LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 177

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Any one item in the above list would be concerning alone. As a
whole, the items listed point away from a robust Lutheran identity
or solid Lutheran catechesis. The DLI says the university “accepts
without reservation the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament
as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith
and practice,” but we did not observe practices being normed by
the rule of Holy Scripture. Instead, we heard that the scriptural account of creation is not normative to what is taught in the science
department. No science faculty member reported teaching according to the Synod’s biblical doctrine of creation, nor did anyone report hearing anything approaching this biblical view of creation
espoused in the classroom. We heard the clear Word of God regarding the monergistic nature of salvation contradicted by having
a non-Lutheran speak in chapel and invite students to surrender
to Jesus. Members of the visitation team watched this chapel service online before and after the visitation. The Word of God, which
is clear in matters of marriage and sexuality, is hardly normative
when all that is required for appropriate sexual activity is consent
between partners. Subscription to the confession of the LCMS is
just an empty phrase if faith mentors in each residence hall floor
are required only to be Christian, not Lutheran, and not given any
meaningful instruction in the Catechism.
The visitation team was repeatedly told that the university is
Christ-centered and “our Lutheran identity infuses everything we
do.” During our visit, however, the visitation team simply did not
find that. Instead, pop-Evangelicalism, liberal theology of justice,
and secular diversity initiatives appear to influence nearly everything. One member of the visitation team observed, “CTX is Lutheran in name only, and they seem to be proud of that fact.”

the CTX website, however, tells a somewhat different story. One of
CTX’s administrators was “charged with leading the institution toward this federal designation [and] established a task force to plan
the expansion of campus programs and services as well as education and training for students, faculty and staff.”
This aligns with the university’s 2016–2021 Strategic Plan and
its strategic initiative 4.7 to “strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion across campus and support cultural competency in faculty,
staff, and students.” In reports documenting the accomplishments
of CTX toward this objective, which were removed from the CTX
website shortly before our visit, there are some successes to be celebrated but also some accomplishments out of harmony with Scripture and the Confessions.
•

In 2017–2018, CTX “collaborated with Jelani Consulting,
LLC.” Jelani Consulting focuses on diversity as not simply
a matter of race, but also advocates for equity and inclusion
for people of the LGBTQ+ community.

•

In July 2018, CTX’s Faculty Summer Development Series
was led by emeritus ELCA professor Rev. Dr. Darrell Jodock
(discussed above).

•

In August 2018, the CTX Faculty Summer Development
Series (posted online; one of the visitation team listened)
featured Dr. Gina Garcia, whose work focuses on “decolonizing” institutions. In her presentation, she said universities
must change their mission statements to include diversity,
equity, and justice for all. Curriculum, she says, is a colonial
tool that is structurally racist and privileges white students.
Standardized tests are racist too. And, she argued, we should
not “Christianize people” while teaching them “Christian
ways of knowing.”

•

In 2018–2019, Dr. Kazique Prince, again from Jelani Consulting, “provided Equity and Inclusion Lab focused on a
mindset regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion education
and awareness.” Dr. Prince was also asked to consult the university regarding the “next steps for Concordia in terms of
its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

•

In 2019, a chief diversity officer was hired, who the Equity
Team admits was not in alignment with a Lutheran identity
and whose hiring was a “mistake.”

Another member of the visitation team gave this assessment:
We’re in the College Growth Movement. What sells?
How do we market? Young faculty have not had a rigorous
academic background, nor a Lutheran background. Without
strong academics and strong theologians in the ranks, there’s
no one to guide young faculty, no strong theological voice.
It’s like a church growth campus.
I am encouraged that many at CTX speak of a Lutheran identity.
I have been critical of Concordia universities that have shied away
from even using the word “Lutheran” in their promotional materials and marketing strategies. To its credit, CTX continues clearly to
use “Lutheran” publicly. The concern of the visitation team is that
the Lutheran identity of CTX is superficial, normed and shaped
more by other Lutheran church bodies and their theologians, rather
than by theologians and pastors within the LCMS who have the
theological horsepower to engage cultural issues in a solidly confessional Lutheran way.

Diversity Concerns
CTX’s student population is 55 percent non-Caucasian. Having
such a racially diverse student body is truly a blessing from God.
Making students of all cultures feel welcome at the university is
absolutely laudable. But nearly all secular treatments of diversity,
equity, and inclusion also incorporate unbiblical understandings of
sex and gender, marriage, and family. By the admission of the Equity Team, in its earliest days of pursuing diversity, CTX was less
than careful in adopting these terms and hiring those of different
worldviews who do not share our theological foundations.
According to the Equity Team, CTX received the designation of
being a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) nearly by accident. The
announcement of the HSI designation in a Jan. 16, 2019, post on

177

These concerns demonstrate the value of the current model of
CTX’s affiliation with the Synod and show the perils of decisions
made hastily based on cultural trends. Even under the ecclesiastical oversight of the Synod, CTX demonstrated its reluctance or
unwillingness to allow Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions to
be the source of Lutheran identity and mission. Instead, the quickly
changing winds of culture seem to hold sway over the university’s
day-to-day decisions. The benefits of a system of governance that
binds our universities to a national—not a regional—church body;
of having regents from the region, district, and beyond; and of having prior approval for theology faculty and university presidents
is underscored by the Equity Team’s admission of these mistakes.

Keep Concordia Weird
So what is a Lutheran identity? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the
beating heart of a Lutheran identity. Vocation and lives of service
are certainly part of a Lutheran identity, but they are not the heart of
what it means to be a Lutheran Christian congregation, university,
or church body. Our primary vocation is to believe, by the power
of the Spirit, in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Vocation as our
2023 Convention Workbook