Transformation of the Church

Robert Schmidt Portland Daystar Conference January 17, 2000  Introduction As the Christian Church greets the 21st century, it does so with some trepidation and gloom. The old idea of a “Christendom” where Christians set the agenda and sought to translate their values into the society is almost gone. Instead, active Christians find themselves in a minority…
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“Admission to the Lord’s Supper”: An Initial Response

Lloyd Goetz, William J. Hassold, John F. Johnson, George Loose, Victor Mennicke, and Edgar Trinklein   The document Admission to the Lord’s Supper: Basics of Biblical and Confessional Teaching [ALS][1] is the response of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations [CTCR] to Resolution 3-05 of the 1998 convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod [LCMS], which was in turn a response to A Declaration…
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A Critique of “Admission to the Lord’s Supper”

Chris Wicher Editorial Note: Pastor Chris Wicher of Cheektowaga, NY, shares with us his response to a study document issued recently by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The CTCR was directed by the synod’s 1998 convention to prepare this study in response to a “Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding and…
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On Fences and Fears

Mary Todd Daystar Free Conference II One Body/One Spirit Mundelein, Illinois 30 October 2000 [© 2000 Mary Todd. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted without permission of the author.] I will readily admit to you that I am a reluctant keynoter today. I had agreed to be conference chair long before David cornered me about…
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No Stones Will Speak for Me!

Ruth Koch Daystar Free Conference · Mundelein, Illinois · 31 October 2000 Copyright Ruth N. Koch.  Permission to publish in full or in part in any publication requires permission of the author.   I have been asked to address the topic of leadership—both lay and clergy leadership in our church body.  This poem by an…
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LCMS 2000: Advice for an Advisory Synod

Dr. Ralph A. Bohlmann There is a great deal of concern within the LCMS about the proper relationship between the synod and its members. Just a few months ago, the chairman of the synod’s Task Force on National/District Synod Relations (Rev. Eugene Oesch, May 2000 Reporter, p.3) publicly expressed his surprise “at how little some church…
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What’s an Exile to Expect?

Stephen C. Krueger Mundelein, Illinois Feast of the Reformation — 31 October 2000   Introduction I have a seminary diploma which reads, “Concordia Seminary in Exile.” That dates me to a particular few years in the history of the Missouri Synod when those who shaped me considered themselves “in exile,” along with the community of…
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