Josh concludes his conversation with Derek Nelson, coauthor of Resilient Reformer: The Life and Thought of Martin Luther, this time exploring the legacy of Luther’s thought on Western society’s concepts of religion and government.
Category: Lutheran
Josh on Theology Thursdays: Church, State, and COVID-19
Josh on Theology Thursdays: Church, State, and COVID-19 Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining Lutheran pastors James Smith (Trinity Episcopal and St. John’s Lutheran in Three Rivers, Michigan) and Chris Laughlin (Messiah Lutheran in Constantine, Michigan) for their “Theology Thursdays,” which they post to their congregations’ Facebook pages while we keep social distance due to COVID-19. We talked about Church and State issues during COVID-19. It was a fun conversation in a difficult time. Go here to watch the hour-long conversation.
Continue reading “Josh on Theology Thursdays: Church, State, and COVID-19”“With Attendance Down, Rural Churches Pool Resources To Keep Doors Open”
“With Attendance Down, Rural Churches Pool Resources To Keep Doors Open” NPR’s Morning Edition aired this story from WFIU Public Radio about rural churches pooling resources to keep their doors open. The story highlights a growing dynamic that often requires thoughtful legal counsel to navigate questions related to employment, governance, and the contract between congregations sharing clergy and other resources.
ELCA Legal staff to host free webinar: “Legal Checklist for Congregations”
ELCA Legal staff to host free webinar: “Legal Checklist for Congregations.” Tom Cunniff, General Counsel to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Aja M. Favors, ELCA Associate General Counsel will host a free webinar on February 21, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. E.S.T. Register here. The presentation is geared for ELCA leaders and volunteers. Download the checklist here. Here’s the description:
Continue reading “ELCA Legal staff to host free webinar: “Legal Checklist for Congregations””
1747 Law in Luther’s Day
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5989964/height/90/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”top” theme=”custom”]Before Martin Luther became a monk, he was a rather successful student whose father encouraged his path into the study of law. Informed in part by his brief stint in law school and other encounters with lawyers in his day, he developed a distaste and distrust for the profession as a whole. Derek Nelson, coauthor of Resilient Reformer: The Life and Thought of Martin Luther, helps explain what a lawyer did in sixteenth-century Germany, what studying the law would have been like, and what Luther thought about the law. Continue reading “1747 Law in Luther’s Day”
1744 Reformation 500!
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5895389/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″ placement=”top”]October 31, 2017, marks the five hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses, which sparked the Reformation. The ripples of the Reformation still can be seen in the Church and society. Law Meets Gospel marks the occasion with Josh explaining the inspiration for several aspects of the podcast. Law Meets Gospel is inspired by Luther’s teaching about Law and Gospel within Christian scriptures. Josh’s sign-off, “As you work to meet the worlds need, be wise, be bold, and be joyful.” is inspired by two quotes. First, Frederick Buechner’s writing, “The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Second, Luther’s advice in a letter to Philip Melanchthon, “Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.”
1733 Practical effect of Trinity Lutheran
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5644303/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]The conclusion of Josh’s discussion with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. Continue reading “1733 Practical effect of Trinity Lutheran”
1731 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer dissent
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5589892/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]The second part of Josh’s discussion with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. Dave and Josh talk about the separate opinions by Justice Stephen Breyer, who concurred only in the judgment favoring the church, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Continue reading “1731 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer dissent”
1730 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer decision
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5570698/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]Josh talks with Dave Roland, the Director of Litigation and cofounder of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer.
Continue reading “1730 Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer decision”
1720 Trinity Lutheran oral argument
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5361120/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″ placement=”top”]The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer on April 19, 2017. The church is challenging Missouri’s exclusion of religious groups from the state’s grant program for playground surfaces. Josh speaks with Dave Roland of the Freedom Center of Missouri about the argument, the justices’ questions, and how the Court’s decision could affect religious organizations across the country.