evangelistic and pastoral efforts offer an instructive model to the twenty-first century church as it faces our complex, multi-media world. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | An Outside Look at the Missio Dei in 2 Kings 5 | Mike Rodewald | God’s Word is for all people. Western worldview and culture may cause bias as we study and interpret Scriptural narrative. Understanding how those from other language communities and cultures interpret such narratives increases our knowledge-base and our appreciation of God at work through the Word in the world. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Deacons on a Mission—The Pivotal Place of Acts 6 | John P. Juedes | The seven deacons of Acts 6 are commonly understood as having been appointed only to serve the poor. This superficial reading of the text misses their important and pivotal mission—to evangelize and incorporate the Hellenists, a culturally distinct people group. A closer study of the Seven reveals that the church in Antioch followed their model in launching Paul’s mission to evangelize the Gentiles, preparing Jewish believers to receive “foreigners” and incorporating Hellenists as full members of the body of Jesus Christ. They become the point men by whom the Church began to make disciples of “all ethnos.” The commissioning of the Seven is the root from which many succeeding missions, principles of ministry, practices and leaders grew. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Behold! Now Is the Day! | Armand J. Boehme | Christianity appears to be fading from the Western world. There are increasing numbers of “nones” and those who claim to be spiritual but not religious. How should the Church bring the message of Christ’s love to this twenty-first century world? This essay offers suggestions as to how the Church might respond to current challenges and move boldly into the remainder of the twenty-first century. Seven suggestions for action are given which can be pursued either by professional church workers or by every baptized Christian. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | The Local Congregation—The Hope of the World? | Larry Merino | Are our mission problems “out there” or “in here”? Acts 13 records how the Antioch church approached it. Instead of focusing on the myriad of problems that were “out there,” they prayed, fasted, and trusted in the work of the Spirit in the life of the body of believers. It appears that they focused on what was going on “in here.” This focus led them to place their faith in the work of the Holy Spirit and His guidance. Today’s leaders are usually focused “out there” but need to focus more “in here.” A systemic approach, an awareness of underlying structures, and learning to live in creative tension can help local congregations avoid quick techno-fixes and grow in their reliance on the Spirit. There is a reason that Antioch succeeded, and there is a simple but hard way forward. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Preaching and the Mission of God | Richard Gahl | Declining church membership is getting more attention these days. While it is not a new concern, proposed solutions result in modest increases in some congregations; but, in general, widespread decline continues. No one silver bullet is likely to fix what ails us. The work of changing a congregation’s culture takes time and a commitment for the long haul in days when instant fixes are expected. This article raises one aspect of church life in the theology and practice of mission that doesn’t get much press: missional preaching. In other words, in addition to telling the story of the Good News in Jesus Christ, we propose to ask what the writers of the New Testament were calling on the emerging church to do with the Good News. What clues about the mission of the Church are embedded in the New Testament documents? How might those mission insights empower preaching in this twenty-first century AD? My thesis is that preachers need to refer more frequently to the mission of God and illustrate what it means from Scripture for the baptized people of God. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | “Quo vadis, Mission Agency?” | Karl E. Böhmer | This paper seeks to define what a mission agency is and to analyze the role of mission agencies in the church of today. There is a greater emphasis on lay involvement in the church today, and many question whether mission agencies should still send ordained missionaries. Various trends in the church have a tremendous impact on the perception and role of mission agencies, both denominational and parachurch, such as a decline in finances, globalization, short-term missions, the church planting movement, and individualization. Yet the mission agency is just as necessary today as before, since the mission agency in essence is one of the hands of the church in motion. The missio Dei continues, and in each generation the church needs to seek prayerfully to adapt its mission agency accordingly. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | From Brazil to Africa: A Good Personal Experience in God’s Mission | Carlos Walter Winterle | Love what you do and love God’s people. God’s Mission is multifaceted. While some are sent to spread the Gospel and to train local people, others have to stay to do the local mission and to nurture the newly converted. These are the two sides of the same coin. The Gospel is always the same, but cultural issues need to be respected in the way we share the Gospel of Christ. I once read in a book review: “When a book begins with ‘I,’ I surely will read it. It’s not only theory, but life experience.” “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27). | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing | David O. Berger | The LMM survey on demographic projections of potential LCMS membership losses and the future of mission in the LCMS prompted this writer to offer some observations on one congregation’s approach to mission and outreach in a time of declining numbers. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | The Little Church That Could: Watching God at Work as We Walk in Faith | Dale Hedstrom | Sometimes when we can’t imagine how a new ministry opportunity could come together, we close the door. Or if we consider the risk and cost of failure to be unacceptable, we stop trying. This is often because we don’t factor a supernatural God into our equations. But Scripture is full of examples of God asking His people to believe impossible things—and then start walking in faith that God will what only He can accomplish. Here is a story of a little congregation that decided to take some steps of faith—and what God did in response. | View Online |
| Nov-18 | LMM | Gospel Power Overcomes Barriers | Miriam Carter | This reflection paper is an attempt to share my struggle in figuring out how God is working in my life and how I can relinquish my efforts to control my life. This is a real struggle because there are so many things, like worries, work challenges, family problems, and even successes, that draw attention to me and my wanting to be in control. I have looked at the whole package of Barnabas and Saul being set apart and then released for mission as a model of the sending and the going. Then the Centurion is such an example of faith in the power of Jesus. The purpose of this article is to help others to see Jesus, to go to Him, and then to be released for mission. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Eugene W. Bunkowske: An Encomium | Paul Mueller | Writing a short tribute to Dr. B is an enormous task, for his influence in my life and the lives of hundreds of other missionaries simply cannot be encapsulated in a page or two of remembrances. But let me attempt the impossible. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Eugene Bunkowske—In Memoriam | Robert Scudieri | To say that Eugene Bunkowske was a giant in the field of Lutheran missiology would be to say what everyone already knows. Many of us got to know Gene as a missionary to Africa, or as the Translations Coordinator for the African Continent for the United Bible Societies, or for the twenty years he spent teaching communications and outreach at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, or as the Feichter Chair Professor at Concordia University, St. Paul, where he gave innumerable students a zeal for mission work. To appreciate him as the gift from God that he was, you had to know Gene as the humble, caring, courageous servant of Christ that he was. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Trends In Missiology Today | Eugene W. Bunkowske | Dr. Bunkowske originally presented this paper at the inaugural banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in Fort Wayne on October 20, 1992. In it, he discusses twelve trends that he sees as changes in the theology and practice of missions. He explains how changes in the cultures of countries that send missionaries (The West) and in countries that receive missionaries require a new way of thinking and acting. The world is no longer so unbalanced that the Western world can think of itself as the giver of Christian faith, and the rest of the world indebted to the churches of the West for this gift. Rather, it is necessary to recognize that the young churches meet the historic churches as equals, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Together, they share the same task and search for ways to communicate the Good News of Jesus with the world. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Recovering the Heart of Mission | Robert Newton | The article is an expanded version of Robert Newton’s address at the annual banquet of the Lutheran Society for Missiology in St. Louis on January 30, 2018. In this essay, Dr. Newton argues that the Lutheran Church has been blessed to live its entire history in the era of what is now called Christendom. During this period, the Church was always close to the centers of power, and the Church’s voice was regarded as important in shaping society as well as expressing its hopes for the future. Now, the Church lives and works in the world after Christendom. The Church is losing its privileged place in society and finds that it must compete with other religions in contexts that are neutral at best and perhaps even hostile to the Christian faith. In this sense, the Church is returning to a lifestyle and a way of working that are like that of the Church in the first Christian century. The Church then was a persecuted minority that carried its message with authenticity and integrity into an unbelieving world. This is the task that Lutherans today must creatively address, discovering new ways of communicating by word and deed the message of God’s salvation in Jesus. | Read in English and Spanish |
| May-18 | LMM | The Confessing Church: An Act of Excluding or the Art of Gathering? | Michael W. Newman | Confessing. Ask a person on the street about confessing, and you’ll very likely hear accounts of criminals admitting their guilt as detectives press them with evidence. Ask church adherents what it means, and they may describe humbling moments of acknowledging their sin in prayerful tones during worship or voicing one of the ecumenical creeds in the company of a Christian congregation. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Confessing Sin in Mission | Richard Carter | In personal stories and professional studies, the author proposes attention to sin—its confession and absolution—as vital to confessing in mission. As suggested by the Ablaze! movement in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and its global partners, there is an important place for appropriate leadership, planning, and administration in mission; but there needs to be space between evaluation/assessment and making new plans, space for recognition of sin in the assessment, and space for absolution to set free for mission. The David Kolb four-stage cycle for learning is adapted for engaging in mission, with the addition of that space for confession and absolution. The author invites the reader to reflect on places in her/his life where sin has impeded mission and to hear absolution for such sin. The last word, the first word in mission, is God’s: You are forgiven. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Confession as Mission in a Secular Age | Gabe Kasper | In his 2007 tome, A Secular Age, Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor asks the question, “Why was it virtually impossible not to believe in God in, say, 1500 in our Western society, while in 2000 many of us find this not only easy, but even inescapable?” With this question, Taylor taps into a mood of many in the Western world, in a time when unbelief is seen as the default position, even for believers. How does the Church respond? As a confessing church body, the simple answer is to “be faithful to our confession.” At face value this appears to be a fine answer. However, if the confession of the Church is misplaced, she can lose her mission. Consequently, the focus of this paper is to show that the truest confession of the Church demands a response of mission in our secular age. It will do this through understanding the secular age, refocusing the Church’s confession, and articulating a way forward in mission in line with the truest confession of Christ’s Church: Jesus Christ is Lord. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | A Lutheran Perspective on the Influence of Life of Brainerd on the Church’s Understanding of and Approach to Missions since Its Publication in the mid-Eighteenth Century | Vernon E. Wendt Jr. | The popularity of David Brainerd’s personal journal, published by Jonathan Edwards in the mid-eighteenth century, greatly influenced the revivalistic understanding of and approach to Christian missions. We can only imagine how the history of missions for the past several centuries might have been different had a journal as influential as Life of Brainerd been published at the same time, portraying a missionary faithfully proclaiming the Gospel message in all its truth and purity and rightfully administrating the sacraments, instead of adhering to the principles of Jonathan Edwards’ theology. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Cultivating a New Perspective on Unity in Worship Practices | Laura M. Pulliam | Confessions are crafted over time. Time itself can serve as a sieve through which poor theology is purified. Therefore our confessions of faith, crafted over time and carefully laid out in the Book of Concord, are the highest quality tools for mission available to us. As with most tools, however, utility is dependent on the user, not the object itself. How do we practically utilize confessions in such a way that we do not have to first convert someone to our culture before they are converted to Christ? In recent years, the confessions of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) have more often been used as a hammer for proving a point than as a spoon for delivering the Gospel. What the LCMS desperately needs, possibly more than ever, is some discussion on the practical use of this tool, particularly in worship practices. The Early Church provides a helpful framework for how we might handle these discussions. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Inbox-Confessing the One True God in the Context of Public Interreligious Events | David O. Berger | Editor’s Note: This article is revised and adapted from Concordia Journal, 30, no. 3 (July 2004): 118–121. In the polytheistic arena of an increasingly “small world,” for a Christian invited to participate with representatives of non-Christian religions in public religious events, the issues are primarily scriptural and secondarily practical. The hazards, far outweighing any expectations of effective Christian confession or proclamation of the Gospel, justify—even demand—an explained absence. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Response: Witness in the Marketplace of Religions: An Opportunity to Be Seized | Daniel L. Mattson | David Berger’s article, “Confessing the One True God in the Context of Public Interreligious Events” raises important issues about opportunities for witness to the One True God in the context of “public interreligious events.” Since my own ideas are somewhat different and we are both members of the Lutheran Mission Matters editorial committee, I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to share my views. My concern takes seriously the last phrase of the article title, “public interreligious events,” and that phrase sets the tone for this article. The time is very likely coming when Christian faith will have no privilege in American society, and all our public witnessing will be done in a context where all religions and spiritualities are regarded as equally valid. Christians will need to bear witness in a truly free-marketplace of religions. | View Online Read Entire Inbox and Response |
| May-18 | LMM | Applying the Great Commission | Derrick Miliner | Applying the Great Commission has always been a challenge for some churches. In my twenty-nine years of working in the Church, I have seen the Church struggle with applying the words of Christ “go into all nations.” I think we are selective in the nations we go into. In this article, I discuss a simple way to apply the Great Commission. From my perspective in this article, Jesus said to make it as simple as He initially sent the disciples with nothing in their hands; just faith in Him. I, too, think we should have faith and go, close to our churches. Stop passing our close neighbors to reach the perfect neighbor. | View Online |
| May-18 | LMM | Confessing the Faith in Print: From Mongolia to the Muslim Diaspora and Beyond | Matthew Heise | Lutheran missions have a great deal to offer seekers in this smaller, global world, where borders have shrunk, and formerly exotic lands like Mongolia are more readily accessible to the Gospel. Whether followers of shamanism, Islam, or tribal religions, more and more non-Christians are coming to the faith through the spoken and read Gospel. I offer some thoughts on encounters I have had with these seekers from my service with LCMS World Mission and now as executive director of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Inbox Heath R. Curtis - Coordinator for Stewardship, LCMS Office of National Mission | Heath R. Curtis | Dear Editor, In the eight years of the Obama administration, the US went from being 78% Christian to 71%. The last time the LCMS saw a year to year gain in baptized membership, the Supreme Court was deciding Bush v. Gore and A. L. Barry sat behind the desk in Kirkwood. The ELCA, UMC, UCC, and Presbyterians are faring even worse. These facts and the questions they raise are what led the Stewardship Ministry of the LCMS’ Office of National Mission to commission two scholars to study the demographic and cultural context of the Missouri Synod. I want to thank Prof. William Schumacher for his essay offering his analysis of these demographic reports which were published in the Dec. 2016 issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission; and I also thank you for publishing it. In this letter I hope to offer some clarifications that will further the efforts of your readers as they make plans for the future of their ministries in the challenging cultural landscape of today’s America. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Response: Mission and Denominational Decline | William W. Schumacher | After I offered a few comments (available here) in response to the December 2016 Special Issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission (JLM) (available here), the conversation about demographic studies of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and their relation to mission and evangelism has continued. In particular, Rev. Heath Curtis, a pastor in southern Illinois and the LCMS Coordinator for Stewardship, has written a direct response to my comments (available here: https://blogs.lcms.org/2017/synod-demographic-studies-offer-insight-despite-critiques), and his response helpfully clarifies some points. Those who are interested in the topic and the discussion should also read the helpful contribution of Rebeka Cook and the additional material from the authors of the original reports in the Dec. 2016 JLM (all available here: https://blogs.lcms.org/2017/journal-of-lutheran-mission-march-2017). I had not expected to write further on the subject, since I think my original comments and concerns were sufficiently clear. But I will offer just one or two remarks to Rev. Curtis, since he singled me out in his blog post on the LCMS website. | View Online View Entire Inbox exchange |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Paul’s Alls, Luther, and the Discovery of America | Ben Haupt | Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Do you look at strangers when they walk past you? There are a lot of people in our world today, and sometimes it’s just easier not to look people in the eye when they walk past you on the chapel plaza. It’s even worse when I’m getting on a subway in New York City or London. When there’s just a sea of people, it’s sometimes easiest just to put my earbuds in, keep my head down, and shuffle along. Obviously I’m not going to get to know every person I walk past or stand next to in a subway or wait in line with at an airport. It’s impossible to have personal relationships with seven billion people, and so I admit that sometimes I just shut them out. This is a chapel sermon preached on October 25, 2017. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Luther’s Teaching and Practice Regarding Believers’ Confessing of the Faith and Witness of Christ | Robert Kolb | The history of the Lutheran churches reveals a consistent interest in and commitment to mission from the sixteenth century on even if initially the churches in central Europe had little or no means for pursuing sending missionaries overseas. The theological commitment to mission, however, was taken for granted by prominent teachers of the Lutheran churches. Luther’s theology, centered in the Word of God as the instrument of God’s saving power, emphasized that witness to the gospel and the sharing of the message of forgiveness of sins in Christ was the calling or duty of every baptized believer. This takes place, he believed, in “Christian” societies but also outside those societies when it is possible for believers to give such witness there. His own practice reached out to lapsed church members as well as Jews, the only group outside the faith that existed in the German lands at his time. He was always sensitively translating the faith culturally as well as linguistically for his hearers and readers. The Augsburg Confession also was issued to confess the faith to others within the household of faith in line with the Wittenberg conviction that believers are always to give witness to Christ. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Six Theses on Luther’s Sense of the Mission of God | Robert Kolb & (tr.) Marcos Kempff | 1. Luther understood the Word of God to be the foundation of reality and the instrument of the ultimate power of the Creator. 2. Luther believed that Baptism brings with it the call to every child of God to be agents who deliver God’s life-giving Gospel in the forgiveness of sins to others. 3. Luther believed that Christians give witness to those outside the faith as well, even though most of his followers in the sixteenth-century central, eastern and northern Europe had little or no occasion to meet unbaptized individuals. 4. Luther put this conviction regarding Christian witness to Christ into practice to the extent possible in his “Christian” culture. 5. As the consummate translator, Luther recognized the importance of faithfulness to the text of Scripture and sensitivity to the ever-changing context in which God has placed his human creatures as historical beings. 6. The Augsburg Confession represent Philip Melanchthon’s presentation of the Wittenberg theologians’ conviction that they had been given God’s Word in order to share it with their flock, with the household of faith, and with the world. | View in English and Spanish |
| Nov-17 | LMM | “The Giant That Couldn’t Sleep”: An Active Theology of Missions as Derived from the Lutheran Confessions | Glenn K. Fluegge | Some have described the Lutheran Church as a “sleeping giant.” The implication would seem to be that the Lutheran Church is gigantic when it comes to theology but relatively inactive when it comes to missions. One could make a good case against the caricature itself, but the purpose of this essay is to ask a more fundamental question: Can this giant even sleep? I argue that it cannot and set out to develop a two-dimensional theology of missions as derived from the Lutheran Confessions that is categorically active and very much alive. It focuses on the mission of the Triune God (vertical dimension) which flows naturally into the mission of the Church (horizontal dimension). | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Where Are You? The Question That Drives the Scriptures | Henry Rowold | In Genesis 3, we read the tragic attempt by Adam and Eve to free themselves from the lordship and fellowship of God, followed by the judgment of God. God’s first response, though, is a question, The Question: “Where are you,” which reveals that God still seeks His wandering children. Indeed, The Question provides a fundamental thread for reading the subsequent record and history of the Old Testament—and on into the New Testament. This article notes key turning points in that history where The Question is pursued, and indeed The Question becomes a quest by God, to redeem His scattered children. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Christian Ministry Across Cultures: “Not by Birth But by Rebirth” | Victor Raj | This essay proposes that “missiology is theology done right,” a theme I am working further on in the form of a book. Christian mission is founded on Scriptural warrant that all human beings may know that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and those who believe in Him will have eternal life. To make this truth known to the whole wide world, God has set part a people, a holy priesthood, and a prized possession for His mission. All institutional churches and church establishments are the products of the missionary activities of the past. In the modern era, Christian theologians have acknowledged that missiology is the mother of theology. Revisiting the Christian Church’s history and theology enables Christians of our time to return to their roots, to the Lord Christ who sends them out into the world on His mission. Mission is nothing other than God’s heart reaching out to those who are lost in sin and death, offering them forgiveness, life, and salvation in His name. God’s mission has no boundaries. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | IBM and the LCMS: Walking the Reformation Pathway | Michael W. Newman | International Business Machines Corporation, IBM, Big Blue—by the early 1990s the technology giant and marketplace dominator was tanking. Reeling from a proliferation of PC brands, a tech start-up revolution, and internal cultural paralysis, the once-powerful mainframe computer innovator found itself on its heels. Experts predicted imminent collapse. That’s when Louis V. Gerster, Jr. was invited to take the helm as CEO of IBM. Gerster had no tech industry credentials but was a proven growth and change agent as CEO of American Express and RJR Nabisco. Answering the call to lead a dying business behemoth did not qualify as an item on his career bucket list, but this was IBM. It was more than just another resident occupying the crowded and transient neighborhood of worldwide industry. IBM was an American institution. This was more than just a job; it was a mission. So Gerster decided to accept the position. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Quincentennial Celebration: The Paradigm Shift from Martin Luther Then to Ours Now—Part Two | Enoch Wan | Based on significant global trends that affect the mission of the kingdom of God, the Lutheran Church is encouraged, first, to be engaged in a shift from traditional missiology to a multilinear, multidirectional missiology and multiethnic ecclesiology. Further, in light of diaspora communities literally “at our doorstep,” a “diaspora missiology” understands not only missions “to” the diaspora, but also “through,” “by and beyond,” and especially “with” such communities as full partners in mission. Finally, Dr. Wan articulates a “relative realism” paradigm that counteracts the cultural relativism and mistrust of institutions that dominate the mission context and that restores an authentic Christianity based on our relationship with God and then with one another as human creatures. This leads to practical implications for Gospel-driven mission within the realities of a changing social-cultural and technological context. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Lutheran Presence at the First Protestant Christianity in South Travancore | Damodharan Christudas | Protestant Christianity in Travancore has a unique history different from other missions in India. The Eastern (Syrian) Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Christians first came to India as immigrant communities and multiplied primarily through biological reproduction. Protestant Christianity however was a missional movement, proclaiming Jesus Christ as Savior among indigenous peoples. The Protestant mission movement in India began especially with the entrance of Bartholomew Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar in 1706, a Halle Lutheran Missionary. The existing histories about the origin of the Protestant Christianity in Kerala hardly mention this fact. Before the arrival of the London Mission Society in 1812, Protestant Christians were working already in Travancore as an extension of the Tranquebar mission. Historians of Travancore Protestant Christianity so far have only acknowledged the origin of Protestant Christianity in Kerala with the Rev. Vedamanickam of Mylady. That story however is very selective. This study is an attempt at re-reading the Travancore Christian mission history for the purpose of showing a clear connection of Lutheranism with the first Protestant missionary efforts in Travancore. | View Online et="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Combined Article |
| Nov-17 | LMM | De Roma . . . a Wittenberg . . . a USA | Miguel Darío Sanabria & (tr.) Marcos Kempff | El Reverendo Miguel Sanabria, oriundo de Colombia, describe su camino en la fe desde sus días como seminarista Católico Romano, luego su ordenación como sacerdote hasta llegar a ser pastor luterano. Hoy sirve en la Bahía de Tampa, Florida, en un ministerio misionero entre la población Hispana. Sus experiencias nos muestran cómo Cristo, tan claramente destacado en la Reforma Luterana, transforma la mente y el corazón de un siervo de Dios. Abstract: Rev. Miguel Sanabria, originally from Colombia, describes his spiritual journey, first as a Roman Catholic seminarian, then as an ordained priest, and finally as a Lutheran pastor. Today he serves as a pastor-missionary in the Tampa Bay area, serving within growing Hispanic communities. His experiences illustrate how Christ, so clearly demonstrated in the Lutheran Reformation, transforms the mind and heart of God’s servant. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Mutual Hierarchy as a Framework for Ecclesiology | Jeffrey A. Dukeman | This article first briefly argues for the preferability of a mutual hierarchy framework over both the hierarchical framework of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the egalitarian framework of Miroslav Volf for the doctrine of the Trinity. Building on this Trinitarian foundation, it then advocates mutual hierarchy in ecclesiology, particularly in three ecclesiological areas: the relation between a pastor and a congregation, trans-congregational relations, and relations between the church and the mission field. The paper concludes with some questions for discussion in these three ecclesiological areas in the context of the LCMS today. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Rejuvenating the Lutheran Identity in India: Indian Christians Meeting Luther Five Hundred Years after the Reformation | Sony Lawrence | Archival research on MELIM (Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) invites contextual reading on the co-religions of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, on the social situation of outcaste or pariahs of whom MELIM reached most of its followers, and the political transition from nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century colonial and monarchial rule of subjects to the governance of citizens post Independence in 1947. How MELIM advanced God’s Mission in this context from 1895 amidst human rights, information diffusion, and identity politics, stems from the prior 190 years of Danish and German Pietist Lutheran mission which started in Tranquebar in 1706. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | God’s (and the Church’s) Mission: Is It a Matter of Pleasing Consumers? | Gerson L. Linden | God’s mission to save the world through Jesus Christ involves the Church as the instrument for the proclamation of the Gospel. For the accomplishment of the task, people have to be targeted in a meaningful way. Such has been the preoccupation of the Lutheran Church, also in Brazil. However, a new religious movement begun in the second half of the twentieth century, known as “Neopentecostalism,” tends to work as a market offering religious products to the people, treated as consumers. This article assesses the strategies of a Brazilian denomination, the “International Church of God’s Grace” as representative of such an approach. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Missouri’s Mission with Hispanics in the United States—a Half-Century Critique: The Good, Bad, and Possible | Douglas Groll | Invited to share reflections on Hispanic ministry in the Missouri Synod over a fifty year ministry the author is in intent on showing that a great deal of progress has been made in Hispanic ministry as God has blessed dedicated individuals and families in raising up ministry to and with Hispanics in congregational leadership formation and literary productivity. At the same time, the Synod and its administrative units on district levels are judged sorely deficient in recognizing their own internal blindness to systemic cultural premises which have insisted on Anglo economic and administrative superiority and their consequent marginalization of ethnic and specifically Hispanic ecclesial needs. The article suggests that Hispanic and other ethnic minorities within the Synod present a possible “teaching moment” for the Church to recapture its identity as a “people in exile” under God’s eternal blessing instead of an institution in decline that must hold on to its power and control at all costs. | View Online |
| Nov-17 | LMM | Johannine View of Persecution and Tribulation | Wang Lian | In this article, I address persecution and tribulation from a Johannine perspective. The fourth Gospel emphasizes the importance of being prepared for suffering through its use of διώκω (diokō) and θλϊφις (thlipsis). John gives more attention to Jesus’ passion than the Synoptics. The mention of persecution and tribulation is an important one in the Johannine epistles, as well as in Revelation. This article mentions five areas of Johannine theology observed from John’s writings: persecution based on hate, persecution associated with the world, persecution and the Holy Spirit, persecution foretold by Jesus, and Jesus Christ’s example in persecution and suffering. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Missiology of Recontextualization | Victor Raj | Gospel proclamation is a privilege God has invested in His Church. Missionaries, pastors, and evangelists must be competent communicators of the one true Gospel that makes all people wise unto salvation. Interconnectedness and interdependency have become normative in today’s global culture. Mission agencies and mission partners cannot plead exemption to this norm as they serve as God’s missionaries, together. Disengaging Christians from their traditional culture and requiring them to follow traditions and practices that are foreign to them in the name of theology is detrimental to their organic growth and self-sustainability. This essay argues that Christian witnessing is a joint endeavor that requires the speaker to interact with the listener with gentleness and respect. Thinking recontextualization facilitates this process for the good of the church and its service to the world. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Demography and Mission in the LCMS: A Response to Journal of Lutheran Mission, December 2016 | William W. Schumacher | This essay offers both methodological and missiological responses to demographic studies published in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of Lutheran Mission. Central to those studies was the correlation between membership in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and birth rates among white Americans, both to explain declining LCMS membership and as the basis for “pronatalist” recommendations to reverse that trend. But the correlation deserves to be scrutinized, and the arguments proposed must be examined critically. In particular, LCMS choices and policies about mission must focus on seeking and saving the lost, not on denominational survival. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Quo Vadis, LCMS? Wine Women Worship Witness Warfare | Gerald B. Kieschnick | During the past 53 years, I’ve served The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as elementary school teacher, vicar, pastor, mission developer, development officer, foundation chief executive, district president, and national president. Those responsibilities have brought joy, fulfillment, frustration, and disappointment. Throughout those years, I’ve experienced the strength, beauty, and weakness of our church body. In this article I share, from my heart, my perspectives on matters that hinder the health and growth of our beloved synod. I pray this offering will stimulate healthy, responsible, evangelical conversation among us, to the glory of God and the building of His Church on earth. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | The Dubious History of “Contextualization” and the Cautious Case for its Continued Use | Glenn K. Fluegge | Technology is reshaping our individual human experience and wider society on a near daily basis. An interesting, and useful, source through which we can examine these changes is Marshall McLuhan. In particular, his famous phrases “The Medium is the Message” and “The Global Village” can illuminate both our inseparability from technology alongside the deep extent to which various technologies shape us and our world far more than we often realize. The gift of this point of view is a deeper awareness of pervasiveness and ongoing influence of technology, which raises many dangers, challenges, and opportunities for the Church. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Quincentennial Celebration: The Paradigm Shift from Martin Luther Then to Ours Now—Part One | Enoch Wan | Historical review of the paradigm shift of Martin Luther occurred five hundred years ago, followed by a personal proposal to the leadership of Lutheran church bodies in North America in the twenty-first century for a contextual paradigm shift, based on three selected global trends (i.e. the shifting landscape of Christendom, the phenomenon of diaspora, the rise of socio-cultural relativism which includes postmodernist epistemology, religious, ethical, and cultural pluralism), leading to the embrace of new paradigms (i.e. multiethnic ecclesiology and strategic Kingdom partnership, diaspora missiology, and relational realism). | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Multiethnic Ministry: Some Obstacles and Insights to Overcoming Them | Paul Mueller | Both missionary ministry and academic studies help identify barriers as well as bridges as cultures begin to live side-by-side. There are notable organizational as well as cultural and heart barriers which hinder robust partnerships between ethnic groups in the United States and established faith communities with whom connections are made. Some of these may be easily resolved. Others present significant challenges and subsequently require significant change. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | God of the “In Between” in Humanity, Space, and Time in Japan | Roger W. Lowther | The Apostle John tells us, “I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev 7:9). In heaven and on earth, we find people from every language and culture. These cultural differences give insights into the essence of the Gospel and the person of Christ. The short meditation that follows explores some of those insights through the Japanese concept of “ma” (in between) as found in the Japanese concepts of humanity, space, and time. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | The Spirituality of Atheism | Armand J. Boehme | An increasing number of people today are saying they are spiritual but not religious. Many new spiritualities have surfaced including atheistic spirituality. Atheists have developed their own creed, Sunday gatherings, Sunday Schools, chaplains, devotional books, Bibles, ethics, Ten Commandments, summer camps, and weddings and funeral services. This raises the question as to whether atheism has become a non-theistic religion like Buddhism Taoism and the Raelians. The American legal system has recognized atheism as a religion. Parallels to attempts at secular religions are also explored, as are ways in which Christians can respond to the increasing secularism of the age. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Saccidananda and the Trinity: Hindu-Christian Conversations on the Supreme Reality | Sam Thompson | In a religiously plural world, building bridges with our neighbors belonging to different faiths is a desirable task. Such an effort often requires us to make an earnest effort to understand our neighbor’s worldview and religious faith. To a Lutheran whose worldview shaped by Luther’s two realm perspective, such knowledge is beneficial in living out our calling in both realms of life. The effort taken in this essay is to explore into the Hindu understanding of God as Saccidananda in relation to the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. This essay suggests that, although both those concepts of supreme reality emerge to be fundamentally different, they could provide a common ground for a Hindu and a Christian to engage in conversation. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Reading the History of MELIM (the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) in Context 120 Years Later | Joseph Rittmann | Archival research on MELIM (Missouri Evangelical Lutheran India Mission) invites contextual reading on the co-religions of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, on the social situation of outcaste or pariahs of whom MELIM reached most of its followers, and the political transition from nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century colonial and monarchial rule of subjects to the governance of citizens post Independence in 1947. How MELIM advanced God’s Mission in this context from 1895 amidst human rights, information diffusion, and identity politics, stems from the prior 190 years of Danish and German Pietist Lutheran mission which started in Tranquebar in 1706. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Church and Development in Ethiopia: The Contribution of Gudina Tumsa’s Holistic Theology | Samuel Yonas Deressa | There has been much debate in the church over the relationship between evangelism and development. In past decades, the involvement of the church in God’s mission has been defined with emphasis on either evangelism or development. The church, however, is called to participate in God’s ongoing creative work of nurturing the whole aspect of life (physical and spiritual) without separation. This article explores the challenges to the holistic understanding of mission in the Ethiopian context and attempts to show the contribution of Gudina Tumsa’s holistic theology in the context of the ministry of the Lutheran church in Ethiopia. The two challenges explored are the Western missions’ emphasis on development and Pentecostal teaching that downplays the public role of the church. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Paul’s Greatest Missionary Sermon: A Lesson in Contextualization from Acts 17 | James Tino | What is “contextualization”? Is it really necessary? Is it a biblical concept or an unwanted invasion of social science into the territory of Gospel proclamation? This article explores the concept of contextualization by looking at the example of the apostle Paul, specifically at his sermon in Athens (Acts 17). Contextualization is compared to translation with an emphasis on how meaning is communicated. We are challenged to consider what we really mean by “Gospel proclamation” and how the Gospel communicator may begin the task of bringing God’s Good News to people of other cultures. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | Is Contextualization a Bad Word in the Mission Field? | Tom Park | Many scholars have different ideas about contextualization. That sophisticated sounding word brings with it unintended meanings which can be perceived both positively and negatively. Is contextualization a bad word in the mission field? The author will look at this word through his experience working with the Hmong and others of different social and economic background as a pastor. As a Korean Lutheran pastor, contextualization has played an important part in the mission work among the Hmong and university students. Does contextualization have to be reevaluated? The author believes that missionaries, pastors, DCEs, DCOs, and laypeople need to revisit and (re)define what contextualization is. In order to reach out to people of other cultures, one is faced with the difficult decision and dilemma to distinguish what is cultural and what is theological. This article will highlight the necessity of the critical contextualization. | View Online |
| May-17 | LMM | The Father’s Heart | Todd Jones | Professor Todd Jones grew up in the Dallas area where he was first challenged with the Father’s love for His lost children through the preaching of pastor Stephen Wagner. He has been involved in evangelism and outreach since he was fourteen years old. He graduated from St. John’s College in 1985 and received his first call in to the parish ministry from Concordia Seminary St. Louis in 1989. God has blessed him with opportunities to revitalize congregations, participate in the church planting process, in the U.S. and overseas. He is currently a faculty member of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO where he teaches in the practical department and is the Director of the Resident Field Education Program. This is a chapel sermon preached on April 8, 2017. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | God, the Gospel, and Modern Science: Reflections on the Church’s Witness and Message in a Scientific Age | Joel P. Okamoto | Science is certainly important to the contemporary world, not least because it is indispensable to economics, health care, transportation, and communications. But it matters also for Christians because it is often taken as a natural philosophy with a definite ontology (account of what there is) and epistemology (account of knowing and knowledge). This natural philosophy is not only highly successful and influential, but also challenging to Christian faith and life. This article traces out the basic features of science as a type of natural philosophy, and suggests how it matters for faithful Christian witness. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Odd Bedfellows? Churchly Employment of Science and Technology | Timothy P. Dost | Although there are exceptions, the church has generally used both science and advances in technology seamlessly to spread the Gospel and promote the Word of God more generally. This article explains this through several examples: the use of technology in spreading information through visual art and architecture, and eventually printing; the use of science to affect the world view and argue for who was right, given the evidence from the creation, particularly in the structure of the solar system; the use of science to prove that there was logic and order to the creation, supported by a mathematical foundation. In addition, the article briefly touches on other topics such as education, healthcare, and other areas the church has used to carry out its work and foster its message, that also support science and technology. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Intelligent Computers in a Christian Worldview | Gary Locklair | Thinking Machines! The inflection given when speaking these two simple words can invoke fear, excitement, concern, wonder, skepticism, or hope. This article explores the question of intelligent computers from a Christian worldview perspective. Both the origin and purpose of artificial intelligence are reviewed with an emphasis on how the field should be viewed and shaped within a Christian perspective. Answers to two fundamental AI questions will be presented: Can/will computers be intelligent, and can/will computers be equivalent to human beings? | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Features of Human Anatomy: Marshall McLuhan on Technology in the Global Village | Michael Knippa | Technology is reshaping our individual human experience and wider society on a near daily basis. An interesting, and useful, source through which we can examine these changes is Marshall McLuhan. In particular, his famous phrases “The Medium is the Message” and “The Global Village” can illuminate both our inseparability from technology alongside the deep extent to which various technologies shape us and our world far more than we often realize. The gift of this point of view is a deeper awareness of pervasiveness and ongoing influence of technology, which raises many dangers, challenges, and opportunities for the Church. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Music Technology, Worship, and Missions | John P. Juedes | Church leaders debate about the use of music in churches and missions. This is often framed in terms of theology and practice. Actually, music technology, not theology, both causes and provides answers to the debate. Music technology, that is the kinds of instruments and how they are used, is constantly changing and strongly affects music used in the church. The different types of music technology used in various cultures and the trend toward globalization of music present special challenges for missions. Understanding how music technology works and changes provides a basis for answering questions, such as, “What music is ‘sacred’ or ‘secular’ now? What will be in twenty years? What music is too secular for church use? Are refined hymns better than simple choruses? How is music influenced by, and used to spur open air evangelism? How has recent music technology expanded worship options and weakened denominational control? What valid and competing values have, and always will, drive conflict over church music?” | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Privilege, Tragedy, Doubt, Science, and Faith—a Personal Story | John W. Kenney, III | This is a personal autobiographical essay by a Lutheran college professor who is also a practicing research scientist, but who is neither theologian, nor philosopher, nor pastor. If you are looking for rigorous, sophisticated, and compelling arguments regarding the interface between the Christian faith and science, the existence and character of God, the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and the veracity of Christ’s claim to be Lord and Savior, let me assure you that these arguments do indeed exist and are well worth reading and pondering, but this is not the place to find them. What I’ve written is intended to be a personal account of my encounters with and explorations of the faith-science interface over the years set against the unfolding backdrop of my life. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Where Faith and Science Meet: An Opportunity for Cross-Cultural Outreach | Gillian M. Bond | How should we as Christians respond to science? How should we interact with scientists and others whose worldviews are shaped or impacted by science? These are important questions if we are to equip Christians to nurture the faith of other believers and to share the faith with unbelievers. All too often, however, responses within Christendom range from shifts away from sound theology, to attempts to change science, to fear and/or hostility. However well-meaning, such approaches are detrimental and are based on fundamental misunderstandings of science. A clearer understanding of science is necessary for a faithful alternative based on cross-cultural communication. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Science vs. Religion or Religion vs. Religion? | David O. Berger | Metaphysical assumptions underlying science vary through time and by culture. Perceived conflicts between “modern” science and Scripture are most likely to involve theories of origins of life and the universe. Basic to the issues at hand is understanding that certain underlying assumptions and philosophies, such as uniformitarianism and materialism, are not science but belief systems. Christians do well to draw attention to the ever-changing paradigms of origins, contrast them with the unchanging Word found in Scripture, and let the Spirit do the “heavy lifting” of creating faith. | View Online |
| Nov-16 | LMM | Pastor, what about . . . ? | John F. Perling | People in conversation about the promises of God in Jesus Christ wonder whether these promises can be reconciled with commonly accepted scientific natural laws. Their faith leader seems an obvious resource from whom they feel they ought to be able to get integrated answers to questions which overlap science and faith. Pastors, however, are amateurs relative to science. Apologetic approaches among Christian faith leaders are complicated by various approaches the Word of God as well as their facility with scientific approaches to knowledge. Current apologetic resources do not attempt an integrated approach to knowledge. Such approaches prose mission challenges today. The article presents one experience as a case study attempting to retain a lively conversation with a family struggling between life in the church and holding a scientific worldview. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | An Examination of Strategic Mission Plans Before and After 2010 | Richard Gahl | Given that it has been five and a half years since the restructuring of the LCMS it is appropriate to ask: How goes God’s mission in the LCMS? Rather than gathering opinions for a variety of interested participants and observers, this article has chosen to narrow its focus to the comparison of two strategic mission plans. The first is the Balanced Focus Plan of the Board for Mission Services dated 2007. The second is the first strategic plan for the new Board for International Mission dated 2014, Consolidate, Focus, Renew and Establish Partnerships. There are a number of significant differences in the two strategic plans: governance models, questions about who does the mission (Is it all baptized Christians or just pastors?), and worship practice in the mission field. A primary concern, however, is the state of relationships between the LCMS and partner churches across the globe. In a word, there is much work to be done before relationships deteriorate even more. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | International Partnerships: A Reflective Assessment | Paul Mueller | Navigating collaborative relationships involved in effective and successful international church partnerships requires knowledge learned through study, as well as experience gained through years of practice. This article attempts to define an appropriate approach to international partnerships and then identify some of the difficulties encountered as those partnerships are developed and maintained. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Keeping Our Balance in Our Own Context: Keeping the Cross in Cross-cultural and Taking the Con Out of Contextualization | Andrew Bartelt | The dialectic between theology and culture and its subtopic “contextualization” provide a case study that shows how Lutheran theology properly holds theses in a “both/and” tension, as well as identifies antitheses that need to be called out as aberrant theology and practice. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Celebrating the Ministry of Licensed Lay Deacons: A Theological Review of the Task Force Report on 2013 LCMS Convention Resolution 4-06a | Michael T. Von Behren | This article provides a theological review of the Task Force Report on 2013 LCMS Convention Resolution 4-06a from the perspective of those who seek to support the ongoing ministry of Licensed Lay Deacons in the LCMS and to encourage fuller appreciation of the complementary nature of the role of both pastors and laity in service of the Gospel. It affirms aspects of The Report, while responding to The Report’s critiques of Licensed Lay Deacons used in Word and Sacrament ministry by relying on the same fundamental theological sources as the Task Force Report, namely scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and C. F. W. Walther’s Church and Ministry. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | "Here Is the Church, Here Are the People . . .": Ecclesiology Is the Servant of Soteriology | Robert Scudieri | The point of this paper is “Ecclesiology must always be the servant of soteriology.” When this becomes altered, or confused, or worse, reversed, there are severe consequences. The Reformation came about because by the sixteenth century this had become reversed. In this article, I trace the history of one denomination’s struggle to keep ecclesiology in the service of the sharing of the saving gospel. It is a history of triumphs and failures, as it would be with any earthly institution. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Faithful Witness in Wounded Cities: Congregations and Race in America | Theodore J. Hopkins and Mark A. Koschmann | Race and racism are urgent matters for the church to address, particularly in the urban centers of the United States. In the last couple of years, a gaping wound has been opened in the middle of American cities. These wounds are evident in New York, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, Baltimore, Saint Louis, and many other cities across the country. In these places, it is becoming ever clearer that race and racism cannot be ignored. If this is true on a pragmatic, political level, how much truer is it theologically? After all, Christ has called His church to consist of people of all colors and ethnicities, and Christ has called His church to mission in the urban centers of North America. In view of this reality, this paper argues that faithful mission and ministry in urban settings requires congregations to contextualize the gospel, by addressing race in their public ministry, and we describe such faithful ministry with an historical example of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chicago. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Martyria and Mission: The Witness of Creative Disruption | John Nunes | God’s mission, introducing a realm of holiness and forgiveness, cannot enter the unholy realms of this earth without some interruption to business as usual. There will be some scraping of structures, some reordering of priorities, turning some systems upside down. This article defines this missional activity as creative disruption. It suggests that creative disruption functions best when it is creative, with respect to tradition and disruptive with respect to traditionalism. While leaders committed to stirring up the status quo are often unpopular and inheres sacrificial witness (martyria), this article addresses some of the constructive benefits of disruptive work to God’s mission. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Confessing the “Real Present Jesus”: The Power to Overcome Cultural Barriers with the Good News of the Gospel | Gregory P. Seltz | When the church confesses the incarnate nature of the Gospel message, what are its implications for mission work? What are the implications for the proclaimer as well as the hearer? If the Gospel message is not merely a “teaching of religious dogma” but an encounter with the one who saved and redeemed you, what does this say about the nature of our “confession of the faith?” This article will explore the sacramental gospel and its implications for mission by examining the sociological implications derived from incarnational, sacramental theology and by critiquing such sociological implications in light of the nature of the sacramental word. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Signs of Transformation: Communicating the Gospel in an Age of Nones and Dones | Scott Yakimow | The Church is confronting an emergent phenomenon in populations described as the “nones” and the “dones,” that is, those who have never been religiously affiliated and those who became disenchanted with their church home or with “organized religion” and left. Both display new epistemological challenges to the Church because of the lack of a shared cultural common ground. Some argue that what is needed is a better apologetics to arrive at a shared ground to demonstrate the unreasonableness of unbelief. Others eschew apologetics for a purely proclamatory approach, believing that presenting the faith directly carries with it its own power. The first is an objectivist approach and the second, a subjectivist. In this article, I argue that both approaches have valid concerns but that both also fail epistemologically. Instead, I propose a semiotic epistemological model via an understanding of triadic signs that both shows the futility of such an objectivist/subjectivist dichotomy, while taking into account their valid concerns, and opens new avenues for restructuring our understanding of outreach with the Gospel, particularly to the nones and the dones. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | The Biblical Nature of Mission: God’s Mission in Action | Eugene Bunkowske | Professor Eugene Bunkowske, a founder of The Lutheran Society for Missiology, reviews the basic biblical characteristics of Christian mission. He shows how mission is a process, one that started with God and is ongoing. Mission is an expression of God’s love for humanity; it shows His desire to bring all peoples to Himself, to live with Him for eternity. To do this He lowered Himself to become a part of the human context, using images, actions, and words relevant to human minds. This process goes on—we do not generally preach in Aramaic in a country, unless it is understood. Martin Luther contextualized the Word of God when he translated that Word into German. The process goes on. God became a human being to contextualize His love. Several basic biblical characteristics are reviewed in the article, and an illustration application is made to a specific context. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | Scattering for Gathering | Victor Raj | Scattering for Gathering is one of the numerous biblical paradigms for mission. In this brief essay, I summarize several conversations I have had with some church planters and pastors in India who began their ministry as catechists. Some of them already planted congregations before they entered the seminary for formal theological education and pastoral formation. While serving as pastors, these men encourage and empower gifted people and their families to reach out and plant new congregations. Patterned after the apostle Paul (e.g., 1 Cor 3:16–18), they believe that one person plants, another waters, and God gives the growth. God scatters His people wherever He will so that by His word He draws all people to Himself. | View Online |
| May-16 | LMM | I Will Build My Church | Rev. Dr. William Utech | A chapel sermon on Matthew 16:13-18 MNS Collaborate Conference, St. Louis, MO January 20, 2016. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Messengers of the Message: Preparing Tomorrow’s Pastors | Dale A. Meyer | Perhaps your child or grandchild has stopped attending church. We all know people who have walked away from regular worship. For us it’s a worrisome trait in contemporary American culture, and there are many reasons why it’s happening. Among the reasons is one that concerns seminaries: the conduct of some pastors. Some messengers display pastoral demeanors and personal lives that do not reflect positively on the message of Jesus Christ. More than ever before, seminaries need to form pastors who are continually growing in personal sanctification, men who take theological head knowledge down into their hearts, first and foremost because it is the message of their own salvation. Then, as a consequence, they go to congregations and communities as messengers of salvation, pastors who model the Christian life. Because these are changed times, Concordia Seminary is revising its curriculum. The message of the Gospel continues to be paramount, non-negotiable, but new curricular emphases will focus on the messenger of the message of Jesus Christ. One pastor who works with people who have disconnected from church says, “We are in a time when what you are saying is as important as how you are saying it. What you are saying needs to be genuine and authentic.” As Paul said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | One Pastor’s Efforts to Nurture: A Congregation of Priests | Gerhard C. Michael, Jr. | The author describes his efforts in a small congregation in Dahlonega, Georgia to help it understand its role in God’s mission from the perspective of the priesthood of all believers. The priesthood is a corporate reality, but the way a congregation accomplishes its priestly service is through the individual members working together, with each doing his or her part. Paying close attention to the role of priests in the Old and New Testaments, the author helped the congregation to see that their role as the priesthood of all believers was to present God to the nations through their witness and service and the nations to God through their prayers. Consequently, this pastor sought to help his whole flock realize how their conduct is an integral part of their service. He taught the vital role intercessory prayer plays in God’s mission. He highlighted the critical role listening plays in knowing how to witness to people in their various situations. He emphasized how Scripture reveals the all-sufficiency of Christ, who meets the entire range of human needs. If the priesthood is to declare the wonderful deeds of God, the priests need to know the story of salvation. He showed how special occasions provide opportunities to connect a congregation with the workplace, marriage and family, and society for their witness, service, and prayers. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Missio Trinitatis: Averting the Trifurcation of Witness, Service, and Life Together | John Nunes | The Trinitarian God calls the church to be in mission through redeemed relationships (koinonia) in which witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (martyria) enact works of service (diakonia). While professionalization and progress contribute many benefits to the Christian West, a negative consequence is the tendency toward operational separation of ministry functions. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | God’s Plan, My Mission | Gerald Perschbacher | This article unfolds the shaping of mission from a Lutheran/biblical perspective. The goal is to “reach” with the Gospel, through a motivated body of believers (the Church) which is heavily lay orientated. With the action of witnessing comes the practical application of mercy and the comprehension of grace. Examples of “doing mission” past and present, with special reference to the work of the Lutheran Laymen’s League (LLL) and Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM), are explored and elaborated as signposts on the trek of future outreach in an era of multicultural realization amid a shrinking world with a burgeoning population. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | The Word, the Baptized, and the Mission of God | Robert Newton | Many in the LCMS recognize that the United States is a vast “mission field” as exotic to our American churches as any mission field overseas. At the same time we primarily follow patterns of Gospel ministry developed in and for a highly churched society rather than the mission field. In order to proclaim the Gospel faithfully in our present American context we need to embrace God’s mission paradigm. That first requires that we understand the essential differences between the church dominated world (Western Christendom) and the non-churched dominated world (mission field). Secondly, we must consider God’s missionary paradigm as described the New Testament and amply demonstrated in present-day mission fields. Two questions guide this consideration: (1) “Are the dynamics of missionary outreach presented in the New Testament and regularly found on our foreign mission fields applicable for the missionary context of twenty-first-century America?” and (2) “If they are applicable, how do we employ them in our churches?” | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Vocation and Mission: The Role of the Laity in the Mission of Christ | Dean Nadasdy | Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, calls both clergy and laity to serve in the priesthood of all believers. Vocation, a crucial aspect of this priesthood, places us in specific and varied settings in His mission. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Faithful and Missional from the Beginning: One Hundred Years of LCMS Mission | Paul Heerboth | The Saxon immigrants from Germany who first settled in Perry County, Missouri, were strongly motivated by the desire to live in a country where they could organize their lives around their commitment to the Lutheran church and its teachings. In that group of believers, however, there were pastors and people who recognized that the Lutheran Church had much to offer a world in need, and over time the church grew in its commitment to the missionary task. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | The New Religious Context in the North Atlantic World: God’s Mission in a Secular Age | Chad Lakies | In our modern, so-called “secular age,” religion in the North Atlantic world continues to flourish unabated, yet its shape and character seem undoubtedly to be changing. This essay aims to articulate the nature and character of our secular age in order to help the pastor, professional church worker, or missionary gain a better grasp of our contemporary religious milieu. The scope is not comprehensive, but it is broad enough to give the reflective practitioner some resources to help map and navigate our present moment, especially in terms of anticipating mission efforts, reflecting on faith formation in the lives of the youngest to the oldest, and attempting to give a helpful description about how we came to be the kinds of religious people we are in the North Atlantic. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Category Error, Common Sense, and the Office of the Public Ministry in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod | Dust Kunkel | The report by Synod Task Force pursuant to Resolution 4-06A of the 2013 LCMS Convention on Licensed Lay Deacons is used as the starting point to explore assumptions and the application of The Office of the Public Ministry within the secular context of the twenty-first century. On the eve of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, with the Western church destabilized by vast cultural change, a founding community practice built on Scripture and congregation polity is offered as a qualitatively Lutheran way forward. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Rehabilitating the Doctrine of the Call: Building Strength and Agility for Mission | Michael T. Von Behren | The great mission that Christ has given to His body, the Church, to proclaim the Gospel to all nations necessitates the strength and agility that only a fully developed understanding of the divine call publicly to preach His Word and administer His Sacraments can provide. Unfortunately aspects of that call have atrophied from disuse in some confessional Lutheran circles, thus hampering the ability to flex and reach as mission contexts require. As rehabilitation restores the body’s health by exercising underused muscles, a bit of rehabilitation of the doctrine of the call may be just what the Great Physician has in order. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Useless and Bankrupt: Confession and Mission in Light of the Symbols | Matthew Borrasso | When misunderstood or misaligned, confession and mission are useless and bankrupt. Confession is useless, or without purpose, when it exists only for its own sake. Mission is bankrupt, or empty, when it fails to bring the content of the Gospel to the life of one in need of receiving it. This article seeks to learn from the Symbols the nature and purpose of confession and mission. Specifically, it seeks to understand and suggest how Lutheran confession shapes Lutheran mission, not just for those who first confessed, but for those who by God’s grace continue to live in accord with that same confession. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | How Lutherans Have Done Mission: A Historical Survey | Volker Stolle | “Mission is the one Church of God in motion,” wrote Wilhelm Löhe in his Three Books on the Church of 1848. Lutherans have recognized that on the basis of their theology they have an obligation to address the unbelieving world. Their mission efforts have always begun with prayer for missions and missionaries and in the field have included clear catechetical instruction, frequent use of Bible translation into vernacular languages, and an emphasis on holistic mission. The nearly five hundred years of Lutheran mission history demonstrate well how forces and ideas outside the church inevitably shape how mission is organized and done (or not), and how Lutheran people with mission vision, guided and led by the Spirit of God, have found a variety of ways to make a Lutheran contribution to the evangelization of the world. | View Online |
| Jan-16 | LMM | Vocation in Missiological Perspective | Douglas L. Rutt | For some, additional ministerial offices in the church would lead to more efficient and effective proclamation of the gospel to the unbelieving world. Yet God’s Word and history teach that it is in vocation, the calling of the common Christian, where the gospel is proclaimed in purity and power. Every believer receives a call to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pt 2:9). If Justification is the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae, vocation can be seen in a similar way, for it is a doctrine where all aspects of biblical teaching are brought to bear on the Christian’s life of good works and witness. In vocation God has given the church the commission and method for bringing light to the darkness of unbelief. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | “Framing” the Age—Cautionary Observations | Marcus Kunz | Organizing narratives by periods, types, and similar schemes has long been a staple of historical analysis. The reason for doing so is sound. History is more than the simple listing of events in an accurate chronology. Neither events nor the people who participate in them are disconnected accidents that appear in random sequence. Historical analysis seeks to illuminate the deeper connections that allow us to understand more clearly the time and place we inhabit and the people who are around us. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Is There Hope for Lutheran Education in the Inner City? | Marlene Lund | Lutherans have a long tradition of supporting education. Martin Luther’s letter “To the Councilmen of All Cities in Germany That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools” (1524) was written in response to the decline of church-run schools. Luther saw the reform movement as a way to affirm the responsibility of parents, the church, and the public authorities to ensure the education of all children. Luther said, “A city’s best and greatest welfare, safety, and strength consist rather in its having many able, learned, wise, honorable, and well-educated citizens.” Luther, Melanchthon, and other reformers paved the way in advocating for a strong classical education for all regardless of wealth or stature. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | An Open Letter to Lutheran Brothers and Sisters on Theological Education | Christopher M. Thomforde | Dear Brothers and Sisters: What follows is an open letter on the subject of theological education. It is addressed to you, the men and women of the Church who have direct responsibility for theological education and to all those of us who wonder about its current effectiveness and future vitality. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Why Lutheran Education in Africa? | Glenn Fluegge | As an LCMS missionary and theological educator in Africa for some fourteen years, I was asked a few years back to give a presentation on the work to which God had called us. I diligently set about preparing the presentation but was immediately confronted with a rather heavy question: Why are we even involved in theological education in Africa? The question hit me rather unexpectedly. I am quite accustomed to talking about “what” we did in Africa. But this was different. This was a question of “why?” Is education for the Lutheran churches in Africa really that important? | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Educación para la Misión | Mark “Marcos” Kempff | No existió, ni existe, ni existirá otra persona como Jesucristo. Nadie puede vivir una vida perfecta y a la vez sobrellevar todas las penas y culpas que todos sufrimos en esta vida. Nadie, como Jesús, ha demostrado un amor incondicional. Nadie murió como él, dando su vida como precio para perdonar toda nuestra maldad. Nadie, ni con todos los avances de la ciencia, después de muerto, puede resucitar al tercer día, para vivir eternamente con un perfecto cuerpo humano. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Missionary Use of the Gospel as Hidden Curriculum | Andrew R. Jones | Christ instructs His disciples to make disciples of all nations, but in today’s world some nations refuse missionary activity of any kind. Through anonymous interviews with missionaries in countries which do not openly welcome missionaries, Andrew R. Jones highlights the tension between following Christ’s commission and living within the legal parameters of such a government. This article compares such missionary activity to the educational concept of “hidden curriculum,” showcasing how missionaries in these contexts are able to share the Gospel despite the challenges and limits of their situations. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Destroying Education to Save It | Paul Hillmer | The following article is slightly adapted from the 14th Annual Poehler Lecture on Faith and Learning, delivered by the author at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN, on March 3, 2015. It is a rumination on the increasing commoditization of higher education and its corresponding emphasis on job preparation. While reflecting on the possible implications of these trends, Hillmer also considers how commoditization has shaped American Christianity and promotes the sustained significance of the liberal arts. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | The State of Adult Catechesis/Confirmation in the LCMS | Mark C. Larson | In the late 1980s, the LCMS confirmed around thirty thousand adults per year in its six thousand congregations. Now the average is between two or three adult confirmations per congregation per year, about half of the level of the 1980s and as recently as fifteen years ago. This article explores the nature of and need for adult catechesis, examines obstacles and opportunities inherent in LCMS culture and U.S. society in general, and calls for a renewal of this vital ministry in fulfillment of the Great Commission. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | The Written Word Enriching Minds and Souls: a Case Study of the Function of the Religious Literature Provided by The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (LCHKS) | Sam L. S. Yeung (楊力生) | This essay examines the function of the Literature Department as a provider of sound Lutheran literature on behalf of The Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod. The paper notes the relevance of the written and proclaimed Word in Lutheran theology and the function of the written Word as God’s means of enriching the human mind and soul. The paper then describes the service of the Literature Department of the LCHKS to its congregations and schools as well as to the Chinese audience worldwide, including a view of the historical origins of the department. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Teaching Cross-Cultural Evangelism | Jim Found | Evangelism is conducted within human cultures and is supported by knowledge and understanding of cultural contexts. To that end, this article presents frameworks for lifelong learning about cultures and religions, provides basic premises for learning to announce the salvation message in the context of a given culture, and illustrates the importance of familiarity with the culture for the nurture and support of new Christians. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Mission in Crisis | Kurtis Smith | In recognition of the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this article addresses the missiological aspects of critical incidents (large and small disasters) and presents best practices for these fertile mission fields that are often “ripe for harvest.” Small crises can change individual lives. Massive disasters can transform entire institutional systems, economics, language, and even the nature of mission work. Through trauma and shared travail, people learn new patterns for life. This article proposes that (a) Christians in mission can respond to crises and help turn such events into “transformissional” moments, (b) the missio Dei might be helpfully defined as “a heavenly disaster response to the crisis of a broken world,” and that (c) the church’s practices in mission and ministry reflect the emergency of God’s passionate restoration of paradise in Christ’s gutsy response. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | The LISA Curriculum: Theological Education in the Service of God’s Mission | Gerhard C. Michael, Jr. | The article presents an overview of the curriculum which the Luther Institute—Southeast Asia has developed in response to the request of churches there. Presented first are the principles which have guided its development as a theological education program in the service of God’s mission. After the curriculum overview, challenges ahead are suggested. As a “work in progress,” the LISA Board invites your response and constructive suggestions so that it might continue to revise and improve its curriculum for a strengthened program of missionary service as it moves into the future. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Education and Mission: Just. Do it. | Jeanette Dart | Although similar to the well-known Nike slogan, Just. Do it. is an abbreviation for Justified. Do it. As in, “now that you are justified, do the life of sanctification.” Ideas from early childhood education, foreign language learning, and coaching identify action and obedience as helpful for education in our faith, for living our faith, and for our mission to share Christ with our world. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | “Oh, Worship the King” Understanding Culture and Semiotics in Christian Worship | Greg Klotz | God has hard-wired us with unique qualities and behaviors that find their ultimate fulfillment only when He is at the center of worship. Worship is a ritualistic performed expression that serves to foreshadow our ultimate communion with God. It is a structured encounter centered on a dialogue between God and man. Three analytical frameworks from anthropology help to focus on the uniqueness of the human in ritual. Applying these to the worship setting provides valuable insights to church workers for discerning the choice of semiotically significant socio-cultural media and aesthetics that contextualize God’s message effectively—and avoiding possible syncretistic pitfalls in the worship design—allowing church members to affectively express their identity as God’s people. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Location, Location, Location | Jeremy Pekari | Education in the Lutheran church primarily takes place in a classroom. Unfortunately, learning doesn’t always transfer from there into the everyday life of disciples on the mission field. Educators must move beyond the classroom walls to design intentional learning experiences that more closely relate to the real life contexts in which the content will be used. This article uses prayer as an example of an important aspect of the life of a disciple that is limited by teaching about in a classroom, but can be enhanced through intentionally designed experiences across the life of a congregation. Readers are introduced to a simple three-part design structure to enable them to develop learning experiences in a variety of learning arenas. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Mission-driven Strategic Planning in Lutheran Education | Tom Ries | Mission-driven strategic planning originated in the military, migrated to for-profit businesses, and has been used increasingly in non-profit organizations for over three decades. In his doctoral research, the author studied planning at 38 Lutheran colleges and universities in the United States and found that all have conducted some kind of centrally-coordinated strategic planning process within the past ten years, and that they will continue to conduct this kind of planning in the future. This article discusses the purpose and function of strategic planning in a Lutheran education context, and specifically the role of planning in developing and allocating financial resources to support mission. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | A Global Perspective on Education in Mission | Shirley Miske | The article provides a global overview of education in mission, and it proposes frameworks for dialogue on education in mission in the twenty-first century grounded in the field of Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE). The author calls for a global mapping of Lutheran education in mission and explores its potential uses. She also offers a theoretical framework of critical components or “commonplaces” of educational thinking to stimulate global, intercultural dialogue on education, especially schooling, in mission. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | A Backpacking Semester in the Shadow of Global Missionaries | Adam Lee | Statistics shape an artful attempt to introduce the story of Concordia University Irvine’s Around-the-World Semester: two professors, twenty-eight students, twenty weeks, ten countries, five continents, three thousand pages of reading, one hundred pages of writing, and just one backpack. These make great stats for physically bringing admissions tours to an intrigued halt on campus or for impressing marketing consultants hired to identify university distinctives. These numbers also tell the story of God’s transformative power in the lives of students willing to be physically, intellectually, and spiritually challenged for one semester of their college lives. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Rediscovering Disciple Making | Dale Critchley | In my freshman year of college, God pointed me toward the pastoral ministry. I argued with Him. My roommate and most of my friends weren’t Christians. They knew what I believed, we respected one another, and we had lots of meaningful faith conversations as a result. Most of them had an aversion to all Christians except me. Were I to enter the pastoral ministry, I would spend most of my life surrounded by Christians and have little time for the lost. Why would God pull me out of the mission field for the rest of my life? But learning from Jonah, I knew that I could either enroll in seminary or avoid large bodies of water for the rest of my life. Four years later, I resided in St. Louis. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Setting a Vision for SEKOLAH PAPUA HARAPAN (Papua School of Hope) | Robert W. Smith | Why would a Christian teacher teach overseas? Where is the greatest possibility to make an impact sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with students who have never heard of it or only have a limited understanding? Often, families in other countries enroll their children in Christian schools. They choose these schools because they generally offer the best education in the area, and the curriculum is delivered in English. God has unlocked the doors to a unique opportunity for Christian teachers and administrators in newly-founded Christian schools. The location is Papua, Indonesia, the eastern-most province of Indonesia in the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly called Irian Jaya. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | The Process of Creation and Development of the M.I.S.E. (Silesian) Evangelism Centre’s Work | Daniel Chlebek | The M.I.S.E. Project originated in 2005 in response to God’s call to establish groups of believers praying for one another, growing spiritually together, and sharing their faith with people around them in places without any Christian fellowships. The M.I.S.E. Project began activities in 2006 among young people as a mission project of the youth ministry department in the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession. It helped to make disciples of Jesus Christ of many young people in the congregations, based on 2 Tim 2:2: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | “Where Does Your Agape Stick?” | David Seabaugh | A couple years ago I was invited to my children’s Lutheran school to conduct chapel. I had done this before, and it was always a delightful time. However, this particular chapel would change my life. The chapel services involved a series on the Ten Commandments, and I had been asked to speak on the Sixth Commandment, “Do not commit adultery.” No problem. I teach this stuff in confirmation. I’ll just talk “in code” to the seventh and eighth graders and conveniently avoid the challenges of speaking directly about adultery to the younger children. A day or so before the service, I was informed that the seventh and eighth graders were away that day, leaving the preschool through sixth grade for my adultery talk. Lovely! There went my avoidance strategy. Oh, and talk about a delicate situation! Not only did I have to speak to children of multiple developmental stages about a really sensitive issue, but I knew for a fact that there were many children in the room with challenging home situations which likely involved adultery of one form or another. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | No Half-Baked Pastors in East Africa | Shauen Trump | “We don’t want half-baked pastors,” says General Secretary Fred Magezi of the Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU), as he bristles at the idea of anyone less than a seminary-trained ordained clergyman administering the sacraments. According to Magezi, it is the Christians themselves in Uganda’s Lutheran congregations who want men trained “through the seminary, the Lutheran culture.” The LCU’s President Charles Bameka explains: It is very clear and important that every congregation at least has a trained and ordained pastor. I know that is a far-fetched desire because in Uganda the congregations are growing faster than we can train men. But the ultimate desire is that every congregation is served and manned by a trained and ordained minister. While the fervent desire to be served by a pastor is hindered by a shortage of ordained men in most countries in East Africa in the midst of significant growth in the church, the continent also celebrates increased capacity and capabilities of the region’s seminaries. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Sending Isn’t Easy | Seth Gehrke | “Next to the Word of God, the art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” – Martin Luther Music. It builds community, friendships, teamwork and support. It teaches us how to express an emotion without words. It provides us an avenue for service. It inspires and enlivens our faith. | View Online |
| Nov-15 | MA | Education in Mission: Why It’s Important | Matthew Scott | Why is education in mission important? What does education look like on the mission field? How is education inspiring more missions? I hope to share a little bit about these topics by relating to you my experiences as one who has been educated on the mission field and as one hoping to go back as a teacher in the future. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Conflicting Missiologies | Conflicting Missiologies | English Protestant Missionary James Hudson Taylor (1832–1905) is credited with the coining of the popular catchphrase, “The Great Commission,” although it is widely acknowledged that the actual origin of the term among Christians predates Taylor. Heeding the Lord’s directive (Mt 28:18¬–20; Acts 1:8), the people of God had been engaging God’s mission long before mission societies were constituted and the Church became institutionalized in its historic and contemporary forms. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Truly Confessional: Responding to the Collapse of Christendom | Robert Newton | Postmodernism has pushed many Christian churches in America to a state of cultural, theological, and ecclesiastical crisis, marked by profound questions of identity. “What’s our purpose as Christ’s church in America?” “How do we remain faithful to Christ and His Word?” Its confessional moorings enable Lutheran churches to avoid two pitfalls prevalent among other Christian churches: Compromise of biblical truth and/or shallow discipleship. In their desire to remain faithful, however, Lutherans are tempted to circle their confessional wagons in defense of the Gospel, thereby diminishing their missionary vocation in the world. To remain truly confessional Lutherans must keep first and foremost their evangelical identity and purpose. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Spirituality and Religion: The Shift From East to West and Beyond | Armand J. Boehme | The spiritual but not religious phenomena is receiving increasing attention. People are becoming more individually religious, some are spiritual and religious, and some describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. Historical trends toward a more individualistic religion and spirituality are investigated. Various parameters of the religious/spiritual divide are examined. An overview of the broad range of modern spirituality is given. The conclusion sets forth avenues the church might pursue to address the trend to a more individualistic view of religion and spirituality and the need for further study of these trends. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | My Pilgrimage in Spiritism | Herbert Hoefer | Herbert Hoefer shares with us his experiences and reflections concerning Spiritism. He draws both on experiences from his service in India and also from here in the States. He shares the challenges he has wrestled with as his Western worldview and theology have been challenged by these experiences. My organizing principle in this article is chronological, basically my pilgrimage of views and experiences on the topic of Spiritism. My thought is that the readers might possibly identify themselves with me somewhere in this account. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Spiritism in Papua New Guinea: The Challenges It Sets Before Western Christians | John Eggert | Christians acknowledge the realities of the spiritual world. However, spiritual activity among the people of Papua New Guinea, where animistic traditions and Christianity exist side by side, provide interesting challenges to Western Christian practices. This article leads one to think about Paul’s words in Ephesians 6—“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” How is our world influenced by spiritual ways, not only with our Western scientific understanding of how the world works? | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Powers and Principalities/Signs and Wonders | Kent R. Hunter | The power of God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, though our culture, training, and worldviews challenge us to believe this. Comfort levels are stretched when we start to personally experience the power that is in the name of Jesus Christ. The supernatural elements of our faith (spiritual gifts, signs, and wonders) are still active and at work today. Many Christians in North America may be surprised to learn of the increasing numbers of deliverances and healing taking place in churches and ministries across the country. There is power in the name of Jesus, and revival is upon us. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Partnering in Ministry with Amerindians | John J. Babbitts, Jr. | Outreach to the Amerindian people requires that we overcome both internal and external challenges. These challenges touch upon current conditions, matters of culture, heritage, and old wounds. It also requires that we look beyond our own contributions to be made so that our Amerindian brothers and sisters in Christ can take their rightful place in the work of God’s kingdom. This article will address what partnership should look like and the necessity of genuine reconciliation. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Spirits and Spiritism among the LDS | Phillip L. Brandt | Despite being the product of post-Enlightenment culture and rooted in the industrialized West, the LDS tradition has retained significant space within its piety for practices and sensibilities which admit a spiritual realm which has a direct impact upon the person. The author, through personal reflection and experiences, seeks to introduce the reader to LDS approaches to that spirit realm and the consequences of those approaches. The article focuses primarily on experiences with LDS individuals with whom he came into contact during a decade of pastoral service in Utah and subsequently as a professor of Theology at Concordia University, Portland, Oregon. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | HMong Spiritism | Kou Seying | At the heart of any Spiritism is suffering—a suffering without hope. Articles written about the HMong religious practices rarely touch on this aspect of life. This article exposes the central difficult issues, presents the historical problems of remedies, and finally offers a true theology of the cross approach to deal with this devastating disguise of the devil, namely HMong Spiritism. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Halloween: A Fun Neighborhood Event or Participation in the World of Spirits? | Miriam Carter & Jeanette Dart | Halloween is a very popular holiday in the United States. This article reviews its history and explores connections to spirits, witches, fear, and ongoing practices. The article seeks to clarify ways in which Christians can respond to this holiday and even be in mission. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Big Challenges for Small-Town Congregations | R. Lee Hagan | There are significant challenges facing rural communities and congregations today. However, there has been little consideration of the great mission opportunities that exist in rural and small-town settings. This article will identify some of the challenges that exist, but also point out the opportunities for community engagement by our congregations. Rather than simply ignoring our rural congregations or writing them off altogether, this article seeks to affirm the congregations by reminding them of the gifts with which God has blessed them and encourage them in God’s mission to their particular communities. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Theology of Holy Spirit: Experiences of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus | Hailu Yohannes Bulaka | The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) is the largest Lutheran church in Africa which proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ and fast growing Church. The Church is not only serving for spiritual needs of a person but also physical needs. The motto of church service is “serving the whole person” better known as Wholistic Ministry. The church has been called by God to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior of all humankind. The church believes and professes that the Bible both Old and New Testaments are the Holy Word of God and the only guiding source of her life and ministry. My article is to show the role in its evangelistic growth and its challenges as the church grows very fast. The article meant to give sound and biblical understanding of “Theology of Holy Spirit” and experience of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. I hope this article blesses many believers around the globe. May God bless those who read this article. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | From Everyday Language to a Culturally-Embedded Metaphor: Identifying a Tool for Teaching about the Christian Life in Brazil | Samuel Fuhrmann | By noticing how people speak of life in everyday language, one can better understand their cultures. Such an understanding can help one think about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be preached and lived out in particular contexts. This paper is an attempt toward that end. In what follows, then, we apply metaphor theory to Brazilian culture and move on to a theological reflection in order to offer a tool to teach about the Christian life in Brazilian context. In such an attempt, we pay special attention to the important distinction between salvation and Christian life narratives, in order that the biblical teaching about the Christian life may be fostered and the believer comforted in times of distress. | View Online |
| May-15 | MA | Great Things through Little Preachers | Jeffrey A. Oschwald | Martin Luther’s high esteem for the pastoral office is well known, well documented, and well loved. Although Luther did not write extensively on the Acts of the Apostles, he does return again and again in a variety of contexts to the apparent contradiction of the “little preachers”: Stephen, Philip, and Apollos. Luther’s discussions of the way God used these men forces us to ask important questions about our understanding of the task laid upon the church today and the situation(s) of the church around the world. Luther’s words also invite us to celebrate the great things God continues to do through His “little preachers.” | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Modalities and Sodalities | Allan Buckman | Though unfamiliar to most Christians, even those within the mission community, these church/mission structures have been around a long time. Credit for the rediscovery of these helpful and dynamic concepts goes to Dr. Ralph Winter, who first drew attention to these realities in an address given to the All-Asia Mission consultation in Seoul, Korea in August 1973. A full blown treatment later appeared in Perspectives in the World Christian Movement, under the title, “The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mission.” | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Observations of a District President Emeritus | Jon Diefenthaler | “Thank God! At last we have a pastor! He will perform the marriage of our daughter, baptize our grandchildren, and be on our doorstep whenever we need him!” Such words are commonly heard when a pastor or seminary graduate accepts the call to one of our congregations. They also are sentiments that seem to me to be reinforced by the wording and spirit of the rites of Ordination and Installation that we tend to use in our churches, almost without exception. | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Fresh Wineskins for Christ’s Mission | Robert Newton | Congregations and leaders in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have been called into a new era of ministry, a missionary era. As a church rooted deeply in Northern Europe it enjoyed, until recently, the favor of America’s dominant “White, Anglo - Saxon, Protestant” culture and structured its ministries accordingly. Those days are gone, that favor has waned, and many Christians find themselves underequipped and inadequately structured to proclaim the Gospel in their once churched America, now turned mission field. . . | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | The Expanding Edge of Mission: Missouri’s (uneasy) Relationship with Mission Societies | James Tino | Ralph Winter contends that there are two structures at work in the church, the sodality and the modality, and that both are necessary. Utilizing that framework, the development of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is briefly examined, with special emphasis on the development of foreign missions. Today, LCMS sodalities play a vital role in the expansion of foreign mission. Although the LCMS prefers to operate from the modal perspective, her history demonstrates that Winter was correct: both sodal and modal structures are necessary. | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Mission of Christ Network (A “New Kid on the Block”) It’s All about Intentional Gospel Proclamation! | Kermit W. (Butch) Almstedt | The following article provides the reader with a glimpse into an exciting new, laity led, mission society—called Mission of Christ Network (or MCN)—that has but a single, yet critically important, purpose that is about intentional Gospel proclamation, under a long-term strategy of involvement with connection to local Christian worshipping communities. . . | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Vulnerability in Mission | Rich Carter | This article explores personal vulnerability in eight facets of human and mission life: spiritual, intellectual, occupational, physical, financial, social-interpersonal, sexual, and emotional. Professional readings and a number of missionary stories illustrate vulnerability in these facets. Confidence for the exploration comes from Christ’s Gospel vulnerability for us. | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Building Bridges: Toward Constructing a Christian Foundation for Inter-Religious Relationships in the Shift from Religious Privilege to Spiritual Plurality | Ken Chitwood | Religious pluralism is a fact in an ever more globalized, individualized, and post-modern society. The reality of religious pluralism, and its attendant ideology of tolerance, presupposes a serious shift for the Christian Church from a position of privilege to one of marginality among many. It is necessary then that faithful, missional, Christians reconsider their foundational theology concerning other religions and worldviews and begin constructing a revitalized and benevolent approach to the “religious other.” | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Reaching Out to the Non-Baptized Believers: Missiological Implications from a Lutheran Perspective | Sam Thompson | It is estimated that there are millions of non-baptized believers in India. This essay, drawing insights from Luther’s understanding of sacraments, argues that sacraments as means of grace cannot be relegated to a secondary place. However, this zeal should also be matched by our efforts to take seriously the sociological and cultural struggles that these believers face because of their new faith. While challenging readers to explore theologically sound and missionally sensitive ways to reach out to the spiritual needs of these believers, this essay points out that the mission of the church should always be to go and serve people where they are. | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Contextualizing the Faith in Amerindian Culture | John Babbitts | Amerindian accounts of creation vary in their detail. Yet, a survey of the accounts reveals interesting similarities and possible opportunities to bridge between tribal traditions and biblical accounts. This article will survey the traditional stories of several Amerindian tribes in regard to creation accounts in order to identify insights and possible opportunities to communicate the Gospel using these accounts as a starting point. | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | The Korean Lutherans’ Perspective of Lutheranism and Lutheran Identity | Jin-Seop Eom | This paper is a revision of the paper originally delivered at the Lutheran World Federation’s conference on Asian Lutheranism and Identity, Nov. 5–8, 2013, Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia. It gives an account of how Lutherans in Korea understand their Reformation heritage and think of their Lutheran identity in an environment surrounded by other branches of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism as well as traditional religions. In so doing, it deals with some of the characteristic Lutheran teachings which the young Lutheran church can re-appropriate and with which it can contribute to the Korean Protestantism. | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | LCMS Missionaries and an Alien Indian Culture: A Gospel-Culture Engagement at the Margins of Indian Society | Stanish Stanley | Does the Gospel message have within it the inherent potential to engage and transform a culture that seems to be alien and at odds with its worldview? A look into the early twentieth century history of the evangelizing efforts of LCMS missionaries in South India provides a glimpse into how the missionaries as the ‘bearers of the Gospel” encountered a native culture at odds with the Biblical message and vision. . . | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | HMong Mission in LCMS | Kou Seying | “HMong Mission in LCMS” was a paper written in 1998 for a course in the PhD in Missiology program. It is the first comprehensive analysis and well-documented studies of the first two decades of LCMS ministry among the HMong people in America. The paper captures both the ecclesiastical and theological developments of the initial decades. Concordia Historical Institute’s subcommittee for ministry to minority groups in the U.S. comments in a November 1998 letter requesting to archive it, “The paper is an original and it is a necessary piece to fit into the total picture of the LCMS World Mission today.” | View Online |
| Nov-14 | MA | Transformational Mission Work—A Definition | Paul Mueller | Navigating collaborative relationships involved in effective and successful international church partnerships requires knowledge gained through study as well as experience learned through years of practice. This article attempts to define an appropriate approach to international partnerships and then identify some of the difficulties encountered as those partnerships are developed and maintained. | View Online |
