Diaconate: The Biblical Basis for the Ministry of Deacons

Norm Metzler *Dr. Norm Metzler taught  Systematic theology and Ethics at Concordia University  in Portland Oregon.  He recently served a vacancy at a congregation where he worked with a deacon in training to complete his program and get licensed by the district.  The deacon then was contracted to serve a vacancy at a neighboring congregation which…
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DIAKONIA

Accessing the Work of John Collins for Current LCMS Discussions[1] By Richard Gahl Whenever an ecclesiastical office is discussed in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod it is customary to turn to Scripture to ascertain if/how such an office or function is described.  The intent of this essay is to bring to the discussion some recent findings…
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Listening

Listening: An Undervalued Mission Skill by Richard Gahl* Richard Gahl served congregations in Indiana and Pennsylvania before accepting the call from the Ohio District to serve as its Executive Director in 1981. He retired in 2005.  During his district service he served as Chairman of NAME for five years, co-edited the two editions of the…
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Freedom to Serve: Women as Pastors

By Michelle Eckert            Since all Lutherans read the same scriptures and adhere to the same confessions, their vehement disagreement over the issue of women’s ordination might seem puzzling, at least at first. While some freely grant females a place behind the pulpit and the communion table, others insist adamantly that women may not fill…
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Deacons/Pastors?

By Robert Schmidt                At its recent convention, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod resolved to deal with the question of licensed deacons. The President is to create a task force to develop a plan “to resolve questions about individuals who are not rightly called (prepared, examined, called and ordained) serving congregations of The Lutheran…
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The Ministry of the Baptized (Editorial)

By Stephen Krueger By now, it is common knowledge that a group of President Kieschnick’s critics have done what was once unthinkable in the LCMS. The group of 100 or so (mostly pastors) have filed a lawsuit, presumably on behalf of the synod, against President Gerald Kieschnick, First Vice-President William Diekelman, and the synod itself….
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