Dr. Kathryn Kleinhans International Crossings Conference January 30, 2007 “Honest-to-God Gospel as Source of the Church’s Life and Mission” or “From Dualistic Misunderstanding to Dialectical Pragmatism: Brief Notes Toward a Two Kingdoms Ecclesiology” We begin with Article VII of the Augsburg Confession:1 VII. [THE CHURCH] 1 It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church …
“America, Theologically Considered”
Michael Hoy Crossings International Conference Honest-to-God Gospel for Today’s Church and World: Why Luther’s Distinction of Law and Gospel Matters More than Ever January 29-31, 2007 Introduction: Niebuhr’s Prolepticism Over fifty years ago, Reinhold Niebuhr warned that the United States could someday be guilty of committing the same sin it perceived all too well in the rise of …
The Congregational Leader: Gospel Shaping The Congregation
Crossings International Conference January 29-31, 2007 Steven E. Albertin Christ Church The Lutheran Church of Zionsville Zionsville, Indiana The Context and The Problem In the free-market entrepreneurialism of American culture, it is all too easy for congregations abandon their unique identity as manifestations of the Body of Christ and succumb to the temptation to compete with the …
Law and Gospel in Spiritual Care
Robert C. Schultz [Copyright © 2007. This paper is made available to the Crossings Community for use and discussion at the Crossings International Conference, January 29-31, 2007. Permission is granted for reproduction for use at this conference, on the website Crossings.org, and in the proceedings of this conference. All other rights are reserved. Publication of an …
Who Is My Neighbor?
An Honest-to-God Assessment of Some Common Christian Answers 1 The following is a modest exercise, its scope more limited by far than the title suggests. 2 We will not, for example, attempt to explore the presenting question in all its dimensions. For that one wants a book, and a long one at that. Nor will we attempt …
Perhaps the Analogy is Auschwitz Rather than Vietnam
Colleagues, Since last week’s posting Marie and I have seen two plays. That’s sometimes our quota for a full year. One was “Heartbreak House,” G.B. Shaw’s icepick-jabbing–for two and a half hours–into the banality and blindness of the English pleasure class as World War I is coming over the horizon, and actually terminates the third act when the …
The Future of the Church
Todd Murken The future of the church is well known. Ultimately it is to be part of the new heaven and the new earth. “The home of God is among mortals.” And “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.” There will be …
Honest-to-God Gospel Meets the Dying World
John Strelan The dying world! I have enough to worry about with a dying Australia, let alone a dying world. Australians have never had much time for the gospel as they heard it from the institutional church. The relationship got off to a bad start with the first European invaders’ hatred of the Rev Samuel Marsden, chaplain …
WHAT IS THE CHURCH FOR?
Marcus Lohrmann The assigned topic is wonderfully ambiguous, is it not? One could ask, Are we clear about the subject? Are we speaking of the church catholic? Are we asking the question of that part of the church catholic called the Lutheran church? Or, are we asking the question concerning that part of the Lutheran church called …
Walt Reiner R.I.P.
Colleagues, One of my dearest buddies during my years in the theology department at Valparaiso (Indiana) University, 1957-71, was Walt Reiner. Walt was sui generis, he fit no existing categories. To some extent, of course, that is true of every human being. Unique. No carbon copy anywhere. But with Walt it was even more so. Because students …