Podcast appearances and mentions of Lawrence R Rast

“One of the really key things of the Reformation that Luther did was to take the Scriptures, which had been inaccessible, and to make them available in a language they knew, and they could hear the Lord speaking to them in a meaningful way.” –President Lawrence Rast  Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. serves as the sixteenth president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and professor of American Christianity and American Lutheranism. 

In today's News: Dr. Rast declines call By letter yesterday to the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Board of Regents, President Of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind, Dr. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr., declined the call to serve as Concordia Seminary’s 11th president and will continue serving as President at Fort Wayne. The Seminary extended the call May 16 and Rast’s decision was made within the 15-day window allowing for deliberation of the call. In accordance with the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod bylaws, the Seminary’s regents now must call a meeting of the electors and, as prescribed in the bylaws, determine whether to reissue the call, elect another person from the remaining five finalists or issue a new call for candidates. The seminary’s next president will succeed Dr. Dale A. Meyer, who retires June 30. Methodists reschedule their general conference The United Methodist Church has rescheduled its general conference for August 29-September 7, 2021, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. It’s looking into ways to use technology to ensure delegates can participate in the quadrennial meeting, according to the Commission on the General Conference. The general conference — during which delegates from across the globe are expected to discuss a proposal to split the denomination over the inclusion of its LGBTQ members — had been set for earlier this month in Minneapolis. It was postponed in March when the Convention Center announced it was restricting events at the venue to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Preparing young men for fatherhood Nearly one in four children in america live without a father, according to the National Fatherhood Initiative. This lack of a dad in the lives of American kids translates into numerous behavioral and societal problems, including a four-fold increase in the risk of poverty. A group of pregnancy centers in Missouri is tackling the absent father issue and seeing strong success in saving lives and families. Rachel House Pregnancy Resource Centers, with operations in Lee's Summit, Independence and two Kansas City locations, engaged with nearly 470 men last year. Those interactions included one-on-one meetings with men coming in with their girlfriends and men also attending fatherhood classes. Two large lessons learned from engaging with new fathers are that many feel they have no say regarding the woman’s pregnancy, and they have no male role model with whom to talk. Conscience rule is defended House and Senate members urged a federal court Tuesday to uphold a new conscience protection rule that protects doctors and nurses from being forced to help abort unborn babies. U.S. Rep, Andy Harris of Maryland and U.S. Sen James Lankford of Oklahoma led 65 House and 13 Senate lawmakers in filing an amicus brief to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing in favor of the rule. The court is considering a lawsuit from New York State, led by pro-abortion Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo, challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule. The 2019 rule protects health care providers from discrimination if they refuse to participate in abortion, sterilization or assisted suicide because of their religious or moral beliefs.

In today's News: The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast is asked to be seminary president Concordia Seminary, St. Louis has extended a call to Doctor. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr., president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, to serve as the 11th president in the school’s 181-year history. The call was extended Saturday after a unanimous vote on the first ballot by the electors, including unanimous support from the seminary’s board of regents, and following interviews with the final slate of six candidates. Rast, who would assume the presidency July 1 upon formal acceptance of the call, was elected to succeed Doctor Dale A. Meyer, who retires June 30 after serving 15 years as president. Rast has 15 days to deliberate the call. Rast is the chairman of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Commission on Theology and Church Relations, on which he has served since 2006. He also serves as president and member of the board of directors for the journal, Lutheran Quarterly. He and his wife, Amy, have three children: Lawrence III, Karl and Joanna. The House-passed 'Heroes Act' would fund abortion Planned Parenthood is celebrating after Nancy Pelosi’s “Heroes Act” passed the House of Representatives, potentially clearing the way for abortion facilities across the country to receive more taxpayer funding. The $3-trillion bill passed the house largely along party lines, with only one Republican voting in favor of the bill. Twelve Democrats also broke with party lines to vote against it. The bill, if passed, would provide another round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans, as well as aid to local and state governments. Pelosi claimed its passage was crucial to fighting the covid-19 pandemic. The bill was named the “Heroes Act” by Democrats because it will allegedly aid workers on the front lines of emergency health care. However, while the bill contains the paycheck protection program, it removes safeguards preventing abortion facilities from applying to receive funds. The aid local and state governments receive from the federal government can be used to aid abortion facilities. Twenty Congressmen ask the Defense Secretary to defend religious freedom Representative Doug Collins, joined by 19 Republican colleagues in the house, wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Thursday morning complaining of, "multiple, unfounded complaints ... Preying on military chaplains." The Georgia representative and others, call on Esper to "follow federal law in protecting their religious liberties and ensure that the ongoing pandemic is not exploited by nefarious organizations bent on removing faith from the U.S. Military." In April, U.S. Army Colonel Moon H. Kim, garrison chaplain at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, sent an email to his chaplain colleagues with a pdf of Christian author John Piper's book, "Coronavirus and Christ." It explained the book helped him refocus his calling and that he hopes it helps the chaplains as well. Military Religious Freedom Foundation President and Founder, Mikey Weinstein demanded in an April 29 letter to Esper that Kim "be officially, swiftly, aggressively, and visibly investigated and disciplined in punishment for his deplorable actions."

Mid-South District Fall Pastors' Conference Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr.