Founded in 1999, the Tri-State Forum  is in its 13th year of offering lectures, presenting an opportunity to bring together pastors, ministry professionals and others interested in lifelong learning, growth, and collegial fellowship in our common faith. The annual forum series features five day-long lectures. With five contact hours per event, .5 CEUs (continuing education units) are available. Cost for forum membership, which includes all five lectures, is $150. Individual lecture cost is $60 per lecture.

A Typical Forum Schedule:

2012 - 2013 Tri-State Forum Lectures

Evangelical Witness and the New Creation in Christ  September 20, 2012
Bishop Mark Hanson

Bishop Mark S. Hanson will be joined by the Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Echols, Director for Theological Resources and Networks in the Office of the Presiding Bishop, as we explore the many opportunities we have to give a Lutheran evangelical witness in a world of social media, headlines, and short attention spans. What do we expect of the Holy Spirit when we preach? How do preacher and hearer share in the proclamation of the New Creation in Christ? We will also explore the theme “New Creation in Christ” in terms of its implications for both individual and communal ethics and how it gives attention to the traditional Lutheran affirmation of “faith active in love” as well as the ELCA’s various social statements.

Bishop Hanson has served as presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 2001. From 2003 - 2010, he was president of the Lutheran World Federation. Hanson is widely known as a leader with an evangelical passion and imagination who embraces the Christian Tradition, the Christian community, and the world with both generous goodwill and thoughtful insight. He has been an articulate advocate for the renewal of the church's preaching and public voice, for the strengthening of ecumenical and inter-religious relationships, and for reconciliation and justice in society, with attention especially to those who live with poverty and discrimination.

Spiritual Resiliency and Aging  October 18, 2012
Dr. Janet Ramsey

 
Dr. Janet Ramsey will focus on the dynamic intersection of spiritual strength in older adults with the challenges of aging congregations. Using case studies from her own research and clinical experiences, she will draw out ways in which congregational leaders might recognize and encourage spiritual resiliency in older members. Practical topics of preaching, home visitation, and counseling will be included, and themes of community, hope, and creativity will organize the lectures and discussions.

Dr. Ramsey is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Licensed Professional Counselor, and a certified Gerontology Counselor.  She earned her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, and master’s (cum laude) from Yale University.  A Diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, she is also an ordained Lutheran pastor and Professor Emeritus at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, where she continues to teach on line and intensive courses.  A clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Ramsey has worked part time as a therapist in private practice for many years.  She enjoys combining clinical work with academic teaching, writing and research.

Preaching Advent Texts in Year C  November 15, 2012
Dr. Mark Allen Powell

Advent is a season when the church speaks with particular clarity to our world. In the midst of the frantic rush of trying to get to Christmas, Advent is a time of expectation, hope, waiting, and joy. In this year of readings from Luke, we hear again a reminder to be on guard, to be alert at all times. Dr. Mark Allen Powell will guide us through these profound texts as we celebrate Christ’s coming among us. 

Dr. Powell is Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and an internationally known biblical scholar. He is editor of the HarperCollins Bible Dictionary and author of more than 25 books on the Bible and religion, including the widely used textbook, Reading the New Testament (Baker Academic). He has also written in the areas of spiritual formation (Loving Jesus), stewardship (Giving To God), and homiletics (What Do They Hear?: Bridging the Gap between Pulpit and Pew). Powell's DVDs How Lutherans Understand the Bible have received widespread use throughout the ELCA and were excerpted for inclusion in the Lutheran Study Bible (Augsburg Fortress).

Preaching Lent in Year C  January 24, 2013
Dr. Karoline Lewis

As we enter into this penitential time of fasting and denial, our repentance again renews us in our baptismal identities. Lent during lectionary cycle C is rich with readings inviting us into the cruciform way of life abundant which is both the gift and promise of Jesus in baptism. The major themes of Luke’s Gospel are fully revealed in Jesus’ first public presentation in Luke’s Gospel. How can Jesus’ first words in this Gospel shape our hearing, preaching, and teaching of Luke in Lent? Lent in the year of Luke invites opportunities to imagine what it means to live in and because of the favor of God.

Dr. Lewis joined the Luther Seminary faculty in 2007 and holds the Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Homiletics. A graduate of Northwestern University, Lewis received the M.Div. degree from Luther Seminary in 1994 and the Ph.D. degree in New Testament Studies from Emory University in 2006. Lewis is the author of Rereading the "Shepherd Discourse:” Restoring the Integrity of John 9:39-10:21 (Peter Lang Publishing, 2008), the introduction and study notes for the Gospel of John in the Lutheran Study Bible (Augsburg Fortress, 2009) and co-author of New Proclamation: Year B, 2009, Easter through Christ the King (Fortress Press, 2009) as well as articles in The Christian Century, Feasting on the Word, Lutheran Forum, and Word and World. Her current project is a book for Fortress Press, Preaching John, to be published in 2014. She is a contributing writer for www.workingpreacher.org and co-host of the site’s weekly podcast, Sermon Brainwave.

Preaching and Stewardship  April 18, 2013
Dr. Craig Satterlee

Putting the “M” word back into stewardship, this seminar celebrates giving money in response to an explicit proclamation of the Gospel as worship, participation in God’s own mission of reconciliation and resurrection, and active resistance to the powers of death at work in the world. Practical in nature, leaders will be encouraged and equipped to preach both the annual stewardship sermon and on the topic of money as it is found in Scripture. Participants may wish to use money as a case study and substitute another stewardship topic—volunteerism, for example—if that better addresses the needs of their ministry context.

Dr. Satterlee is professor at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where he holds the Axel Jacob and Gerda Maria (Swanson) Carlson Chair in Homiletics. He is also Dean of the ACTS Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program. Satterlee received the B.A. from the University of Michigan, M.Div. and S.T.M. (pastoral care) from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, and M.A. and Ph.D. in homiletics and liturgical history from the University of Notre Dame. Satterlee is the author or coauthor of eight books, serves as editor of "Preaching Helps” for Currents in Theology and Mission, and frequently contributes to both scholarly and ecclesiastical journals. Satterlee’s scholarly interests include the relationship of preaching and areas of congregational life and mission, including liturgy, spirituality, stewardship, mission, and leadership. As a person who is legally blind, Satterlee has a passion for ministry with persons with disabilities and a unique perspective on the Christian faith, church, and world.