# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S139
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

5. Higher Education
To Emphasize Mission Leadership Focus
in Professional Church Worker and Lay
Person Preparation
RESOLUTION 5-01
Overtures 5-16, 5-41 (CW, pp. 226–227, 236)
WHEREAS, The mission and ministry of congregations,
schools, and institutions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod require well-prepared professional church
workers; and
WHEREAS, The need for such workers to reach diverse
peoples and cultures with the eternal truth of the Gospel
calls us to evaluate continually our present methods of
preparing workers for the church today; and
WHEREAS, The Synod has entrusted this preparation of
professional church workers to our colleges, universities,
and seminaries; and
WHEREAS, The Mission 21st Century Task Force has
identified reasons for strengthening professional church
worker preparation; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Synod commend the colleges, universities, and seminaries of the LCMS for their dedicated work
in preparing men and women for service in the church; and
be it further
Resolved, That the Synod, in convention, desiring to expand the skills of professional church workers and lay men
and women in the LCMS, encourage all of the colleges, universities, and seminaries of the LCMS to include missionfocused courses and/or programs such as:
• Evangelism, with a practicum requiring students to practice evangelism in the field

Committee 5 Chairman Carl Krueger

Action: Adopted (4)
(After an amendment to insert the words and cross-cultural
in the final bullet of the second resolve was adopted by unanimous consent, and after debate was ended, the resolution was
adopted as amended [Yes: 710; No: 491].)

To Restructure Higher Education
Governance

• Outreach strategies in the parish today
• Contemporary United States culture

RESOLUTION 5-02A

• Urban and cross-cultural ministry outreach strategies

Overtures 5-02–04 (CW, pp. 221–223)

as well as courses of study and/or programs in the area of missional leadership development such as:

WHEREAS, The colleges, universities, and seminaries of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod find that new challenges and opportunities are facing them as they seek to
sustain their service to the Synod in an increasingly complex educational environment; and
WHEREAS, The local campus leaders must exercise a
higher level of governance and leadership in response to the
needs and opportunities presented by campus constituencies while remaining faithful to the mission and needs of
the LCMS; and
WHEREAS, A study group established by the Board for
Higher Education/Concordia University System (BHE/CUS)
Board in January, 2001, spent eighteen months studying the
strategic future of LCMS colleges and universities, and the
BHE/CUS Board incorporated the findings of the study group
into its recommendations; and
WHEREAS, The BHE/CUS Board has identified five key
principles that will guide the future of the Concordia University System (CUS): (1) The CUS will work to maintain
and enhance the Christ-centered Lutheran character of its
institutions; (2) The CUS will provide commissioned min-

• Strategies for developing leaders in the congregational
setting
• Understanding and developing team ministry
• A practicum requiring students to work on a project as a
team
and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod, acting in convention, request
that the faculties of the colleges, universities, and seminaries of the LCMS invite representative groups of North
American mission executives and the national mission office of the Board for Mission Services to participate in a colloquium at least once every three years to share and discuss the needs of professional church workers and other
students in the schools as this relates to the mission of the
church; and be it finally
Resolved, That a report outlining the progress of this
resolution be presented at the 2007 LCMS convention in
the Higher Education report.
139

2004 Convention Proceedings