When defending a biblical doctrine or practice, have you ever been accused of not caring for the lost?

I've written a column in the latest issues et cetera journal titled Playing the Mission Card.

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In the Wittenburg Trail feature, Jeremy Lamont recounts his slow and sometimes painful path

out of Mormonism to the Lutheran Confession.

The free online issues et cetera journal, issuesetc.org.

Welcome back to issues et cetera.

When we say conservative, we sometimes jump over what that word at least originally meant to

conserve to retain to safeguard, so why can we say that the church is by its very nature,

a conservative institution, a theologically, especially theologically, conservative institution

to conserve to retain it to safeguard sound theology.

Joining us to answer that question, Dr. John Bambaro is Director of Theological Education

for Eurasia for the Office of International Mission of the Lutheran Church Missouri

Senate. He's author of a column titled why the church is theologically conservative.

John, welcome back.

Thanks, Todd, and a blessed Lenten tie to you and yours.

So why do you begin with a different question? Why the church?

To ask the question why brings us into consideration of the purpose of a thing.

Sometimes we use the term telos, which means goal orientation.

So asking why the church presses for a reason for what end or goal does it serve.

So understanding the purpose of the church brings us into a crystallological understanding

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