Back to the Zukunft: Mestizaje, Hybridity, and the Loehe Legacy

Abstract

The Loehe legacy incorporates disparate dimensions: liturgical worship and passion for mission, confessional orthodoxy and pietistic devotion, evangelical proclamation and diaconal service, theological imagination and pragmatic skills in administration. These constitute a matrix for revitalizing Christian mission toward Luther’s universal priesthood, equipping the baptized for ministries in the arenas of daily life. As Phyllis Tickle proposed, the shape of emerging Christianity will be hybrid at the confluence of four streams: liturgical sensibility, social justice activism, personal spiritual vitality, and solid biblical-theological grounding. The future is mestizo as we claim hybridity as a gift, which celebrates diversity and thereby new strengths beyond the impasse of binary categories.