20 years of
Living Theology in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 1996
By Frederick J. Schumacher
By John A. Lang
By Frank C. Senn
By Benjamin Dueholm
By Gordon J. Straw
By Maxwell E. Johnson
By Frank C. Senn
By Frank C. Senn
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the ongoing conversation about the Lutheran-Episcopal Dialogue—a dialogue in which we have been engaged for 30 years in the hope that we can overcome 450 years of division. My daughter ran on a 4 x 800 relay team. In many ways, we are being asked […]
Thank you for this opportunity to speak. As you can imagine, it’s pretty difficult to have to stand up here and tell you, much less try to convince you, that CCM is a fundamentally flawed document that you should reject; but for the sake of honesty, I want to let you know up front where […]
I am delighted to have been invited for a second time to join you at your annual Assembly. I do not know how this college acquired its name, but it seemed to me entirely appropriate that I open this presentation with words from St. Cyprian of Carthage, who was beheaded by the emperor Valerian in […]
The first round of Lutheran-Episcopal Dialogue (LED) in the United States began exactly thirty years ago in 1969. LED I was established to explore the possibilities of dialogue. Instead, it concluded with a report that so much agreement exists between Lutheran and Episcopal Churches “in matters theological, liturgical, creedal, in sacramental life and practice, as […]
Christian worship, at the end of the second millennium, stands at some unique junctures. As never before, hymns, prayers, and litanies from all over the globe are appearing in many North American denominational hymnals and books of worship. These new resources are available because worshipping communities all over the world are exploring indigenous Christian worship […]
“We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord; trusting in his holy Word, he’s never failed me yet. Oh, can’t turn around, we’ve come this far by faith.’’ These words, describe the patient hope and prayerful expectation that have sustained the quest to turn the African American Lutheran hymnal project from a dream […]
by Richard Kalb
While what I hope to talk about here has to do with place and space for music ministry, I want to expend these opening paragraphs on beginnings–the obvious fundamentals, the raison d’etre, as it were, of the Church. Mission and Ministry. The what and the how of the Church. Each congregation has its own expression […]
by Keith Forni
When ministry is nourished in Latino places and spaces, it is not uncommon for Lutherans to accent their catholicity. Luther did not “throw the baby out with the bath water” in matters of liturgy. (How often this seems to surprise our first time visitors familiar with the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church: “You are […]
by Mark Bangert
When it comes to choosing hymns for Sunday and Festival services it sometimes feels like a coin might serve best. There are so many from which to choose, and, it seems, the hymn repertoires grow exponentially day by day. One way to solve the dilemma is to seek help. There is plenty available. On pp. […]
Dear Editor: Just a brief note of appreciation for the Let’s Talk (Lent 1998) issue devoted to the important topic of the mission of our Synod and its congregations. It was interesting to get to know the viewpoints of some key members of our Synod Council. I wish there had been a clearer statement of […]
Several years ago I received a brochure promoting a very conservative Lutheran seminary. Among its boasts: “This seminary is founded on an inerrant interpretation of the Bible.” Was that simply a syntactical slip? Do these people rely on God’s inerrancy or their own? As long as the Christ has been around, he has been “a […]
When I was first asked to comment on the confessional renewal movement in general and the 9.5 Theses specifically, I could not imagine what I would say. To me it is a no-brainer. I am all for confessional renewal. It goes without saying. It’s what Lutherans do. It is what we are. I’ve been honored […]
How surprised I was to receive an emotional phone call from an acquaintance at the ELCA Churchwide Office asking how I could endorse such an attack on the ELCA! At first I didn’t know what my caller was talking about. But the 9.5 Theses had arrived by mail on Higgins Road; I hadn’t received my […]
by Wayne Cowell
Wayne Cowell, one of the editors of this issue of Let’s Talk, wrote to Louis A. Smith, one of the authors of the 9.5 Theses, with questions about the reception of the theses in the church You and your fellow authors of the 9.5 Theses have addressed the people in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in […]
These theses were written by a group of pastors from New Jersey and published in Lutheran Forum (Vol. 29, No. 4, November, 1995) with commentary by Ronald B. Bagnall, Mark Hoffman, Phillip Max Johnson, Linda Larson, John David Larson, Richard J. Niebanck, Beth Schlegel, and Louis A. Smith. Preamble To the people of the Evangelical […]