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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 346

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

346

VII. FINAL REPORT OF THE BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE ON LUTHERAN SCHOOLS

in our communities made bleak and dark by the devil, the world
and our flesh.
Through our various Christian vocations, God has equipped us
for this time and place. Within our Lutheran congregations, business people with strategic planning, finance and marketing expertise may assist area Lutheran schools in developing strategic plans
which utilize current assets and target and leverage new ones. Educational administrators and teachers may hone their professional
practice through continual learning, both formal and informal, and
be both intentional and transparent in sharing the joys of serving
Christ as a full-time church worker. Veteran church workers and
those retired from full-time service may continue to coach and encourage those hungry for their expertise and guidance. All members
of a Lutheran church and/or school community can exhort one another to seek out and live one’s Christian calling boldly and intentionally, including the call to serve as a lay or professional teacher.

Group Three: Pilot Projects
Task: Develop and implement pilot projects that may produce
creative solutions related to the challenges currently faced by Lutheran Schools including but not limited to: (1) strategies for serving immigrant neighbors; (2) exploration of the role of schools in
church planning and revitalization.

Group Members:
Mr. H. David Boldt – Teacher, Salem Lutheran School, Tomball,
Texas
Mr. Corey Nelson – Teacher, Rochester Central Lutheran School,
Rochester, Minn.
Dr. Andrew Neumann – CEO, Open Sky Education
Dr. Rebecca Schmidt – Director of Schools, LCMS School Ministry Office
Dr. James Tallmon – Teacher and Headmaster (ret.), Austin, Texas
Background (Scope, Focus and Process): It became clear
early on that the most productive approach is to capture the pooled
wisdom and experience of the vast network of schools. We therefore focused on designing a vehicle by which we could gather scalable and/or portable ideas, best practices and examples regarding
projects and programs that constitute “shining examples,” so other
schools could potentially pilot these in their schools.
A grid was generated entitled, “Breakthroughs and Best Practices Grid.” The grid is to be utilized, along with a twelve-question
survey accompanying the grid, to provide context for the ideas of
pilot projects submitted by Lutheran schools.
Having developed the survey and grid (and anticipating that
all the information would be uploaded to an online repository maintained by the LCMS School Ministry office), a video was produced
to enhance and motivate the effort to gather and share information
by shedding more light on the desired goals.
Finally, in the process of completing the work, the research
of Dr. Bernard Bull (former Vice Provost for Curriculum and Academic Innovation, Concordia University Wisconsin) on innovative
schools was recognized. Dr. Bull’s research deserves further attention by the Synod when continuing to examine innovative schools.

Recommendations:
•

LCMS School Ministry establish and support a task
force that will launch, lead and manage a “Lutheran
Innovation Lab” with the purpose to collect scalable
or portable best practices and breakthroughs; connect
educators, innovators and funders; and stimulate col-

2019 Convention Workbook

laboration and implementation to continuously renew
and grow Lutheran education.

Conclusions:
We will not hide them from their children, but tell
to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the
Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has
done. Psalm 78:4 (ESV)
Psalm 78:4 tells of the urgency to equip each generation with
the knowledge of the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord in order that
the next generation would know them. Imagine the many ways
God works through the ministry of schools, sharing the baptismal
journey as missionaries and equipping children to be disciples by
helping them to grow strong in their faith in the presence of God,
nurtured in homes and supported by congregations, equipped as
stewards of God’s resources and actively engaged in witness, mercy and life together.
We are blessed with a diverse network of schools focused on
fulfilling the charge given us in Ps. 78:4. While this network of
schools has collectively been decreasing over the past decade, we
are living in a time of opportunity where we can reach unparalleled
numbers of children with a Lutheran education across our nation
(and world). As we survey the landscape of education today, we see
many bright examples thriving and expanding Lutheran education.
To fully leverage the strengths which we see within our network of
schools and the unique time in which we are serving as educators,
we need to discover the macro trends that are impacting Lutheran
education in the 21st century and then surface the breakthroughs
that exist within and beyond our existing network of schools.
We know our Heavenly Father has a heart for every one of His
children. By trusting in Him for guidance and relying on His blessing, collaborating to discover and share thriving models working
in different settings, and establishing a system for replicating and
expanding these models, we believe Lutheran education can shift
its focus. We can turn our energy towards learning, sharing and
expanding on what is working to better serve exponentially more
of His children today and in the future.

Group Four: Reasons for Decline and Recommendations
for Growth
Task: Identify reasons for decline in the number of schools
and school enrollment and explore opportunities for growth.

Group Members:
Mr. Terry Schmidt – Director of Schools (ret.), LCMS School
Ministry Office
Rev. Robert V. Roethemeyer – Associate Professor of Pastoral
Ministry and Missions, Director of Library, V.P. of Strategic Planning and Mission Execution, Concordia Theological Seminary,
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Rev. Dwayne M. Lueck – President, North Wisconsin District
LCMS
Dr. Bruce Braun – Superintendent of Schools (ret.), Michigan
District LCMS
Mrs. Cheryl Swope, M.Ed. – Author and Homeschool Parent,
Sainte Genevieve, Mo.
Background (Scope, Focus and Process): The process consisted of determining what information was needed, gathering this
information from as wide a variety of sources as possible in the
limited time, examining the information most relevant to the task