Theologian in Residence Explores American Evangelicalism
St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel, Iowa City, Iowa
Theologian in Residence, the annual in-house retreat at St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel and University Center, invites students from both IDE campus ministries to tackle challenging and controversial issues. From February 27-March 1, 2009, students from College Hill and St. Paul’s gathered in Iowa City to learn about the impact of American Evangelicalism on the Lutheran Church. This year’s theologian was Rev. Daniel Preus, Director of the Luther Academy and former 1st vice president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
The weekend is not all work and study; fun is also high on the list. The retreat weekend began on Friday night with an indoor campout. Students gathered at St. Paul’s Chapel for food, games, and, to the general amusement of all, an attempt to make s’mores in the chapel fireplace. The evening delivered all the hilarity of a campout without any annoying bugs or pesky critters.
On Saturday and Sunday Rev. Preus spoke on the topic of American Evangelicalism. He began by explaining the major figures of the movement. The students delved into the theology and John Wesley, Charles Finney, Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham. The impact of each of these figures on American Christianity and Lutheranism was both startling and revealing. Rev. Preus then did a side by side comparison of American Evangelical theology and Lutheran theology on the topics of the sacraments and worship.
No Theologian in Residence weekend would be complete without a huge feast on Sunday after church to close the event. Theologian in Residence continues to be one of the highlights of spring semester each year.
