On August 7, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted the “Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible,” a sweeping five-year initiative to boost study of the Bible throughout the ELCA. This is truly a grass-roots initiative! It grew out of a 2005 proposal made by the ELCA North Carolina Synod to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

The Book of Faith initiative will invite people from throughout the ELCA to participate in this important work. The Book of Faith initiative invites the whole church to become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of Scripture, in order that we might live into our calling as a people renewed, enlivened, and empowered by the Word. The ELCA’s Vocation & Education unit is spearheading the initiative. Dr. Diane Jacobson, a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., has been named director of the “Book of Faith” initiative, reporting to the Rev. Stan Olson, Executive Director of the Vocation & Education unit. Diane will devote half of her time to the initiative. Augsburg Fortress is also a key partner in this initiative as there are likely to be new resources developed over the next few years to support this move toward Biblical fluency.

But, even though this initiative was just approved at the Churchwide Assembly, we are already receiving inquiries such as, “Where are the Book of Faith Bible studies?” “What Bible should we use for our Book of Faith small groups in our congregation?” Is there a “Book of Faith” component to Akaloo available?

At AF, we’re fast in meeting ministry partners’ needs….but, we’re not quite that fast!

But, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have excellent Bibles and Bible study resources for you and members of your faith community. Here are just a few:

1. There are links to Book of Faith information on both the AF and ELCA websites. I would urge you to check these often, as they will be updated frequently.

2. AF has many Bibles available to meet the needs of people of all ages! These include:

Bibles for children

Study Bibles

Pew Bibles including the new one with the beautiful cranberry cover to match Evangelical Lutheran Worship!
And, if you have heard “rumors” that AF is working on a new Bible, those rumors are true! We’re very excited about two new Bibles that have been in the works even before the Book of Faith initiative, but that will be marvelous additions to the supporting resources. The People’s Bible, a Bible with multicultural study notes, artwork, etc. is due to be published by AF in November 2008. And, a Lutheran Study Bible (no firm title yet) will likely be published in the first quarter of 2009. Special Projects Editor for Augsburg Fortress, Scott Tunseth, is the lead editor on both of these new projects and would welcome your comments and suggestions while they are under development!

3. And, we offer Bible study resources galore! Here are just a few examples:

Our long-standing best-seller, Augsburg Adult Bible Studies, a subscription-based weekly Bible study resource.

Our more contemporary, No Experience Necessary, now with all eight units and videos!

And, for your congregations with Spanish-speaking members, we offer our Spanish-language Bible commentary series written by Latino teaching theologians for lay people, Conozca su Biblia

4. Of course, we also have many curricula for Sunday School, Confirmation, Wednesday evening faith formation, etc. that are filled with Bible content. Here are just a few possible resources for you to share:

The Lutheran Handbooks and Courses aren’t just filled with “Lutheran” content, but are filled with information about the Bible. A few example chapters from our new Lutheran Handbook 2 are:
· How to Read the Entire Bible in One Year
· Five of the Most Common Images for God in the Bible
· Top Five Misconceptions about the Book of Revelation
· Seven Important Bible Teachings Every Lutheran Should Know
And, of course, be sure to check out the just published Lutheran Course 2!

These handbooks and courses are a great way to help ill-at-ease youth and adults into reading the Bible with a Lutheran lens.

And, Akaloo, our web-based, print supported, intergenerational faith formation resource is filled with learning resources that will help encourage Biblical fluency. One of the five units that runs throughout Akaloo is called “Discovering the Bible.” (the others are Experiencing God, Becoming a Disciple, Celebrating Church, and Embracing the World). You can see these in the Akaloo Disciple Guide.
Be sure to check out our free trial offer for Akaloo and our free Akaloo webinars

5. Of course, we also have many other varied resources to assist with increasing Biblical fluency:

Books in our imprints Fortress Press, Lutheran Voices, and Augsburg Books.

Augsburg Fortress Worship bulletins and lectionary inserts.
The Evangelical Lutheran Worship family of resources. For example, all of the Psalms are included in the pew edition.

This is such an exciting initiative! It is so energizing to see leaders throughout this church working enthusiastically together to assist children, youth and adults feel more comfortable with reading and understanding the Bible. As Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson noted in his remarks during the recent Churchwide Assembly, the Book of Faith initiative “invites this whole church to become fluent in the first language of faith – the language of Scripture; and to be renewed for lives of witness and service as the Holy Spirit engages us.”

We in the ELCA’s ministry of publishing are delighted to be one of the many partners!

Beth A. Lewis, President & CEO
Augsburg Fortress

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 4:13 PM and is filed under Academy, ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Faith Formation Resources, Ministry partnerships, New AF Resources, Worship & Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.