About the “Faith in the Future” Series

The “Faith in the Future” series is all about equipping our church to thrive in the future by hosting conversations with some of the leading experts (and Pastor Keith’s brilliant friends) in being the church in the 21st Century.

This title intentionally has a double meaning. We will be reflecting on what faith will look like in the future, and, at the same time, affirming our faith in the future—that is, in God’s future and the blessings that God has in store for our church and our ministry.

About Tim Wengert

Timothy J. Wengert is one of the most preeminent and prolific scholars in the world today. And he taught both Pastor Keith and Lindsay Bates about the Lutheran Confessions. He will join us to talk about how our Lutheran tradition and theology provides a platform to speak to the world now and into the future.

Wengert was born in Teaneck, New Jersey in 1950. After receiving Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Michigan, he studied at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota (M.Div. 1977) and Duke University (Ph.D. 1984). An ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (1977), he was professor of Reformation History at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia from 1989 until his retirement in 2013. He writes on topics of Reformation history and theology, especially on Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon. In 2000 he received the "Melanchthon Prize" from the city of Bretten, Germany (where Melanchthon was born). Twice he has been asked to give plenary addresses at the International Luther Congress (1997 and 2017). He is author or editor of over twenty books and in 2015 edited the first volume of "The Annotated Luther" (The Roots of Reform), published by Fortress Press, Minneapolis.