Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, will offer pastors four off-campus continuing education courses in July and August. Continuing education units and generous financial assistance are available for each course.

“The Lighter Side of Luke” is the title of a continuing education course to be offered July 17, 18 and 19 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kans. The course is designed to provide an opportunity to explore texts in the gospel of Luke in preparation for preaching opportunities that will occur during the next year. The course will be taught by Dr. A. R. Victor Raj, mission professor of exegetical theology, at Concordia Seminary.

“Luke’s presentation of the Gospel focuses on bringing the Light of Christ to the world,” commented Raj in describing the title for the course. “‘The Lighter Side of Luke’ offers pastors an opportunity to revisit the writings of the third evangelist and first historian of the Christian church. The course allows for some advance planning for worship, and I invite brothers in the ministry to participate in order to study, learn and apply new insights over the coming year.”

The course will include presentations titled “A Light for Revelation to the Gentiles,” “A Light that Enlightens the Mind” and “Light for Sinners and Saints.”

“Journey with Jonah” is the title of a continuing education course to be offered Aug. 7, 8 and 9 at St. James Lutheran Church, Cleveland, Ohio. The course is designed to provide an opportunity of refreshment, both spiritual and mental for pastors. The course will be taught by Rev. R. Reed Lessing, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia.

“When I say that times of spiritual and mental refreshment come infrequently, I’m describing the kind of dryness that occurs when our attention has been drawn away from the means of grace to those things which are mean in the classic sense of the word: the ordinary, the mundane, the pressured, the conflicted,” commented Lessing. “I encourage pastors to refresh themselves for a time in the company of their brothers and explore the vocation to which we have been called.”

The course will feature presentations titled “Pastor or Professional,” “The True Nature of Yahweh” and “The Recovered Vocation.”

“Practical Pastoral Leadership” is the title of a continuing education course to be offered Aug. 14, 15 and 16 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, West Fargo, N. D. The course is designed to provide pastors the opportunity to explore the challenges and understand the biblical roots of the vocation of pastor. It then moves into specific methods for leading congregations in a variety of contexts. The course will be taught by Dr. David Peter, assistant professor of practical theology, at Concordia Seminary.

“The distance between theory and practice isn’t easy to traverse,” commented Dr. Peter in describing the pastor’s leadership role. “Sometimes the flow charts and diagrams that so neatly arrange relationships and responsibilities fail when applied to real Christians in real congregations. Intuitively, we know that something is wrong.”

The course will include presentations titled “The Contemporary Challenge of Pastoral Leadership,” “The Biblical Understanding of Pastoral Leadership” and “Guiding the Congregation to Accomplish Its Mission.”

“Sharpening the Sword of the Spirit” is the title of a continuing education course to be offered Aug. 14 and 15 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Memphis, Tenn. The course is designed to assist pastors in strengthening their preaching through analysis and technique. The course will be taught by Rev. David R. Schmitt, assistant professor of practical theology, at Concordia Seminary.

“There are times when we do run dry,” commented Schmitt in describing the preaching task. “Week after week of shaping and forming a message that will draw the attention of our people and not become overly dramatic or lose itself in merely entertaining stories is a daunting task.”

The course will feature presentations titled “The Tapestry of Preaching: A Method of Homiletical Analysis,” “Theological Confession: Teaching through Preaching” and “Evangelical Proclamation: Sharpening Your Law and Gospel Proclamation.”

Those interested should contact the Office of Continuing Education, Concordia Seminary, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105; 314-505-7105; ce@csl.edu.