# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1950_S921
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

SEMINARIES AND COLLEGES 228

tion of such a program will depend, of course, entirely upon
sthe blessing which God places upon the laborers involved and
Ethe tasks performed. One need hardly add in this connection that
enuous efforts must be made, throughout the program, to guard
Ragainst pietism and pharisaism, so that the real Lutheran emphasis
on faith, justification, and sanctification as pure gifts of God may
4 not be violated.

< We are aware also of the absolute need for the most careful
; selection of administration and staff members for such an institu-
,tion. In fact, it may well become necessary to set up brief special
aining programs for staff members under the auspices of the
oard for Higher Education, and it may be necessary, further, to
- inaugurate the entire senior college project under the direct super-
.wision of the Board so that the basic spiritual objectives of the
-college may not be obscured. Certain it is that no real results may
e expected unless every professor and every member of the ad-
ministrational staff is in thorough and complete sympathy with
ae view that the spiritual growth of the students is the primary
. objective of the college. Technical educational competence of. staff
-members must, of course, be taken for granted, and for that reason
uch qualities are not discussed here.

, If the senior college can make a significant contribution toward
creating in our students an awareness of the complete relevance
of the divine will to all aspects of the student’s life, a positive
« attitude of cheerful obedience to the will of God as a normal and
4 necessary expression of Christian faith, and a feeling of need for
4 daily spiritual meditation and reflection as personal communica-
; tion with his God, then all the labor and expense which the senior
college will entail will result, under the blessing of God, in in-
., calculable benefits for the Kingdom of God on earth.

Accreditation
Our investigations show that an institution of this type would
: not be handicapped in the matter of seeking accreditation merely
,. because it has only the two years of an accepted senior college. Nor
;. would the fact that this senior college might accept the majority
| of its students from unaccredited junior colleges in itself be a

; significant factor in the question of accreditation.
a On the other hand, the fact that the institution would be very
largely professional might place it outside of the jurisdiction of
; the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
; (the accrediting agency in the Middle West).

In March, 1949, the North Central Association resolved not to
accredit strictly professional schools, and, while it is not entirely
clear on its own ruling, it has interpreted this to mean that it