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Educational Resources

In addition to Sola Publishing, WordAlone has a variety of resources to help you live out your calling beneath and within the Word. Some of them are listed here below.photo of notebook and pencil

WordAlone's partners in Lutheran CORE also have good educational resources.

If you're looking for something that you don't see here, visit or search page, you may want to check out our gradually-growing archives.

Resource for laypersons on Luther's understanding of Scripture and reason

Read Pastor Gary Jepsen's concise explanation of Martin Luther's understanding of how the Bible ought to be read, "A Layman’s Guide to Quantum Physics Scripture: How Luther Meant Lutherans to Read the Bible."

Pr. Jepsen's short companion essay, A Layman’s Guide to Quantum Physics the Use of Reason: Insights into what Luther Saw as the Proper Role for Reason in Christian Deliberation, gives the average person some tools for understanding the proper role for reason in the faith, life, and proclamation of the church.

Preview of By What Authority?

Download this file and preview three essays by Robert Benne, Lou Hesse, and Frederick Baltz that are three of the chapters in WordAlone's first book, By What Authority? Confronting Churches Who No Longer Believe Their Own Message. Order your copy of the WordAlone book!

WordAlone's International Theological Advisory Board

Eighteen international Lutheran theologians serve on the Theological Advisory Board. The board has issued three documents.

1) Admonition for the Sake of the True Peace and Unity of the Church

2) Episcopal Ministry A Lutheran Response

The Theological Advisory Board's response to the Lutheran World Federation statement on the ministry of bishops.

3) Christian, Evangelical Worship

A teaching document that summarizes the essentials of Lutheran worship, and critiques some of the worship trends and principles within the ELCA.

WordAlone Network Introductory video

A 30-minute video that introduces the WordAlone Network may be ordered from the WordAlone office. Those who know little or nothing about the WordAlone movement, or want to review its history and goals will benefit from watching the video.

The video features Pastor Mark Chavez, WordAlone’s Director. He summarizes the history of the movement and WordAlone’s three main goals, its three R’s—Renew, Reform and Reflect.

The video lends itself well to being used in an adult forum on Sunday morning or some other time, at a church council meeting, at a chapter meeting or in a small group setting. The video is available in either DVD or VHS format. The cost is $10.00 for the DVD and $8.00 for the VHS videotape.

Credit card orders may be placed by phone (toll free, 888-551-7254 or local, 651-633-6004) or send a check with your order to: WordAlone Network, 2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220, New Brighton, MN 55112.

Called to Common Mission

A call to uncommon missions: for opponents of CCM by Marc Kolden

Called to Common Mission: Why worry about it? Power Point presentation by Dr. Dennis Bielfeldt

Called to Unity by Faith Alone by Kristian Baudler, Michael Bennett, Randy Lee and Harold Schlachtenhaufen

Episcopal resolutions to approve CCM

Faithful Dissent by Walter C. Huffman

Jesus' Prayer by Roy Harrisville Jr.

The nub of the problem concerning CCM by Marc Kolden

Synthesis and Ecumenism by Roy Harrisville Jr.

Worship Resources

Adiaphora and Worship by Pastor Jim Johnson, Pastor-Theologian Program, Center of Theological Inquiry, June 26, 2003

ReClaim is an organization made up of concerned pastors, seminary professors, and laypersons whose backgrounds are in the ELCA. ReClaim’s purpose is to offer a hymnal that reclaims the insights of the Reformation for use in congregations and homes. ReClaim’s language and content are in but not of the 21st century. ReClaim Resources is now organized independently as a non-profit corporation.

Marriage and Family

Resources that uphold the biblical norms for sexuality and assist with how to truly love and care for people caught up in sex outside of marriage:

Resources for evaluating the ELCA sexuality task force's recommended social statement on human sexuality and recommendations to roster practicing homosexuals:

Read two responses to the cover story, “Our Mutual Joy” by Lisa Miller, in the Dec. 15 issue of Newsweek. Pastor Jonathan Jenkins in Lebanon, Penn., has responded with "No Mutual Joy." Robert Gagnon, Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, has also provided a response.

Resources for the ELCA's 2008  Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality:

Here are the last ALC and LCA statements on this subject, and pertinent ELCA statements and policies:

Here are resources for the ELCA's third sexuality study in 2007:

Here are resources concerning the ELCA's second sexuality study in 2004:

  • Pastor Gary Jepsen's Commentary/Critique of the Second Study Guide from the ELCA sexuality task force.
  • Pastor David Glesne's review of the second study guide from the ELCA sexuality task force.
  • Dr. Dennis Bielfeldt's review of the second study guide from the ELCA sexuality task force.

Pastor Joel Berthelsen, Cedar Hill, Texas, has written "A Welcoming Community of Grace  - A Law and Gospel Approach to the Sexuality Debate," a comprehensive review of the arguments surrounding sexuality in the ELCA.

WordAlone's Marriage and Family Task Force, which included Dr. Merton Strommen, gathered and prepared resources to help ELCA members and churches participate in the four-year study process leading up to the 2005 churchwide assembly decisions on sexuality. Dr. Strommen established a web site, churchmoraldebate, to make the resources available. The web site has been closed but you can download all the resources here.

Dr. Holger Sonntag has translated a work by Dr. Armin Wenz, a pastor in the SELK which is a sister church of the LCMS in Germany. This treatise, entitled "Exchanges," talks about homosexuality and revisionists in Germany. This paper may be downloaded as a Word Document or PDF document although it is printable from the web page.

Read Pastor Gary Jepsen's Word document or, PDF document research paper on 1 Corinthians 6:9 and analysis of whether or not the meaning of the passage can be cited in favor of approving homosexual relationships.

Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph. D, Associate Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, has written the following: A Faithful Journey Through the Bible and Homosexuality? The use of Scripture in two 2003 ELCA documents: Journey Together Faithfully, Part Two: The Church and Homosexuality and the Companion Background Essay on Biblical texts. He also wrote a an article, "The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Theology, Analogies, and Genes," which is a summary of his scholarship on the Bible and homosexuality.

Dr. Robert Gagnon's web site (www.robgagnon.net) has a review essay of "Faithful Conversation: Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality" and other helpful information and resources.

Resources in Canada

A Declaration of Selective Fellowship; a movement to gather signatures for a public declaration in which the signers declare that they "will not take the current of the age" and instead "take the current that serves the witness to the Christ, the call to repentance and faith, and the pursuit of unity within the whole Church, inspired by Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions." Click on the title to view the declaration. A website will soon be established to gather public signatures. In the meantime, if you wish to sign the declaration contact Pastor Glen Johnson.

"Solid Ground" is a network of Lutheran clergy and laity within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) concerned about present trends and movements within the Church, particularly around the issues of Scriptural authority and human sexuality. Information about developments in Canada can be found at Solid Ground's web site: http://www.solid-ground.ca/

Lutheran — Roman Catholic Dialogues

The ELCA 1997 Churchwide Assembly approved the joint Declaration on the Doctine of Justification (JDDJ). However, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Vatican were not able to agree on the meaning of JDDJ until 1999 on the basis of the Official Common Statement (and the Annex to it). On October 29, 1999 the Vatican and the LWF signed the Official Common Statement. There is more information about this on the LWF site and the ELCA site.

"Dominus Iesus" Declaration on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church —by (then) Joseph Card. Ratzinger. Prefect

From the papal bull Incarnationis Mysterium, Sections 9, 10, and Decree Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.

German professors protest JDDJ in realization of their responsibility for theology and church, issued this position statement in relation to the planned signing on 31 of October 1999.

JDDJ opponents criticized. October 27, 1999

A Protestant Understanding of Ecclesial Communion — Kundgebung (Announcement) Kundgebung of the 9th Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany at its 5th Assembly. This document was officially adopted by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) on October 30, 2001,

Lutheran Theologians warn against signing JDDJ. A large number German theologians issued a protest against the signing of a JDDJ, October 21, 1999. Here's the news report from Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the large regional newspaper out of Munich.

Response of the two seminaries of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Vatican II on Indulgences. Excerpted from Vatican II, "The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy," "Apostolic Constitution on the Revision of Indulgences", Pope Paul VI, January 1, 1967.

Vatican II Verifications. January 9-11,1998. "We will resist..." A statement of protest and dissent regarding the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). It was issued by 14 Lutheran theological professors from Germany, America, Norway, and Denmark on December 22, 1999.

Educational Resources

These seven resources can be freely distributed, but they require Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view. If you don't have it, you can download it free by clicking on the box to the right. The eighth resource is an ordinary HTML file.

image to click so as to download Adobe Acrobat Reader

Print Resources for Study

David Norland, four resources (in PDF), March 2001

The Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Interim

Read this fascinating document by Pastor Bob Dahlen.

Resources for Renewal

PTR Renewal by Frederick W. Baltz. A model for Congregational Renewal Through Renewed Evangelism