Law and Gospel in the Book of Exodus and in the LCMS Today'

Concerning his presentation, Dr. Egger writes, “Promises, bondage, deliverance, commands, rebellion, forgiveness, restored covenant (with commands), priestly mediation, blood sacrifice, and the dwelling of God in the midst of His people. The book of Exodus, fulfilled in Christ, gives us much to rejoice in and reflect upon in considering the dynamics of Law and Gospel in our church today.”

Biography

Dr. Thomas J. Egger, a faculty member since 2005, was inaugurated as the 11th president of Concordia Seminary in 2021. Egger served as pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, from 2000–05. Egger earned a Master of Divinity at Concordia Seminary (1997), and received a Bachelor of Arts in English and German from Central College in Pella, Iowa (1993). He completed a Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia Seminary in 2019. His dissertation focused on the phrase “visiting iniquity of fathers upon sons” from the book of Exodus.

His areas of interest and expertise include biblical Hebrew, the books of Genesis and Exodus, “types” of Christ in the Old Testament, the theology of worship, divine justice, narrative and rhetorical analysis, the nature and authority of Scripture, and “objectionable” texts in the Bible (those often raising criticisms of divine violence and accusations of divine immorality).

He has made contributions in the area of American Lutheran history, especially the history of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and its first president, Dr. C.F.W. Walther. Another area of special interest is the theology of Luther’s catechisms and the intersection of the catechism and the Bible in Lutheran teaching and piety.

He has written pieces for a number of publications, including “Concordia Journal,” “Modern Reformation,” “Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society,” “Concordia Pulpit Resources,” “The Lutheran Witness” and for the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR). Egger serves on the LCMS Pastoral Formation Committee, the LCMS Pastoral Colloquy Committee, the LCMS CTCR and the board of the International Lutheran Society of Wittenberg.

His favorite pastimes are running, Cardinals baseball and Iowa Hawkeyes sports, birdwatching, golf, spending time with his children and grandchildren and – he is a little embarrassed to admit – doing jigsaw puzzles. He and his wife, Tori, have been blessed with six children, four children- in-law and four grandchildren.