Learn More About the Vision Behind Praxis Professional Visitors to the Praxis Professional website may notice a link to an article published by the Lutheran Mission Society San Diego (LMSSD). That page provides a short profile explaining the background and motivation behind the work that eventually led to the development of Praxis Professional. The article describes how a combination of ministry experience, legal training, and business development work shaped the idea that effective service to vulnerable people requires more than good intentions. It requires organized systems, trained volunteers, and practical…
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2009 ELCA Decisions and Theological Implications
Summary of: LCMS Task Force Report — ELCA Sexuality Decisions Faithful Witness in a Time of Confusion A Call to Serve with Truth, Charity, and Conviction The Church of Jesus Christ has always lived in times of tension—between faithfulness and accommodation, between clarity and compassion, between cultural pressure and biblical confession. Our own time is no different. Questions surrounding human sexuality, biblical authority, and Lutheran identity have become especially pressing, not only in the wider culture but within Christianity itself. This ministry exists to serve faithfully in that tension. We…
Read MoreLCMS and Ministry to LGBTQ and their Families
Summary of: LCMS Task Force Report — A Plan for Ministry to Homosexuals and Their Families A Confessional and Compassionate Call to Serve Our church’s ministry is grounded in a simple but profound conviction: Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and His mercy is sufficient for every human life touched by the brokenness of sin. Because of this, we seek to serve people—not as projects to be fixed, nor as problems to be managed—but as neighbors whom Christ has redeemed by His blood. Scripture teaches that God created humanity male…
Read MoreFrom Scripture to Construction
A Confessional Lutheran Reflection on Authority, Hermeneutics, and Institutional Drift Introduction: A Lutheran Beginning Without a Map Authored by: James F. Polk I entered California Lutheran University in 1997 for a simple reason: I was Lutheran. I had grown up in a Lutheran congregation connected to the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and was baptized at sixteen at Grace Lutheran Church. At the time, I assumed—without suspicion—that a university bearing the Lutheran name stood broadly within the same theological family. I did not understand then that “Lutheran” in America encompassed profoundly…
Read MoreLutheran Flavored Semiotics: Don’t let the signs of Lutheran distinctiveness replace the substance of God’s action
Even those of us who emphasize Means of Grace theology can slip into our own “Lutheran-flavored” semiotics if we are not vigilant. Here are some danger zones that confessional Lutherans can fall into: 1. Liturgical Semiotics Pattern: Treating the liturgy as a sign of our Lutheran identity more than as the vehicle of the Word. Example: Speaking or singing the right words, wearing the right vestments, or following the right rubrics, but valuing them mainly as markers of being authentically Lutheran. Danger: The liturgy becomes a cultural semiotic system instead…
Read MoreSemiotics vs. the Word as Means of Grace: A Lutheran Perspective
Introduction In a recent YouTube discussion between Pastor Brian Wolfmüller and Dr. Greg Schulz, the two explored the legacy of Seminex and its long-term effect on the Lutheran Church. You can watch the conversation here: Wolfmüller & Schulz on Seminex and Language. Their central claim is both simple and profound: the deepest challenge facing the Church today is not merely about particular doctrines but about language itself. When Scripture is treated as a set of flexible symbols (semiotics) rather than as the living Word of God that does what it…
Read MoreThe Semiotics of Inclusivity and the Word of God
In a recent YouTube conversation between Pastor Brian Wolfmüller and Dr. Greg Schulz, the two Lutheran thinkers revisited the legacy of Seminex and its continuing effects on theology in the church. You can watch their full discussion here: Wolfmüller & Schulz on Seminex and Language. Dr. Schulz argues that the deepest problem was not only about biblical interpretation but about a philosophy of language. In Seminex and in the theological movements that followed, the biblical Word was increasingly treated as a set of signs—a semiotic system that could be re-coded…
Read MoreAntithetical Comparison: A 2001 CLU Paper and the LCMS View on Sexuality
By James Polk (Information on LCMS Concordia’s Counseling Program) Introduction This article provides a detailed exploration and antithetical comparison between a paper written at California Lutheran University (CLU) in 2001 for a religion major course and the conservative, traditional views of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) on sexuality. The 2001 paper was composed before the author’s gradual shift away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) toward the LCMS, reflecting a more liberal academic approach at the time. The purpose of this article is to present a comprehensive account…
Read MoreBiblical Guidance on Sexuality from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Understanding Christian Teaching on Sexuality In a culture where conversations about sexuality, gender, marriage, and identity are often polarized, many Christians find themselves looking for clear, compassionate, and biblically grounded guidance. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) offers a suite of resources designed to help believers engage these topics with both conviction and care. On their Social Issues — Sexuality page, LCMS gathers documents, articles, studies, and multimedia materials addressing questions such as: What the Bible teaches about sexual orientation, gender identity, marriage, abstinence, and cohabitation. (lcms.org) How to respond with…
Read MoreConversations with Dr. Reverand Voss of Lutheran Mission Society San Diego
This is my essay answering the question, “Who is James, how I got here, how God is working in my life”) as a part of working with Dr. Rev. Tardelli of Lutheran Mission Society San Diego and it has an aim for authenticity, clarity, and a Christ-centered emphasis. “Who is James?” Introduction: A Life Redeemed My name is James Polk. I am a sinner redeemed by Christ, someone who has experienced firsthand both the reality of human brokenness and the greater reality of God’s grace. I carry with me a…
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