Character Matters

The surrounding culture continues to present interesting and sometimes confounding problems to those intent on living the Christian life. Many in the church struggle mightily with society’s increasing marginalization of Christianity and the implications for their own lives.

The issues confronting the church are many, of course, but at least one thing seems clear in the midst of the questions: the church must be deliberate about forming and shaping its people into the distinctive life of those who follow Christ. My book, A Case for Character, sought to make room within our Lutheran tradition for such intentional habituation. But, as I have been told, the book is a bit “academic” and is not immediately accessible to many of those parishioners who are wondering and worrying about what the church can or should do in the face of the challenges presented by the world.

To make the ideas of character formation and the legitimacy, indeed the desirability, of such work within the Lutheran confession available to a wider audience, a Bible study series is now available. “Character Matters” consists of five segments each featuring a video lecture, specific study of a relevant portion of Scripture, guiding questions for discussion, leader’s guide, and suggestions for further reading. It can be readily used with or without the book itself.

The study would be ideal for a Sunday morning Bible class or mid-week small group study and is available for no charge at acaseforcharacter.com, where it can be live-streamed or downloaded. At that same site, a series of short video lectures providing background and explanation of various aspects of the book are also available.