Colleagues: Last week’s ThTh posting was Steve Kuhl’s perceptive and probing review of Jesuit theologian Francisco Claver’s work THE MAKING OF A LOCAL CHURCH. As some of you know, Philippine Bishop Claver is this week our houseguest on a visit to his Jesuit colleagues here in St. Louis and to his Lutheran friends in the Crossings Community. The …
The Making of A Local Church — A Lutheran Review of a Vatican II Classic
Colleagues, You’ve already heard from me in recent days that Philippine Bishop Francisco Claver is coming to St. Louis next week, and that we Crossings folks here in town get a big chunk of his time. Today’s ThTh post already begins the conversation as Crossings president Steve Kuhl reviews Claver’s just-published book. After 40 years as bishop in …
Preaching the Christian Gospel from Old Testament Texts. One More Time.
Colleagues, Two items cris-crossed my desk since last week’s ThTh posting, which prompt this sequel to the topic of that post. This time with a focus on Luther and the OT. First was Kit Kleinhans’ telling me about some Luther stuff she found on that Genesis text (prominent in last week’s ThTh) about Jacob wrestling with God. Second …
Instrument for Internal Governance of Concordia Seminary in Exile
Robert W. Bertram Foreword: Bertram is believed to be the chief architect of the Internal Governance Document; but its contents were joyously accepted and endorsed by the Seminex faculty, staff, and administration – and Bob would probably agree that the document is theirs. The Internal Governance Document (IGD) represents a staple in Bob’s thinking, with roots in the …
Preaching the Christian Gospel from Old Testament Texts
Colleagues, Two recent items of email-exchange have touched on the topic above. Here they are. One is an email I posted to the pastor who had done the preaching at the closing liturgy of that Lutheran World Federation consultation (Augsburg, Germany) a few weeks ago. In my report to you on that LWF event I noted the 100% …
Testing Benedict XVI By the Company He Would Keep
Colleagues, The Thursday Theology post for February 26, 2009 was Steve Krueger’s analysis of the “working theology” of the current pope, Benedict XVI. I thought it was superb, creme-de-la-creme, so I sent it on to you. Want to check it again? Here’s the URL: https://crossings.org/thursday/2009/thur022609.shtml. Yet one of my dearest Roman colleagues, erstwhile priest and missionary in distant lands–and …
The Gospel in “The Shack” and the “Gospel in the Stable”
Colleagues When Phil Kuehnert’s item on THE SHACK came your way a couple of weeks ago (ThTh564), not everyone of you was satisfied. One very unhappy camper told me “Having read and been troubled by The Shack, I was eager to read a theologically astute critique of the book. Instead what I got was pablum of an ennervating …
The Lutheran World Federation Needs Help. It’s the “L” Word.
Colleagues, It’s not a “Tale of Two Cities,” ala Dickens, but “two tales of the same city,” two “tellings” about what happened at that Lutheran World Federation consultation in Augsburg, Germany, last month. That’s what you received in two posts that came your way in the last fortnight from this computer. One was the ThTh #565 posting (April …
Two Easter Eggs for my Basket Came on Easter Monday
Colleagues, Two Easter Eggs showed up in my e-mail Easter Basket on Easter Monday. One was Fred Niedner’s Maundy Thursday homily at the Valparaiso University chapel from just a few days before. The second was from Hong Kong, from Ed Strohschein, Lutheran missionary there in the People’s Republic of China. Ed’s Easter basket offering was passed on to …
Lutheran World Federation Consultation–The Augsburg Aha! of 1530 at Augsburg 2009.
Colleagues, It was agony and ecstasy. Ecstasy for all 120 of us from 30 different nations just to be together at the Lutheran World Federation consultation for seven days (March 25-31, 2009) in Augsburg, Germany. That alone was heavenly. And the theme: “Theology in the Life of Lutheran Churches. Transformative Perspectives and Practices Today.” Focusing on that for …