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
We invite submission of papers and talks from members of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA, talks given to members of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, or articles from other pastors and theologians, not limited to ELCA. Send submissions in Word docx. to fcsenn70@gmail.com.
Reprinted from The Christian Century, September 26 – October 3, 2001 Copyright © 2001, Christian Century Foundation Used by Permission In the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11, thousands of our fellow citizens were buried under the rubble. The rest of us have been buried under the rubble of words that followed. It is hard […]
One of the enjoyable aspects of being on the Let’s Talk Editorial Council is that we talk theology. Our round table discussions lead to the formulation of topics for issues of Let’s Talk. We hope we aren’t talking only to ourselves but that we are engaging you, the leaders of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, in […]
Bioethics: A Primer for Christians by Gilbert Meilaender, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1996. Reviewed by Nicholas J. Zook In 1966, Max Scheler published “Der Formalismus in der Ethik und die materiale Wertethik,” later translated into English under the title, “Formalism in Ethics and Non-Formal Ethics of Values,” in which he applied the phenomenological […]
by Dan Schwick
At the installation of ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, the preacher, Pastor Heidi Neumark of New York City said “The daily ravages of injustice are less eye-catching than the events of September 11, but no less devastating in their human toll. Millions of dollars have been raised to ensure that every family facing financial hardship […]
by Joe Baker
Let’s hear it for the social ministry committee! You know, those dedicated folk in every congregation who make it their business to minister to homebound members, to raise awareness of, as well as funds and volunteers for, benevolent causes, and to strengthen the connection between the congregation and the social ministry of the church. In […]
Reflections on the 2002 theme for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Copyright (c) 2001, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Used by Permission Theodore W. “Ted” Schroeder “Making Christ Known” has been the ongoing theme of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for several years. It expresses in just a few words the overall […]
by Wayne Cowell
The Purpose-Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission by Rick Warren, Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. Reviewed by Wayne R. Cowell Every Sunday the traffic streams up the four-lane half-mile entrance to the seventy-four acre campus of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California. Ten thousand people will attend “seeker” services at this fastest growing […]
In my last column I asked, “What do we expect of our bishops?” To answer, I simply laid out the job description of an evangelical episcopate in the Augsburg Confession, Article 28. Since I wrote that article, we have elected and installed a new Presiding Bishop of the ELCA and installed our own Synod Bishop. […]
On October 20, 2001, Chicago area Lutherans gathered at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Downers Grove for a Metropolitan Chicago Synod Faith Development event. The featured speaker was Stanley Hauerwas, the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University. He spoke of Death and Marriage, and that is the sort of juxtaposition/pairing for […]
by Wayne Miller
In an article for Let’s Talk, Volume 6, Issue 1, Pastor Paul Buettner offered a thoughtful challenge to the wholesale appropriation of our cultural “success ethic” as a valid measurement of faithfulness. As one who has had the privilege of serving congregations that are “thriving” as well as those that are “declining,” I share a […]
by Andrew Leahy
Refreshing the Hearts of the Saints Saturday, March 24, 2001 Marva J. Dawn Theologian, Author, Educator with “Christians Equipped for Ministry” Adjunct Professor of Spiritual Theology, Regent College Reported by Andrew Leahy This was the second time I had heard Marva Dawn speak. My reaction was the same as the first time. Based on the […]
I had thought about writing this article before the Synod Assembly because of the interest generated in the process of electing a new bishop. Because I was designated in the Pre-Assembly Canvas as a “potential nominee” for that office, I deferred writing this article. I did have an opportunity to state my views on the […]
The moratorium on executions in Illinois imposed by Governor George Ryan has had a ripple effect throughout the nation. States are examining their usage of the death penalty. Some have acted to exclude from eligibility for the death penalty juveniles and the mentally retarded. Some have attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to impose their own moratoria […]
Comparing our two moral traditions is probably a dangerous undertaking for a Roman Catholic (or for a Lutheran, for that matter). I shall therefore begin with words from a mentor, James Gustafson. In his important work, Protestant and Roman Catholic Ethics: Prospects for Roman Rapprochement, he suggests that both traditions share a common question, “namely, […]
by David Heim
For a sermon on abortion, a minister decided to rework an antiwar slogan of the 1960’s. Instead of asking “What if they gave a war and nobody came?” he asked, “What if there were abortion clinics and nobody made use of them? What if abortion were a legal choice and nobody took it?” (Richard Hays […]