COncordia Journal

INVITING COMMUNITY

(ISSN 0145-7233)

publisher

Faculty

David Adams Charles Arand Andrew Bartelt Executive EDITOR Joel Biermann Charles Arand Gerhard Bode Dean of Theological Kent Burreson Research and Publication William Carr, Jr. Anthony Cook EDITOR Timothy Dost Travis J. Scholl Managing Editor of Thomas Egger Jeffrey Gibbs Theological Publications Bruce Hartung EDITORial assistant Dale A. Meyer President

Benjamin Haupt Erik Herrmann David Johnson Todd Jones Jeffrey Kloha David Lewis Richard Marrs David Maxwell Dale Meyer Glenn Nielsen Joel Okamoto Jeffrey Oschwald

David Peter Paul Raabe Victor Raj Paul Robinson Robert Rosin Timothy Saleska Leopoldo Sánchez M. David Schmitt Bruce Schuchard William Schumacher James Voelz Robert Weise

Melanie Appelbaum assistants

Andrew Hatesohl Theodore Hopkins Andrew Jones James Kirschenmann Emily Ringelberg Michael Tsichlis

All correspondence should be sent to: CONCORDIA JOURNAL 801 Seminary Place St. Louis, Missouri 63105 314-505-7117 cj @csl.edu

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Issued by the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, the Concordia Journal is the successor of Lehre und Wehre (1855-1929), begun by C. F. W. Walther, a founder of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Lehre und Wehre was absorbed by the Concordia Theological Monthly (1930-1974) which was also published by the faculty of Concordia Seminary as the official theological periodical of the Synod. Concordia Journal is abstracted in Internationale Zeitschriftenschau für Bibelwissenschaft unde Grenzgebiete, New Testament Abstracts, Old Testament Abstracts, and Religious and Theological Abstracts. It is indexed in ATLA Religion Database/ ATLAS and Christian Periodicals Index. Article and issue photocopies in 16mm microfilm, 35mm microfilm, and 105mm microfiche are available from National Archive Publishing (www.napubco.com). Books submitted for review should be sent to the editor. Manuscripts submitted for publication should conform to a Chicago Manual of Style. Email submission (cj@csl.edu) as a Word attachment is preferred. Editorial decisions about submissions include peer review. Manuscripts that display Greek or Hebrew text should utilize BibleWorks fonts (www.bibleworks.com/fonts.html). Copyright © 1994-2009 BibleWorks, LLC. All rights reserved. Used with permission. The Concordia Journal (ISSN 0145-7233) is published quarterly (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall). The annual subscription rate is $25 (individuals) and $50 (institutions) payable to Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105. New subscriptions and renewals also available at http://store.csl.edu. Periodicals postage paid at St. Louis, MO and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Concordia Journal, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105-3199. © Copyright by Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri 2013 www.csl.edu | www.concordiatheology.org

What challenges are congregations facing in North America today, and how can churches effectively proclaim and embody the gospel in the midst of such challenges? These two questions are at the center of a new collection of essays from Concordia Seminary Press, Inviting Community. These essays, by the Concordia Seminary faculty and others, address concrete challenges that churches face, and were written in order to help church leaders and pastors consider how their congregations can be better witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As the first step in any theological reflection, the volume begins with internal critique, noting where the church has failed to be the inviting community that God desires, and then drives toward a comprehensive vision of Godí s Kingdom embodied in church communities. The essays in the second part explore ways that the church can foster genuine community through practices like personal devotions and reading Scripture together. The final section focuses on challenges to congregations, challenges such as consumerism, the use of technology in cultivating community, and the impact of debt upon a congregationí s witness. Each essay is aimed at helping churches to be a clearer and more effective witness to the Lord Jesus, who graciously made us members of his body and through us invites all people into community with him.

FROM CONCORDIA SEMINARY PRESS AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2013 AT

STORE.CSL.EDU email sempress@csl.edu or call 314-505-7117