Robert Schmidt* *Robert Schmidt served as a missionary to Nigeria in the 1960s, a campus pastor at several universities, and a professor of theology at Concordia University in Portland. A fuller treatment of “The Coming Kingdom” was recently published in the Nov. 2013 issue of Missio Apostolica – The Lutheran Society for Missiology. The…
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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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By Matthew Becker Daystar began in 1999 as a small online network of individuals in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) who were concerned about theological issues and problems in and beyond their church body. Organized by Professor Robert Schmidt and Professor Matthew Becker, along with the help of two other LCMS members, the network grew…
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By Robert Schmidt The last gavel has been struck. The Synodical convention is over. A district president was overheard saying that it was the most peaceful convention he had attended. In an interview with the Lutheran Witness, President Harrison remarked, “I think the biggest thing accomplished, number one, was really to have a convention that was civil and positive….
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By Robert Schmidt The election of Matt Harrison and his conservative comrades have left LCMS moderates concerned about the future of the Synod and their place in it. Conversations are resuming with the Wisconsin Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Opposition to gay marriage and clergy are put forward as defining issues for the church…
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By Robert Schmidt When Luther wrote his treatise in 1520, On the Liberty of the Christian Man, it was accepted by friend and foe alike. Here was little of the thunder and polemic found in the Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, or The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. Instead there breathed in it the quiet of the…
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By Robert Schmidt Tho’ devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower us. This world’s prince may still, scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none, He judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him. …
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By Robert Schmidt What is the best preparation for understanding and communicating the Gospel to people of another culture? For the most part missionaries and church leaders have relied upon seminary education. As soon as congregations are planted, efforts are made for the education of the native clergy to serve the fledgling congregations and make…
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The Future of Theology By Robert Schmidt Wither theology? One looks in vain for a current Barth, Brunner, Tillich, or Niebuhr. Yes, there is Pannenberg, and John Douglas Hall is worth noting. Yet, when a presidential candidate accuses another of “bad theology,” one asks, “by what criteria?” Is it the Bible or is it politics choosing selected…
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By Robert Schmidt Ninety-four new congregations joined the Missouri Synod in 2003. Of these, sixty-two were made up of non-white ethnic groups. I have had the privilege of working with one of these new congregations. It started about five years ago among some dedicated Oromo people from central and southern Ethiopia. Seven immigrants met in…
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