Prof Insights: Faculty-Led Workshop – Professor Marrs in Dublin, OH

Luther’s Soul Care Theology for the 21st Century

Many LCMS pastors and church leaders realize that much of what passes for Christian counseling is based on the Law, not the Gospel of Christ. Dr. C.F.W. Walther, the Concordia Seminary’s first president, said that properly dividing Law and Gospel in “private ministrations” is more difficult than in preaching and teaching. How can Lutheran pastors and other counselors better learn to properly distinguish Law and Gospel in counseling situations — and apply the Gospel as an antidote where needed? How can Lutheran pastors better equip the non-Lutheran Christian counselors they refer parishioners to with these critically important concepts? When should a Lutheran pastor refer a parishioner to a mental health specialist, perhaps even a non-Christian one, when the expertise needed falls into the “left-hand kingdom”? During this workshop, these and other complicated pastoral care questions will be addressed in hopes that the learners will become more confident and effective in their care of the souls entrusted to them.

Dr. Richard Marrs

Senior Professor of Practical Theology

Dr. Rick Marrs is senior professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and has been at the forefront of his field when it comes to confronting the assumptions of and approaches of secular counselors. He has worked to bring a Christocentric, Law-Gospel approach to counseling among evangelicals. He was a professor of psychology and a counselor at St. John’s College in Winfield, Kan. (1983–86; admissions counselor 1982–83), and at Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill. (1986–98). He also has done counseling, clinical and consulting work with Lutheran Child and Family Services; the Baldwin Center for Psychological Services; the Center for Applied Psychology and Forensic Studies; the Kansas State University counseling center; Rapha (a Christian inpatient psychiatric group); Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Lutheran Special Education Ministries; and various districts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). He has been licensed as a psychologist since 1996. In 2019, Marrs published the book Making Christian Counseling More Christ Centered, which focuses on the relevance of Martin Luther’s soul-care theology in Christian counseling (WestBow Press).

Schedule

DAY	TIME
Monday, Aug. 5	1-4 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 6	9-11:30 a.m.
	1-4 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 7	9 a.m.-noon

Registration cost: $150
Registration deadline: July 22, 2024
Location contact: Rev. Adam Steinbrenner
 
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