CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Young adults in North America are often living "on the edge of faith," according to a videotape and study guide produced by the Division for Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Why Christian? for those on the edge of faith" presents the work of Douglas John Hall in an interview format.
One purpose of the resource materials is to help church leaders "explore the kinds of concerns and questions many young people and unchurched persons have about Christianity and faith," said Connie Leean Seraphine, coordinator, partners in distance learning resources.
"This video features Douglas John Hall, who is a leading theologian, and a college student, who questions the very foundations of faith and whether Christianity has anything to offer young people in a secular world," she said.
Hall is a Protestant theologian, international lecturer and retired professor of Christian theology, Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal. He is the author of such books as "Professing the Faith," "Thinking the Faith" and "End of Christendom and the Future Christianity." The ELCA materials are based on his book "Why Christian? for those on the edge of faith."
The Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director of the ELCA Division for Ministry, identified "engagement with youth" as one of the division's planning priorities. "The coming generations each bring particular new approaches and gifts to the future," he said, and the church must engage young Lutherans in learning new ways to communicate the Christian faith.
That insight was at the center of the division's decision to produce the videotape and study guide, said Kevin J. Boatright, chair of the ELCA Division for Ministry board and assistant vice president for university relations, University of Wisconsin System, Madison, Wis. The board reviewed the materials and used them for "theological reflection" of the topics, he said.
"We were discussing how that resource might be utilized and distributed, especially to such places as campus ministries and colleges of the church," said Boatright. All bishops of the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada -- 70 synod bishops and both presiding bishops -- received the materials.
The materials are distributed by Augsburg Fortress, publishing house of the ELCA, Minneapolis.
On the 67-minute videotape, Joyce Almaguer, a student at Rice University, Houston, presents a series of questions, which Hall answers in conversation with her.
"What are we saved from? What are we saved for?" Almaguer asked.
"'Salvation' comes from a word that means 'whole,' 'healthy,' 'integrated,' to be 'all there,'" said Hall. "Whatever is keeping us from living fully the life that God has made for us -- that is the sin from which we need to be saved."
Hall calls upon the church to be a "zone of truth" where people are free to be themselves with all their questions, doubts and life problems. Such congregations appeal to young people who are searching for places to be authentic and honest, he said.
Almaguer raised concerns about the dangers of the modern society and "dreadful stories" that seem to fill the news media.
Hall explained that news reports focus on the one child who was hurt and not the 10,000 who were safe. "The church -- the community of faith -- can be a community that helps people keep that in perspective, rather than being blown about and frightened by what things they've heard in the media," he said.
"It's true that many scary things are happening in the world," said Hall, referring specifically to threats to the environment and to overpopulation.
"Some hopes have to be dashed ... because they are false hopes" based on unrealistic expectations, he said. "Maybe in the destruction of these hopes and in the disappointment and darkness that comes about through this process, we will discover a new authentic hope" in Jesus Christ.
EDITORS: "Why Christian?" resources -- video, book and study
guide -- are available separately from Augsburg Fortress by calling
1-800-328-4648 or by visiting the publisher's Web site at
http://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/sdetail.asp?set=3D546
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
