"A good time to be the church is right now," declares Bishop H. George Anderson. Rather than lamenting the lost influence of the church or dreaming of some golden age, Christians can see the spiritual hunger of our time as a special opportunity to speak and act boldly. Solidly grounded in the Bible and Christian history, and keenly aware of ......
The author understands spirituality to be the attitudes, convictions, and practices that give a definite shape to religious faith. Further, he asserts that spirituality is experiential and practical, for it concerns the specific forms by which faith is expressed and nurtured. The book describes the special emphases of Lutheran spirituality and ......
Understanding Church Music in the Lutheran Tradition
This "Large Catechism" consists of nine short essays which expand upon each of the basic concepts outlined more briefly in A "Small Catechism": Understanding Church Music in the Lutheran Tradition. This collection is intended for pastors, church musicians, worship committees, and all who are in-terested in better understanding and putting into ......
Essays on Eschatology, Authority, Atonement, and Ecumenism
Gerhard O. Forde has stood at the forefront of Lutheran thought for most of his career. This new collection of essays and sermons-many previously unpublished- makes Forde's powerful theological vision more widely available.
Understanding Church Music in the Lutheran Tradition
Alone among the reformers, Martin Luther identified music as a gift of God, not a human invention. In so doing he recognized and made effective use of the power of music to teach and persuade both mind and heart. He also created a strong bond between the preacher and the church musician in their shared responsibilities. In this small "handbook" on ......
A Gedenkschaft in Thanksgiving for the Life of Walter R. Bouman
In this volume, readers are invited to enter into conversation with theologians whose work represents the dynamic search for truth that Walter Bouman once shared, and who continue in the enterprise to which he gave his life. The book begins with the funeral sermon delivered in 2005 by his nephew, Stephen Paul Bouman, for as Walter often said, to ......
An analysis and evaluation of the monumental influence of H Richard Niebuhr. In a comprehensive investigation of the work of four contemporary ethicists, important in their own right, Paul Ramsey, Stanley Hauerwas, James Gustafson, and Kathryn Tanner, it explores how the legacy of Niebuhr has made an impact on their thought and work.
Anna B. Hoppe is one of the most prolific Lutheran hymn writers of the early 20th century. She composed hundreds of hymns along with opinion pieces and devotional writing. All the while, she lived quietly in Milwaukee, working as an office secretary and volunteering in various roles at her church. Despite her humble life, she became acquainted ......
August Crull (1845-1923) edited and compiled the first edition of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (1889), thus playing a critical role in shaping the hymnic tradition of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod as it transitioned from German to English. This study tells the story of Crull's pioneering labor in the formation of this seminal hymnal ......