Symposia, Day 3 and Back Home

Well, the papers given continue to be a mixed bag - some good, some not so much. The banquet in the evening was nice, and I had some good conversations with the people at my table.

And yes, I was watching the weather. For those who wonder if I made it home, yes, I am home. I left Ft. Wayne at 5:00 am and managed to beat the storm mostly, driving only the last hour or so through the beginning of the snowfall. I returned my rental car, my wife picked me up, and then she left to go to work at the hospital. She was scheduled to work this weekend anyway, but will now just stay there through Monday or Tuesday to cover those who cannot make it in.

Here is a picture of me and my seminarians in front of the chapel. I was pleased George could make it from his vicarage and I could visit with them both. :-)

(Note: The Pastor's the only one not in a clerical!)

Also, still waiting for Teresa to give birth. Any day now! They were delighted with all the baby gifts I was able to bring out.

Symposia, Day 2

Sadly, meh. Again. Heard five papers yesterday, but the tendency has been to deliver ten minute papers in 60 minutes. Get to the point, please, and do some analysis, not just data collection and presentation. There were a couple of exceptions, papers worth listening to. Dr. Wenthe's actually ended too soon. He has a good ability to examine the culture and apply theology to it, but mid-paper was interrupted by a presentation - I wish one of the others had been interrupted instead! The second paper worth the price of admission was Dr. Rittgers. I have read his work before and he is very good and did not disappoint. He is an historian and has a good ability to deliver a tight, focused, and interesting paper. The others . . .

I did receive some good news yesterday. Modern Reformation Magazine is publishing my article in their March/April edition - an apologetic, of sorts, for the resurrection. I wrote it last year and hadn't heard much back from them, so wasn't sure. So glad my efforts there will be rewarded.

I've also been watching the winter storm moving into DC on Friday. I think I'll get home before most of it hits. Sadly, it is Ma Peasant's weekend to work, which means with the snow (if it comes as they say) we probably won't see her from Friday night until sometime on Sunday afternoon. :-(

Symposia, Day 1

Well . . . Day 1 was rather pedestrian. I was hoping for more from the presentations. Saw a lot of folks and had some good conversations. Finally got to see the new library here as well. It's enormous! They will be able to grow into it. And it has some pretty nice views of the lake.

I am hoping today's presentations improve a bit . . .

Oh, and it's snowing here! But just a foretaste of what we're supposed to get in DC this weekend. We'll see what happens.  :-)

Ft. Wayne

Drove to Ft. Wayne today to attend the Theological Symposia at the Seminary here. I rented a car for the trip - got a Mazda 3. Not a bad car, it drove nice, but not the best mileage. That combined with a smallish gas tank meant I had to stop twice for gas. But, it's cheap in Ohio! I saw one place for $1.51/gal! Because today was a holiday, traffic was lighter than usual, which was nice. Drove through some snow squalls, but pretty easy overall. It's cold here, going down to near zero tonight. The symposia start tomorrow; looking forward it.

Stayin' Home

The annual Theological Symposia is taking place at our Ft. Wayne seminary this week. Ever since I started back to school, I haven't been able to attend. This will be the third year in a row that I've missed (the first of those three I was about to travel to Kenya and so couldn't go.) Though I do not miss the travel, I do miss being with my brother pastors, feasting on the presentations, and visiting with many dear professors. I'll try to find the time this week to listen to some on their live internet feed - we'll see. I do very much enjoy my Ph.D. classes and am learning lots - I just wish I could do both. Soon I'll finish the classwork. Then I will return . . .

Missing Symposia

This is the first year since I became a pastor that I have missed the Theological Symposia at our Ft. Wayne seminary. I miss being among my fellow pastors, listening to the papers, and attending chapel. It is always a refreshing time for me. This year, though, since I am departing for Kenya on Saturday for a little over two weeks, would have been too much. I need this week to be with my family before I leave and to finish my preparations for teaching. I am both terrified and excited at the opportunity. But the reason for my post: I have not seen much posted about the symposia. Any of you out there attending - what have you heard? What has been good? Bad? Enlightening? Please advise.

Symposia Papers

I appreciate going to the Ft. Wayne Symposia each year, though some years are better than others. This year I found many of the papers helpful and am looking forward to reading them when they are posted online. Over the next few weeks, I hope I will have some time to reflect on them and post some comments. However, when the papers are posted, the ones I recommend reading are (in no particular order) the two from Dr. Gathercole, Dr. Gibbs, Dr. Gieschen, Dr. Nordling, Dr. Masaki, and Dr. David Scaer. If you want to read a very provocative paper, read Dr. Root. His challenge to the construction of 20th century Lutheranism is thought provoking, and there are some things I both agree and disgree with in his presentation. (I was not able to hear the first two papers, by Dr. Maier and Dr. Peter Scaer, so I cannot speak to them.)

I was disappointed that attendance continues to decline. There are a couple of reasons for this, I think. One is that some guys are disgruntled with the seminary administration and the direction the seminary has been going, and so show it by staying home. They believe attending is a sign of support for the seminary. I don't think that is true, and don't want to impoverish myself from the learning I receive there. And while I also do not agree with everything going on, neither do I know the whole story, and I am still willing to "put the best construction" on things. The second reason folks have been staying away (I believe) is that in recent years the presentations had gotten too "esoteric" and were not enough directly addressing the needs of the Church. I think that changed this year, and I hope we will continue in a better direction.

All in all it was a good week.

Some Cool Thoughts

Just a few "cool thoughts" from the symposia this far (either explicitly stated or formed in my own thoughts) . . .

+ Mark tells us that Jesus was "thrown out" into the wilderness after His baptism. Why that verb? He is beginning to experience the same thing as the first Adam when he was "thrown out" of Eden and into the wilderness.

+ In the beginning, creation was not "neutral" -- but served sacramentally (small 's') to aid/contribute to our communion and fellowship with God.

+ God breathed life into Adam. What is one of the first things Jesus does after His resurrection? He breathes on His disciples and gives them the Spirit, to give them life. Creation - re-creation.

+ How does Jesus paying the "Temple Tax" foreshadow or fit into the truth of the atonement?

Very enjoyable so far. I am looking forward to today's lectures.

On the Road

I will be on the road tomorrow morning traveling to the theological symposia at our Ft. Wayne seminary. I will try to offer some posts while I am there. Please pray for safe travel for all pastors and laity who will be traveling there this week.