# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1947_S169
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

SEMINARIES AND COLLEGES ; 169

The Board for Higher Education, with the collaboration of its
Advisory Committee, has devoted considerable time and thought to
these problems. Because any proposal of such techniques must be
prepared with exceptional care and caution, the Board has been
unable to complete its work in this area. It is confidently expected,
however, that additional thought and investigation will yield an
acceptable presentation of techniques for the adequate achievement
of spiritual objectives in particular, but also of social and intel-
lectual objectives.

j Analysis of Objectives

A study of these basic assumptions and of the listed Scriptural
and practical Objectives of Ministerial Training leads first of all to
the conclusion that any adjustment of our academic program must
be made in full recognition of the educational value of the sum
total of the experiences which a student has at school. It must
recognize fully the essentially dynamic quality of attitudes and
must provide for conscious and specific methods to make all stu-
dent activity educationally more fruitful. It must see clearly the
primary objective of using school experiences to foster and to
strengthen spiritual life. The sole motivation of any change in our
system of ministerial education must be the prospect of producing
more effective ministers of the Gospel. To achieve this we need
more than greater knowledge and skill; we need constantly in-
creasing love and devotion.

The basic assumptions point clearly to the deep line of cleavage
between secular education and Christian education. While the
satisfaction of the will of man is the objective of the former, satis-
faction of the will of God in the life of man is the ultimate and
exclusive end of the latter. .

A similarly fundamental distinction is noted between the ob-
jectives of general Christian education and those of ministerial
training. It is true that identical tool subjects are required to
achieve basic skill in verbalizing, calculating, analyzing, synthesiz-
ing, creating, organizing, or administering in the fundamental areas
of knowledge and experience, whether these pertain to general
Christian or to ministerial education. It is also recognized that no
one has greater need of breadth of background in his education
than one who would make a career of the Gospel ministry. But
the minister of the Gospel requires a habitus, an attitude toward
life, toward the world, toward his work, toward himself, and above
all toward his Master, which cannot be acquired or developed
through general education or specialized courses. It must be de-
veloped by a specific study and application of the Word and by a
training program specifically designed to generate and strengthen
attitudes suited to the peculiar requirements of the Gospel ministry.