# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2004_S90 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 90 SYNODICAL REPORTS Spiritual Formation The church seeks men whose faith in Jesus Christ is nourished regularly by the Word and Sacraments in public worship and by a dis- -ciplined devotional life. The home, congregations, pastors, and the church’s schools all help to form a pastoral character in candidates— ones who pray, believe, and confess Christ and the cross—and to shape attitudes that lead them to see people as God’s precious ones. Mission Outreach The church needs pastors who are prepared to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. They are instruments of the Holy Spint to bring the lost to Christ and Christ to the believer. Pastors need to have a deep passion for Christ and His mission. Called to be wit- nesses to Jesus and His salvific work, pastors must actively engage themselves in outreach and effectively outfit people to tell others about Jesus. Christians are to testify to their faith in Jesus Christ with those who have never heard of Him, have not believed in Him, and are away from the means of grace in His church. Every con- gregation is a mission station for the Christian message and needs a pastor to lead in the development of mission outreach. Understand Church within Culture and Context The church looks to its pastors to know the Holy Scriptures well, to be confidently Lutheran, and to apply the Word of God to contemporary contexts and culture. Pastors need to understand the culture and where it is headed, engaging societal issues theologi- cally. Pastors must be prepared to give a defense to the truths of the Christian faith against competing spiritual claims and move- ments of world religions and secular beliefs. They must be sensitive to their culture and able effectively to serve peoples with a vast di- versity of origins, education, family customs, social structures, and political values. The church needs pastors from different cultures to serve in the pastoral ministry. Community of Faith The church wants pastoral education undertaken in an environ- ment of prayer and care, with worship at the center, and with the proper integration of biblical theology and pastoral practice. Pastoral education is a learning-living preparation where one is taught to think theologically and to focus on a few foundational aspects more deeply (reading basic texts, great books, and writing theological papers). Pas- toral education also engages persons in rich practical experiences rel- evant to pastoral ministry. Students in preparation for the pastoral ministry also must come to understand themselves and learn to eval- uate and improve themselves, become adept at asking the right ques- tions, and live in a spirit of trust with others. Service of the Baptized The church wants pastors who are prepared to motivate and stimulate, prepare and engage the baptized in their lives of service and vocation. People want to be led to integrate their faith and life. They want pastors to encourage them, counsel them, mentor them, and teach them to live meaningful lives of service. They want in- tellectually to explore their faith and theologically to reflect on their service to church and world. They are in the mission field daily, and they want to relate their faith to their daily service in family, church, work, and world. Church Administration The church needs pastors to lead and manage the congregation to accomplish its mission and purpose. They are to have a work- ing knowledge of financial planning and administration to main- tain the fiscal health of the congregation. They must be prepared to address stewardship responsibilities in a loving and realistic manner. Pastors must be able to work in team ministry and manage conflict in congregational life. They must be prepared to manage 2004 Convention Workbook themselves—personally, spiritually, and emotionally—and be ready for the daily routines of the pastoral ministry. Working hand in hand with members who have skills and gifts in various areas, the congre- gation is enabled to carry out its primary mission of saving souls. Faithful Faculty with Pastoral Experience The church needs faculty who are committed to the mission of the church, maintain academic excellence, testify to their faith, relate the- ology to pastoral practice, make alive the Lutheran heritage, and show appreciation for the practice of pastoral ministry. The church encour- ages faculty to read and write and study to be faithful mentors to pas- toral ministry students. Faculty needs to aid students in the practical transition to parish ministry. For the sake of the vitality of Lutheran pastoral education and the contribution jt makes to the congregations, the church wants faculty with substantial pastoral experience. Scholarship for the Church and to the World The church needs pastors, congregations, universities/colleges, and seminaries to transmit Lutheran theology to the next generations. They must relay the strong Lutheran heritage to the next group of leaders (through instruction in Lutheran confessional teachings, means of grace centered worship, biblical preaching, advanced study, writing and publication). The church needs to provide graduate pro- grams (offering masters and doctoral studies) in pastoral education. The church needs to support strongly its centers of theological schol- arship. The church must put in place a disciplined pattern for lifelong learning among its pastors (to reflect upon pastoral practice, develop pastoral skills, learn pastoral response to contemporary issues and problems, and to transition to different ministry contexts). Flexibility in Approach and Delivery of Pastoral Education The church needs pastoral education brought to candidates as di- verse as its membership and mission—young and old, single and mar- tied, no debt and heavy debt, no college and advanced degrees, novice Christians and Lutherans their entire life, confined to one place and highly mobile, dominant culture and ethnic community, rich and poor. The church needs to provide options for pastoral education to these candidates, evaluating routes to pastoral ministry, discerning proper pedagogical approaches, utilizing distance education, incorporating useful technology, training mentors/life coaches, and engaging in con- tinuous curricular review. The church needs pastoral candidates to serve communities that cannot maintain a regular called pastor. There is a growing demand for different approaches to pastoral education that offer adaptability, portability, and accessibility. International/Global Component The church needs to recognize that pastoral education is an inter- national endeavor. The church’s mission puts pastors and church mem- bers in direct contact with world religions and Christian communities different from our own. Pastors and people need to learn to work and converse with these people. Pastoral education needs to provide stu- dents understanding and models for conversation and cooperation among Christians and differing traditions. There needs to be identifi- cation and enlistment of international students and faculty in order to learn from them and to engage them in confessional Lutheran theol- ogy. As the center of Christianity shifts more and more to the southern hemisphere, confessional Lutheranism around the globe needs to re- late to global theological matters in its teaching and life as church. Joint Seminary Fund The LCMS Joint Seminary Program raises funds for the two seminaries: Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. The funds are divided between both seminaries and provide financial support to prepare men for the pastoral ministry in congregations and mission fields.