Since Frank Senn’s response, in Let’s Talk, Volume 2, Issue 1, to my previously published piece goes right to the heart of some crucial issues in our thinking about the ELCA, it is well worth a response and even further discussion. He raises two major issues: the theme of baptism and the question of the […]
Servants Ready to Listen
How inspiring it can be to behold a minister in God’s Church who has both an office of authority and the character to exercise that office with integrity. How discouraging it is to watch someone from whom we expect so much, who has lost, or never possessed, the personal qualities it takes to care for […]
How is the Church Necessary for Salvation? The Church as God’s Well of Possibility
(These remarks were delivered as part of Dr. Hefner’s contributions to the 1996 Hein-Fry Lectures.) The theme of these three lectures is described by A.R. Ammons in his poem, “Politics”: I look for the way things will turn out spiralling from a center, the shape things will take to come forth in: I look for […]
Lutherans in Hyde Park: An Historical Analysis
Hyde Park is very much a company town,’ said Peter Cassel, director of community development for Antheus Capital, which owns more property in the neighborhood than anyone except the University of Chicago. ‘As the University grows, so too does the neighborhood.’”1 Company Town is the leading motif for this reflection on the rich history of […]