DOCSLIB.ORG

Mission March 2014 | Vol

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mission March 2014 | Vol Journal of Lutheran Mission March 2014 | Vol. 1 | No. 1 Table of Contents Missio Dei by Scott R. Murray ........................................................................................................................ 6 Evangelicalism: The Heartbeat of American Protestantism and the Awkward Companion of American Lutheranism by Walter Sundberg ........................... 8 Response to Walter Sundberg by Lawrence R. Rast, Jr. ....................................................................... 16 Ecclesiology, Mission and Partner Relations: What it Means That Lutheran Mission Plants Lutheran Churches by Albert B. Collver ................................................................. 20 The Future of Mission in the LCMS: Collaboration by Jack Preus ................................................ 28 Teaching the Faith Once Delivered by Charles P. Arand .................................................................. 32 Challenges to Teaching the Faith as a Component of Mission Strategy by Terry Cripe ..................................................................................................................................................... 40 What Will Happen to Missouri? by Randall L. Golter ....................................................................... 44 LCMS Mission: A Paradigm of Its Own by Klaus Detlev Schulz ....................................................... 46 Response to Detlev Schultz’s “LCMS Mission — A Paradigm of Its Own” by William W. Schumacher ............................................................................................................................. 56 A Theological Statement for Mission in the 21st Century by Matthew C. Harrison ................................................................................................................................ 60 Book Review: “You Have the Words of Eternal Life:” Transformative Readings of the Gospel of John from a Lutheran Perspective ............................................................................. 70 Book Review: Into All the World:The Story of Lutheran Foreign Missions ................................ 78 © 2014 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Editorial office: Published by The Lutheran Church— Reproduction of a single article or column for parish 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, Missouri Synod. use only does not require permission of The Journal St. Louis, MO 63122-7294, Please direct queries to of Lutheran Mission. Such reproductions, however, 314-996-1202 should credit The Journal of Lutheran Mission as the [email protected]. source. Cover images are not reproducible without This journal may also be found at www. permission. Also, photos and images credited to lcms.org/journaloflutheranmission. sources outside the LCMS are not to be copied. Member: Associated Church Press Evangelical Press Association (ISSN 2334-1998) A periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Offices of National and International Mission. One author suggests a return to Luther’s theology, to he who Evangelicalism: The Heartbeat stands behind the parties of of American Protestantism and Orthodoxy and Pietism. What does he have to say that might get the Awkward Companion of us thinking, in terms of our own American Lutheranism tradition, about mission? by Walter Sundberg Lutheranism and the First Great Awakening understood the church in terms of sacramental incorpo- he First Great Awakening — often dated ration; New Lights defined the church in terms of adult from 1735 to 1742 with aftershocks extending at commitment through testimony and helped to create the least to the death of George Whitefield, the great widespread popularity and social dynamism of the Great Titinerant preacher, in 1770 — was arguably the single Awakening. As a good Puritan, Edwards taught that the most important religious event of an extended nature in normal beginning of genuine Christian life is spiritual American religious history. Its theological blueprint was transformation, the sign of which is when an individual provided by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), pastor of a publicly declares allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and pivotal Puritan congregation, First Church in Northamp- Savior. The principle of spiritual transformation under- ton, Massachusetts, who dedicated himself to revival in girds the theology of conversion and preaching for the large part because of the influence of purpose of conversion that marked his maternal grandfather, Solomon the awakening movement. Its most Stoddard (1643-1729) who also pur- Luther laments important leader was the master sued revival — or as it was commonly that for most people, preacher George Whitefield (1714- called in that day “awakening” — for Baptism makes no 1770), who in his seven trips to most of his sixty years of ministry. Like difference. They lose America between 1738 and 1770 was his grandfather, Edwards sought a heard by approximately 80 percent way to escape the spiritual depression their way on the of the colonists. Hearing Whitefield that gripped two generations of Puri- perilous journey preached was the first widely shared tans and that had compromised their on earth. event in the history of the American faith in the Halfway Covenant (1662), nationhood. which allowed church members who Commitment to awakening was a had not given personal testimony to Christ — the essen- common feature of colonial Lutheranism. I will illustrate tial requirement for full membership and participation in this with an anecdote. On the afternoon of August 13, the Lord’s Supper — to have their children baptized. The 1748, in Philadelphia, John Nicholas Kurtz was examined effect of this decision was to define the church in terms for ordination to the Christian ministry so that he could of sacramental incorporation. This made the church an be licensed to receive a call from the deacons of a congre- institution of convention instead of a community of the gation in Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania. This quintessential committed: an understanding that threatened the integri- churchly activity is recorded as part of the minutes of the ty and identity of the Puritan movement. first convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium Edwards led an awakening in his church beginning of Pennsylvania, the founding of which is recognized in 1735 that resulted in a book that was The Purpose as the beginning of an organized Lutheran presence Driven Church of its day: A Faithful Narrative of the Sur- in America, 28 years before the Declaration of Inde- prising Work of God (1738). This book, especially given pendence. Present at the examination were the historic its 20 printings, provided a theological framework that figures John Christopher Hartwig (1714-1796), who was separated “Old Lights” from “New Lights.” Old Lights at that time a missionary to German settlers in what is 8 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod now upstate New York and would later be the benefactor as active in the reform of the church as the priesthood of of Harwick Seminary, and Henry Melchior Muhlenberg all believers. (1711-1787), who would become the patriarch of Ameri- “The office of ministry,” said Spener, must “be occu- can Lutheranism. Muhlenberg is the one Lutheran pastor pied by men who, above all, must be true Christians.”2 whom most Lutherans in America revere, whatever their And what he meant by this was nothing mysterious or Synod allegiance or ethnic heritage, as a figure of inspira- arcane. Spener simply meant that pastors of the church tion and theological guidance. According to the minutes needed to have experienced the dynamic impact of faith of the Ministerium, “Candidate Kurtz” had been given in Jesus Christ by being called as the disciples were called these instructions for his oral examination: from their fishermen’s nets, or challenged to “rebirth” as The candidate is to prepare a sketch of his life, Jesus challenged Nicodemus or confronted and drafted giving, in as brief a compass as possible, an account for arduous service as Saul had experienced on the road of its chief events and of his academical studies. to Damascus. Whatever consciously brought Christians to As this may readily become too extensive, it will faith, this was the faith that was desperately needed. suffice, if he briefly narrate: 1. His first awakening; 2. Spener knew in his heart a principle that is common How God furthered the work of grace in his heart; place among evangelists today: “Changed people change 3. What moved him to study for the holy ministry, churches.” As this principle is true so unfortunately is and where, in what branches and under whose its contrary: “Unchanged people change nothing.” In the direction, he has attempted to prepare himself.1 church, unchanged people usually manage ecclesiastical organizations doomed to decline. To be awakened is to Kurtz must have given satisfactory answers to these know that Jesus Christ alone is Savior and that the pur- questions for we know that on the evening of August 13, pose of life is to love God and love the neighbor before the deacons of the congregation in Tulpehocken extended satisfying the desires of the self. him a call. Muhlenberg carried this theology to America. It The pastors who formulated the examination informed his preaching, teaching and presiding. I will questions for Kurtz practiced ministry under the rigorous use his practice of presiding as my example. In 1746, discipline of what we know today as Lutheran Pietism. Muhlenberg reported to his superiors
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism
    Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Edwards, Graham M. Citation Edwards, G. M. (2018). Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, United Kingdom. Publisher University of Chester Rights Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Download date 28/09/2021 05:58:45 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/621795 Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Chester for the degree of Doctor of Professional Studies in Practical Theology By Graham Michael Edwards May 2018 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work is my own, but I am indebted to the encouragement, wisdom and support of others, especially: The Methodist Church of Great Britain who contributed funding towards my research. The members of my group interviews for generously giving their time and energy to engage in conversation about the life of their churches. My supervisors, Professor Elaine Graham and Dr Dawn Llewellyn, for their endless patience, advice and support. The community of the Dprof programme, who challenged, critiqued, and questioned me along the way. Most of all, my family and friends, Sue, Helen, Simon, and Richard who listened to me over the years, read my work, and encouraged me to complete it. Thank you. 2 CONTENTS Abstract 5 Summary of Portfolio 6 Chapter One. Introduction: Methodism, a New Narrative? 7 1.1 Experiencing Methodism 7 1.2 Narrative and Identity 10 1.3 A Local Focus 16 1.4 Overview of Thesis 17 Chapter Two.
    [Show full text]
  • Enriching Families in the Parish Through the Use of Musical Drama
    Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project Concordia Seminary Scholarship 2-1-2001 Enriching Families in the Parish Through the Use of Musical Drama Wallace Becker Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Becker, Wallace, "Enriching Families in the Parish Through the Use of Musical Drama" (2001). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 109. https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/109 This Major Applied Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONCORDIA SEMINARY SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI ENRICHING FAMILIES IN THE PARISH THROUGH THE USE OF MUSICAL DRAMA A MAJOR APPLIED PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY REV. WALLACE M. BECKER SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI FEBRUARY, 2001 To Alvina, my wife, To Jeremy and Andy, my sons. Our family has been a blessing from God. The musical dramas that we have shared have been wonderful family experiences. They have given me great joy. CONTENTS ABSTRACT x INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: FAMILY CENTERED MINISTRY IN THE CHURCH 4 Introduction 4 The Family is God's Design 8 The Church Was Established By God 22 The Church Is the Family of God 24 Church and Family Working Together 28 The Attitude of the Leaders 32 Church Programs 34 Church Programs That Oppose the Family 40 Adding Family-Friendly Programs 41 Christian Family, The Church in That Place 45 TWO: MUSICAL DRAMA IN THE CHURCH 48 Introduction 48 The Roots of Musical Drama in the Early Christian Church .
    [Show full text]
  • In Response to Bengt Hagglund: Ihe Importance of Epistemology for Luther's and Melanchthon's Theology
    CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Volume 44, Numbers 2-3 -- JULY 1980 Can the Lutheran Confessions Have Any Meaning 450 Years Later?.................... Robert D. Preus 104 Augustana VII and the Eclipse of Ecumenism ....................................... Siegbert W. Becker 108 Melancht hon versus Luther: The Contemporary Struggle ......................... Bengt Hagglund 123 In Response to Bengt Hagglund: Ihe Importance of Epistemology for Luther's and Melanchthon's Theology .............. Wilbert H. Rosin 134 Did Luther and Melanchthon Agree on the Real Presence?.. .................................. David P. Scaer 14 1 Luther and Melanchthon in America.. .................. ..... .......................C. George Fry 148 Luther's Contribution to the Augsburg Confession .............................................. Eugene F. Klug 155 Fanaticism as a Theological Category in the Lutheran Confessions ............................... Paul L. Maier 173 Homiletical Studies 182 In Response to Bengt Hagglund: Luther and Melanchthon in America C. George Fry It has always struck me as strangely appropriate that the Protestant Reformation and the discovery of America occurred simultaneously. When Martin Luther was nine, Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas; in 15 19, while he debated Dr. John Eck at Leipzig, a fellow-subject of Emperor Charles V, Hernando Cortez, began the conquest of Mexico. Philip Melanc ht hon, the "Great Confessor," was com.posing the Augustana at about the time Francisco Pizarro was occupying the Inca Empire in Peru. By the time of Melancht hon's death in 1560, the Americas had been opened up to European settlement. A related theme of equal interest is that of the American dis- covery of the Reformation. Or, more properly, the recovery by Lutherans in the United States of the history and theology of the Reformers.
    [Show full text]
  • Becoming Lutheran: Exploring the Journey of American Evangelicals Into Confessional Lutheran Thought
    Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project Concordia Seminary Scholarship 9-23-2013 Becoming Lutheran: Exploring the Journey of American Evangelicals into Confessional Lutheran Thought Matthew Richard Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Richard, Matthew, "Becoming Lutheran: Exploring the Journey of American Evangelicals into Confessional Lutheran Thought" (2013). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 138. https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/138 This Major Applied Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONCORDIA SEMINARY SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI BECOMING LUTHERAN: EXPLORING THE JOURNEY OF AMERICAN EVANGELICALS INTO CONFESSIONAL LUTHERAN THOUGHT A MAJOR APPLIED PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY STUDIES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY REV. MATTHEW R. RICHARD SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI BECOMING LUTHERAN: EXPLORING THE JOURNEY OF AMERICAN EVANGELICALS INTO CONFESSIONAL LUTHERAN THOUGHT REV. MATTHEW R. RICHARD SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 Concordia Seminary Saint Louis, Missouri Advisor DR. ROBERT
    [Show full text]
  • A Theology of Creation Lived out in Christian Hymnody
    Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 5-1-2014 A Theology of Creation Lived Out in Christian Hymnody Beth Hoeltke Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Christianity Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hoeltke, Beth, "A Theology of Creation Lived Out in Christian Hymnody" (2014). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 58. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/58 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A THEOLOGY OF CREATION LIVED OUT IN CHRISTIAN HYMNODY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Doctrinal Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Beth June Hoeltke May 2014 Approved by Dr. Charles Arand Advisor Dr. Kent Burreson Reader Dr. Erik Herrmann Reader © 2014 by Beth June Hoeltke. All rights reserved. Dedicated in loving memory of my parents William and June Hoeltke Life is Precious. Give it over to God, our Creator, and trust in Him alone. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    [Show full text]
  • Defending the Gospel in Legal Style Legal in Gospel the Defending John Warwick Montgomery Warwick John
    Defending the Gospel in Legal Style Montgomery John Warwick Traditional apologetics is either focused on obscure, quasi-Thomist philosophi- cal arguments for God’s existence or on 18th-century-style answers to alleged biblical contradictions. But a new approach has recently entered the picture: the juridical defence of historic Christian faith, with its particular concern for demons- trating Jesus’s deity and saving work for mankind. The undisputed leader of this movement is John Warwick Montgomery, emeritus professor of law and humani- ties, University of Bedfordshire, England, and director, International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism and Human Rights, Strasbourg, France. His latest book (of more than sixty published during his career) shows the strength of legal apo- logetics: its arguments, drawn from secular legal reasoning, can be rejected only at the cost of jettisoning the legal system itself, on which every civilised society depends for its very existence. The present work also includes theological essays on vital topics of the day, characterised by the author’s well-known humour and skill for lucid communication. John Warwick Montgomery is the leading advoca- te of a legal apologetic for historic Christian faith. He is trained as a historian (Ph.D., University of Chicago), an English barrister, French avocat, and American lawyer (LL.D., Cardiff University, Wales, U.K.), and theologian (D.Théol., Faculty of Protes- tant Theology, University of Strasbourg, France). He has debated major representatives of secula- rism (atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, death-of-God advocate Thomas Altizer, liberal theologian Bishop James Pike, atheistic cosmologist Sean M. Carroll, et al.). He is the author or editor of more than 60 books and 150 journal articles, and has appeared on innumerable international television and radio broadcasts.
    [Show full text]
  • Core Like a Rock: Luther’S Theological Center
    OCTOBER 2, 2017 CORE LIKE A ROCK: LUTHER’S THEOLOGICAL CENTER Kenneth A. Cherney, Jr., PhD WISCONSIN LUTHERAN SEMINARY CORE LIKE A ROCK: LUTHER’S THEOLOGICAL CENTER You have asked me in this essay to “review the central core of Luther’s confession of divine revelation.” That is interestingly put. Lots of things have cores, and they function in different ways. Apples have cores that you throw away. When I was growing up, Milwaukee had its “inner core,” defined in 1960 by a special mayoral commission as the area between Juneau Avenue on the south, 20th Street on the west, Holton Street on the east, and Keefe Avenue on the north—a blighted part of town, so they said, where people from my tribe didn’t go.1 The earth’s “core” is a glob of molten nickel/iron wrapped around a solid iron ball, and those who claim to know these things say our core generated the heat that caused Florida to break off from Africa and remain stuck on Georgia and Alabama,2 for which many persons are grateful. The “core” of a nuclear reactor is like that; it’s where the fissionable material is found and where the reaction happens that is the whole point. So is the cylinder of “core” muscles around your abdomen, without which you can have biceps the size of Dwayne Johnson’s and when the bad guys show up you’re still basically George McFly, only in a tighter shirt. That is how I understand my assignment. You want to hear about Luther’s spiritual fulcrum, the point around which everything turned.
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Porterfield Krauth: the American Chemnitz
    The 37th Annual Reformation Lectures Reformation Legacy on American Soil Bethany Lutheran College S. C. Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center Mankato, Minnesota October 28-29, 2004 Lecture Number Three: Charles Porterfield Krauth: The American Chemnitz The Rev. Prof. David Jay Webber Ternopil’, Ukraine Introduction C. F. W. Walther, the great nineteenth-century German-American churchman, has some- times been dubbed by his admirers “the American Luther.”1 While all comparisons of this nature have their limitations, there is a lot of truth in this appellation. Walther’s temperament, his lead- ership qualities, and especially his theological convictions would lend legitimacy to such a de- scription. Similarly, we would like to suggest that Charles Porterfield Krauth, in light of the unique gifts and abilities with which he was endowed, and in light of the thoroughness and balance of his mature theological work, can fittingly be styled “the American Chemnitz.” Krauth was in fact an avid student of the writings of the Second Martin, and he absorbed much from him in both form and substance. It is also quite apparent that the mature Krauth always attempted to follow a noticeably Chemnitzian, “Concordistic” approach in the fulfillment of his calling as a teacher of the church in nineteenth-century America. We will return to these thoughts in a little while. Be- fore that, though, we should spend some time in examining Krauth’s familial and ecclesiastical origins, and the historical context of his development as a confessor of God’s timeless truth. Krauth’s Origins In the words of Walther, Krauth was, without a doubt, the most eminent man in the English Lutheran Church of this country, a man of rare learning, at home no less in the old than in modern theology, and, what is of greatest import, whole-heartedly devoted to the pure doctrine of our Church, as he had learned to understand it, a noble man and without guile.2 But Krauth’s pathway to this kind of informed Confessionalism was not an easy one.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Great Awakening
    1730-1755, both in Protestant Europe and the American colonies Powerful, dynamic preachers Focuses on personal, spiritual conviction and redemption, and a commitment to a new standard of morality. Downplayed ritual, ceremony, doctrine, sacraments, and church hierarchy. Reshaped denominations: Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist. Spawned a movement known as “revivalism.” 18th and 19th Century American Protestant movement Charles Finney In short, Christian life begins with the personal decision to accept Jesus We can increase the number of conversions to Christ if we learn how to intentionally manipulate unsuspecting religious consumers. Harness human motivations to drive individuals to commit themselves to Jesus Once they do, the process of discipleship will fix these false motivations. We just have to get them there. This led to the “new measures:” catchier music, more entertaining, practical, and dynamic preaching Emphasis on the blessings received from the Christian life. “The object is to get up an excitement, and bring the people out…I do not mean to say that [these] measures are pious, or right, but only that they are wise, in the sense that they are the…means to the end…The object of our measures is to gain attention, and you must have something new [to do that].” “Religion is the work of man. It is something for man to do. [But] there are so many things to lead their minds off from religion…that it is necessary to raise an excitement among them.” Charles Grandison Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, 1835 “I could not but regard and treat this whole question of imputation as a theological fiction, somewhat related to our legal fiction of John Doe and Richard Roe.” Charles Grandison Finney, Memoirs of Charles Grandison Finney, published post-humously 1876 “But according to the actual history books, the Second Great Awakening was no real awakening at all.
    [Show full text]
  • Church Growth Movement: a Lutheran Analysis
    THE CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT: A LUTHERAN ANALYSIS by: Steve O. Scheiderer, M-Div. A Research Report Submitted in Partial Fulfill~ent of the Requirements £or the Sacred Theology Master Degree RES 799, Research Hours Professor Kurt Marquart, Advisor 11{}150 Concordia Theological, Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana January, 1985 CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY . LIBRARY FORT WAYNE, INDIANA DEDICATION This paper is dedicated to Lynn, my "thesis widow," and to The Rev. Paul O. Rosnau and Mr. Robert E. Smith Jr. who gave much of their time in helping to improve several key aspects of the paper. COPYRIGHT 1985 STEVE O. SCHEIDERER TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS • • . • • . • • • • • p. viii. INTRODUCTION ••••• • • • • p. 1 PART I: THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS CHAPTER ONE: CHURCH GROWTH'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONVERSION OF MAN Discussion Points p. 17 The Doctrine 0£ Man ••••• p. 17 The Harvest Principle •••. p. 18 The Great Commission ••. p. 20 The "Means" and "End" Distinction •••• p. 21 Diagnosing the Receptivity 0£ Man • p. 22 The Quest for a Relevant Gospel •••••• p. 23 The Hoaogeneous Unit Principle •••••• p. 26 The Analysis •••.•••••.•••••• p. 29 The Doctrine 0£ Man •••••••••• p. 29 The Harvest Principle ••••••••• p. 32 The Great Commission •••••••• p. 38 The "Means" and "End" Distinction p. 40 Diagnosing the Receptivity 0£ Man ••••• p. 44 The Quest for a Relevant Gospel . p. 48 The Homogeneous Unit Principle ••.••• p. 59 Endnotes p. 68 CHAPTER TWO: CHURCH GROWTH'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH'S MINISTRY Discussion Points. p. 79 The Church Growth Understanding 0£ the Nature and Purpose 0£ the Church ••••••••••••• p. 80 The Nature of the Church •••••• p. 80 The "Celebration ..
    [Show full text]
  • Proquest Dissertations
    The effects of faith, theology and denominational governance on decision making by senior- level administrators at Christian universities Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Watkins, Joseph Ezra Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 03/10/2021 20:41:30 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289154 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has t)een reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in tyfiewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afTM reproduction. in the unlikely event that the author dkl not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, begirming at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overiaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6' x 9" t)iack and white photographic prints are availat>le for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge.
    [Show full text]
  • Law and Gospel in the Church Growth Movement By: Robert Koester
    Law and Gospel in the Church Growth Movement By: Robert Koester [Dakota-Montana Pastoral Conference - September 18,19, 1984] Preface They are sharp. They have a certain charisma, a certain persuasiveness. They have done their homework. And anyone engaged in mission work in the 1980’s will sooner or later deal with their ideas. Their movement has been called the most important mission development of the century. Some call it a fad. I doubt that it is. It is an attempt to get a handle on basic missiological questions. It is the first really unified attempt to wrestle with questions individual churches have been wrestling with on their own. Whether under its present name, or another, it will be around for a long time. The Church Growth movement, and its founder Donald McGavran, need to be understood and understood well. They are knocking on the door of any church that takes mission work seriously. They claim to have much to of offer any church that will I take the time to listen. Should we take them up on their offer? It is my hope that this paper will I give you some insights into the Church Growth movement and that it might help us make what I believe to be an inevitable decision. A Basic Definition Just what is the Church Growth movement? The phrase “Church Growth Movement” would seem to denote something specific. Yet at the same time, taking away the capital letters, “church growth movement” might seem to denote something rather nebulous, something that probably wouldn’t be associated with any specific person or principle.
    [Show full text]