Sanchez awarded Louisville Institute grant

Leo SanchezDr. Leopoldo A. Sánchez M., the Werner R.H. Krause and Elizabeth R. Krause Professor of Hispanic Ministries and director of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the prestigious Louisville Institute in Louisville, Ky.

Sanchez will use the grant for a project that explores Spirit Christology and models of sanctification.

The grant is the first-ever to be awarded to a member of the Seminary faculty from the Louisville Institute. Sanchez was awarded the maximum amount.

“My project will examine what life in the Spirit looks like daily,” Sanchez said. “Is it living a life shaped by Christ’s death and resurrection? Is it a life spent girding for spiritual warfare? Is it a life of discipleship or servanthood? The goal of this research is to develop pastoral, practical applications for envisioning and fostering the sanctified life across a biblical and theological spectrum of ways individuals might identify with when describing their spirituality.”

Sanchez’s newest research will build upon a models-based approach to sanctification that he introduced in an earlier work, Teología de la santificación, La espiritualidad del cristiano (The Theology of Sanctification, Christian Spirituality), focusing on the development of descriptions or shapes of Christian life across theological traditions and culminating in a more comprehensive vision of life in the Spirit.

“Ultimately, pastors can use this information to help them recognize how people in their congregations and communities are living out their spirituality and be better prepared to minister to them,” Sanchez said.

This project is unique because it mines insights in the field of Spirit Christology for addressing the needs of the religiously unaffiliated (also known as the “Nones”) and ethnic-racial minority groups such as those from the Global South – underrepresented groups in previous North American studies of Christology – who seek a meaningful integration of spirituality and everyday life.

“Dr. Sanchez is a significant voice in bringing Lutheran theology from within a Latino context to the wider church,” said Provost Dr. Jeff Kloha. “He has already published widely, both inside and outside The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Concordia Seminary serves ‘church and world’ in providing theological education and leadership, and the awarding of this prestigious and highly competitive grant to Dr. Sanchez demonstrates that the faculty is bringing the Lutheran confession, centered in Christ who sends out His Spirit, to the world.”

Sanchez noted there is a good match between the Institute and Concordia Seminary when it comes to mission. “The Louisville Institute promotes advanced research addressed to church workers and the challenges their congregations deal with,” he said. “Here at the Seminary, we focus on ensuring that our research and teaching relates directly to ministry and the best formation of our students for their future service to the church.”

The grant period is Sept. 1, 2016, to Aug. 31, 2017. Sanchez’ study will be published and his findings incorporated into his teaching. The results of his project also will be shared with church leaders and scholars at future conferences, workshops and symposiums.

About Louisville Institute
Louisville Institute is funded by the Religion Division of Lilly Endowment and based at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Louisville, Ky. The Institute’s fundamental mission is to enrich the religious life of North American Christians and to encourage the revitalization of their institutions, by bringing together those who lead religious institutions with those who study them, so that the work of each might inform and strengthen the other.

The Louisville Institute’s Sabbatical Grant for Researchers Program enables ecclesially-engaged academics and scholarly religious leaders to conduct a major study that can contribute to the vitality of Christianity in North America. Grants of up to $40,000 support year-long research projects that address Christian faith and life, the practice of ministry, and/or religious institutions.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit www.csl.edu.


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6 responses to “Sanchez awarded Louisville Institute grant”

  1. Jack Fyans on Facebook Avatar

    Is his research similar to that of Ralph Del Colle????????? Your website won’t open up on my iphone

    1. Leo Sanchez Avatar
      Leo Sanchez

      Dear Jack: Del Colle’s dissertation was, broadly speaking, in the same field of study. His work, as you know, was to track a path in Roman Catholic neo-scholastic theology for a theology of the Spirit. A pneumatic reading of the theology of grace was his way to do so, and he engaged David Coffey’s research quite extensively. My dissertation dealt more directly with a Lutheran appropriation of and contribution to the field. If you are interested in my work, see the link below for the published book. Thanks for your interest. http://www.amazon.com/Receiver-Bearer-Giver-Gods-Spirit/dp/1625642822

  2. Jack Fyans on Facebook Avatar

    I ordered your book thanks!!! I taught a course along these lines at Our Saviors this past fall

  3. Jack Fyans on Facebook Avatar

    Newlyn Hosea Joshua Traxel Aaron Schroeder Dave W Litviak Dave Dave Harshaw look at this book and link

    1. Bob Weise Avatar
      Bob Weise

      Jack,

      Nice to see that you are expanding your theological horizons, as long as you don’t loose sight of the Son.

      Great to see your interest in Leo’s work. He is fine and caring theologian with a pastoral heart.

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