From the back cover:
“The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), founded in 1847, celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1997. Like other major Protestant denominations in the United States, this 2.6-million-member church struggles with issues of relevance and identity in society at large. Additionally, the LCMS has fought to remain a conservative enclave amid a dizzying array of Lutheran church mergers.
In Authority Vested Mary Todd chronicles the history of this struggle for identity in the LCMS, critically examinaing the central – often contentious – issue of authority in relation to Scripture, ministry, and the role of women in the church. After recounting the history of the denomination, Todd uses the ministry of women as a case study of the process by which the synod has continually redefined its concept of authority in order to maintain its own historic identity as a confessional Lutheran church body.
Based on oral histories and on solid archival research, Authority Vested not only explores the internal life of a significant denomination but also offers vital insights for other churches trying to maintain their Christian distnctives in religiously pluralistic America.”
Order Authority Vested by Dr. Mary Todd
