Letters to the editor
Campus ministry big part of church future Readers write on cover, articles on salvation, immigration, seminary ed.
We’re handing our young people over to Campus Crusade and InterVarsity
®
JANUARY 2012
www.thelutheran.org $2.50
Christian Fellowship instead. The Rev. Don King Cleveland Heights, Ohio
STORY » 20 STUDY GUIDE » 26
ALSO: Empathy will change your life » 14 ELCA theologians on salvation » 18 Set your spiritual resolutions » 28 Your pastor needs a sabbatical » 30
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We’re handing our young people over to Campus Crusade and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship instead.
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Perusing my “ELCA 2012 Yearbook,” I was hard pressed to locate our direc- tor for campus and youth ministry. I couldn’t help but recall a recent time when campus ministry had a staff of nine or more. Together they oversaw a vibrant ministry for our college stu- dents, who would annually gather nationally and regionally and had support to congregate locally. I know finances have hit our ELCA hard, but we still make choices as to where we allocate our resources. I can’t help but believe that one day in the not-too- distant future we’ll wonder where our young adults and ministry candidates have gone. Please refer to decisions made prior to the 2011 Churchwide Assembly (September, page 27) and know that we made conscious choices to no longer support campus ministry.
48 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Thought provoking While I wasn’t attracted to the January cover, your request for feedback (page 4) made me look at it again. It makes sense: It’s thought provoking. Indeed, the economy is down; the value of the dollar is down; church giving is down. What are we to do? Same old stuff probably isn’t the answer. “Economic disruption and an evolving church” (page 20) does not provide all the answers but certainly offers perspec- tive, good thinking and fertilizer for
new—different—growth. Good stuff. Ralph Erchinger Austin, Texas
Beg to differ I take issue with the statement that Christians and Muslims “share more than 95 percent of their religion” (Jan- uary, page 16). This is far from bibli- cal truth. If Jesus was only a prophet, and not the son of God, what about the whole story of redemption through Christ, the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world? If Jesus did not die on earth and experience resur- rection, what is left for a Christian to proclaim? How can Christians and Muslims live in “community” when Muslims reject the very community
that gives salvation? The Rev. Carl Buettemeier Hugo, Minn.
More isn’t always better I agree with Mark Swanson that we should look for ways to expand our
understanding and expression of tra- ditional doctrines (January, page 18). However, the example he gives shows how a reformulation can subtract ideas as well as add them. The traditional “Christ died for your sins” conveys the truth that our sins are so conse- quential that, in some mysterious way, they made Christ’s death necessary. This is certainly a confusing mystery, but Swanson’s reformulation didn’t contribute to understanding this idea. Rather, it highlighted related truths that are easier (and perhaps more palatable)
to understand. Jon Edwards Wadsworth, Ohio
Critical thinking
I read with dismay “Bishop writes Obama, Congress” (December, page 9). It states that the presiding bishop is encouraging political leaders to take action on the Dream Act. To equate the Dream Act with biblical hospital- ity shows that many parts of the ELCA are thinking with their hearts only, and not also critically with their heads. The U.S. is being invaded, albeit a slow invasion, by criminal trespassers. I am uncertain that God commanded his people to welcome invaders. Do not think that because this is a slow inva- sion it is any less dangerous or destruc- tive. Please, bishop, use all the gifts God gave you, not only those that put the ELCA on the politically correct
secular path. David Grimsled La Crosse, Wis.
Keep it coming I not only enjoy The Lutheran, but feel informed and encouraged by it. There are many opinions in the land
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IN AN UNFORGIVING ECONOMY
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