LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 425

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Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Task Force
The following is a description of the curricula developed and
employed by the seminaries in forming SMPs for service in the
LCMS, including a listing and brief description of the courses.
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Primary Assumptions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

8.
9.

SMP consists of two phases, two years occurring before ordination
and two years after ordination.
The courses are structured to transfer into our M.Div program if the
student should desire to do so.
Courses are ten weeks long with a two week break in between.
Four course sessions will be held per year of study, with one course
being a residential intensive. The first residential seminar will be an
extended seminar lasting two weeks or seven full days at the CTS
campus.
The focus of the program is Christological, pastoral, and missional.
The student will emerge with a sensitivity to the cultural context in
which they minister.
The program will at all points immerse the students in the world of
Scripture, including both isagogical material but emphasizing the text
itself.
The curriculum is integrated, each course being designed by a crossdepartmental team of faculty members.
There will be sufficient doctrinal input by the end of course #8 so that
the student will be able to take his ordination vows in clear conscience.

Observations about the Curriculum
1.

The curriculum includes five Biblical courses, grounding the student
in the Biblical narrative, especially the life of Christ:
a.	Two courses in the Gospels, focusing on life in Christ
b.	Two courses in the Old Testament, focusing on Christology
in the OT and its missiological implications
c.	One course in Paul’s epistles, focusing on Paul’s Christology and Missiology
2. The curriculum includes five systematic courses:
a.	Two courses in Lutheran Confessions, focusing on the Lutheran dogmatic tradition
b.	A course on Baptism and another on the Lord’s Supper, focusing on how theology and missiology are realized in the
pastoral acts
c.	A course on the Holy Trinity, focusing on Christ, sent by the
Father, who justifies the sinner and who is incorporated into
the body of Christ by the Spirit for mission
3. The curriculum includes five pastoral courses:
a.	Three courses that involve the student in the pastoral acts of
leading worship, preaching, and teaching
b.	Two courses that focus on the integration of pastoral theology and missions
4. The curriculum includes one historical course on the Church and
how its history has shaped the Lutheran Church from a missiological
perspective
Pre-ordination Courses
1. Confessing Christ in Today’s World
As the first course in the SMP curriculum, the student learns how the
pastor brings people into communion with Jesus Christ. The mission of
the Triune God, how God transmitted his mission to humanity in many
diverse ways, is a persistent theme in the Old and New Testaments. This
course will lay out biblical and theological principles for pursuing the
task of bringing the Gospel to the world in varying contexts, especially
emerging mission challenges and opportunities for parishes and their
pastors.
Exploring the work of pastors through the centuries as stewards of
the mysteries of God and physicians of the soul, the student learns how
the center of the mission of the Church is Christ with his gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation, and how Christ cares for souls through the

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pastor in teaching the faith, pastoral counsel, individual confession and
absolution, prayer and blessing for the unique circumstances of contemporary Christians.
2. Pastoral and Missional Theology in Luke and Acts
The Church is founded on Jesus Christ, so the study of the centrality of Jesus Christ in the revelation of God in the Gospel of Luke and
the significance of the mission of the apostles in the Book of Acts is a
foundational course for the entire theological curriculum of SMP. Significant teachings from Luke-Acts such as the Nature of the Scriptures,
Interpretation of the Old Testament, the Identity of Christ, the Kingdom
of God, the Trinity and Baptism, the Apostolic Mission and Ministry,
the Return of Christ, the Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ Death as Atonement and
the Resurrection will be examined.
This course will closely examine the teaching and preaching of Jesus in the Gospel, the sermons of the apostles in Acts, the sacramental
theology in Luke-Acts, and the missional and diakonal ministry of the
early Christians. Since Luke is the only Gospel with a companion work
describing the life of the Church, themes unique to Luke will be emphasized. A number of pastoral models from Luke-Acts will be analyzed in
view of pastoral care today. Faithful interpretation of the Gospel of Luke
for preaching and teaching will be modeled in lectures and mentored in
exegetical groups.
3. The Lutheran Confessions: Introduction and Overview*
The study of the Book of Concord will examine the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, the Small and Large Catechisms, the Smalcald
Articles, the Treatise, and the Formula of Concord. Emphasis will be on
the basic teachings and issues which define the theology of the Lutheran
Church in its historic context and in today’s world.
*Students will read the entire Book of Concord during the first two
years.
4. Preaching the Faith
The identity of the pastor is defined by his proclamation of Word of
God, the living voice of Jesus. This course engages the student in the
basic principles of sermon construction and writing. Special attention
is given to missional sermons from the Gospels in the context of the
lectionary and liturgy of the day.
5. Heaven on Earth: The Worship of Lutherans Today
The pastor serves his people with the gifts that come from Christ’s
presence. This course introduces the student to the theology and practice
of Lutheran liturgy. This course will acquaint the student with the biblical and confessional foundations of the Lutheran liturgy, the structure
and components of the Divine Service and the daily office in Lutheran
Service Book, and provide him with opportunity to develop skills as
a servant of the liturgy. Time will be spent in helping the student plan
creative worship with special attention to the central motifs of the Christian calendar and the Church’s hymnody. Attention will be given to the
history and theology of the Church year and Christian hymnody from
biblical times, as well as the great treasury of contemporary hymnody.
6. The Books of Moses—The Beginning and the New Beginning
After an introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament,
major portions of Genesis will be studied because of its foundational
role in all theology and the mission of the Church. Creation, Marriage,
the Fall into Sin, the Promise of Salvation, the Presence of the Son with
the Patriarchs, and other biblical themes in Genesis will be examined.
Commentaries, sermons, liturgies and hymnody from the history of the
Church that deals with Genesis will also be considered.
Portions of Exodus through Deuteronomy will be studied because
of their foundational role for the history of Israel and all theology. The
Exodus, the Law, the Presence of the Son, the Tabernacle, Worship,
Sacrifices, Purity, Forgiveness and other biblical themes in Exodus–
Deuteronomy will be examined. Commentaries, sermons, liturgies and
hymnody from the history of the Church that addresses Exodus through
Deuteronomy will also be considered. Integration of the narratives of
Genesis through Deuteronomy and teachings in the missional life of the
Church today will be accented.
7. Baptism: Life in Christ
Baptism is the constituting sacrament of the Church’s life that joins
us to to Christ and his endless life as well as to Christians of every

2013 Convention Workbook