Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Truth And Reconciliation In Light Of The Cross: Martin Luther’S Theology Of The Cross In Relationship To The Current Ubuntu Theology Of Desmond Tutu, Nokukhanya Pearl Shabalala

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Shabalala, Nokukhanya, P “Truth and Reconciliation in Light of the Cross: Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross in Relationship to the Current Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu.” Master of Arts Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2019. 97pp.

The issue of suffering in Africa has resulted in Africans attributing suffering to God’s work, ancestors’ anger and evil spirits or witchcraft’s work. This is a skewed understanding of suffering. And not only that, the suffering that has been perpetrated by the civil war has birthed the phenomenon of child soldiers resulting in Africa casting out its children. In both of these presented issues sub-Saharan …

Mission In The Margins: An Emplaced Missional Ecclesiology For The Brazilian Church In Urban Environments, Samuel Fuhrmann

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Fuhrmann, Samuel Reduss. “Mission in the Margins: An Emplaced Missional Ecclesiology for the Brazilian Church in Urban Environments.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2019. 217 pp.

As the church tries to engage in God’s mission in Brazilian metropolises, it needs to account for the reality of the favelas. Favela is a housing category that refers to an urban built environment where one encounters a rich social, cultural, and spatial diversity, and often the problems of violence and poverty, all of which configure a challenge to the church. How does the church understand this reality? How does urban missional ecclesiology account for …

The Gospel-Centered Christian, Timothy Saleska

Concordia Pages

When I was a seminarian back in 1980 we were less than six years distant from the synodical upheavals that came to a head in 1974. One of the documents that every seminarian was required to read in those days was the 1970 report of the LCMS Commission of Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) entitled, Gospel & Scripture. Prof. Harry Huth of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, who served as the primary drafter for the report, penned what is arguably one of the most important reports ever put out by the CTCR. Or at the very least, it was a …

Grammars Of Transformation: Saving Evangelical Cultural Engagement, William Watts

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Watts, William J. “Grammars of Transformation: Saving Evangelical Cultural Engagement.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 137 pp.

Evangelical Christians have been struggling to offer a thorough and unified account of cultural engagement for the last several decades. H. Richard Niebuhr’s “Christ the Transformer of Culture” type has supplied evangelicals with the most influential rhetoric on the proper relationship of Christians and the church to the culture at large. However, this consensus is collapsing in the wake of new ways of speaking of cultural engagement that largely downplay or altogether avoid the language of transformation. The emergence of these new ways …

Lcms Identity And Mission In The American Urban Context: Engaging Conian Black Theology Through Strategic Lutheran Missiology, Gregory Seltz

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Seltz, Gregory P., “LCMS Identity and Mission in the American Urban Context: Engaging Conian Black Theology through Strategic Lutheran Missiology.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2017. 304 pp.

This dissertation addresses the challenges of the American urban context by dialoging with James Cone’s Black Theology in order to construct an LCMS urban missiology. This LCMS urban missiology is a dynamic, Two-Kingdom, sacramental engagement strategy that addresses the issues endemic to the urban community for the sake of the community and for the sake of the Gospel. The American urban setting is fraught with challenges: identity politics, ethnic-sociological fragmentation, and the delegitimation-politicization …

More Than A Pretty Face: Using Embodied Lutheran Theology To Evaluate Community-Building In Online Social Networks, Joel Oesch

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Oesch, Joel, C. "More than a Pretty Face: Using Embodied Lutheran Theology to Evaluate Community-building in Online Social Networks." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2015. 264pp.

The human body holds a special place in Christian theology. Jesus gives of his body in the crucifixion and experiences bodily resurrection on Easter morning. The sacrament of Holy Communion is a common partaking in the actual body and blood of Christ. But what of the human body for the Christian, and of what import does this have for the broader community? The dissertation seeks to build on these facts and make a case for …

John Wesley‟S Liturgical Revision: A Pattern For Reshaping Worship For Post-Christian America, Lawrence A. Lacher

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Lacher, Lawrence A. “John Wesley‟s Liturgical Revision: A Pattern for Reshaping Worship for Post-Christian America.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2011. 316 pp.

This project seeks to find a solution to the current malformation of Christian Worship in the American church through re-examining John Wesley‟s Sunday Service for Methodists in North America (1784) in order to extract the underlying pattern. That pattern is then proposed as a paradigm that allows for the contextualization of worship while retaining its historic shape, function and purpose.

John Wesley‟s liturgical advices are examined for several reasons. Since the writer is interested in helping those who …

How A Hearer Listens To A Sermon: Setting The Presuppositions Of The "Second Text", Jeffery D. Nehrt

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of the project was to answer the question: Can preachers influence how a hearer listens to a sermon? To answer that question, 70 pastors of the Southern Illinois District, Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod were asked if they every used a pre-sermon Bible study to help the hearer listen to the sermon. A seven week pre-sermon Bible study was developed and taught based on four filters of hearing. Those filters were Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and community. A post sermon survey was given and separated into two categories, those who attended the pre-sermon Bible study and those who did …

Theology Of The Church As Ministry To Blind People, David Andrus

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Throughout history, people who are blind have been viewed by those in the sighted culture as limited and broken. This is true both in the church and in society in general. Our ecclesiology, however, should encourage, promote, or utilize blind people and their gifts to serve in the body of Christ. The church can, and should, accept, uplift, and utilize people who are blind and visually impaired as full members with a healthy and whole identity in Christ. To this end, our ecclesiology must not prohibit the ordination of a man who is blind solely on the basis of blindness …

Biblical Storytelling And Preaching, Dennis J. Goff

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This Major Applied Project seeks to clarify the relationship between a Biblical text of Scripture being "read" or "told" and how that connects to the sermon preached on that text. It is believed that in many worship settings there is often a "disconnect" between the lectionary read (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings) and the sermon text selected from one of those readings. By the time the preacher begins his sermon the hearer has often forgotten the Scripture read earlier. The use of Biblical storytelling can assist the listener in hearing, understanding, remembering and connecting the text of Scripture with …

Introducing “Gospel Care” Small Groups Into A Lutheran Congregation, W. Mart Thompson

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Spiritual care in Lutheranism has been viewed primarily as the responsibility of the pastor. The small group movement has challenged this assumption, encouraging laity to participate.

This project investigates small groups in light of Lutheran theology. It studies pertinent Biblical passages, the history of Pietism, contemporary small group sources, and several congregations with small group programs. Research is also done on Zion Lutheran Church of Pevely, Missouri.

Results indicate that with the proper theological distinctions and applications lay-led small groups can provide spiritual care in a Lutheran context in a way that complements the work of the pastor.

The Theological Principles Underlying Parish Records With Particular Application To Their Role In The Design And Evaluation Of Computer Software, Chris Hinkle

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This paper will document the theological and pastoral underpinnings of LCIS and its immediate successors as a reminder that how we say things and what we do should flow from what we believe. However, these theological and pastoral considerations have more than historical importance. For, although the forms and programs congregations use to keep their records may change, unless our beliefs change, the principles behind their selection and use will remain the same. Clarifying these principles should be helpful to those who wish to understand how they can best utilize their current system for keeping records. Understanding them will help …

Killing And Making Alive As The Vital Work Of The Spirit In Preaching According To Martin Luther, Peter Kirby

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

The Protestant Reformation involved a recovery of just this distinction between primary and secondary discourse, and not only the distinction, but the priority of "primary" discourse, that is, the necessity of Gospel as the Word that forgives in the here and now.

A Theology Of Ministerial Practice, Paul Kelm

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Competing agendas and changing culture create a need for churches to consciously determine why they will do what they do the way they do.

This project develops four doctrinal bases for a theology of ministerial practice. It summarizes literature on philosophy of ministry. Research in five Lutheran churches identifies gaps in the way people view ministry. Chapter four provides a comprehensive rationale and definition for a theology of ministerial practice.

One church's experience demonstrates the value of thinking through and developing "guiding principles" that apply a church's theology to its culture in shaping ministerial practice.

Celebrating God's Grace: An Adult Information Course Which Teaches The Doctrine Of The Church As It Is Expressed In The Worship Of The Church, James Heining

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The writer did a thorough study of the ongoing relationship of worship and doctrine as an influence in the formation of Lutheran worship practices.

He developed a class entitled "Celebrating God's Grace," which summarized the basic teachings of the church as they are expressed in the worship of the church. This was part of a revamped adult education program in his congregation.

In addition to the obvious benefits for those attending the class, the writer came to better understand the centrality of grace in the Christian faith and is now better able to plan and lead worship.

The Educational Needs Of The Adult Layperson Concerning The Mission Of God_Research Towards Writing An Introductory Adult Mission Education Course, Stephen Gaulke

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

What are the educational needs of an adult layperson concerning world mission? What ought an introductory adult mission education study course attempt to teach? This thesis endeavors to answer the question in three chapters.

Chapter One articulates a concise theology of mission. Rooted in Scripture, especially the mission commands of the risen Savior, and drawing on the Apostles' Creed, The Book of Concord, and Martin Luther, Chapter One sketches the "who, what, where, when, why, and how" of God's mission.

Chapter Two surveys mission professionals to discover what they believe an introductory adult study course on world mission ought to …

The Theology And Practice Of Individual Confession And Absolution And Its Application To Pastoral Care From An Early North American Lutheran Perspective, Breno C. Thome

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The two subjects of this study^ namely, pastoral care and Individual confession and absolution, have traditionally been seen as closely connected. Each has also a unique character. In this study both subjects will be focused on from the perspective provided by the historical analysis of their development within the Lutheran context, specifically that of North American Lutheranism in the nineteenth century. Pastoral care has been greatly developed, particularly in the area of pastoral counseling, in the last fifty years. This parallels the increasing development of the behavioral sciences in this century. The causes and consequences of such rapid growth in …

Paul's Principals Of Counseling In First And Second Timothy: The Search For A Biblical View Of Counseling, Robert Gaiser

Master of Divinity Thesis

Thus this paper seeks to define a balanced position between psychology and theology and between secular counseling and counseling by those with theological training. This is done in a general overview. But going beyond the definition of these terms and the relationship of theology to psychology, the author seeks to set forth some counseling methods or terms that Paul uses in his two letters to Timothy. The purpose of this paper is to set forth these principals to aid us in the area of pastoral counseling.

The Development And Significance Of Confirmation In The Lutheran Church, Richard Rist

Master of Divinity Thesis

In the past few years it has come to the attention of many people that the practice of confirmation in the Lutheran Church may need some revision, or At, least some restudy, in order for it to remain in a proper perspective that would be a clear witness to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. The purpose of this study is to explore the rite of confirmation as practiced in the Lutheran Church. Much emphasis will be given to the development of confirmation from the early Church until the present practice of Lutheran confirmation in the United States. This …

Pastoral Counseling With The Dying Child And His Family, Kenneth Doka

Master of Divinity Thesis

This paper hopes to explore the area of pastoral counseling to the dying child and his family. The paper views such a ministry as having three major facets. First is the ministry to the dying child himself. While this seems elementary, it is often neglected, often because of the minister’s own difficulty with the death of a child. It must be realized that childhood is not a homogeneous unit but that there are sharply differentiated stages within childhood. The five-year-old reacts to death in ways considerably different from the adolescent. Thus research along these lines, along with its pastoral implications …

Ministry Without Fear, Krister Stendahl

Concordia Theological Monthly

I worry a lot about speaking to you senior seminarians. I feel honored and moved by the occasion. I sense much of the feelings and the fears and the joys and hopes, sometimes together and sometimes in clash, that are present in this room and in your branch of the church. It is the kind of situation in which it is difficult for anyone to speak who doesn't have to pay the price of staying and sweating it out. I will not give a very delightful and happy dinner speech, although, I guess, real humor is not to tell stories …

The Role Of The Old Testament In High School Level Curricula Of The American Lutheran Church, The Lutheran Church In America, And The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod 1964-1970, Harold W. Rast

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The aim of this study is to determine how the various curriculum materials present Word of God in the Old Testament. Accordingly, topics or categories to be dealt with include revelation, Bible, the unity of the testaments, salvation, morality, and historical-critical exegesis.

In a general way, then, this study proposes to engage in what educators would call descriptive research. One type of descriptive research is content analysis, the use of a set of techniques to determine certain specified characteristics of verbal communication. According to Gephart and Ingle, education professors at Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the purpose of …

The Correlation Of Selected Malady Concepts Of Psychotherapy With Their Theological Counterparts, As Evidenced In The Pastoral Counseling Literature Of 1945-1957, Robert E. Rediehs

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The basic concern of this paper is whether or not psychotherapy and theology have anything to do with each other. There is much feeling in Christian tradition about the extent to which extra-theological studies relate to theology. The present paper will not deal with the efforts which have been made to point out a dissimilarity between these fields. Rather it hypothesizes that psychotherapy and theology are, in some sense, related, and that this can be demonstrated in the terminology and meanings of pastoral counseling.

The Gospel And The Theological Task, John H. Tietjen

Concordia Theological Monthly

"I'm no theologian, but …. " You have heard the statement many times. After a learned presentation by a theological professor at a pastoral conference a parish pastor rises to add his wisdom to the discussion and begins with those words, most often to take exception to something the professor has said. A delegate to a church convention utters them to convince his fellow delegates of the practical, down-to-earth advice he is about to offer, usually stated in very specific theological terms in spite of his introduction.

The Gospel And The Urban Crisis, Arthur R. Simon

Concordia Theological Monthly

The urban crisis compels us to reexamine the gospel. It gives the lie to our arrogant supposition that we proclaim the gospel in all its truth and purity. It shows that what we have passed along as pure gospel is really the gospel shaped by cultural accretions. Furthermore, the urban crisis prompts us to confess that the gospel is not believed and understood faithfully when it is viewed as a message detached from its worldly surroundings, because the gospel encompasses a way of life that comprehends in one seamless robe the words that express the good news as well as …

The Gospel, The Pastor, And "Culture.", Warren Rubel

Concordia Theological Monthly

Actually the word "culture" continues to evoke an unmanageable number of responses from most of us. So much so that we need to distinguish quickly among a number of ideas clustering around the term in order to place the understandably complex relationships among the Christian gospel, the pastor, and culture in a meaningful if limited perspective. Here, after offering a quick sketch of some of the main currents and crosscurrents surrounding culture today, we attempt to suggest a rough plot for personal action. Our assumption is that the pastor as perpetual "student and literary worker" will fill in the details …

Liturgical Reform At Vatican Ii- A Lutheran Appraisal, Philip Stephan

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

In order to update the liturgy and the rites of worship, the Church cannot afford to assume this task of renewal in a haphazard way because she has been entrusted with the truth of the Gospel. The truths of the Gospel are the substance of the Holy Scriptures and the Eucharist, and are contained particularly in the primary liturgy of the Church. A reformation of the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist, with which this study is concerned, must retain the substance of the Gospel in the liturgy. The problem this thesis will investigate and seek to answer is: Is it …

The Hermeneutics Of Johannes Christian Konrad Von Hofmann With Special Reference To His Influence On Georg Stoeckhardt, Richard Baepler

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of sacred Scriptures and revelation, and of the development or the view of sacred Scriptures and revelation dominant in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod through a study of the hermeneutical principles of Johann Christian Konrad von Hofmann with special reference to his influence on Georg Stoeckhardt. These two men have been selected for study not only because of the teacher-student relationship which existed between them but also because both men were giants of conservative confessional Lutheran scholarship and both have exerted an enduring influence, the …

The Hermeneutical Problem And Preaching, V. C. Pfitzer

Concordia Theological Monthly

One is sometimes tempted to the thought that the theologian's work is often carried out not in obedience to the Great Commission of Matt. 28:19 f.: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations … teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you," but rather in compliance with an unknown saying which might run: "Go ye therefore and discuss with all nations, … and make into problems whatsoever I have commanded you.” It is thus with some diffidence that I have left the word "problem" in the heading of this paper. But I do it for the following …

Lutheran Social Welfare Work And The Emotionally Disturbed Child, Dennis Pegorsch

Bachelor of Divinity

In: this research paper there will be an examination of the theology and the responsibility of the Lutheran Church in social welfare work and particularly in its mission to emotionally disturbed children.

Although much has been said and written in the area of church and youth, little emphasis has been placed on reexamining the church's concern for emotionally disturbed children. This paper will not deal with juvenile delinquency per se even though there is a very fine distinction between juvenile delinquents and emotionally disturbed children since many juvenile delinquents are emotionally disturbed. But duet the limited amount of materials dealing …