Welcome to a new ministry offered by “Frontline”.

You may use the study in any way you please, utilizing all or any of its parts. Obviously, the value of an online course is you can study at a time of your choosing. You do lose the excitement of face-to-face teaching, but we shall try to compensate for that by using the “Forum” message board for discussions.

A brief explanation of each part follows:

LESSONS will be posted every Tuesday and Friday at midnight. They will be rather short essays that offer insights for reading and understanding Paul. They will be scholarly rather than devotional.

COMMENTS at the bottom of each post offer a chance for discussion. It does require signing up, which we encourage you to do. People say an important part of good courses, including online ones, is hearing what others think. Those not familiar with a blog will find it easy and exciting. Participants are encouraged to address everyone in their posts rather than only the author.  We want all participants to feel they can enter the conversation. However, there is nothing to prevent asking questions. We hope you use the “Comment” at the bottom of the “Introduction” post to introduce yourself to the class.  Instructions on how to register for the blog are below.

BIBLE READINGS will be assigned as part of the lessons.  For our purposes it will be helpful to read them as you read any other book. That way you should find it easier to discern the context and follow the  development. Paul’s letters were intended to read in one sitting, or more accurately, to be heard during one worship service.

AUTHORS lists the bios of those lay and clergy persons presently writing “Frontline Devotions”

FRONTLINE DEVOTIONS will link you to the site where these daily devotions are found. They will still be sent via e-mail to those who subsribe.  Our very competent team will follow readings that relate to the class. The devotions will feature meditation and prayer, worship and praise.

Remember there is a difference between devotions and study, although there is obviously an overlap of the two. The class will employ scholarship to examine Paul’s meaning and worth. Some might find this does not honor the sacredness of the writings.  I, myself, have always found scholarship to aid rather than hinder my devotional life.

Almost six years ago a team of dedicated clergy and lay persons  began writing daily e-mail devotions. They continued a ministry Pastor Dave Sonnenberg began several years earlier.  This online course is an effort to expand that ministry. As it is a first time attempt, we all solicit your suggestions. We plan to learn together.

Author: Fritz Foltz, B.A. Gettysburg College, M.Div. Yale Divinity School, D.D. Gettysburg College. Fritz is Pastor Emeritus at St. James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where he served in an experimental co-pastorate for 35 years. He is a member of the Company at Kirkridge, a disciplined community that explores contemporary models for the Church, has been involved in ecumenical relationships, especially with Roman Catholics, and publishes on the effects of technology on Christianity with his son, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.

REGISTERING FOR THIS BLOG:

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