LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 98

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98

SYNOD REPORTS

• CUEnet has begun work on an innovative new curriculum for
churches and schools called Gemstones of Faith. These high-definition videos will utilize music, photography, art, lecture, story and
many other means to introduce major doctrines and detailed theological nuggets. Pastors, teachers, and lay Bible study instructors
will be able to use these videos to enhance their work in LCMS
congregations.
• In parallel with the creation of Gemstones of Faith, new colloquy
materials are being crafted so as to better utilize current video techniques, standards, and technologies. Once again, CUEnet will use
outstanding theologians from the CUS institutions and the seminaries to help produce the “video textbooks” used in the online
colloquy program.
Alan Borcherding, Interim President

The task force elected as its officers Dr. Dean Wenthe, Mr. John
Behrendt, and Dr. Dennis Witte.
The task force, assisted by staff from the International Center, has
found in the fulfillment of this assignment reason for optimism and
encouragement. We now wish to share with the Synod in convention
the fruits of our work in keeping with the three-fold assignment given.

R5-02

Our task force understands that “efficiency” can be understood in
different ways, and even in ways that suggest “cheap” or “cut-rate.”
These are not adjectives that should go with our system of higher education and preparation of church workers. Our schools have pursued
efficiencies of operation not through shrinkage or consolidation but
by offering excellent opportunities for education while retaining their
Lutheran confessional identity. Though the pool of potential churchwork students is smaller, our schools have worked even harder to
attract them.
Some have suggested that consolidation or shrinkage of our
schools to provide education only for the shrinking pool of churchwork students would be more efficient, but the facts seem to indicate
differently. While the primary mission of our system of LCMS
higher education remains the preparation of faithful and well-prepared church workers, the secondary mission of preparing lay men
and women for a variety of vocations in a distinctively Lutheran
Christian context actually supports this mission by providing the
financial support needed for economies of scale. Through competition with community-based, other private, and state colleges and
universities as well as the rigors of accrediting agencies, our schools
have become models of efficient operation, collaborating and innovating in degree programs and other activities.
There are many good examples of CUS collaboration. CUS has
operated the Concordia Administrative Information System (CAIS)
since 2000, providing eight of the campuses with services to operate
a common, industry leading, higher education administrative software system. CUEnet was formed in 1996, initially to share courses
between the CUS schools and Lutheran high schools, and since 2001
has been the provider of the very successful online teacher colloquy
program for the Synod. The CUS schools share a number of national
contracts, some in cooperation with LCMS General Services and
some on their own. Despite the challenges of accreditation across
different regions of the nation, there are also numerous examples of
academic collaborations such as the joint online MA in Education
developed by Irvine and Portland, a new joint MBA program developed by Mequon and Seward, and cooperative international study
activities.
The funding model for our system of higher education has changed
and continues to do so. Shrinking resources sent to the national Synod
curtail the subsidy that can be provided to our schools, while direct
support of donors, growth of tuition income from increased enrollment, development efforts under the direction of the local boards of
regents of the seminaries and CUS schools, and support of initiatives
such as “For the Sake of the Church” have helped to keep the schools
on a solid fiscal foundation. The transition has not been painless, but
it is working. The Synod continues to fund its institutions, but in a
different way. Rather than seeking to centralize this support, or to
recommend shrinking our system in a time of great growth, we are

Report and Recommendations: 4-04A Task Force
January 2013
The 64th Regular Convention (2010) of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod adopted Res. 4-04A, which
resolved:
That the Synod in convention charge the Board of Directors of the
Synod, in consultation and concurrence with CUS and seminary leadership, to appoint an eleven-member task force possessing qualifications in higher education and finance (including two members from the
LCMS Board of Directors as well as persons from the CUS institutions
and seminaries, other institutions of higher education, and the LCMS at
large), to research the efficiency of cooperative interaction for the fiscal
strength of the LCMS system of colleges, universities, and seminaries, to
make recommendations that could be immediately implemented by the
respective institutions and continue to enhance those current programs
already in place with the seminaries and CUS schools, and to bring
recommendations which require convention action to the 2013 LCMS
convention for further implementation.

As instructed by this resolution, the Board of Directors appointed
the following members:
Mr. John Behrendt, Chairman, former LCMS Board for Pastoral Education
Rev. Ralph Blomenberg, Pastor, Immanuel, Seymour, IN; Chair, Board
of Regents, St. Louis
Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich, President, Concordia University, Nebraska
Mr. Keith Frndak, Member, LCMS Board of Directors
Rev. Dr. Robert Kuhn, Chairman, LCMS Board of Directors
Rev. Dr. David Maier, President, LCMS Michigan District
Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer, President, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
Dr. Gerhard Mundinger, Member, Concordia University System Board
Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast, President, Concordia Theological Seminary,
Fort Wayne
Dr. Mary Scott, Provost, Concordia University, Irvine
Rev. Dr. Dien Taylor, Pastor, Redeemer Evan. Lutheran Church, Bronx,
NY
Rev. Dr. Dean Wenthe, President Emeritus, Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne
Dr. Dennis Witte, VP for Administration, Concordia University, Chicago

Resource persons from the International Center included:
Rev. Dr. Alan Borcherding, Interim President, Concordia University
System
Mr. Ron Schultz, LCMS Chief Administrative Officer
Rev. Dr. Glen Thomas, Executive Director, LCMS Office of Pastoral
Education

2013 Convention Workbook

(1) To research the efficiency of cooperative interaction for the fiscal
strength of the LCMS system of colleges, universities, and seminaries:

In many ways, the Concordia University System and the Concordia
seminaries are great blessings in the Synod. While membership within
the congregations of Synod continues to decline, shrinking the pool
of LCMS students from which our universities and seminaries often
draw students, enrollment in our CUS schools has shown remarkable
growth, as shown by the following graph: