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There was a debate, very recently, between Dr. James White and Dr. Leighton Flowers with reference to John 6:44-45. The theological locus under disputation was on the Calvinist doctrines of unconditional election and the effectual call. White argued the positive position, i.e., affirming unconditional election and the effectual call; whilst Flowers argued the negative, i.e., denying unconditional election and the effectual call. For the purposes of this post, I am just going to assume the reader understands the entailments of said doctrines, and cut right to the chase in offering the Athanasian Reformed (AR) (Evangelical Calvinist) reading of John 6:44-45….

In honor of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, ELCA Racial Justice Ministries invited the Rev. Aimée Appell, MDiv DMin to share some thoughts about the Triennial Assembly of the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice and their work to end racism and dismantle white supremacy. The Triennial Assembly of EDLARJ (the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice, newly changed to White Lutherans for Racial Justice) was held in Minneapolis, Minn., March 1-3. A large part of our time together was spent in a pilgrimage to George Floyd Square. What I saw and experienced there changed…

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: March 2024 FEDERAL BUDGET | YES IN GOD’S BACK YARD ACT | RECOVERING AMERICA’S WILDLIFE ACT | UYGHUR POLICY ACT OF 2023 | CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE, RESTORATION OF UNRWA FUNDING | SOLIDARITY WITH ANNUNCIATION HOUSE FEDERAL BUDGET:  The House and Senate passed the first tranche of 2024 spending bills, including funding for agriculture and housing programs. The bipartisan deal reached in both chambers in time to avoid a shutdown of many key federal agencies would fully fund core…

Christ’s atonement is limited to Christ’s vicarious humanity for the world. As the ‘firstborn from the dead’ He is the second and greater Adam, wherein all of humanity, from Christ’s elect humanity, comes to have the capacity, in echo of Christ’s Yes and Amen for us, to say Yes and Amen by the Spirit, to the Father. Christ is God’s unconditionally elect human for the world, and it is in His humanity that we come to have the capacity to truly be human; insofar that the entailments of what it means to be genuinely human is to be in right…

Sarah Fryman, Bayonne, NJ Warm-up Questions What has it looked like for you when the anticipation of an event was better than the event itself? Worse than the event itself?  What about when the event doesn’t even end up happening? An…wait for it…ticipation! I am notorious for putting the cart before the horse (or maybe the cart before the donkey???). I get really excited about new things or adventures. I build up all this anticipation. And then the Thing happens…and it wasn’t what I expected. Or, even worse, the Thing doesn’t happen at all.  The past couple of years have…

by Rev. Peter Heide  At the 2024 ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza, several firsts occurred surrounding Disability Ministries. It had a more central place than in the past because, rather than offering the one 75-minute workshop we anticipated, in the end, our Disability Ministries (DM) advisory team, represented by coordinator Rev. Lisa Heffernan, Anita Smallin, Rev. Brian Krause, and Rev. Peter Heide, provided three 75-minute workshops, offered a revised Thanksgiving for Baptism service, and participated in a panel discussion with Rev. Jonathan Vehar, DEM for the South Dakota synod and director of the tAble, on the main stage. The DM advisory…

Charles Partee in his book Calvin and Classical Philosophy, by way of introduction, offers a nice treatment on the entailments of a mediaeval Christian Humanism versus a theological Scholasticism, as both of those were present in the early formation of the Protestant Reformation; with, of course, particular reference to John Calvin. I am going to share a long passage from Partee because it is rather pertinent to the way I see myself operating; as far as both mood and method goes. I will provide the passage, and then offer up some closing thoughts (the usual). In the sixteenth century, however,…

Issue 92 of Administration Matters You’re not late, everyone else is just early! Final call for registration for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering, MYLE, and the tAble in New Orleans! Registration will close on April 15. Thanks to a generous donor, we are able to provide a waived registration fee (which includes program, housing and food) for our pre-events, the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event and the tAble! To learn more, visit: elca.org/Gathering. Church Mutual update The churchwide organization is aware of the difficulties currently facing the entire property insurance marketplace and the direct impact of insurers’ underwriting decisions. As you…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: For peace in the world, especially Palestine and Israel, Syria, Myanmar, Russia and Ukraine, and Sudan… For…

An abstract notion of saving faith, based on an abstract, or even undefined doctrine of election, always must attempt to make itself concrete. It must seek a way to fill in the gap created by a notion of faith wherein the believer believes out of an idea of faith that is seemingly inherent to them, or individually gifted to THEM. The antidote to this abstract notion of faith is to come to understand that people believe or trust out of Christ’s vicarious faith for us. It is by His poverty for us that we have become rich; that we can…