Like other major Protestant denominations in the United States, the 2.6-million-member Luther Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), founded in 1847, has struggled with issues of relevance and identity in society at large. In this book Mary Todd chronicles the history of this struggle for identity in the LCMS, critically examining the central--often contentious--issue of authority in relation to Scripture, ministry, and the role of women in the church. In recounting the history of the denomination, Todd uses the ministry of women as a case study to show how the LCMS has continually redefined its concept of authority in order to maintain its own historic identity. Based on oral histories and solid archival research, Authority Vested not only explores the internal life of a significant denomination but also offers critical insights for other churches seeking to maintain their Christian distinctives in religiously pluralistic America.

This is Volume 4 of a 4 volume set.

What is ministry? And how are we to understand the distinctive ecclesiastical office known as ordained ministry? With clarity and insight, this book takes the discussion behind the current impasse between functional and ontological definitions. The contributors provide a distinctively American and ecumenical proposal that is consistent with the confession of justification by faith alone.

This important document proposes new clarifications and pastoral steps that will serve the pilgrimage toward full unity. It provides the biblical, historical, and theological foundations for a common Catholic-Lutheran understanding of the church. The text carefully links the biblical doctrine of justification to the development of the church in the New Testament as a community of salvation whose structures and ministries serve the church's mission to the human family. A detailed exposition is given to the development of the ministries and structures in the church: councils, dioceses, parishes, bishops, presbyters, and the Petrine ministry. Book jacket.