Gifted, Called and Sent: A Retrieval of Martin Luther's Understanding of Vocation through a Shared Praxis Approach to Christian Religious Education in an Age of Faith Drift

Abstract.;In recent years studies have demonstrated a rapid decrease in participation and appreciation for religious community and practice. The qualitative and quantitative evidence suggests the problem lies in a critical disconnect. Namely it is reported that there is a general failure to connect the commitments of faith tradition with daily life and the common good in constructive ways. This dissertation seeks to suggest theory and practice for re-directing Christian Religious Education in communities towards meaning discovery and vocation.;The first section offers a constructive approach to Christian faith and practice by examining key themes in the theology of 16th century reformer, Martin Luther. Luther understood that faith liberated human creatures for life through the proclamation and practice of God's grace, as particularly revealed in the creation and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As such, this freedom connects with daily life through the dialectical generation of knowledge between faith and reason. Faith and reason point the Christian into intelligible action in earthly stations of family, home and public life where they are called to be Christ. As such this also includes the key prophetic call of the cross that calls human creatures into creative service of the marginalized.;The second section puts the findings of the study of Luther's theology in dialogue with contemporary Christian Education theory. Key to this is the need to connect the religious faith of the community's public responsibilities in the participants' lifeworlds. Thomas Groome's theory of shared praxis offers a pedagogy equipped to draw out this connection clearly. The challenges of making this connection is further clarified by situating it within the particular social trends of late-modern life. Namely instrumental reason, consumer culture, and the sequestration of reality cause particular challenges to educating for the common good. Finally, vocational theology is finding fertile soil in the liminal experiences created on youth mission trips. Throughout, this section examines these situations to clarify the practical picture of the findings presented here.;Finally, section three examines the implications of these findings for ministry with youth in such congregations. Faith communities can offer youth the supportive scaffolding of mature and responsible adults, essential for development at this age, in order to form committed moral selves. Secondly, youth need particular space to enact their own dialectical discernment regarding their emerging vocational commitments. Congregations that take the call to social co-operation in the lifeworld seriously and intentionally engage and empower their youth in that process, are a powerful asset in the care of the world.;The main finding throughout this dissertation is that practicing relevant faith requires intentional educational efforts to connect with earthly need and the social co-operation towards the creation of the common good within the participants' lifeworlds. As such, congregations can continue to be of help in educating persons for meaningful co-operation in creating a just and trustworthy world. Theory and praxis can ground Christian communities in their particular faith commitments while simultaneously equipping them for social co-operation in the contemporary plurality of the shared public.