Practical Theology Commons^™

New Thinking In Christian Education, Randolph Crump Miller

Concordia Theological Monthly

From where I sit, I see many critical issues in Christian education. For as a professor at Yale, I see all the winds of the future that blow through our hallowed halls. As editor of Religious Education, I know what is going to be published in the next six months by Christians and Jews. As a director of Christian education in a local congregation, I am aware of what is actually going on among the faithful. This perspective governs much of what I shall say.

The Pastor As Administrator Of The Christian Fellowship, Harry G. Coiner

Concordia Theological Monthly

It may be helpful to say immediately that a church office, receptionist-secretary, an electric typewriter, a motorized mimeograph machine, and a mahogany desk are some of the trimmings and tools of parish administration but not the real substance of it. Parish administration is concerned with Christian discipleship. It is an activity rooted in what God is doing through the Word and the sacraments in the lives of men and women and children and in how they are being built up, trained, and committed to spiritual tasks.

The Doctrine Of The Ministry Among The Disciples Of Christ, Arthur H. Bishop

Graduate Thesis Collection

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to remove some of the vagueness associated with the ministry of the Disciples and to add some depth to their theory of the ministry through some proposals for renewal and reformation. First, I propose to accomplish this purpose through an historical survey of the development of the ministry among Disciples. Then, some recommendations will be offered in the light of the Biblical ministry, the historical ministry of the Church, and the contemporary situation. It is my opinion that the Church and its ministry must be renewed constantly through continuing reformations. In order …

Grief In Human Experience (Concluded), Charles E. Wittschiebe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Extracongregational Communion Services, Frederick H. Pralle

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Church exists in the world to glorify God by bringing the Gospel and the sacraments to the world and thereby keeping Christians in saving faith. The people of the Christian community are also to live their faith in actions of love toward one another and those outside the fellowship of the Christian community. The Church is, therefore, in the world but not of this world.

Grief In Human Experience, Charles E. Wittschiebe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bible Study In The Life Of The Church, Oscar E. Feucht

Concordia Theological Monthly

At its 44th regular convention (1959) our church resolved "that the Synod reemphasize to its congregations the central place which the Bible has in Lutheran theology and the importance of Bible study in parish life and work." While in its theology our Synod has always emphasized the doctrine of Holy Scripture, the corresponding practice in the life of the church (as also in other ages) has left much to be desired. Bible use has not always reflected the church's teaching on Holy Scripture. It is for this reason that in every generation the church needs to ask itself: Is the …

The Devotional Use Of The Bible, James G. Manz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our topic suggests that there is another use of the Holy Bible. This is the study of Holy Scripture which is traditionally associated with the discipline of theological seminaries and the work of Biblical scholars and ministers. Its technical term is exegesis and has as its task to get out of the sacred text what God put into it. To achieve its purpose an exegetical study of Scripture involves knowledge of the ancient tongues. Martin Luther had a high regard for that language study which had as its aim the understanding of the meaning of the Scripture. He said, "As …

A Ministry To Ministers, Walter J. Bartling

Concordia Theological Monthly

The student generation has never been known for stability and singleness of purpose. Sharp swings in mood, indecisiveness, and fickleness in professional intent may be regarded as normal psychological phenomena. Yet there is a growing concern among teachers in our ministerial training schools. The present student generation seems to be suffering from an unusually aggravated case of rootlessness and indecision. Many students find it extremely difficult to project themselves into their future parish situations.

Walther And Church Polity, August R. Suelflow

Concordia Theological Monthly

When the Saxon immigrants of 1839 elected their spiritual leader, Martin Stephan, their bishop, they adopted the episcopal form of polity. They pledged full obedience to him.

Walther's Pastoral Theology, Frederick Niedner

Concordia Theological Monthly

It is unfortunate that the pen that is writing this article should be in my hand. It would be vastly more appropriate and of greatly increased value if this could have been written by one of the men who were in the classroom of Concordia Seminary when Walther taught Pastoraltheogie. I wish it could have been done by the man who held the position of pastor in Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Mo., during the 22 years before I held the same position for 32 years, my very worthy predecessor, Dr. Julius A. Friedrich.

Muck Which The Lord Uses (Graduation Sermon), Marcus Wagner

Concordia Theological Monthly

Surely this hour is a great hour for every one of you. An important chapter in your life closes with this service, and a new chapter, the most important one, is about to be written. For years you have been preparing for the work in the church of Jesus Christ. Now the great time has come when you may enter the vineyard of the lord as workers and thereby take over the most important office on earth. Certainly it is of vital importance, both for you and the church, that you take this important step in the right spirit.

Water Into Wine: A Sign For The Modem Ministry, Arthur M. Vincent

Concordia Theological Monthly

A king begins His public ministry. He performs His first miracle; He gives His first "sign" (σημεῖον) 1 John says. He changes water into wine. This sign stands as a finger post of God. It points us then and now to Christ. Among other lessons, it also is a sign for our modern ministry. For encouragement think of this as a sign of the King's power, a sign of the King's love, a sign of the Kingdom, and a sign for the ministry of the Word.

Brief Studies, G. M. Krach

Concordia Theological Monthly

An Agreed Statement on the Church and the Ministry

The Unity Of The Church And The Message Of Christ, Carl Fr. Wisløff

Concordia Theological Monthly

I shall try to throw a little light on this subject by presenting for your consideration seven theses. The first four deal with important basic New Testament ideas. The next two set forth important, but often neglected, central truths of the Lutheran Reformation. The final thesis attempts to draw a conclusion.

Brief Studies, Herbert Zorn, John Theodore Mueller

Concordia Theological Monthly

An Agreed Statement on the Church and the Ministry

James Ussher: Biblical Chronicler

Of This Ministry, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The graduates of the seminaries and teachers colleges whom the church is sending forth this month are gifts of God. They have divinely appointed offices and have been called into a ministry of the Spirit. The petition of the General Prayer is again being heard: "Send forth laborers into Thy harvest, and sustain those whom Thou hast sent that the Word of reconciliation may be proclaimed to all people and the Gospel preached in all the world."

An Intergrating Theology Of Parish Administration, Michael Keyne

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the task of the Church, the role of the ministry, and their interacting functions. The first step is to determine the nature and function of the Church. The conclusion is reached that the Church is the body of Christ. By means of the Holy Ghost's work, its task is to build itself in the faith and to expand its outreach. To carry out this dual task, the Church uses its God given implements, the gifts of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit And The Christian Life, Lorenz Wunderlich

Concordia Theological Monthly

The ministry of the Holy Spirit tends to be a neglected ministry, neglected by us in our lives with their problems and tensions as well as with their privileges and opportunities. With some this neglect may be due to a lack of knowledge about the vigor of the theology of the Holy Spirit as it is revealed in Scripture. With others it may rest in the lack of understanding of the rich fullness of the eternal purpose of the Holy Spirit in their lives. With still others it may be accounted for by the mistaken assumption that the ministry of …

The Industrial Chaplain, Paul John Thielo

Bachelor of Divinity

Under the inspiration of such Industrial Chaplains as Reverend Geiseman and with the incentive of sharing the fruits of this ministry with others the author has written this paper. He felt our church must be informed about this work amongst the industrial workers. It is his hope that this paper will in some measure acquaint the church with this one facet of the church's potential ministry to the industrial worker.

The Pastor After The Heart Of God, C. August Hardt

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the first of his Pastoral Letters (1 Tim. 3:1) Paul calls the office of a bishop (ἐπιοχοπή) a good work, χαλὸν ε̈ογον. That is a brief but beautiful and most significant characterization of the Christian ministry.

In What Way Does Christ Speak Through The Ministry?, Praelat Issler

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our question does not simply ask in what way Christ speaks through the minister's sermon, but in what way Christ speaks through the ministry: Hence our first thesis treats of this office (diakonia), the ministerium ecclesiasticum. It is neither possible nor necessary to adduce a locus classicus for the institution of this office: we have such only for the Apostolic office. But Gospels and Epistles alike reveal the same factual situation - the "office" is there! Word and Sacrament require it and, as it were, create it as their own instrument.

The Ministry To The Instutionalized Sick, Paul R. Beck

Bachelor of Divinity

In treating the ministry to the institutionalized sick, two approaches are possible. The one is a discussion of the purpose or goal of the ministry to the sick. Simply put, the goal is to reconcile people to God. The entire ministry to souls in every phase of the church's work centers in this; “we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." (II Cor. 5:20) Basic is the concept that men in the ministry are to lead people to a right relationship with God though Christ.

The other approach is a discussion of the means for achieving described …

Concerning The Ministry Of The Church, Elmer J. Moeller

Concordia Theological Monthly

The editorial committee had hoped to publish this article in the February issue of this journal as a companion article to the one by H. G. Brueggemann, "The Public Ministry in the Apostolic Age." February issue, 1951. Circumstances beyond the control both of the editorial committee and of the author made it impossible to carry our this plan.

The Development Of Vocational Awareness Among A First-Year Class At Concordia Seminary, David Schuller

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This study directs itself to an examination of the vocational awareness of an entering class of students at Concordia Theological seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. Specifically ·this thesis: will attempt to determine the origin and extent of this vocational awareness. The study is confined to the vocation for the pastoral ministry, for which Concordia Seminary at present prepares the large majority of its students at graduation.

The Pastor In His Workshop, L. B. Buchheimer

Concordia Theological Monthly

That presupposes, Implies, that the pastor has a workshop and that he works in this shop, commonly termed his study.

"Give attendance to reading" (1 Tim. 4:13) was the Apostle's precept to Timothy. In his judgment, diligent study was an essential duty of a minister of Christ. That his practice was in accordance with his teaching appears not only from his manifold learning, both sacred and secular, which he displays in his writings, but also from his anxiety to have his "books" with him, even when he was "ready to be offered, and the time of his departure was at …

Teaching Situations, Outlines, And Lesson Plans, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

One of the strangest distinction which is observed when men are being trained for the ministry and, for that matter, when men are in the ministry, is that which prompts ministers to lay just about the exclusive emphasis of their office on preaching, that is, on delivering the sermons and addresses in public gatherings of the Christian congregation. No doubt this is the most conspicuous part of the ministry and one upon which success depends in a very vital way. We are prone to quote the statement from our Lutheran Confessions "Es ist kein Ding, das die Leute mehr bei …

The Social Implications In The Gospels And In The Book Of Acts, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

What are social implications? We might ask first: What is meant by "social"? Obviously the answer is: Anything that Involves two or more people as distinguished from a situation that concerns one person, or individual, alone. To satisfy one probable Inquiry at once, we hasten to say that we want to forestall any suspicion as to any inclination toward a social gospel by stating that the message of the Gospel as we find it in the Holy Scriptures, although commonly proclaimed before social groups, is definitely addressed to the individual, since faith is clearly a matter of the individual, as …

Why Should A Pastor Continue To Study Church History?, W. G. Polack

Concordia Theological Monthly

The history of the Church, the account of the progress of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the world, with all the many ramifications it presents, the great characters it introduces, and the stirring and dramatic events it portrays, strangely enough does not interest every pastor, as it does not interest every theological student at our Seminary. Some pastors sagely declare that they do not care about the study of church history, what they are interested in is making church history. The latter may be a most laudable ambition, but one wonders whether real, worth-while history can be made by …

The Danger Of Lowering Professional Standards, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Where is the blame to be laid when such an appreciation of the ministerial office, its opportunities and responsibilities, is absent? Bulletin 11 of the American Association of Theological Schools states that lowered standards are at least in part a matter of lowered ethics. The situation may be accounted for in part by the fact that some pastors did not enter the ministry from adequate motives.