March ‘Witness’: Christian fellowship in a hostile culture

How do Christians live authentically in a post-Christian culture? What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world?

What’s it like to serve as a Lutheran pastor in a country where Christians have never been in the majority? And what do potluck suppers, youth servant events and congregational singing have to do with all of the above?

In its March issue (the third in a series on Witness, Mercy, Life Together), The Lutheran Witness seeks answers to these questions and more as it explores the theme “Life Together, Set Apart.”

Readers will travel back in time to the Early Church (with the Rev. Dr. Joel Elowsky) and around the world to present-day Taiwan and Indonesia (with the Rev. Roy Askins) to see how Christians in every time and place have lived faithfully in cultures openly hostile to their beliefs.

They’ll be invited to ponder anew Luther’s Two Kingdoms doctrine in contemporary context with the Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann; envision the true joy of koinonia (Christian fellowship) in the Church with family life professor Joshua Kittleman and church musician Dr. Jeffrey Blersch; and marvel with the Rev. William Weedon and the Rev. Matt Richard at how the Lord’s Supper binds His people of every time and place together in love.

“In Christ,” writes managing editor Rachel Bomberger in her opening letter, “we, like the apostles who came before us, don’t belong to this world anymore. Yet here we are. …

“Far from running away or hiding (as if we could!), we stand out. We can’t help it. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we know who we are — and Whose.

“It’s not easy, but we don’t go it alone. By the Holy Spirit, Christ gathers us into His Church, where we find ample love, companionship and encouragement along the way. This is life together, set apart.”

Visit cph.org/witness to subscribe; enjoy web-exclusive stories and a selection of articles from the print magazine at witness.lcms.org; and connect with The Lutheran Witness on social media at facebook.com/TheLutheranWitness and twitter.com/LutheranWitness.

Posted March 21, 2019