Tools and resources for discipleship

There are many Christians in the world who believe in the rapture (a concept not supported by the Bible or traditional Christian theology).  Many of us are familiar with the fictional series “Left Behind” written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.  In their series LaHaye and Jenkins portray the last days as a time of great destruction and misery, the world is destroyed.  The series is written as though it is an accurate (or at least realistic) portrayal of Christ’s second coming.  Unfortunately LaHaye and Jenkins forgot to consider the Bible or Christian tradition in their writing.  Eschatology (study of the last things or the end of the world) is not about destruction and misery; instead it is principally about hope.  The Bible very clearly states that God has no desire to destroy all of creation.  In fact God affirms the goodness of creation (Gen 1.31), and after the great flood God promises never again to destroy the world (Gen 8:21-22).  Eschatology is principally about hope and thus it shapes how we as Christians (disciples) live and view our world in the present.  Jurgen Moltmann, one of the most influential theologians of our time, discusses how eschatology shapes our worldview in this short clip.  In this short clip from Barbara Rossing, a Lutheran biblical scholar, she discusses just how dangerous the idea of the rapture is for our continued existence.

As we construct our website we hope to provide you with a variety of resources for living as a Christian in our current context.  One such resource is this video by Marcus Borg (watch full program), where he talks about mainline Christians needing to once again reclaim our heritage, a heritage that has often been co-opted by the religious right.   

Here is a clip from the Thom Hartman show talking about how churches are losing their way.  I think Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest daughter of Robert Kennedy, does a good job of analyzing the problem of today’s churches. Kathleen has a good understanding of what it means to be a public church.  As Lutherans we are not trying to establish a theocracy, but we do need to acknowledge the public dimension of our faith.  A faith that would fundamentally claim that all people are equal and that we as the church need to care for the least among us and to accompany them in their struggle for justice and equality.   

Here is a clip from N.T. Wright one of the most influential New Testament scholars of our time.  In this clip Wright introduces many of the significant differences between reformation inspired interpretations of Paul, and the so called new perspective on Paul.  Wright is one of the representatives of the new perspective on Paul.  The new perspective has challenged the reformation's reading of Paul, including Luther. The new perspective should not be seen as a threat to Christianity, but instead as new and exciting way of understanding Paul’s letters.  This perspective’s main argument is that Paul should be read in his historical-social context, before applying his teaching directly to our context.  Traditionally Paul has been read as having a guilty conscience as a result of his days as a persecutor of Christianity.  The new perspective has challenged this reading, and argues for a more communal understanding of justification, in this way justification (and Paul) is placed within its proper social-historical context (a Roman Jewish context). The new perspective has a lot to recommend it; this perspective is less about a single highway to God and is more about reclaiming Christianity as a journey that ends with the pilgrims’ arrival in God.   

Marriage, family, and divorce are important topics of discussion for Christians, and these topics have been getting a lot of attention, not only in the media, but within the church itself.  For Christians it is important to ground our discussion about marriage and family in the text of the Bible, in this clip from Speaking of Faith two Biblical scholars (one Jewish and one Catholic) return to the text of the Bible to begin their discussion of marriage.  While both scholars are more conservative than liberal, they do give a more complex and nuanced understanding of the biblical texts on marriage than is typically given in many of today's discussions. 

Our church is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Rocky Mountain Synod .  Please visit either site to learn more about the ELCA or the Synod.