Theological course language first

In a first for the LCA/NZ, a week-long intensive course on Lutheran Theological Identity was presented in Mandarin at Australian Lutheran College (ALC) at North Adelaide in early July.

Led by Rev Dr William Chang, who is a pastor at Mountainside Lutheran Church in Auckland, the intensive included the topics Reformation History, Justification, Baptism, Law and Gospel, Lutheran Hermeneutics, Law and Gospel as Homiletical principle, and Introduction to the Book of Concord.

ALC’s Rev Dr Stephen Haar and Rev Dr Stephen Pietsch also conducted a session each at the course. The 13 attendees included two people from the Lutheran Church in Malaysia, two people from the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia, church leaders, chaplains, pastors, Bible college students and new Christians.

Pastoral and Community Care Chaplain Eva Leung, from LifeWay Lutheran Church at Epping in suburban Sydney, said the course ‘affirmed’ her in her ministry and that she appreciated the opportunity to attend.

‘I feel greatly valued and loved by the church for enabling me to attend this course. I feel better equipped to share a life of living in grace’, she said.

‘I thank God for the opportunity to connect with other Chinese workers and pastors and for the chance to learn about our identity as a representative of the Lutheran church in our mission field. I praise God for the LCA/NZ Local Mission team and all the departments involved for their support of Chinese ministry.

‘As a member of the Lutheran church, I strive to carry on Luther’s vision and spirit, and commit to sharing the pure gospel of salvation by grace and justification by faith in Jesus’s name!

‘God has blessed us, and allows us to be ready to receive people who are desperate to find a God of grace like Luther did. We are called to comfort and heal the hurt and the fainthearted, both in the church and in the world.’