Toward an Uncommon Churchmanship

Stephen C. Krueger When I was a second year student at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (’72-’73), I happened to catch a course offered by Dr. Oliver Harms, the then past president of the LCMS. The course was entitled, “Christian Churchmanship.” The course was a treat, offered by that Texas, Christian gentleman who oversaw some of…
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Remembering Concordia Senior College

Remembering Concordia Senior College (1957—1977) and the Burning Question of the Free Pursuit of Truth Stephen C. Krueger (a 1971 alumnus of Concordia Senior College)   One way of addressing the issue of LCMS synodical identity today is to focus on the question, “Who were we once?” The closure of an institution barely twenty years…
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Reflections on Theological Education

Stephen C. Krueger Editorial Note: Developments in both the church and the world are calling for a re-evaluation of theological education. Theological education has been the subject of a number of recent books calling into question both the core values and the pedagogical methods of most seminaries. In order to address the challenges of vacant parishes…
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The Promising Tradition

Stephen C. Krueger I. History We called it “The Promising Tradition” during my seminary days. It represented a thin tradition of confessing theology that boldly affirmed with Luther, and he was just borrowing the notion from St. Paul, that the gospel is victorious (as it must be) over the law. The Promising Tradition represents a…
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Lord, Bless This Mess, Please!

Reflections on the Baptism of Our Lord DayStar Conference Eucharist Stephen C. Krueger 1. What a mess! Tonight we DayStars are gathered as the community of faith around Word and Sacrament because we as a church are in a mess and we come from a synod that does not do well with mess (maybe that’s…
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Hospice Reflections on John 11

Editorial Note: When Steve Krueger wrote these reflections, in the season of Pentecost 2006, he was serving as a chaplain for LifePath Hospice and Palliative Care, the largest not-for-profit hospice program in the United States. LifePath Hospice currently serves almost 2,300 patients in the counties of Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Hardee, Florida. The listed counties…
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The Blessed Duel

How Christ Is the Christian’s Victory over the Law: A Brief Study in Luther’s Galatians (1531) Concordia Theological Seminary Ft. Wayne, Indiana,  January 16, 2001 Stephen C. Krueger   1. Whatever else the topic “the Law in Holy Scripture” can come to mean in contemporary Biblical studies, most giving “the Law” a far more positive assessment than the lex…
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Any Friend of Jesus is a Friend of Mine

A Discussion of Fellowship Montana District Pastoral Conference Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod October 8–10, 2002 Stephen C. Krueger Thank you for the honor of your invitation to address your pastoral conference on the matter of church fellowship. I look forward to our dialogue within the boundaries of the Sacred Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. 1. A…
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A Time to Confess

Stephen Krueger (with input from Matthew Becker and David Benke) Principal Author’s Note: I, SK, do not see this statement to be in any final form until members of the church (e.g., participants from the Daystar online conversation) have a legitimate, honest crack at critiquing it. First, I am better appreciating the awesome task that…
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