This book is a collection of essays divided into three sections that pick up the major themes of Dr. Pfeiffer’s life and work: Pastor and Parish, Word and Church, and Cross-Cultural Mission. Its strength lies in the very nature of “shepherding the flock” modelled by Dr. Pfeiffer: grounded, pastorally attentive, and lived out in the life of specific peoples of faith gathered around word and sacrament.
Contributors include noted Lutheran scholars Arthur Just, John W. Kleinig, Stephen Pietsch, Matthew C. Harrison, Gregory Lockwood and John Pless, and up-and-comers Thomas Pietsch, Adam Hensley, and Joshua Pfeiffer. Amongst the highlights are a missional reading of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats by Fraser Pearce, Alexey Streltsov’s insights into the Gospels as a unique genre, as well as Kleinig’s subtle pushback against criticism of the supposed “proof-text” method.
Solid biblical contributions include reflections on Herman Sasse and women’s ordination, Wilhelm Loehe and the office of public ministry, and Luther and the Antinomian Controversy, along with ruminations on the challenges of mission in Papua New Guinea, Asia, and contemporary multicultural Australia. Several essays consider current issues in Australian Lutheranism about scripture and women’s ordination, which are likewise important to global Lutheranism.
The Festschrift is an appreciable companion text for those interested in pastoral theology, ecclesiology and missiology.
Michael Hauser
Professor
Martin Luther Seminary, Lae, Papua New Guinea