Lass die Toten ihre Toten begraben

This article presents a part of Danish church history which has previously suffered from a lack of attention: The story of homosexual pastors in Denmark. I want to show how the discussion on homosexuality and ministry ran in Denmark in the 1970's and 1980's and how homosexual pastors were integrated into the ELCD. Moreover, I will analyse this discussion material from the perspective of the German Pfarrhaustradition and point to the civil side of the Lutheran understanding of ministry – marriage and household – as a crucial reason why homosexual pastors, as well as unmarried heterosexual pastors, have been considered a theological problem. Finally, I will compare the image of the pastor in the Lutheran Pfarrhaustradition with a Catholic understanding of ministry and suggest that both set the pastor apart from the world through regulation of relationships and sexuality.     

Radical incarnation and creative ambiguity

This article examines Martin Luther's perception of gender and ministry in relation to what may be coined his radical incarnation theology, the Word incarnate in Jesus Christ, in-fleshed in human beings and in the entire material, created world, and expressed in the verbum vocale through the ministry of the word. The article aims at presenting a thorough theological analysis of seminal texts on Luther's new understanding of the ecclesial office in the dialectics of the priesthood of all believers and the ministry of the word. The article claims that Luther's new perception of ministry opened avenues for women to gain authority as preachers, but that he was pressed – partly by his peers and particularly the papal church - and chose to express his liberal ideas by way of creative ambiguity.     

Warrior Chicks: Youthful Aging in a Postfeminist Prosperity Discourse

In a youth‐oriented evangelical congregation where being perceived as “old” might marginalize member involvement and participation, a Hollywood, California congregation's women's ministry, God Chicks, presents aging women as possessing “godly wisdom,” endowing older women with spiritually charged energy, authority, and responsibility for training younger women to live “godly” lives. Ethnographic research and in depth media analysis of the God Chicks ministry reveals a particularly energizing evangelical postfeminist orientation that applies prosperity theology to contemporary challenges of changing women's roles. Specifically, the God Chicks ministry provides “women over forty” with consumer and caretaking strategies for maintaining youthful selves and motivating younger women. A “God Chick” emerges as a compelling, youthful gendered religious identity that expects congregationally committed women to be strong, healthy, and active warriors who fight multiple relational and global humanitarian battles. Overall, this study demonstrates the construction of an innovative postfeminist evangelical identity through the tactical, opportunistic use of theological doctrine by ministry leaders within a particularistic geographic location.     

Calvin's Conversion as his First Step Towards the Ministry

Abstract

Scholars proposing an early date for Calvin's ‘sudden conversion’ (between late 1527 and 1529) are influenced by Theodore Beza's account (1564). Those who propose a later dating (1533-1534) have looked for signs that show Calvin as a convinced Protestant. A crucial question is whether his conversion actually coincided with his break with the Church of Rome. In this study we follow especially the thread Calvin offers in the preface to his Psalms commentary (1557). This leads to a breakthrough date of about December 1532. It also points to his conversion and later entry into the ministry as a unity, the former as the beginning, the latter as the conclusion. During the Disputation of Lausanne (late 1536) Calvin distanced himself both from the Church of Rome and from the strategy of prudence which the évangeliques of Meaux advocated: Calvin's anti-Nicodemism was born.     

The diaconate after the signing of the Porvoo Declaration: an overview of methods and hermeneutics

This article examines development in the deacon's ministry in the Porvoo Communion. Some of the initiatives which have contributed in significant ways to the common understanding of diaconal ministry in its member churches, since the signing of the Porvoo Declaration in 1996, are presented and analysed. The main focus is on methods used and on the way material has been interpreted by the churches or their representatives. The article also considers developments on two levels: first, on methods applied specifically by the individual Porvoo member churches, when presenting and interpreting the ministry of deacons; secondly, on the presupposed understanding behind the interpretations of deacons’ ministry in the Porvoo churches as a whole. The author's interest also encompasses the way in which the churches interpret significant differences and variety in the ministry of deacons within the Porvoo Communion, and what they regard as characteristic in current developments.     

Life Satisfaction and Bias Toward the Aged: Attitudes of Middle and Older Adult Church Members

ABSTRACT

Life satisfaction was compared with knowledge about aging and bias toward the aged. Adaptations of the Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA) and the Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ) were administered to 56 middle and older adult members of a Protestant church in a southwestern city. Bias was determined from FAQ responses using Palmore's (1988) methods. A weak positive relationship was found between LSIA and bias scores (r = .29555, p < .05). Subjects also answered open-ended questions which reflected a high degree of happiness and life satisfaction. Implications for ministry are proposed.     

Prospective relations among preschoolers' play,coping, and adjustment as moderated by stressful events

This study evaluated the prospective contribution of preschoolers' pretend play to observer reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems one year later, as mediated by observed coping flexibility during a delay of gratification task and as moderated by children's exposure to stressful life events. Preschoolers' (N = 250; M_age = 49.05 months, SD = 2.95; 50% female) fantasy and affect expression in pretend play were assessed during a laboratory visit. Moderated mediation models tested for conditional indirect effects of play fantasy and affect expression on behavior problems through coping flexibility as a function of the child's exposure to stress. Preschoolers' fantasy and negative affect expression in pretend play predicted lower rates of internalizing, but not externalizing, problems. Coping flexibility partially mediated this relation, particularly among children with relatively more life stress. These findings clarify processes by which, and contexts within which, preschoolers' pretend play influences later behavioral adjustment.     

Ministry as Womb and Tomb: Baptism as a Paradigm for Ministry

This article rethinks a paradigm for ministry in a world in which a culture of choice is radically challenging sacramental, baptismal theology. Drawing on the two fundamental biblical metaphors for baptism—baptism as a womb (John 3) and a tomb (Rom 6)—the article tries to reimagine ministry emerging from these two metaphors. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of developing ministry by the use of this dialectic—ministry as both womb and tomb.     

Gender, Sexual Experience, and the Sexual Double Standard: Evaluations of Female Contraceptive Behavior

The purpose of the present research was to compare men's and women's perceptions of female contraceptive behavior and investigate the relationship between sexual experience and these perceptions. One hundred forty-six predominantly Caucasion males (n = 76) and females (n = 70) were randomly assigned to one of three sexual scenarios in which a male provided the condom in a sexual encounter, a female provided the condom, or no condom was used. They were then asked to rate the female on several behavioral and personality measures and to complete a sexual experience scale. Results showed differences in the way men and women perceived the female target. A positive correlation was also found between sexual experience and more favorable perceptions of the sexually-prepared female.     

Worship in the Early Reformed Tradition

Abstract

Joseph's House, a ministry of the Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C., provides residential care for homeless men with the HIV virus/AIDS. The following article is excerpted from letters written to prospective donors by the director.     

Logotherapy and Pastoral Counseling

SUMMARY

An intensive study of Frankl's logotherapy reveals its timely relevance for pastoral counseling. The paradigm of logotherapy recognizes the spiritual dimension as the inclusive and encompassing dimension for comprehending and integrating human phenomena. Its hermeneutical phenomenological analysis introduces an understanding of personhood which affirms one's capacity to find meaning in life, indeed, even in suffering and dying. It is this unique spiritual capacity which conveys a renewed awareness of self worth and human dignity and assists persons in understanding themselves as fashioned in the image of God. Logotherapy provides a helpful counseling theory for pastors and laity engaged in older adult ministry.     

Women's and men's willingness to self-disclose to therapists and friends: The moderating influence of instrumental,expressive, masculine,and feminine topics

The present study used the Masculine and Feminine Self-Disclosure Scale to investigate women's and men's willingness to self-disclose about the instrumental, expressive, masculine, and feminine aspects of themselves to four target persons: female and male therapists and friends. The data revealed that women's and men's willingness to self-disclose to therapists and friends was tempered by the gender of the target person and the particular “masculine” and “feminine” content of the disclosure topic. Men were more willing than women to discuss the global masculine aspects of themselves with a male friend. In contrast, women were more willing than men to discuss (1) their expressive behaviors with both female and male friends and (2) their global feminity with female and male therapists and friends. The discussion emphasizes gender role phenomena as an important dimension of women's and men's willingness to disclose personal information about their masculinity and femininity to therapists and friends.     

Factors that Precipitate and Mitigate Crises in Ministry

Using a modified Delphi technique, this study reports mixed-method data for factors identified as leading to crises in ministry. Data were collected from a random stratified sample of Uniting Church clergy based in southern Australia. Three phases (Phase 1?N?=?85, Phase 2?N?=?95, Phase 3?N?=?75) identified precipitants to crises in ministry and strategies to mitigate these crises. Strategies included a need for ongoing mandatory professional development, professional supervision, peer support, and formal ethics training. Results are discussed in the light of job demands, job control and job support, and the self-determination needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy.     

Luke's Portrayal of the Social Dimension in the Ministry of Jesus and the Apostles (Luke-Acts) According to Isaiah's Message of Social Justice in Chapters 61:1–2 and 58:6

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to explore the manner in which Luke depicts the social aspects of the ministry of Jesus and the apostles in Luke-Acts based on his citations from Isa. 61.1–2 and 58.6. In essence, it demonstrates that Luke's appropriation of Isaiah motifs was not just spiritual but also practical. In doing this, the author appraises the dominant interpretive rubrics with which scholars have discussed the influence of Isaiah on Luke's account, namely, jubilee and second exodus. While acknowledging that these are prominent Isaiah themes in Luke, the author argues for a third—the kingdom of God as the controlling theme in Luke, to which both jubilee and second exodus are subsets. Exodus is necessary for the formation of a new nation or kingdom but it is not in itself the kingdom. Jubilee is the governing principle of the kingdom of God, a theme that runs through Luke-Act.     

The physician as priest,revisited

Despite much resistance from the medical profession, the notion persists in our culture that the physician plays a priestly role. Medical resistance must be taken seriously. It stems from legitimate concerns that the priestly role implies an unwelcome broadening of medical responsibilities, expectations of moral expertise, and being on the receiving end of people's most intense existential hopes. On the other hand, the nature of illness and healing makes it inevitable that physicianswill take on ministerial functions in their medical work. This essay attempts to recover the notion of the physician as priest on the basis of theological and religious reflection on the nature of ministry and pastoral care.     

Faith,Fact, and Behaviorism

David Hume argued that ought cannot be derived from is. That is, no set of facts, no amount of scientific knowledge, is by itself sufficient to urge us to action. Yet generations of well-meaning scientists (more and more as secular influences grow in the West) seem to have forgotten Hume''s words of wisdom. All motivated action depends ultimately on beliefs that cannot be proved by the methods of science, that is, on faith.     

Border collie comprehends sentences containing a prepositional object,verb, and direct object

This study tested the ability of a Border Collie, Chaser, to learn the syntax and semantics of sentences consisting of three elements of grammar, a prepositional object, verb, and direct object. Understanding of the syntax of the sentences required that Chaser emit responses consistent with three elements of grammar sentences, such as to ball take Frisbee. Understanding of the semantics of the sentences required that Chaser respond correctly when the meanings of the sentences were changed by reversing positions of the prepositional object and the direct object in the sentence, such as to Frisbee take ball. Chaser's understanding of the sentences was tested in three different scenarios: (a) when multiple and familiar objects were used in the syntax command sentence, (b) when novel objects were used in the syntax command sentence (novel in the sense that objects had not been used during training), and (c) when vision of objects was not possible at the time the syntax command was verbalized. Findings were statistically significant in all three scenarios. Successful findings were attributed to Chaser's intensive training in her first three years of life. Analysis of the data revealed that Chaser's successful understanding of the syntax sentences required the processing and retention of two sound-object mappings (names-objects) into memory, along with simultaneous judgments concerning which object to take to the other – that is, working memory. These two types of cognitive abilities, memory storage and working memory, raise the bar in terms of our expectations of a dog's potential ability to understand verbal communications. We propose that Chaser's understanding of our three elements of grammar sentences represents a giant leap in her referential understanding of language.     

Author Response to Reviews of Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry

The purpose of this article is to respond to three reviews in Pastoral Psychology of the author’s text, Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry (Kelley 2010). This article considers in particular the grief born of injustice, the need for pastoral caregivers to cultivate skills and sensitivities for grief ministry in multicultural and multireligious settings, and the centrality for many of a secure relationship with the Divine as a primary source of hope after loss.     

Men's perception of women's dance movements depends on mating context,but not men's sociosexual orientation

We investigated the influence of mating context and sociosexual orientation (interest in sex without emotional involvement) on men's perceptions of women's dance movements. One hundred men aged 18 to 33 (M = 23.5, SD = 3.5) years viewed brief videos of five “high attractive” and five “low attractive” female dancers (aged 18 to 22 years; M = 19.8, SD = 1.2) from a sample of 84 motion-captured dancers, and judged them on promiscuity and movement harmony. Additionally, half the participants judged the dancers on attractiveness as a long-term mate and the other half on attractiveness as a short-term mate. Men were more attracted to high attractive dancers than to low attractive dancers and judged them higher on attractiveness when choosing as a potential short-term mate. In addition, high attractive dancers were rated higher than low attractive dancers on promiscuity and movement harmony. Specifically, promiscuity judgments predicted men's short-term attractiveness ratings, whereas movement harmony judgments predicted long-term attractiveness ratings. Men's sociosexual orientation did not influence perceptions of female dance movements. Results are discussed with reference to trade-offs in time and energy expenditure on child rearing in men's mate preferences, corroborating the hypothesis that women's body movements inform on these qualities.     

Beliefs about the social orientations of others: A parametric test of the triangle,false consensus,and cone hypotheses

This study tests a number of hypotheses proposed in the literature concerning the relationship between an actor's social orientation and her beliefs about the social orientations of others. In contrast to the existing literature, this study employs a parametric approach with an innovative methodology. First, the social orientation parameters of actors are estimated: the weights respondents add to (1) the outcomes of Alter and to (2) the absolute difference between the outcomes for Ego and Alter. Then, the mean and the variance of the distribution of beliefs about the social orientation parameters of others are estimated, conditional on the actor's social orientation parameters. The results show that (1) there is a positive association between an actor's social orientation and her belief about the mean of the social orientations of others and (2) those who have approximately zero social orientation parameter values (individualists) expect the variation of others' social orientations to be lower than those with smaller (competitors) or larger (cooperators/egalitarians) social orientation parameter values. These results support the cone model, which models the “false” consensus effect where the “false” consensus is highest for individualists.