The Goals
Individual members, congregations, synods, agencies, institutions and the churchwide organization will:
- Learn together about Lutheran approaches to
Scripture which have been so helpful over the centuries
- Enter fully into a conversation which is deep and
broad, reaching across all ages and the many cultures
that inform who are as a people of God and...
- Experience more fully the power of the Word.
The Objectives
- 100% of ELCA synods commit to the Initiative by signing on as Book of Faith Synods
- 75% of ELCA congregations commit to the Initiative by signing on as Book of Faith congregations
- 15,000 people trained with enhanced skills for teaching the Bible
- 10,000 lay leaders trained (an average of 3 sessions with 50 participants per synod)
- 5,000 rostered leaders trained (an average of 75 per synod)
- Strong participation by ELCA agencies, institutions and networks
- A healthy and thriving social networking site
The Background
The 2005 North Carolina Synod Assembly endorsed a memorial from the Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dallas, NC asking that the ELCA encourage the development of an “ongoing effort to address issues surrounding the authority of Scripture.” Read the memorial. This memorial inspired the ELCA Church Council to present a resolution to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly that called upon:
“members, congregations, synods, church-wide ministries,
and institutions and agencies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America to engage in a five-year collaborative initiative
with the goal of raising to a new level this church's individual
and collective engagement with the Bible and its teaching,
yielding greater biblical fluency and a more profound
appreciation of Lutheran principles and approaches for the use
of Scripture.”.
In response, the ELCA launched the Book of Faith Initiative, a five-year collaborative effort which began in 2008 and leads up to the ELCA's 25th anniversary in 2012. [Used by permission from the
North
Carolina Synod website].
Book of Faith Historical Documents
ELCA Church Council Proposal
ELCA Assembly Affirms 'Book of Faith' Bible-Study Initiative (news release)
ELCA Council Commends Renewal Initiative Focused on the Bible (news release)
"The Living Power of Scripture in the Midst of Change" by Dr. Diane L. Jacobson
Scriptural Theology and the ELCA: Challenges and Resources by Dr. Erik M. Heen
The Book of Faith Initiative Is...
The Book of Faith Initiative encourages and enables deeper
and broader conversation about Scripture at the grassroots
level. The Book of Faith Initiative is an invitation to do what
we have always claimed we do: read, study, reflect, and meditate
upon the Bible together. Book of Faith is designed to initiate
a conversation in your setting about how to get people to do
what the tag line says: Open Scripture and Join the
Conversation.
The Book of Faith Initiative Is Not...
…a top-down, curriculum-based approach
…a program, a course,
a kit, a method or a technique
…only for adults
…asking all
congregations to adopt a specific Bible study curriculum
There
is no one way to implement the Book of Faith initiative.
Click
here to download a PDF of the “About the Initiative” brochure.
