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In February, Forward in Christ started a new column called “World news & commentary.” Offered quarterly, the column will take a broader look at current events and trends, especially how they relate to our lives as Lutherans.
As author of the column, Benjamin Schaefer, pastor at Mount Calvary, Redding/Anderson, Calif., will be exploring multiple topics, especially focusing on what’s going on among Christians in the world today. He says, “I think [a column like this] adds a lot of value because it reminds all of us that we’re part of the holy Christian church. . . .”
He continues, “The amount of news out there is unbelievable. . . . So what is happening and how do I understand that in the light of God’s Word? I think it’s really important to have a place people can go where they can trust what’s being said and know that it is coming from someone who confesses the same truth they do.”
Schaefer says he always has been interested in keeping up with what is happening in society today. “My family is old school. My dad still gets the newspaper,” he says—sharing he did too until his move to California where he finds it hard to get a printed copy.
Schaefer and his family also have a longtime appreciation for—and connection with—The Northwestern Lutheran/Forward in Christ. His great-grandfather, W. J. Schaefer, edited The Northwestern Lutheran in the 1940s and ’50s, and his grandfather, James Schaefer, was editor in the 1980s and ’90s (featured image at top shows Benjamin far left with James Schaefer). “We’ve always enjoyed writing and reading and doing our best to have a pulse on what is going on among other Christians and Lutherans and then sharing that news,” he says. “There’s that heritage of appreciation for the magazine and its mission and the truth of Scripture and our Lutheran confession in the midst of the world.”
Author: FIC
Volume: 111, Number 05
Issue: May 2024
