LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 78

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78 SYNOD REPORTS

Advisory: Kurt Krueger, Thomas Kuchta, Dale Meyer, Paul
Sieveking, Dean Wenthe

Staff: Barbara Clark, administrative assistant; L. Dean Hempel-
mann, executive director

Deployed Staff: Richard Davis and Gary Schaper, personal
growth and leadership development advisors at the seminaries

Significant Achievements

¢ Immediate first task (Res. 4-02A) was a systemic study of the
funding models for theological education in Synod and in other
U.S. church bodies, culminating in the proposal of a funding
model for the seminaries to the 2007 convention;

¢ Developed a standardized core curriculum (Res. 5-09) for district
lay training programs;

¢ Organized with the Board for University Education and the Board
for Mission Services, a colloquium “to share and discuss the
needs of church workers and other students in the schools as this
relates to the mission of the church” (Res. 5-01), centered on the
role of a mission leader, mission outpost, a missionary, and the
marks of a missional church; more work needs to be done and
the next steps need to be taken into long-term strategies;

¢ Developed a Standard Operating Procedures Manual for Bylaw
3.8.2.7.9 pursuant to Res. 8-01A;

¢ Took responsibility for the Joint Seminary Fund, its future devel-
opment, and its administration with implementation services co-
ordinated with the LCMS Foundation;

¢ Adopted a Board for Pastoral Education Policy Manual and a
Board for Pastoral Education Campus Policy Manual as a new
program board for Synod (Res. 5-02A);

¢ Participated with the Board of Regents to nominate and call Dr.
Dale Meyer to be a president to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
Missouri;

¢ Nominated and called Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann to fill the posi-
tion of executive director of the Board for Pastoral Education;

¢ Met jointly each year of the triennium, as is given it to do in the
Bylaws of Synod, with the Boards of Regents of the seminaries
and with the Board for University Education;

¢ Developed a strategic and tactic plan for the triennium to deal
comprehensively with all the functions assigned to the board in
the Bylaws of Synod;

¢ Fostered coordination, cooperation, and collaboration of the sem-
inaries in programs and activities, policies and procedures;

¢ Developed a mission statement for the Board for Pastoral Educa-
tion;

¢ Developed 10 memorials for the 2007 convention to strengthen
Boards of Regents of the seminaries, to revise and/or clarify sev-
eral Bylaws of Synod, to locate the Distance Education Leading
To Ordination (DELTO) Oversight Committee in the Board for
Pastoral Education, to monitor Recognized Service Organizations,
and to establish the Specific Ministry Pastor Program;

¢ Granted prior approval for nine to serve on seminary faculties;

¢ Conducted official visits to the seminary campuses to evaluate
and recommend avenues to strengthen the institutions;

¢ Granted requests for lines of credit to the seminaries and received
annual financial audit reports;

¢ Provided for the distribution of grants from the Synod (unre-
stricted and restricted) to the seminaries;

¢ Developed a list of 25 potential teaching and administrative per-
sonnel for the seminaries;

2007 Convention Workbook

¢ Enabled the Colloquy Committee for the Pastoral Ministry, a stand-
ing committee of the Board for Pastoral Education, to perform its
activities in matters of colloquies for the pastoral ministry;

* Initiated a quarterly Pastoral Education communication piece for
the Reporter;

¢ Arranged two LCMS Theology Professors’ Convocations (March
2005 and 2007) for the purpose of theological discussion and joint
work on theological issues for the benefit of the church;

¢ Studied the effectiveness of pastoral education on the basis of the
LCMS Themes for Pastoral Education, the guideposts for prepa-
ration of pastors in the church;

¢ Fostered continuing education for pastors through initial discus-
sions with the Commission on Ministerial Growth and Support;

¢ Annually evaluated the performance of the executive director; and

« Recommended regular background checks are instituted at the
seminaries for students, staff, and professors.

Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, Missouri

Concordia Seminary continues to be blessed by God as it fulfills
its mission to serve church and world by providing theological ed-
ucation and leadership, centered in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, for the formation of pastors, missionaries, and leaders in the
name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

The following blessings over the past triennium are worthy of
special mention:

¢ The installation of Concordia Seminary’s tenth president, Dr.
Dale A. Meyer, on Sept. 4, 2005;

" «Provided more than 375 pastoral candidates for placement in the

LCMS;

¢ Granted more than 450 academic degrees, including advanced de-
grees in theological studies to students from around the world;

¢ Significant enrollment growth, exceeding 800 students in all pro-
grams;

¢ The installation of four new faculty members, bringing the total
number to 44, with 86 percent holding terminal degrees in their
particular areas of study and averaging 13 years of pastoral min-
istry experience in addition to their service at Concordia Semi-
nary,

¢ Continued collaboration with LCMS world mission, LCMS dis-
tricts to launch and continue to operate innovative, specialized
distance education programs, including the Center for Hispanic
Studies (formerly Hispanic Institute of Theology), DELTO, Eth-
nic Immigrant Institute of Theology (EIIT), Deaf Institute of The-
ology (DIT), and the Cross Cultural Ministry Center in
partnership with Concordia University, Irvine, California, and the
Pacific Southwest District.

¢ The launching of two new Web sites, iTunesU and Concor-
diaTheology.org, to provide online audio and video theological
resources to the world;

¢ The addition of a deaconess formation program, which has al-
ready provided deaconess candidates to the church;

¢ A restructuring of the governance structure of the seminary to
provide a “shared governance” model;

¢ The inauguration of a Concordia Seminary Institute on Lay Vo-
cation, directed by Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto; and

¢ The installation of Rev. Jonathan Stein to serve as the seminary’s
first campus chaplain.

Concordia Seminary remains one of the largest Lutheran semi-
naries, and one of the 25 largest seminaries of any denomination
in the United States. Since its inception in 1839, more than 12,000