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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 381

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X. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 13-03 TASK FORCE
2.

Isagogics

Hermeneutics

Exegesis of the Old and New Testaments

Dogmatics, including ethics and polemics

Symbolics

Church history, including dogmatic history, patristics,
and church archeology

Catechesis and homiletics

Pastoral theology

the task force commends Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort
Wayne, and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, for their bold efforts
to fund the cost of tuition for residential M.Div. students. These
initiatives will require continuing faithful support of our seminaries by the Synod, districts, congregations, and laity. Where, however, congregations are unable to support a full-time pastor, the task
force makes the following recommendations, as appropriate for the
particular context:
a.

To encourage the formation of multi-point parishes,
bearing in mind that our Synod began with many
“circuit riders” and studying examples from rural areas
where such arrangements have been in place for many
years;

To encourage the merger of congregations that are
not self-sustaining on their own but could be when
combined, recognizing that the ultimate end is not the
preservation of a congregation or building, but the proclamation of the Gospel and the faithful administration
of the Sacraments, the provision of fraternal care to our
brothers and sisters in Christ, and outreach of the Gospel
to a lost world;

To encourage the adoption of sister congregations on a
peer-to-peer basis, as partnerships already exist between
some suburban and urban congregations, that those
to whom much is given may support others, with due
regard for the adopted congregation as an equal and not
as a “branch location”;

To use the SMP program to supply pastors in contexts
where a pastor trained via the residential Master of Divinity program is not available and where other options
such as multi-point and merger are not practical or desirable; and

To encourage a collaborative effort between the seminaries and the LCMS Office of National Mission to
develop resources to assist in implementing the foregoing strategies for rural and urban pastoral service, which
include ethnic ministry, multiple-point parishes and
worker-priest arrangements.

10. Catechetical and homiletical practice
11. Logic and metaphysics
12. English and Norwegian preaching and debating
13. Contemporary theological issues13
Over the course of the 20th century, both of the seminaries of
the LCMS reflected the changing climate in theological education
in the United States and in the world. Curricula showed the influence of changing times. Over the course of the century, both seminaries departmentalized and began very intentionally to raise their
reputation in the broader academic community. Also, classes began
to be added to the various curricula that reflected emerging concerns in the church. Courses in pastoral psychology and counseling,
administration and leadership, for example, all appeared in the last
several years.14 There has been an increasing emphasis on the centrality of missions and discussion focusing on “contextualization.”
Finally, most recently, the remarkable strides made in information
technology have begun to raise questions about the possibility and
desirability of distance education. Others have even questioned the
necessity of residential theological education.
On the other hand, a sustained and compelling argument for
the importance of residential theological education appeared in
the late 1990s in the book titled Being There, published by Oxford
University Press. Authors Jackson Carroll and Barbara Wheeler,
among others, produced a case study of two seminaries, one “liberal” and the other more “conservative.”15 One conclusion they
drew was that for the student to be formed by the culture of an
institution—specifically if they are to internalize and synthesize the
theological commitments—it is necessary for that student to “be
there”—to spend time on campus learning and living in the midst
of the community. The implications of these findings for distance
education need to be addressed in our current context.

IV. Recommendations of the Task Force
With this biblical, confessional, and historical context as background, the 13-03 Task Force addresses the Synod’s assignment
and offers the following recommendations:
1.

To help the Synod address the needs of small, rural,
urban, ethnic, immigrant, financially challenged, and
geographically isolated congregations
Recommendation: There is one Office of the Holy Ministry
to which Christ calls His shepherds, who are the servants of the
Word and of all of us as they proclaim God’s Word with Law and
Gospel rightly divided and administer His Sacraments. Insofar as
possible, the Synod should seek to equip these men with the highest
and best education we can provide, which the task force believes
is delivered through the residential seminary model. Recognizing
the increasing cost of delivering residential seminary education,

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To recommend ways to identify candidates to address
future needs in the LCMS
Recommendation: The identification of possible candidates
for the Office of the Holy Ministry most often begins with the candidate’s own pastor and congregation. All pastors should be encouraged to identify boys and men of all ages who are suited for the office, especially campus pastors who are in contact with college-age
young men, to encourage them to consider a pastoral vocation. The
LCMS Office of Pastoral Education should provide additional educational resources, including coordination with existing seminary
and Concordia University System programs, retreats, and publications for those interested in church work. Each district should designate a church-work vocation coordinator who can meet regularly
with young (and older) men in the district who are considering the
pastoral office, as well as coordinate with existing seminary recruitment staff. The Pastoral Formation Committee (PFC) should work
with the seminaries to develop resources for this purpose.
3.

To provide strategies for reaching the increasingly
diverse population of the U.S. and Canada
2019 Convention Workbook