The Director

The Center is under the direction of Dr. Robert Benne, who founded the Center in 1982 and has served as its director since then. Dr. Benne has taught, written, and lectured widely in the area of religion and society. He was Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion and Chairman of the Department of Religion and Philosophy for eighteen years. He has authored over one hundred articles and ten books, most dealing with Christianity and society.

His books include: Wandering in the Wilderness-Christians and the New Culture (1971); Defining America-A Christian Critique of the American Dream (1974); The Ethic of Democratic Capitalism-A Moral Reassessment (1982); Ordinary Saints-An Introduction to the Christian Life (1988 and revised second edition in 2003); The Paradoxical Vision-A Public Theology for the Twenty-first Century (1995); Seeing is Believing-Visions of Life Through Film (1998); Why Bother?--A Whole Vision for a Whole People (1999); Quality with Soul-How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep the Faith with Their Religious Traditions (2001), and Reasonable Ethics-A Christian Approach to Society, Economics, and Politics (2005). In January of 2009 a Festschrift (celebratory volume) in honor of the Director's 70th birthday was published by Eerdmans. It is entitled A Report from the Front Lines-Conversations on Public Theology and edited by Pastor Michael Shahan. It includes contributions by thirteen distinguished scholars who write about the themes that have interested Dr. Benne for many years.

Activities of the Director

Presentations

• July 9 - "Vocation" to 13 newly graduated Virginia Synod Lutheran students.
• September 24 - "An Educated Faith" to 15 members of the ELCA Eastern Cluster on Life-long Learning at the Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary.
• September 28-29 - two lectures on "God's Word or Ours - A Conference on Matters of Faith and Life" at the Call to Faithfulness Fall Conference at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to 200 persons.
• September 30 - "What Does It Mean to Be a College of the Church" to 500 students and faculty at Wartburg College in Waverly Iowa. Lectures on that topic to the Vocation and Mission Task Forces of the College.
• January and February - Led a seven week course on John Stackhouse's book, Making the Best of It-Following Christ in the Real World, for 40 adults at St. John Lutheran Church in Roanoke. The final session was spent with the author during an open hour of conversation before 200 parishioners on February 22.
• February 4 - "What is Lutheran Coalition for Reform and Why Is It Important" to an audience of 100 at Bethel Lutheran Church in Winchester, VA.
• March 24-25 - "The Lutheran Doctrine of Vocation in Our Missional Context," a series of three lectures to the joint annual meeting of ELCA Bishops and Missouri Synod Presidents of the southest region of both churches, in Atlanta.
• May 17-19 - "The Moral Dimension of Leadership" and "The Importance of Mission in Christian Higher Education" to the annual leadership conference on Christian higher education at Baylor University attended by leaders of Baptist colleges and universities. There were forty participants at the event held at the Honors College of Baylor University.
• May 19 - "Ordinary Saints-Reflections on the Christian Life" to 20 laypersons at the Lutheran High School of Kansas City.
• June 1 - "Lutheran Conflicts of Yesterday and Today" to a group of 50 lay persons of St. John Lutheran Church in Roanoke.
• June 5-7 - "The Liberal Protestant Malady," and "Where Do We Go From Here?" at a gathering of 300 Canadian Lutheran pastors and laypeople in Edmonton, Canada.

Writings

Books

• A Festschrift (Honorary Volume) in honor of the Director's work was published in January of 2009 by Eerdmans. A Report from the Front Lines-Conversations on Public Theology was edited by Michael Shahan and featured fourteen scholars of note, including Richard John Neuhaus, Mark Noll, and Gilbert Meilaender, among others.

Chapters in Books

• "Authority and Power in the ELCA" in By What Authority edited by Jaynan Clark Egland, Hoffmann House Press, 2008, and in "The Banff Commission," ALPB Press, 2008.

Articles

• "When There Are No Biblical or Theological Grounds to Change, Don't" in Lutheran Forum online and Lutheran Coalition for Reform online, Spring, 2009.

Editorials

• "Faith of Our Country" in The Roanoke Times, June 8, 2008.
• "McCain is Clearly the Better Choice, " in the Roanoke Times, October 20, 2008.
• "Stay Quiet on the Palestinian Front," in the Roanoke Times, March 1, 2009.
• "Reflections on the Economic Down-Turn," in the online Journal of Lutheran Ethics, March, 2009.
• "Tribute to Richard John Neuhaus-Shaker and Mover," in The Lutheran Forum, Spring, 2009, 15-17.

Columns

• "The Changing Face of American Religion," in The Cresset, Trinity, 2008, 41-43.
• "Hopes and Fears for a New Presidency" in The Cresset, Advent/Christmas, 2008, 27-28.
• "From Libertarianism to Authoritarianism" in The Cresset, Lent, 2009, 46-48.

Book Reviews

• Review of The Freedom of the Christian-Grace, Vocation, and the Meaning of Our Humanity by Gilbert Meilaender (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006) in the Lutheran Quarterly, Vol. 22, 2008, 216-218.
• Review of Freedom in Response-Lutheran Ethics: Sources and Controversies by Oswald Bayer, (New York: Oxford) in the Lutheran Quarterly, Vol. 23, 2008.

Service on Ph. D. Committee

• Serve as one member of the Ph.D. Committee for Eric Childers in the Educational Administration Department of the School of Education of the University of Virginia.

Service

• Roanoke College Center for Religion and Society, Director
• Convener of the Bishop's Forum, a discussion group of Lutheran faculty and Bishop's staff
• Faith Christian School Board, Member and Chair of the Head Support and Evaluation Committee
• College Lutheran Church, Chair of Mutual Ministry Committee
• Lewis-Gale Hospital Bioethics Committee
• American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Board Member
• Coalition for Reform of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Advisory Board Member