LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 424

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424

Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Task Force

SMP Committee in September 2007:

Program Development

1) Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann, LCMS Board for Pastoral Education
(chair)
2) Dr. Andrew Bartelt, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
3) Dr. Lawrence Rast, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
4) Dr. Douglas Rutt, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
5) Dr. David Wollenburg, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
6) Dr. Robert Newton, President, California-Nevada-Hawaii District
7) Dr. Warren Schumacher, President, Northwest District
8) Dr. Gerhard Michael, President, Florida-Georgia District
9) Dr. Samuel Nafzger, LCMS Commission on Theology and Church
Relations
10) Rev. Roosevelt Gray, Mission Director, Urban/Cross Cultural and
Campus Ministries, Michigan District
11) Rev. John Messmann, Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Worth,
TX

Following the adoption of the SMP program in principle at the
2007 LCMS Convention, the SMP Committee’s immediate attention was dedicated to developing common policies, procedures,
and documents that both seminaries could utilize Synod-wide.
These policies and documents were crafted by sub-groups of the
SMP Committee and agreed-upon by all parties involved. They
include Admission Criteria, Admission Sequence, Application for
Admission, Pastor Supervisor Responsibilities, Covenant Agreement,
and Congregational Instructions for Vicarage Application. The final
document developed, the Application for Admission, was posted on
March 31, 2008. These documents were posted electronically on the
Web sites of both seminaries and of the former LCMS Board for
Pastoral Education. Today, they may be viewed or downloaded at
www.csl.edu /admissions/academics/altrt/specific-ministry-pastorsmp-pastor/ or www.ctsfw.edu/Page.aspx?pid=541.
In terms of developing the courses themselves, there were initial discussions in the SMP Committee exploring the possibility of
having identical SMP courses at both seminaries. In the end, it was
determined that while both seminaries would operate with total transparency in course development, even allowing one another to access
electronic course development files on one another’s servers, creating
identical courses jointly would actually be more labor-intensive than
each seminary developing its own courses. This, together with the
looming time constraints inherent in wanting to have the first cohorts
of students enrolled in fall quarter 2008, led to each seminary developing its own courses, but doing so in what might be called a loose
collaboration with one another.
In the months during which meetings of the SMP Committee were
not taking place, the SMP Working Groups from the two seminaries were engaged in monthly teleconferences convened by the SMP
Committee chairman. Many issues, both theoretical and practical,
were discussed during these teleconferences. These teleconferences
also served to keep lines of communication between the two seminaries open during critical times of SMP program development.

Following the retirement of Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann as executive director of the Board for Pastoral Education in September 2007
and the 2009 LCMS district conventions, the following members
were serving on the LCMS SMP Committee by September of 2009:
SMP Committee in September 2009:
1) Dr. Glen Thomas, LCMS Board for Pastoral Education, chair, replaced
Dr. L. Dean Hempelmann in November 2007.
2) Dr. Andrew Bartelt, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
3) Rev. Anthony Cook, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, added September
2009
4) Dr. Lawrence Rast, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
5) Dr. Douglas Rutt, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
6) Dr. David Wollenburg, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
7) Dr. Robert Newton, President, California-Nevada-Hawaii District
8) Rev. David Maier, President, Michigan District, replaced Dr. Warren
Schumacher in September 2009.
9) Rev. Dan Gilbert, president, Northern Illinois District, replaced Dr.
Gerhard Michael in September 2009.
10) Dr. Samuel Nafzger, LCMS Commission on Theology and Church
Relations
11) Rev. Roosevelt Gray, Mission Director, Urban/Cross Cultural and
Campus Ministries, Michigan District
12) Rev. John Messmann, Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Worth,
TX
The current SMP Committee consists of:
1) Dr. Glen Thomas, LCMS executive director of pastoral education
2) Dr. Andrew Bartelt, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
3) Rev. Anthony Cook, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
4) Dr. Charles Gieschen (replaced Dr. Lawrence Rast), Concordia
Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
5) Rev. William Johnson (replaced Dr. Douglas Rutt), Concordia
Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
6) Dr. David Wollenburg, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
7) Dr. Robert Newton, President, California-Nevada-Hawaii District
8) Rev. David Maier, President, Michigan District
9) Rev. Dan Gilbert, President, Northern Illinois District
10) Rev. Roosevelt Gray, Mission Director, Urban/Cross Cultural and
Campus Ministries, Michigan District
11) Rev. John Messmann, Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Worth,
TX

Rather than in-person meetings, the SMP Committee began conducting phone conferences in order to save funds while still serving
the Synod. The SMP committee holds approximately four phone conferences each year in order to conduct its business.
2013 Convention Workbook

Curricula Development

As noted above, each seminary developed its own courses for
the SMP program. Yet, these courses were designed to facilitate the
development of previously-defined educational outcomes in SMP
students. The outcomes were developed on both seminary campuses
in consultation and collaboration with the church at large. Three
“Listening Posts” (LPs) were held on the Concordia Seminary, St.
Louis campus, the third one also involving representatives from
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. These LPs convened
parish pastors and church leaders to discuss the desired outcomes
they felt most appropriate to be encouraged in seminary formation.
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, also utilized a meeting
with LCMS district presidents in order to discuss desired outcomes in
seminary graduates. Both seminaries have observed that the process
of developing SMP educational outcomes has benefited residential
education in causing similar insightful thinking to inform the outcomes of ministerial formation in general on the seminary campuses,
whether distance education or residential in nature.
SMP Curricula

It is helpful to recall that each SMP student serves as a vicar for
the first two years of his enrollment in the SMP program. Following
successful completion of his second year of vicarage and course work,
the SMP student may be certified by the seminary faculty as eligible
to receive a call to serve as an SMP. Following call and ordination,
the SMP has two additional years of course work remaining in order
to complete the SMP formation program.