Gerhard O. Forde

In his long academic career at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, Dr. Gerhard O. Forde was known for his life-changing teaching and preaching, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for you. Forde taught that theology is for proclamation. His classes were his form of evangelism. Avoiding secondary discourse, or philosophical mode, in classroom teaching and preaching, he used first order, primary discourse to speak directly to his hearers, not about God, but for God, declaring the justifying word as clearly as possible. He showed the difference between law and gospel and how to do the text to the hearer. He taught students to be preachers who would speak the unqualified word of grace and forgiveness. This book is an introduction to his teaching and witness. From Dr. Hans Wiersma, Augsburg University: "I've said for some time, publicly, that I was born again under the teaching of Gerhard Forde. That may sound dramatic but it's true." From Dr. Rolf Jacobson, Luther Seminary: "He refused to write his theology for that guild [of academic theologians]. Instead, he wrote for preachers. He could have written for the guild, of course. His mind was first class, and he wrote beautifully. But, like St. Paul, he came to preach Christ and him crucified. Toward that goal, he was steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord."