# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1975_S281
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

HIGHER EDUCATION 281

Additionally concern was expressed about the goal of the
BHE to discontinue maintaining institutions that could not real-
istically anticipate enrolling a college freshman class of at least
250 students. For institutions to meet this goal, it was felt that
a great emphasis has been placed on general-education students
who do not anticipate a church work career. Proposals by the
Board for Higher Education that recognized a number of edu-
cational changes taking place have not been adopted by a con-
vention and therefore continue to affect the entire system as it
has been historically perceived by many in the Synod.

The convention resolved that ‘‘the BHE convene a meeting
with the president, a member of the Board of Control chosen
by that board, and a member of the faculty of each synodical
college and seminary chosen by that faculty, in order to discuss
aims, objectives, and functions of the synodical system and of the
individual schools.” Additionally it was resolved ‘‘that the BHE,
in consultation with the Board of Directors, appoint a task force
outside of the membership and staff of the Board for Higher
Education to study the Synod’s program of higher education
and to bring concrete resolutions to the 1975 convention for
action.” The convention also resolved in Resolution 6-30 that
the following specific concern should be considered by the task
force:

1. The establishment of a seminary program in Canada at Edmonton
or elsewhere:

2. Program offering and specializations at the various schools:
3. Combining existing programs and the reduction of the number
of synodical schools:
4. The development of 4-year schools versus the present ‘“Junior-
Senior College System”’:
_ The number of graduates needed to meet present and projected
professional church-worker needs;

on

6. The present trend of increased numbers of general education
students:
. The basis for synodical subsidy:
8. The concerns of Overture 6-59 of the Convention Workbook, pages
981 — 282, particularly the memorandum offered by W. Griffen
and A. Pero.

~

Task Force Membership, Organization. and Procedures

The Task Force membership appointed by the BHE in con-
sultation with the synodical Board of Directors represents a
cross section of the church. The 14 members included 5 pastors,
4 teachers, and 5 laymen. Three of the five laymen are educa-
tors in public higher education. Because of other commitments
one of the pastors resigned but was not replaced because of the
timing involved. (The Director of Planning and Budgeting was
appointed as an advisory member.)

Early in its work the Task Force adopted a method of opera-
tion it has attempted to follow. The members acknowledged
their dependence on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and af-
firmed their belief in the promise of His constant presence.
The members affirmed their interest and deep sense of responsi-
bility in the task assigned to them by the Synod and in the desire
to work together as a leadership team guided by democratic
principles. Procedural guidelines were adopted and a schedule
of deadline dates was adopted to conform to the timetable set
for the resolutions for the 1975 convention.

Every effort was made to solicit opinions and information
from all interested parties through a Lutheran Witness notice,
through correspondence, and through invitation for concerned
groups to make personal presentations to the Task Force
to discuss firsthand the opportunities for the schools to serve.
A student opinionnaire was utilized to obtain a sample of the
background interests and opinions of students on each campus.
Additionally a subcommittee met with the BHE on two occa-
sions to share ideas and concerns, and schools directly affected
by specific resolutions were invited to review tentative conclu-
sions to help clarify potential problem areas.

The Task Force members spent approximately 3,200 man-
hours in meetings, regular and subcommittee, and untold hours
in reviewing reports and materials prepared by staff for con-
sideration.

A basic operating premise the group attempted to follow
was to determine the ideal system for the future and then to
fit the present schools into such a design. Although it was diffi-
cult to think about synodical education without the present
facilities, the process proved to be extremely helpful because

it permitted the members to consider the need for workers,
opportunities for service, and financial resources required to
operate a system to accomplish our purpose apart from the
realities of decisions made in the past.

The Church Responds to Its Need for Workers —
Educational Institutions of The Lutheran Church —
Missouri Synod

In 1847 the Synod set as one of its purposes of organization:
“To train ministers and teachers for service in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church.” This purpose is presently carried out at
15 locations. The original and declared purpose of schools
originally established by the Synod or which the Synod as-
sumed and agreed to operate is summarized as follows:

When the original institution, Concordia College (Seminary),
was transferred from Perryville, Mo., to St. Louis in 1849, the
Articles of Agreement indicated that the institution was to be
used only to train pastors and teachers for service in the Lu-
theran Church. It was to remain an academy where courses
were taught for those who desired to prepare for the study of
theology, and for preparing instructors for lower and higher
schools, and also a theological seminary in which students
wishing to devote themselves to a study of technical theology
could receive finishing courses: however, young people not
wishing to devote themselves to the professional study of Lu-
theran theology could also attend the academy. Any legacy or
gift to the institution should, however, benefit only those stu-
dents preparing for service in the Lutheran ministry.

Concordia Theological Seminary. Springfield, Ill, was
formally organized in 1846, classes having started in 1844 in
Fort Wayne, Ind., and was accepted by the Synod in September
1847. The 1860 Synodical convention resolved that the practical
seminary at Fort Wayne be consolidated with the theoretical
seminary in St. Louis. This move was made in 1861 and officially
continued until 1875, when the transfer to the present campus
was finalized. Property originally owned by Illinois State Uni-
versity was acquired by Trinity Lutheran Church in 1873. Be-
cause of crowded enrollment in St. Louis, the Synod rented the
Springfield property and transferred the preparatory depart-
ment of 29 students in January 1874. The 1874 convention re-
solved to buy the Springfield property and transfer the entire
practical seminary there. This relieved the St. Louis seminary
of 142 students, and the need for additional buildings was de-
layed.

Concordia Teachers College. River Forest, Ill., was estab-
lished at Addison, IIl., in 1864. Zion Church of Addison donated
the land, and congregations in the area paid for most of the
original buildings. A teachers seminary was originally located
at Fort Wayne, Ind., in conjunction with the practical seminary
(1857 —61) and with the Concordia College program transferred
from St. Louis to Fort Wayne (1861-64). The 1863 synodical
convention approved the transfer of the teachers program from
Fort Wayne to Addison. Concordia Teachers College was be-
gun because not enough teachers and music directors could
be found or trained in existing programs to meet the demands
of a growing church. The transfer to River Forest, Ill., was
made in 1913 because of the need for expansion for future needs,
for which Addison was felt to be inadequate: land and funds
were donated by the Lutheran Education Society of Chicago,
the Northern Illinois District, and the convention. The third
year of college was added in 1933. The training of women teach-
ers was begun in 1938: the fourth year of college was added in
1939: and the high school program was eliminated in 1950.

Concordia College. Milwaukee, Wisc., was founded by the
Synod in 1881 as a 6-year school and was chartered by the
state of Wisconsin in 1886. Its broad objectives were “to culti-
vate science, literature, and art, and to establish, maintain, use,
conduct, and carry on a college, academy, seminary, university,
or any one or more said educational institutions at the city of
Milwaukee: which institutions are intended’ to afford classical
and technical and religious instruction to young men and stu-
dents who desire to prepare themselves for the ministry of the
Lutheran Church and are also to afford convenient and suitable
educational advantages for the young whose parents or friends
are identified with, or in sympathy with, the religious teachings
of the Lutheran denomination.” In 1961 a Lutheran Lay Insti-
tute was added to Concordia College, Milwaukee, and a program
of coeducation was introduced in 1965, especially but not ex-