Meet three Lutherans whose lives of faith changed the ELCA

Perhaps you know their names: Martin Marty, Paul Manz, Mary Nelson. Perhaps not.

But our experiences as ELCA members, and those of a good many others, have been influenced and shaped by each of the three. Through their different contributions, each has been a mentor to people who have become leaders and innovators in church and society.

Now in, or near, retirement the three continue to play a part in our life together. These profiles explore the ideas and actions that distinguish their faith-filled lives and tell what Marty, Manz and Nelson each has given to the church.

Martin E. Marty

Encouraging others is the vocation for famous church historian

By Linda-Marie Delloff

You'll see him on television. You'll read him in the newspapers and , magazines. You'll find his books in every bookstore. If the Lutheran community has a "superstar" mentor, it's 76-year-old Martin E. Marty.

Marty is a mentor in two primary settings, and he moves easily between them. He mentors within the world of religion. And he teaches the secular world about religion.

His mentoring "within" also has two aspects. He is both a scholarly teacher and a pastorly teacher. Most teachers specialize in one or the other, but Marty has always refused to favor either. As he commented, "I am an ordained minister who spent 10 years full time as a pastor [before becoming a professor]. I've never turned my back on what pastoral life means."

As a scholar, Marty is the most well-known American church historian living today. He has published more than 50 books and has won the National Book Award. His newest is Martin Luther (Penguin Lives/Viking, 2004). He has authored more than 5,000 articles. He's received 70 honorary doctorates and advised 115 doctoral students.

With his retirement in 1998 from the University of Chicago Divinity School, Marty's mentoring has shifted away from the classroom. Even so, students still petition him to advise their graduate work. Marty must regretfully decline those requests-he's just too busy.

A look at Marty's schedule for the next six months (filled in long ago) indicates that he will spend a great deal of time as a pastorly teacher: preaching at local congregations, leading pastors' conferences, writing for lay publications. Many have learned from his writings in Christian Century magazine since 1956, his own newsletter Context, and the online column Sightings (http:// marty-center.uchicago.edu/).