LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 109

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over the ages—to apply the unchanging message of the Gospel
to these differently framed questions. Because the spiritual
need of people does not change: Christ crucified and risen for
the forgiveness of sins.
Historically, Lutherans have placed a high priority on the
intellectual attainment of understanding the faith. And so
Lutheran pastors have been theologically formed from the
beginning in universities and seminaries. Yet, it should be
noted that this deep understanding of the faith was always seen
in the service of teaching the faithful and reaching the lost
through the clearest possible proclamation of the Gospel. My
own perspective is this: At its best it has used confessional
seminaries to form confessional pastors, which lead to

confessional Lutheran congregations and mission. And we as a
Synod need to commit ourselves to keep doing this with all
possible vigor and support, especially now as church bodies
throughout the world continue the cry out, “Come over … and
help us!” (Acts 16:9 ESV).
God has richly blessed the LCMS with two excellent and faithful
seminaries. Are they perfect? No—we live in the church
militant. Is there room for improvement? Yes—and both are
committed to the pursuit of excellence. Will there be
frustrations and joys as we move forward? Yes, and yes. It has
always been that way, and it always will be—until our Lord
returns. May it be soon. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20
ESV).

Our Residential Seminaries: Deep Pastoral Formation
and Worldwide Impact
Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, President Thomas J. Egger
68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod • August 1, 2023
The seminaries enjoy a good partnership as we work together
to form pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, scholars—in
service to the LCMS and to her church partners around the
world.
Dr. Rast offered us historical reflections. I’m going to build on
his fine presentation to explain why we continue to invest in,
and emphasize the value of, full-time residential study at our
seminaries as the optimal way of forming pastors for a lifetime
of “preaching Christ crucified.”
The church always faces new challenges to this mission,
encounters new possibilities, and develops new approaches—
including new ideas for raising up and forming servants for the
church. Dr. Rast reflected on some innovation and adaptation
from our seminaries’ pasts. In recent decades, we have
developed the Specific Ministry Pastor Program, SMP Español
and the Center for Hispanic Studies, the Ethnic Immigrant
Institute of Theology, and the Cross-Cultural Ministry Center.
We thank God for the servants formed through these programs.
As we continue to generate and evaluate new proposals and
new ideas, we must remind ourselves of the enormous
blessings that have come to us from our Missouri Synod
heritage of deep scriptural and theological preparation for
ministry. And we must recommit ourselves, continually, to
build upon and never to forfeit this commitment.

of all Lutheran theology. First, that we give to Christ the full
glory due Him for all He has done in saving sinners. Second, that
we deliver the full comfort of His saving work to sinners, that they
might place their full hope in the crucified and risen Jesus
Christ. 1
In the brief time I have this morning, I want to highlight some
of the crucial strengths, benefits, and reasons that full-time
residential study at our seminaries must remain our main
program of pastoral preparation in the LCMS.
Full-time residency, however, is somewhat out of fashion
today, at least in some education circles. Quick, online-only,
competency-based education models are the latest trend. Last
summer, I heard a presentation by Paul LeBlanc, the president
of Southern New Hampshire University, one of the fastest
growing universities in the world with over 170,000 online
students. LeBlanc advocates primarily online competencybased education. In making his case, LeBlanc gives the example
of a single mother, with a full-time job, who was able to get her
bachelor’s degree through his university in less than one year. 2
That sounds great, doesn’t it? And maybe it is for certain
degrees and fields of study.
But the learning and the growth needed for the shaping of a
person who will proclaim the Word of God and care for human
souls takes time.

The emphasis on deep scriptural and theological preparation
for ministry is not naïve nostalgia. This emphasis does not
spring from institutional protectionism, from lazy inertia, from
fear of change, or from blindness to the pressing need for new
pastors. Rather, this emphasis arises from the two great goals

C.F.W. Walther, the first president of Concordia Seminary, once
described the seminary in this way: “In this house,” Walther
declared, “neither the word of man nor the wit and wisdom of
man, but rather the Word of God and the entire Word of God,
and that which serves the elucidation and application of that

Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV:2.
LeBlanc presented at the Biennial Convention of the Association
of Theological Schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 22–23, 2022.
This example of a single working mother is given in Paul LeBlanc,

Students First: Equity, Access, and Opportunity in Higher Education
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Education Press, 2021), 27.

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Special Presentations

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 109