Hallmarks Of Lutheran Identity

What do we Lutherans believe, and how do our beliefs differ from other Protestant denominations? Many Lutherans do not know how to answer these questions. As generic Protestantism has infiltrated the Lutheran Church, many Lutherans have come to believe false concepts of faith. Some think that it makes no difference whether they are specifically Lutheran versus another Protestant denomination.

Lutheran tradition has in various ways influenced attitudes to work, the economy, the state, education, and health care. One reason that Lutheran theology has been interpreted in various ways is that it is always influenced by surrounding social andcultural contexts. In a society where the church has lost a great deal of its cultural impact and authority, and where there is a plurality of religious convictions, the question of Lutheran identity has never been more urgent. However, this question is also raised in the Global South where Lutheran churches need to find their identity in a relationship with several other religions. Here this relationship is developed from a minority perspective. Is it possible to develop a Lutheran political theology that gives adequate contributions to issues concerning social and economic justice? What is the role of women in church and society around the world? Is it possible to interpret Lutheran theology in such a way that it includes liberating perspectives? These are some of the questions and issues discussed in this book.

I. Change and Movements in American Lutheranism American Lutherans Yesterday and Today Mark Noll The Curious Case of the Missouri Synod Mary Todd The Lutheran Left: From Movement to Church Commitment Maria Erling Word Alone and the Future of Lutheran Denominationalism Mark Granquist The Evangelical Catholics: Seeking Tradition and Unity in a Pluralistic Church Richard Cimino Goliaths in Our Midst: Megachurches in the ELCA Scott Thumma and Jim Petersen Lutheran Charismatics Renewal or Schism? Robert Longman II. Trends and Issues in American Lutheranism Pastors in the Two Kingdoms: The Social Theology of Lutheran Clergy Jeff Walz, Steve Montreal, and Dan Hofrenning North American Lutheranism and the New Ethnics Mark Granquist Multiculturalism and the Dilution of Lutheran Identity Alvin J. Schmidt Integrity and Fragmentation: Can the Lutheran Center Hold? Robert Benne Loose Bonds, Emerging Commitments: The Lives and Faith of Lutheran Youth Eugene C. Roehlkepartain.

Who are you? Where did you come from? People today are obsessed with identity, yet they often have a difficult time identifying themselves. Only one person knows you completely: God. And He has a lot to say about who you are. Through Baptism, we are given our identity as part of God's family. Embracing Your Lutheran Identity will help readers understand their identity as children of God and connect with their " family history"--their Christian heritage as Lutherans. ​​​​​​​ Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.

Caribbean Lutherans tells the story of the Lutheran church in Puerto Rico from a Caribbean perspective. Rodríguez intersperses archival research with cogent commentary and personal accounts, highlighting the power and agency of Puerto Rican and West Indian Lutherans amid the multifaceted legacy of Euro-American missionary efforts on the island. Readers may not be surprised to learn that the first Lutheran missionary in Puerto Rico was a Swedish American Lutheran; they may not be aware, however, that his welcome and success on the island were dependent on the hospitality of an Afro-Caribbean tailor from Jamaica. A winding journey of interactions among American Lutheran synods and a growing Puerto Rican church generated partnerships, tensions, and possibilities that continue to the present. Puerto Rico and neighboring islands joined the United Lutheran Church in America as the Caribbean Synod in 1952. Today, they remain part of the current Evangelical Lutheran Church in America while many other Protestant denominations on the island have formed Puerto Rican "national" churches. Rodríguez explores the continuing tensions inherent in this legacy, bringing both academic expertise and personal experience to this first comprehensive account of the Lutheran church in Puerto Rico.

In an increasingly homogeneous higher education landscape, does organizational identity still matter? Specifically, church-related higher education has experienced seismic shifts since the mid-1960s. Framed by emerging research on organizations and theories of isomorphism, this book traces the forty-year narratives of three colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America--Concordia College, Gettysburg College, and Lenoir-Rhyne University. Are these schools seeking to preserve their religious identities, and if so, what organizational strategies are supporting these efforts? In-depth personal interviews, rigorous document analysis, and thoughtful observation give voice to the three stories detailed in College Identity Sagas. For those interested in distinctive colleges, religiously affiliated higher education, and organization and institutional theories, this book is a vital resource.

For many of today’s Christians their go-to style of proclaiming the faith is to share their own experiences. While this may be a stepping stone to the conversation, we should not remain on our subjective and unprovable experiences. Rather, Christians should use the pattern set forth in the New Testament by the apostles and evangelists: the gospel of Jesus who died, was buried, and rose to life on the third day according to the Scriptures. In this book the sermons of the apostles and evangelists will be looked into to see how they both proclaimed and defended the Christian faith, giving all Christians the pattern to follow in their own opportunities to share the one true faith.