Current Series

The 2010 Lecture Series

"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." Acts 5:42 (NIV)

The Hein-Fry lecture topic for 2010 is "Hearing the Word: Teaching the Bible in the Parish and Beyond." This theme was chosen in order to explore the important conversations throughout the ELCA concerning the various ways Lutheran communities in diverse North American contexts are sharing the biblical narratives, truths, and messages of the gospel through their teaching ministries. The hope for these presentations is that they will raise awareness about the many ways the Lutheran churches have traditionally taught the Bible as well as offer innovative contemporary approaches to teaching the Bible that Lutherans might use today.

Five scholars affiliated with the ELCA have been invited to offer presentation lectures out of their particular perspectives and scholarship. Each lecturer will travel to three sites where she or he will make a single major presentation exploring Lutheran perspectives on biblical pedagogy, using both theory and practical examples, and making a case for the promise of one, some, or even all of these approaches to teaching the Bible. At most of the sites, a local respondent or respondents will reflect in a second session on the traveling lecturer’s presentation in light of its relevance to the regional context. A third session will be designed to bring the two speakers into conversation with each other and the audience.

The Hein-Fry lectures for 2010 will take place between February and April 2010. In order to expand the reach of this important conversation, the committee is once again bringing the lectures to seven additional sites beyond the ELCA's eight seminaries traditionally visited. These new sites include four ELCA affiliated colleges and three congregational forums in areas of the country not easily served by the eight seminaries. Thus, the Hein-Fry lectures will be visiting a total of fifteen sites in 2010.

Please go to find the location and date of the lecture nearest you, as well as learn more about our lecturers for 2010.