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No Classes are currently scheduled at this time (04/04/2012), please check back in August 2012 for further information. What is St. John’s Lay School of Theology? St. John’s Lay School of Theology is part of St. John’s Lutheran Church (LC-MS) of Marengo, Iowa. It is the end product of an idea that took root some years ago. The idea was to give lay people a chance to study the Bible, Christian History, Apologetics, and Theology on a more advanced level than what one would get in a normal Sunday school class. St John’s Lay School of Theology is designed to “fill the gap” between Sunday school for Adults and more advanced theological education. Many lay people desire more advanced education than what a Sunday morning Bible class is able to offer, but do not have the necessary time, money, or knowledge to attend a Bible college or seminary.
The Lay School of Theology opened with its first class in
September of 2002. The Lay School is continuing to expand its
educational opportunities by offering more classes on various topics of
interest for Christians in Iowa County and the counties surrounding it.
Classes are taught by qualified guest instructors. Classes run on two
levels. There are 10-14-week classes, as well as 7-week classes. These
classes normally meet once a week for
The Lay School of Theology is open to the public. Classes are held in the educational wing of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Marengo. This Winter 2010 Term we are happy to offer a 14-week class on the history of Lutheranism in America. The following pages will describe this class. Those interested are encouraged to register as early as possible by calling, writing, or emailing the church office at St. John’s Lutheran Church.
Important Information Concerning St. John’s Lay
Tuition for a 14-week class: $55/person, $85/married couple (Classes are free for all church elders/deacons.)
Books: Each student is responsible for purchasing his or her own Text-book. This may be done through the Lay School, or the student may wish to use bookfinder.com to obtain a copy.
Class Size: The maximum class size is 20 people. We operate on a “first come – first serve” basis. Please call, fax, email, or write to us by January 5th in order to inform us if you wish to take the class “There and Back Again: A Journey through Lutheran History in America.” Please contact us at Office: (319) 642-5452, Fax: (319) 741-6291, Email: stjohns2@netins.net .A $10 late fee is charged for any student who registers after the registration deadline of January 5, 2010. There and Back Again: A Journey through Lutheran History in America Fourteen Week Course Mondays:
Begins January 11, 2010 Ends April 12, 2010 Location: St. John’s Lutheran Church, 780 Court Avenue, Marengo, Iowa, 52301 Textbook: E. Clifford Nelson, ed. The Lutherans in North America. Minneapolis: AugsburgFortress, 1994. Instructor: The Rev. Douglas V. Morton
Course Description: How did Lutheranism in America get to where it is today? To understand 21st century American Lutheranism we must go back in the past and see where Lutheranism in America has been. Only after we go there can we come back again so we can understand the present state of Lutheranism.
This class begins with Lutheranism’s humble and precarious beginnings in the New World, taking the student through the struggles and trials Lutheranism faced in a country where it was a ‘minority’ in a sea of Reformed Protestantism. The class will look at the history of the various Lutheran groups, the personalities making up these groups, their theological disagreements, as well as their attempts at unity. The class will also look at how American society and surrounding Christian denominations have affected the thinking, the theological and the Liturgical life of the various Lutheran groups in America.
Objective: No one lives life in a vacuum. What we are today is related to what has gone on in the past. The Lutheran Church today did not crop up over night, but rather is a product of centuries of life and thought of those who have gone before us. It is a central object of this course to understand how the Lutheranism we experience in America today is based upon past struggles and insights of our American Lutheran forefathers. Knowing where we have been will help us as we journey forward.
Instructor for Class The Instructor for this class is Rev. Douglas Morton, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Marengo, Iowa and founder of St. John’s Lay School of Theology. Pastor Morton is a 1974 graduate of Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa (B.A.). He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in 1979. He has done additional educational work at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis. He has co-authored several books dealing with the religious cult “The Way International” and is published in The Journal of Pastoral Practice and The Journal of Personal Freedom Outreach. He has taught a variety of classes at St. John’s Lay School of Theology in the areas of Historical, Systematic, and Exegetical Theology. He has served thirty years in the ministry as a Lutheran pastor and has been at St. John’s for 16 years. He and his wife Pamela have five children and eight grandchildren. Unit 1: Lutheranism in America up to the Mid- 19th Century Session 1: The European Background of American Lutheranism – Where do all of these Lutherans come from? Session 2: Lutheranism Comes to America: Its Early Days and Colonial Background Session 3: Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and the Strengthening of Lutheranism in America Session 4: Lutheranism in Trouble: Rationalism and the Language Question Session 5: The Making of a Synod: The General Synod Seeks to Unite Lutherans Session 6: German Newcomers to America: Buffalo, Missouri, and Iowa Synods Session 7: Theological Issues Among Lutherans in the Mid-19th Century America Unit 2: Lutheranism in America from the Civil War to the Second World War Session 8: Realignment in Lutheranism: General Synod Meets General Council and the Makeup and Shakeup of the Synodical Conference Session 9: All Those Scandinavian Lutherans Session 10: The Beginnings of the United Lutheran Church in America and the American Lutheran Church Unit 3: Lutheranism in America from the Mid-Twentieth Century to Today Session 11: The Formation of The Lutheran Church in America and The American Lutheran Church Session 12: The Shaking of Missouri – Seminex and the Formation of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches Session 13: The Great Merger: Meet the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Session 14: American Lutheranism Today: Left, Right, and Somewhere Near the Center
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