Scherer Lecture 2025: Faith, Crisis, and the Church’s Missional Task
Across centuries, the church has navigated cultural upheavals, theological debates, and seismic shifts in the way faith is lived out in the world. Yet today, many argue we are witnessing a profound crisis in how Christianity itself is understood—a crisis fueled by the rise of misguided theologies and practices that often seem foreign to the gospel’s foundational call to love, justice, and discipleship.
This pressing theme will take center stage at the 2025 Scherer Lecture, titled “El Rostro Desfigurado de la Fe Cristiana: The Missional Task for the Church in the United States of America Today.” Scheduled for Tuesday, September 30, from 4–5:30 p.m., the lecture invites participants to join in person at LSTC (Room 210), or virtually via Zoom for a deep exploration of faith, crisis, and the church’s response in a rapidly changing world.
The lecture will be presented by The Rev. Dr. Rafael Malpica Padilla, John Damm Chair on Leadership and Director for the Latine Ministry and Theology program at LSTC. Dr. Malpica Padilla brings decades of global and pastoral leadership to the conversation, having served 31 years with the Global Mission Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and as Bishop Emeritus of the ELCA Caribbean Synod for 12 years.
At the heart of his presentation lies the question: how can the church reclaim the hope and witness of the gospel amid theological distortions and societal divisions? Drawing from the reformers’ conviction that the church must be “always reforming” (ecclesia reformata semper reformanda), Dr. Malpica Padilla will call communities of faith to engage courageously in what 1 Peter 3:15 urges: “be ready to make a defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.”
The Scherer Lecture, made possible through the Eleanor and Arnold Scherer Endowment Fund, is co-sponsored by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Catholic Theological Union, and McCormick Theological Seminary. The event is free and open to the public, with complimentary parking provided. A reception will follow for in-person attendees, offering space for dialogue and community connection
Participants are encouraged to register in advance to receive Zoom details or reserve in-person seating. For questions, contact Dr. Peter Vethanayagamony (pvethana@lstc.edu), Dr. Ken Sawyer (ksawyer@mccormick.edu), or Dr. Roger Schroeder (rschroeder@ctu.edu).
Join us for this important conversation on faith, crisis, and the church’s call to mission in our time.
Learn more and register here.