Board of Regents elects new officers
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The Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Board of Regents recently elected new officers to fill leadership vacancies.
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The board elected Rev. W. Max Mons, campus pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel in Iowa City, Iowa, to serve as chairman. Mons has been serving on the board since 2016 and was previously serving as vice chairman. He succeeds the board’s former chairman, Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn, who accepted a call, effective Aug. 16, to serve as assistant professor of pastoral ministry and missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. Mons earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) from Concordia Seminary (’96, ’05). He has served two parishes: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Luzerne, Iowa (1996-2001); and St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel in Iowa City (2001-present). He also serves as the first vice president of The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Iowa District East. The board also elected Dr. Tyler Arnold, senior pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Platte Woods, Mo., as vice chairman. Arnold joined the board in 2019. Arnold earned an M.Div. from Concordia Seminary (’99) and his Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. (’19). He has served two parishes: Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, Ill. (2004-06); and Christ Lutheran Church in Platte Woods, Mo. (1999-2004, 2006-present). He also serves as a collegium fellow for DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel. The LCMS Board of Directors is expected soon to appoint a new regent to fill the vacancy and serve out the remainder of Peperkorn’s term, which runs through 2025.
Concordia Seminary Press debuts preaching series Lutheran theologian and scholar Dr. Dean Nadasdy advocates for the artfulness of preaching in The Beautiful Sermon: Image and the Aesthetics of Preaching, the first title in The Conversations in Preaching Series from Concordia Seminary Press, the publishing arm of Concordia Seminary. The series debuted this fall. “Each book in the series will take up one topic relevant to the preaching task and begin a conversation. At the heart of the conversation will be a Lutheran sensibility of preaching,” said Dr. David Schmitt, the editor of the series and the Seminary’s Gregg H. Benidt Memorial Professor of Homiletics and Literature. “Preaching is the authoritative public proclamation of the faith, normed and guided by the Scriptures, centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for forgiveness, life and salvation, for the benefit of the hearers in their relationship to God and to others.” In The Beautiful Sermon, Nadasdy highlights preachers who have contributed significantly to aesthetic theology such as Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther and Jonathan Edwards. Nadasdy explores seven elements that contribute to the beautiful sermon and the various approaches to using images in preaching. He includes three sermons, 18
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with commentary, to illustrate the power of imagery in sermons to carry truth and provide beauty. Throughout the book, beautiful works of art are included to display their powerful impact on preaching. “It’s exciting to see the first book in The Conversations in Preaching Series come to fruition,” said Dr. Erik Herrmann, dean of Theological Research and Publication. “It’s our prayer that this series will be another helpful resource for busy pastors and will aid their growth in preaching.”
The Beautiful Sermon: Image and the Aesthetics of Preaching is the first title in The Conversations in Preaching Series.
The Beautiful Sermon is available in paperback for $19.95 in the Seminary’s online Campus Store at csl.edu/store, at cph.org and on Amazon.
