Convocation of ELCA Teaching Theologians

The second week in August, I attended the Convocation of Lutheran Teaching Theologians, held this year at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. I didn’t know until I was there that this meeting is required, and funding for it is required, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) bylaws. The people in attendance were for the most part college, university, and seminary professors, along with some folks who work at ELCA Churchwide Office outside of Chicago.

I knew perhaps a third of the fifty-some attendees – people I’d met at other conferences, or people I knew from graduate school or church. A number were people who had taken time to nurture me as a graduate student, whether academically or as members of my congregation; several turned out to have connections to Midland or to my alma mater, the University of Chicago. It was good to catch up with old friends and to make new friends from schools across the country. A wide range of scholarly interests were represented – people who study Old Testament, New Testament, ancient languages and cultures, systematic theology, ethics, homiletics, and worship. There was also a wide range of perspectives on various issues currently under discussion by the ELCA, including whether the church ought to ordain gay and lesbian pastors in relationships, and what the ELCA’s position on Israel ought to be.

Worship, held in one of St. Olaf’s worship spaces, was joyful and rich with music and liturgy. I have rarely heard a sermon that made me laugh so much (the opening lines of one season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer put into conversation with the institution of the Eucharist: now that’s a sermon!) or seen a whole conference of people head to worship as happily as they go to breakfast or out to socialize.

The conference itself was on the Apostle Paul, not my central area of study, and it was helpful for me to engage with other academics on issues I’d only begun to think through. For instance, Paul’s letters are occasional, meaning that they address specific occasions and specific people; sometimes Paul’s understanding of a particular issue or his theology seems to shift from letter to letter. What might this mean for us as modern Christians? Paul is vigorous in defending the right of every person to be Christian, regardless of gender or class or previous religious background; many participants argued that we ought as theologians and teachers and members of the Christian community to model ourselves after Paul in this respect. All are welcome; the membership of the body of Christ is diverse and varied. Other participants reminded the gathering that Paul also drew strong lines between the church and the Roman Empire and argued that we ought to opposed the immoral use of power, that we should recognize ourselves as citizens of a different kingdom altogether. The environmental applications of Paul’s theology came up often in terms of stewardship for the earth and care for others, especially the poor living in countries currently suffering from drought and political unrest.

Despite the sometimes vigorous opposition among members on various issues, and the awareness of the upcoming ELCA Synod Assembly where any number of difficult and serious topics will be raised, the gathered group maintained good humor and mutual respect. People discussed their victories and difficulties with teaching, acknowledged their own weaknesses, confessed to their own ignorance of the topic at hand when necessary, and shared books and ideas and resources with each other joyfully. It was a good conference, both for its content and for the collegiality. I was struck a number of times by the dedication of the assembled teachers and by the very existences of this gathering: this is a church which specifies in its founding documents that its teaching theologians must gather regularly to work and talk and share ideas and form partnerships. This is a church that cares deeply about its colleges and seminaries, its faculty, and its students. And these teaching theologians and church staff care about each other; participants discussed teaching strategies with each other, joyfully congratulated a new father and a newly married professor, soberly reflected on the financial situation of many of the church’s colleges, and encouraged each other to keep the faith.

These are difficult days for many of us, and as a denomination the ELCA is taking up discussion of important and serious issues. In the midst of financial anxiety and changing social norms, we are a strong church, and we are taking the long view. We love our young people, we support our scholars and our schools, and we pray for the church and for the world.

Courtney Wilder