Full Text for Avoiding the Fence: Pro-life Education (Text)

LIFE WORLD of the For the July 2005. Volume Nine, Number Three Real and Abundant Life - p.4 Whatever Happened to the Human Race - p.7 Pro-Life Education in Preparation for the Parish - p.10 Called to Serve - p.12 page 4 F E A T U R E S page 22 For theLIFE WORLDofthe PRESIDENT Rev. Dr. Dean O. Wenthe PUBLISHER Rev. Scott Klemsz EDITOR Rev. John T. Pless ASSOCIATE EDITOR COPY EDITOR ART DIRECTOR Jayne Sheafer Trudy Behning Steve Blakey For the Life of theWorld is published quarterly by Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 6600 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher of For the Life of the World. Copyright 2005. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Huntington, Indiana. To be added to our mailing list please call 260-452-2150 or e-mail Rev. Scott Klemsz at klemszsc@mail.ctsfw.edu. For the Life of theWorld is mailed to all pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the United States and Canada and to anyone interested in the work of Concordia The- ological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. CONTENTS JULY 2005 3 page 7 page 23 page 10 Called to SERVE 4 Real and Abundant Life By Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, President, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana Real and abundant life now and forever is God’s free gift in Christ. Death is defeated. As Christians walk through a cor- rupt and dying world, they are called to embody real life, showing Christ to all who are dying. If Christian vision ever becomes blurred, faith in Christ again pierces the darkness with His light and life. 7 Whatever Happened to the Human Race? By Dr. Jean S. Garton, a Co-founder and President Emeritus of Lutherans For Life, resides in Benton, Arkansas We are responsible not only for what we ourselves do but also for what we allow to be done. Abortion isn’t about the right to choose or the right to privacy. Essentially, it is about the decline of human significance. That is why it is an issue for the church. This country desperately needs renewal and restoration, but this country is going nowhere unless the church goes there first. 10 Avoiding the Fence: Pro-life Education in Preparation for the Parish By Mrs. Maggie Karner, Director of Life Ministries for the LCMS World Relief/Human Care, St. Louis, Missouri This is where our Lutheran theology, with its proper distinc- tion between Law and Gospel and its roots firmly planted at the foot of the cross, becomes so precious. This theology has so much to offer to people who are struggling with difficult life and death issues. It holds out the real hope of forgiveness and reconciliation, and our Catechism provides a wonderful window with which to examine these issues in the light of God’s Word. 13 What Does This Mean? Joys and Challenges of Proclaiming the Word p. 16 “They Bear Witness to Me”: Christ, the Scriptures, and the New Curriculum p. 18 Seminary Professors Serve in Madagascar p. 23 Three Examples of Faith and Giving p. 25 159th Academic Year Draws to a Close with Special Services p. 28 10 For the Life of the World Avoiding theFence: Pro-life Education i This becomes a problem—especially for pastors—when people from different sides of this fence are found within our own Lutheran parishes. As the Director of Life Ministries for our Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (a division of LCMS World Relief/Human Care), I know pastors who deal nobly with this issue and how best to apply Law and Gospel to individual situations. Unfortunately, I also know of pastors and parishioners who offer up either of the two most common arguments for avoiding this issue in their con- gregations: 1) “This is a political issue that needs to stay out of the church,” or 2) “I don’t want to offend my parish- ioners. What if someone out there in the pew has already had an abortion?” This is where our Lutheran theology, with its proper distinction between Law and Gospel and its roots firmly planted at the foot of the cross, becomes so precious. This theology has so much to offer to peo- ple who are struggling with difficult life and death issues. It holds out the real hope of forgiveness and reconciliation, and our Catechism provides a wonderful window with which to examine these issues in the light of God’s Word. It is critical that our pastors and church workers understand and make that con- nection between our theology and the daily issues that arise. That’s why I am so pleased that the faculty at Con- cordia Theological Seminary (CTS) has made pro-life educa- tion for its students a priority and a com- mitment. In my work, I have been blessed to work in partnership with the faculty at CTS in this effort for life. By serving on our Synod’s Committee for the Sanctity of Human Life, CTS President Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, other committee members, and I are able to keep each other abreast of the very latest developments in pro-life out- This is where our Lutheran theolo- gy, with its proper distinction between Law and Gospel and its roots firmly planted at the foot of the cross, becomes so precious. This theology has so much to offer to people who are struggling with difficult life and death issues. It holds out the real hope of forgiveness and reconciliation, and our Catechism provides a wonderful window with which to examine these issues in the light of God’s Word. A few weeks ago, I spent the day repainting the white picket fence in front of my house. Even though I love the cute little fence in my yard, the job was quite boring. I had time to think a lot—probably too much—about fences. As a pastor’s wife and pro-life worker, I’ve never been very good at sitting on fences—metaphori- cally, that is. And when it comes to the topic of the sanctity of human life, everybody lands on one side of the fence or the other. Either you protect and defend the sanctity of human life in all its stages or you don’t. By Maggie Karner theFence: P in Preparation for the Parish reach and new challenges in the field of bioethics. The Committee also serves a crit- ical purpose for our Synod as it seeks to provide timely and practical resources for the parish. As a part of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, the Department of Life Min- istries has also been engaged in some exciting cooperative pro-life projects with the students and faculty at CTS. Follow- ing my recent trip to Novosibirsk, Siberia, regarding a grant request to establish a woman’s crisis pregnancy center, LCMS World Relief and Human Care was able to work in conjunction with CTS to bring the Russian director of this project to study in the Deaconess Program at the Fort Wayne Seminary. Following months of theologi- cal study and practical, hands-on training at the local Fort Wayne Crisis Pregnancy Center, she will return to Siberia this sum- mer to begin this new Russian center as a part of her deaconess internship. To complement this effort, Dr. Arthur A. Just Jr., the Director of Deaconess Studies at CTS, has been diligent in designing the curriculum to emphasize the practical applications of our Lutheran doctrine upon our acts of mercy—espe- cially within the context of life. By coop- erating closely with local pro-life workers within the Fort Wayne community, Dr. Just has discovered many valuable, and hands-on, educational opportunities for the women in the Deaconess Program. With training in crisis pregnancy counsel- ing, post-abortion healing, and end-of-life issues, these highly-qualified women are being made aware of the intense need for Lutheran workers in these areas. And in today’s post-modern world, I am pleased to know that men and women at CTS are also given the opportunity to study in the emerging field of bioethics. Cloning, embryonic stem-cells, euthana- sia, and other end-of-life issues are all top- ics with which our church workers will be faced in the years ahead. Prof. John T. Pless teaches the “Theo- logical Ethics” course, which is required of all fourth-year Master of Divinity and dea- coness students. In this course, they exam- ine ethics in the framework of Lutheran theology—specifically within the frame- work of the Catechism. The structure of the Catechism gives students a fine perspective to view life issues in light of the First Com- mandment and the Creed. Prof. Pless feels that, “a dishonoring of creation undermines the Gospel, for God’s Son took on our fleshly life to redeem us in body and soul. Lutheran pastors will honor the bios in bioethics for the sake of the Gospel.” Another of my co-workers, LCMS Sanctity of Human Life Committee mem- ber the Rev. Dr. James Lamb, who serves as the Executive Director of National Lutherans For Life, echoes the need for Lutheran pastors and church workers to understand these sometimes complex issues. Dr. Lamb feels that, “These are not political issues. Primarily, these topics are grave spiritual issues that have been politicized by a culture that is focused on death. The wonderful gift of our theology serves as a critical ‘tool’ for pastors and church workers to educate and serve their parish and the culture around them.” To this end, the top priority of Luther- ans For Life (LFL) is to educate and equip seminary students with resources to help them address these issues in the parish. By sponsoring an annual seminary banquet to encourage and educate students, and by supplying fourth-year candidates and dea- coness students with a large three-ring binder packed full of resources, LFL exe- cutes this goal on the campus of CTS and other Lutheran seminaries and colleges around the United States and Canada. After their graduation, both LFL and LCMS Life Ministries remain committed to serving these workers in their Call to the truth and faithfulness of the Gospel. The church has a public teaching responsibility—especially for the sake of its members. We must speak forcefully and directly in those circumstances when fundamental moral principles are at stake, because when we’re silent, we deny souls—both in the world and in our pews—the opportunity to receive the Gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation. And there is no more tragic offense. Mar- tin Luther put it this way: If you see anyone who is con- demned to death or in similar peril and do not save him, although you have the means and ways to do so, you have killed him. It will be of no help for you to use the excuse that you did not assist their deaths by word or deed, for you have withheld your love from them and robbed them of the kindness by means of which their lives might have been saved. (Large Catechism) As a pastor’s wife, I see firsthand the difficult challenges pastors face in this area, and I am increasingly thankful for the wonderful pro-life education that has been, and continues to be, provided for seminar- ians and deaconess students at CTS. I am thankful for the grace that freely flows from our confessions.And I pray for God’s continued blessing, strength, and peace for these students as they enter a world that so desperately needs to hear the message— and “life”—of the Gospel. Maggie Karner is the Director of Life Ministries for the LCMS World Relief/Human Care, St. Louis,Missouri. JULY 2005 11