The Book of Faith Initiative: reflecting, engaging, furthering.

Giere, S.D.

   For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not
   return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring
   forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
   so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not
   return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it (Isa 55:10-11).

This issue of Currents in Theology and Mission is dedicated to reflecting upon, learning from, celebrating, and furthering the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith Initiative. In the pages that follow you will find voices, perspectives, and ideas of many leaders within this church committed to the importance of engagement with God's written word for the life of the church.

The occasion that gives rise to the issue is the renewed support of the Book of Faith Initiative last summer by the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. I was privileged, as a teacher of the church, to attend the assembly as one of the representatives of the ELCA's eight seminaries. Throughout the week, I was struck frequently (and sometimes ironically!) by the timeliness of the assembly's theme: "Always Being Made New." One of the many things made new last summer in Pittsburgh was this church's support and continued prioritization of the Book of Faith Initiative within our life together in faith.

The renewed affirmation of the initiative came on Tuesday, August 13, 2013, when the assembly voted overwhelmingly to extend the ELCA's commitment to the Book of Faith Initiative into the future. (1) This prayerful legislative work is significant as it reaffirms the ELCA's commitment to inviting people to engage the Bible as God's written word--as "the Book of Faith." Lest the witness of the legislative minutes of the assembly stand alone, however, it is important to recall the non-legislative aspects the assembly. The daily work, worship, and prayer of the assembly was grounded in the collective study of Scripture by all those involved--Bible studies that were informed by and flowed from the Book of Faith Initiative for the life of the church. This is to say that the initiative was far more than a business item on the assembly's agenda. It was central to the assembly's being church. The collective engagement in daily Bible study throughout the week grounded and formed the church's business as a whole with the prayerful expectation of "Always Being Made New."

At the 2007 Churchwide Assembly, then Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson introduced the initiative to the church by inviting "the whole church to become fluent in the first language of faith--the language of Scripture--and to be renewed for lives of witness and service as the Holy Spirit engages each person." (2) While no initiative or program is perfect, this Book of Faith Initiative has done well to draw many people into faithful and creative engagement with the Bible.

As the essays that follow testify, so many of the developments that have resulted from the initiative are organic--home, congregationally, synodically grown--grassroots, if you will. The initiative has adopted an "open source" model whereby the many are invited to contribute their wisdom and creativity for the good of the whole. Given the organic, open source nature of the initiative, the leadership of the initiative is in many ways disseminated across the church. The essays in this issue represent this dissemination of leadership, organic growth, and open sourcing of the Book of Faith Initiative.

Diane L. Jacobson has served as Director of the Book of Faith Initiative since its inception. She has shared her deep wisdom and infectious passion for engaging and being engaged by God's written word. Her essay in this issue provides an outline of the initiative's central and guiding convictions, questions, and strategies. Mark Wilhelm, who serves as the point person within the ELCA churchwide organization for the Book of Faith Initiative, locates, narrates, and evaluates the initiative within historical commitments of the ELCA relative to the broader horizon of the understanding and use of Scripture within Protestant Christianity in North America. David Vasquez-Levy, a campus pastor at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and author of Book of Faith resources published by Augsburg Fortress, explores the concept of biblical fluency in terms of being shaped by God's "in-fluence," with the story of Samuel and Eli (1 Samuel 3) as a guide. He argues that "fluency, whether in a modern language or in the language of faith, is accessible to all, and is developed by hearing and speaking in community." Greg Kaufmann, an ELCA pastor who serves as Assistant to the Bishop of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, writes about the impact of the initiative from a synodical perspective, including his work as the synod's Book of Faith advocate and as the coordinator for the synod's lay school of theology.

Michelle Angalet, an ELCA associate in ministry now serves as Assistant to the Bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA, reflects upon the involvement of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Woodstock, Georgia, where she served before joining the synod staff, in a project promoting biblical fluency.

Bob Lewis, now pastor of Faith Lutheran Church and School, Redmond, Washington, reflects upon the engagement of his former parish, Nativity Lutheran Church, Renton, Washington, in the Story Matters portion of the Book of Faith Initiative. Jana L. Howson, a 2014 M.Div. graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, draws the reader into a Book of Faith project in which she participated with her internship congregation, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wheaton, Illinois. Emily Shipman and Zachariah Shipman, 2014 M.Div. graduates of Wartburg Theological Seminary, reflect upon cross-cultural engagements with Scripture during their internships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, through the ELCA Global Mission Horizon International Internship Program.

From this disseminated leadership, three of the primary "open sourcers," Diane Jacobson, the Director of the Book of Faith Initiative, Mark Wilhelm, ELCA Director for Schools and the primary ELCA churchwide staff member responsible for the initiative, and Beth Lewis, President and CEO of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry of the ELCA, are to be commended for shepherding what has come to be. For your shepherding, we are grateful.

As the ELCA Book of Faith Initiative moves into the future, I turn back to the Lords promise that the word of the Lord shall not return empty, but that it shall accomplish that which the Lord purposes, and succeed in the thing for which Lord sends it (Isa 55:11). As it has been in the past and the present, may God's written word that testifies to the eternal, incarnate, crucified, and risen Word continue to water, bring forth, and sustain faith and life in the world as we move into God's future.

S.D. Giere

Issue Editor

(1.) ELCA Churchwide Assembly resolution CA 13.02.04 passed (872 Yes / 17 No) on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. [download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/2013_ Legislative_Updates_All.pdf]

(2.) "2007 Churchwide Assembly Minutes," p. 56. [download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/CWA2007.pdf]