# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S284
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

284

IX. REPORT OF THE RES. 5-14A TASK FORCE

program of one of the seminaries of the Synod, if otherwise
eligible for admission to the seminary.
3.10.2.5	All men desiring the ordained ministry who do not meet
the eligibility requirements of the foregoing bylaws shall
be directed to the seminaries for consideration in other
programs.
Section Five—Use the “Growth Path” Concept
to Strengthen Ongoing Pastoral Formation
Christian formation is a lifelong journey through which the Holy
Spirit shapes believers to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Such journey
begins with Christian initiation into Christ’s Church through Holy
Baptism and is nourished throughout the seasons of life by our hearing of God’s Word and our eating and drinking of the Lord’s body
and blood in His Supper.
The “growth path” concept describes Christian formation as an
invitation to lifelong learning. Along such path, we include more specifically that spectrum of theological formation experiences oriented
toward the preparation of Lutheran pastors. Such a spectrum may
include a growth path that begins with pre-seminary level formation,
continues with admission to a seminary pastoral-formation program
leading to ordination, and is enriched through continuing education
activities throughout the pastor’s life in ministry.
Seminaries provide ample opportunities for students in pastoral
ministry programs to strengthen their formation through the fulfillment of additional learning activities and requirements during their
time on campus. For instance, MDiv students take electives that
deepen their knowledge and skills in a particular area of theological
inquiry. Some students hone their theological skills by doing additional work toward a STM (master of sacred theology) degree before
receiving their call to pastoral ministry. Seminaries also have offices
of continuing education that regularly offer workshops for pastors to
grow in their theological and pastoral skills.
The “growth path” concept must also be applied to non-MDiv
routes to ordination. Seminaries should clearly lay out growth path
options to non-MDiv students upon admission to their programs,
encouraging them to consider seriously doing work beyond their basic
course of studies. Designing, implementing, and funding curricular
growth path opportunities for students in non-MDiv routes to ordination will deepen and strengthen their formation for ministry across
the Synod.
Growth paths may take different forms. For instance, the SMP
program already offers a path to move a student from specific ministry pastor to general pastor roster status through the completion of
additional academic requirements. Both seminaries offer a series of
courses for specific ministry pastors who, after finishing the first number of required courses, are encouraged to complete the equivalent
of the alternate route residential program. Completing this growth
path enables a specific ministry pastor to reach the goal of becoming
a general pastor of the Synod.
The growth path concept can be implemented by asking seminaries to design nondegree curriculum options that will allow qualifying
non-MDiv students who have successfully completed their certificate
programs (i.e., CHS, EIIT, DIT, Bilingual Formation for Latinos) to
engage in an additional course of studies that leads to the equivalent
of an alternate route program. This is a worthy goal that seminaries
should lay out for certificate students as a joyful possibility even as
they begin their studies. The issue of funding the growth path must
be addressed if such growth path is to be implemented.
In establishing a growth path toward alternate route equivalency,
2016 Convention Workbook

the distinctiveness of each program is retained. Yet a balance is struck
between the appropriate uniqueness of the programs for serving the
church and the goal of moving all qualifying students in such programs toward an equivalent course of studies. In designing growth
paths, seminaries will determine what alternate route equivalency is
for certificate program students who are able to move along this path.
A degree growth path may also be considered in addition to
requirements for pastoral certification for qualifying students. It
should be noted that some degree paths already exist. The CrossCultural Ministry Center (CMC) program offers a certification plus
MA option for students who hold a bachelor’s degree. CHS students
who have a bachelor’s degree (or its Latin American licenciatura
equivalent) can complement their certificate studies by applying to
an MA program delivered in the Spanish language. Moreover, both
seminaries encourage qualifying specific ministry pastors to continue
studies toward an MDiv degree as another means to attain the goal of
becoming a general pastor.
Through continuing education, the growth path concept can also
be implemented for certificate students who are not able to complete
a degree program (MA or MDiv) or the equivalent of a residential
alternate route program. Reasons for not being able to follow a path
toward a degree option or an alternate route equivalency may include
limitations in fulfilling US accreditation degree ATS (Association of
Theological Schools) standards, bridging US academic standards
vis-à-vis majority world standards, negotiating formation in a second
language (e.g., ESL in EIIT program), or staffing and course offering
options for programs delivered in a language other than English (e.g.,
CHS). Those seminary students who for the reasons stated above cannot obtain the goal of a degree or alternate route option during their
course of studies at the seminary can still be put on a growth path
toward an alternate route equivalency delivered through Continuing
Education Units (CEUs). Seminaries can implement a CEU growth
path for such students that meet the necessary formation outcomes.
The “growth path” concept helps us winsomely to see pastoral formation as a process of growth in pastoral excellence that is
flexible enough to attend to various non-MDiv programs’ unique challenges and opportunities, while also providing effective and clearly
laid out ways of nourishing and strengthening pastoral formation
for students in all programs. Moreover, a growth path framework to
pastoral formation prevents us from seeing non-MDiv programs as
half-empty glasses, and instead invites us to see such programs as
half-full glasses—namely, as means to certify students for pastoral
ministry who can also continue to grow on the journey of pastoral formation through additional educational experiences and requirements.
Yet another way of implementing the growth path concept to
strengthen and deepen the formation of students across all non-MDiv
routes to ordination (both nondegree and degree) is to make sure that,
as a minimum entry-level competency for ministry across programs,
these students can successfully attain pastoral formation outcomes
equivalent to those expected of the residential alternate route students. Seminaries can make curricular decisions on the best and most
realistic ways for students to attain such outcomes through each nonMDiv program.
Therefore, such attainment does not necessarily mean that all students will take the same courses, but it does assume that all students
across programs will meet core competencies across all programs that
offer the Synod a solid biblically and confessionally formed pastor.
The unity of our life together as a Synod will benefit from the gift of
pastors who, while being formed through various programs with their
own distinctive features, still share a common entry-level competency