LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 50

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50 PARISH, YOUTH, AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES

junction with other Lutheran church bodies and facilitated by
Aid Association for Lutherans. Itis a program to help Lutheran
school administrators develop administrative skills. The pro-
gram is based on the conviction that “good schools need good
leaders” and that “good leaders need help in developing
administrative skills.”

The 1981—82 school year saw the initiation of the first
phase of Project Serve, “skills for planning and decision
making.” Nearly 80% of Lutheran school administrators par-
ticipated in year one of Project Serve.

Subsequent years will emphasize the administrators’ skills
as: (1) school manager; (2) director of the school’s educational
program and ministry; and (3) provider of leadership for school
climate.

During the next three years administrators will focus on the
development of an operations manual, based on the admin-
istrator’s job description. Each of the three topics listed above
will become a component in the manual. As administrators
develop skills in the subjects and prepare materials and
programs, their plans, programs, and schedules will become

’ part of their operations manual.

Six Lutheran school educators, in addition to the BPS
school staff, have been trained to present Project Serve work-
shops for preschool and elementary school administrators. An
overview of Project Serve has also been shared with District
education executives.

Project Serve is committed to the idea that Lutheran schools
have an important role to play as we move toward the year
2,000 proclaiming Him and His message of salvation.

G. Him We Proclaim—Through Challenges and Opportunities

Throughout their history, Lutheran schools have faced
challenges and turned them into opportunities through which
they could better proclaim Jesus Christ. These opportunities
have included teacher shortages and surpluses, World Wars I
and II, the urbanization of the United States, the dangers of
government encroachment into the work of the churches and
their schools, and the changing styles of family life. Some of
these challenges continue and are joined by others. Included
among the challenges and opportunities facing Lutheran
schools now and in the future are the following:

—Maintaining Distinctively Lutheran Schools. Lutheran
schools are part of the very fiber of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod. They enjoy this status because
of the LCMS'’s confessional stance. Parents and church
leaders maintain that what is worth believing for time
and eternity is worth teaching in the best way possible.
Lutheran schools have and will continue to be tempted to
become “just like other schools” unless care is exercised to
keep the Gospel of Jesus Christ paramount. Lutheran
schools exist to preserve and extend the kingdom of God
through the hearts and lives of children and families. The
Law: Gospel, sin’/grace understanding we have as Lu-
therans needs continual attention in order that we may,
by His grace, proclaim Him in truth.

— Theological Awareness. In a day when many church
denominations lean toward a theology of fellowship in
which Christians merely “agree to disagree,” Lutheran
school teachers need to be theological craftsmen and
women with capabilities and skills involving the Scrip-
tures and the Confessions. This art continues to be needed
as children and young people are led to see the centrality
of Christ, and all He has done and said, and the im-
portance of guarding the Gospel truth of salvation by
grace through faith in Him.

—Changing Children and Families. The children and
families served today in Lutheran schools are different
than in the past. The ethnic mix is radically changed. The
range of sophistication that children bring to Lutheran
schools has broadened. Marriage, home, and family life
have become more difficult to comprehend. The socio-
economic levels range from poverty to luxury. The per-
centage of unchurched and non-Lutherans is increasing
steadily in our Lutheran schools. These challenges are
indeed opportunities. We need to sharpen our under-
standing and skills to meet the varying spiritual, educa-

tional, socioeconomic, moral, and multicultural needs of
those we serve.

—Lutheran School Teachers. Just two decades ago there
was a teacher shortage. Now we are again facing a
shortage. We are grateful that we have been able to staff
our faculties, but increasingly our schools have been
unable to acquire synodically trained teacher college
graduates. If LCMS schools are to maintain their Lu-
theran distinctiveness they will continue to need theo-
logically prepared and certified teachers. Statistics
indicate that 80% of our LCMS school teachers are
synodically trained. However, preliminary reports sug-
gest that unless the trend changes there will soon be only
one graduate for every two requests made to the Synod’s
Board of Assignments. The percentage of male teachers
atthe elementary level stands at 28%, down from over 50%
less than 30 years ago. The increase in schools and
children brings us the challenge and opportunity of
providing adequate numbers of synodically trained teach-
ers, including more male teachers.

—Joyin Ministry. While most Lutheran school administra-
tors and educators are experiencing joy in ministry, far
too many are not. The unique joy of proclaiming Christ in
the Christian classroom is escaping many teachers. The
reasons are varied, but some surface more than others.
Lack of support from fellow teachers, pastors, admin-
istrators, and congregation members; inadequate salaries
for even humble homes and life-styles; mixed and mis-
understood expectations; lack of spiritual leadership;
misdirected career and professional placement; teacher
homelife and responsibilities—all these and more often
dampen the flames of joy in ministry. Each congregation
with a school, each pastor, each board member, each
administrator, and each teacher needs to reach out to
fellow servants of the Gospel. Joy can be rekindled and
recaptured for hundreds of teachers who have dedicated
their lives to proclaiming Jesus Christ.

—Funding Lutheran Schools. Inflation has paralyzed
homes, businesses, and even the church. Contributions to
churches fail to keep pace with spiraling costs. Even
congregations totally committed to maintaining their
Lutheran school can face fiscal problems. The search for
funding too often goes outward rather than inward. The
future funding of Lutheran schools, as in the past, will
need to be generated primarily through increased spir-
itual growth. This will be accompanied by increased
financial contributions. This is no small challenge, but it
is also a great opportunity.

—Leadership Awareness. Lutheran school teachers and
administrators continue to have great opportunities to
provide educational leadership in congregations and
communities beyond service in the Lutheran school. As
more parishes expand and strengthen agencies of Chris-
tian education for all ages, the challenges of qualified and
adequate leadership increase. Lutheran school educators
can fill important roles to insure success for parish
programs. Community service opportunities provide ex-
cellent openings for Christian witness and service.

—Relations with Other Education Systems. Lutheran
school leaders have established important relationships
with other school groups, both public and private. Estab-
lishing these relationships has not always been easy.
This challenge is also an opportunity. Maintaining
meaningful contact with others is important since it
provides an opportunity to give witness to the distinc-
tiveness of Lutheran schools. It provides settings through
which quality education for all can be enhanced. It allows
Lutheran school educators to gain insight into the unique
contributions of other educational systems. While Lu-
theran school leaders give direction to their schools, they
also need to avoid isolationism which may be misinter-
preted. Proclaiming Christ should and can occur effec-
tively through relationships with other school systems
and educators.

—Accepting Our Successes and Failures. Lutheran schools,
like all other efforts of the church, experience failures as