LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 68

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OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

68
R13.3

Report R13.3
Report on Unapproved Programs Preparing for the Office of the Holy
Ministry (Pastoral Formation Committee, 2023 Res. 6-03A)
LCMS Bylaws on Placement, Ordination, Commissioning—Why?
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both
yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim. 4:16)
At the conclusion of the “Preface” to the Christian Book of Concord of 1580, the confessors enumerate
four chief motivations in drawing together and drafting the Book of Concord:
•
•
•
•

the extension of God’s name and glory;
the propagation of His Word, from which we hope for salvation;
the peace and tranquility of churches and schools; and
the instruction and consolation of disturbed consciences. (Preface, 22) 1

For these reasons also The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was formed and still exists, as Article III,
“Objectives,” of the constitution of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod attests. Enumerated among
those objectives is also the recruitment and training of pastors. The bylaws of Synod reserve for the two
seminaries of Synod, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), and Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort
Wayne (CTSFW), the duty, to the exclusion of other seminaries, to recruit, educate, form and train the
pastors of Synod (Bylaws 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.13.1, 3.10.5.7.10(h)).
Why?
In the cultivation of a pastorate fit for the high calling of serving the congregations of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod, the Synod has developed a handful of critical mechanisms to ensure two
things:
•
•

that the promise extended by the pastor at ordination can be knowledgeably, faithfully and
conscientiously kept;
that the congregation’s expectation of the pastor’s fidelity can be met.

The pastor’s promise is to “perform the duties of [his] office in accordance with [the Lutheran]
Confessions, and that all [his] preaching and teaching and [his] administration of the Sacraments will be
in conformity with Holy Scripture and with these Confessions.” 2 In the boilerplate language supplied by
the Commission on Constitutional Matters and typically encoded in a congregation’s constitution as
Article 2 or 3, the “Confessional Standard,” the congregation expresses its expectation of the standard to
which the pastor will conduct his ministry when it says: “This congregation accepts without reservation:
3.1 The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as the written Word of God and the only rule and
norm of faith and practice. 3.2 All the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and
Unless otherwise noted, references to the Book of Concord are from Paul T. McCain et al., eds., Concordia: The
Lutheran Confessions, 2nd ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005).
“Rite of Ordination” and “Rite of the Installation of a Pastor,” in Lutheran Service Book Agenda (St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 166, 179.

unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, to wit: the three Ecumenical Creeds (the
Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed), the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Large Catechism of Luther, the Small
Catechism of Luther, and the Formula of Concord.” 3 One might express the matter this way: LCMS
pastors for LCMS parishes; LCMS parishes for LCMS pastors.
Apart from that understanding and the practice that follows from it, the doctrinal fidelity of the member
congregations and pastors of the Synod is wantonly and carelessly placed at risk. Indeed, as one sadly
witnesses all too often, it fails. Such failure is a matter of both temporal and eternal consequence. No
one is saved by his orthodoxy, but a right faith in Jesus cannot be long maintained under a false
confession.
Why This is Vitally Important
In the temporal realm, this failure violates the congregation’s and pastor’s obligation to proclaim the
whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), to abide by the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2.42) and “not [to]
speak or write anything contrary to this Confession, either publicly or privately” (FC SD XII 40). It also
violates the congregation’s right, as baptized children of God, to receive the unadulterated teaching,
witness and confession of the Holy Scriptures. 4 For their failure to preach this Word, the Lord Jesus
upbraids the Pharisees who corrupt His Word when He calls them sheep-killers and opposes them (John
10). It also causes division (Rom. 16:17) thereby constituting a breach of love (1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:3-16).
Eternally, the consequences are dire. Paul warns the Galatians that a little leaven leavens the whole lump
(Gal. 5:9), that the message of the “Christian” Judaizers is a “different Gospel” that cannot be called
another, equal Gospel (ἕτερον εὐαγγέλιον, ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλο, [Gal. 1.6–7]). It is “the truth” — the Lord’s
Word — that sets free from sin, death and the power of the devil (John 8:31–32), not just a part of it or
that truth mixed with error.
Heeding the imperative to keep love and a true confession of Jesus Christ, for the sake of both the saints
and the lost, the LCMS has insisted that the formation of our pastors not be left to others who ignore,
despise or eschew the truth or mix it with falsehood, but that, for the sake of both the ministry and
mission of the LCMS, this formation be committed to the LCMS’ seminaries — Concordia Theological
Seminary, Fort Wayne, and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (Bylaws 2.71., 2.8.1 (a), (c), 2.8.3 (a)). Indeed,
to ensure the fidelity of the theological education and pastoral formation, the LCMS further requires that
all faculty members staffed to the two seminaries receive prior approval. The prior approval committee
consists of nationally elected representatives, to wit, “the President of the Synod (or his designee), the
chairman of the Council of Presidents (or his designee), and the chairman of the Board for National
Mission (or his designee).” It may grant prior approval for a man to be called to the faculty of a seminary
only on the basis of “a thorough theological review” of the man and his work (Bylaw 3.10.5.7.3 (a)).
While clergy from other denominations who later in life discover their agreement with the teaching and
confession of the LCMS may be admitted into membership in the Synod and serve parishes in our Synod
through our colloquy program (Bylaw 3.10.2), the Synod, for good and self-evident reasons, does not
admit to the roster men from LCMS congregations who have chosen (a) not to seek a theological
education and pastoral formation from one of the two LCMS seminaries and instead (b) to seek a

1
2

Commission on Constitutional Matters, “Guidelines for Constitutions and Bylaws of Lutheran Congregations,” rev.
2012, 4–5.
“Wherever the Church is, there is the authority [right] to administer the Gospel” (Tr 67).

3
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theological education and pastoral formation from a seminary lacking the guarantees of fidelity provided
by the bylaws cited above or from a seminary that is heterodox in teaching or unionistic in practice.

1. Articulate how their life in Christ exhibits the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit as formed in their
Christian community and devoted to the glory of God the Father.
2. Demonstrate skillful exegesis through in-depth biblical study and awareness of methodological
frameworks.
3. Demonstrate effective cultural exegesis and awareness of cultural frameworks, empowering
them for effective, faithful, dynamic, and culturally appropriate communication of the Gospel.
4. Demonstrate a coherent Christian theological understanding and awareness of theological
frameworks, informing their life and ministry, including corporate worship of the Triune God.
5. Demonstrate appreciation and critical awareness of their own and other Christian traditions as
implemented in strategies for ministry.
6. Articulate their understanding of Christian ethics and demonstrate how it informs daily living and
their philosophy of leadership.
7. Demonstrate competent care and collaborative leadership informed by integrative reflection, an
understanding of human and organizational systems, and emotional-relational intelligence.
8. Demonstrate competence in the integration of knowledge, character, and ability specific to their
ministry context.
9. Articulate and engage their vocation in a mentored life, intentional Christian community, and
whole-life stewardship.8

These two bylaw provisos — the exclusive use of pastors formed in Synod seminaries and prior approval
of seminary faculty members based upon thorough theological review — protect the right of
congregations to receive the ministration of the Gospel and the whole counsel of God in their midst and
the ability and freedom of the pastors to conduct their office in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and
the Lutheran Confessions. Without these two bylaw provisos, this right of congregations and this ability
and freedom of pastors are abrogated, and the truth of the Gospel, which alone creates saving faith, is
placed at risk.
Unauthorized Seminary Programs
Notwithstanding our Synod’s agreement described above, two extra-synodical routes to earning the
M.Div. have gained attention in the LCMS: a cooperative between Unite Leadership Collective (ULC) and
Luther House of Study (LHOS) and, more recently, the establishment of The Center for Missional and
Pastoral Leadership through the Center (thecenter.info) within the Institute of Lutheran Theology’s Christ
School of Theology (cst.ilt.edu/cmpl/).
Since at least 2020, the Rev. Dr. Tim Ahlman, along with his congregation Christ Lutheran Greenfield and
the ULC, an organization dedicated to “connecting the dots between theology, ministry, and leadership
to empower you to spread the Gospel in explosive ways,” 5 has been running what Ahlman on his
podcasts, Lead Time and the Tim Ahlman Podcast, has repeatedly referred to as an “experiment.” This
experiment consists of enrolling students from Christ Lutheran Greenfield and numerous other LCMS
congregations in LHOS to receive a degree from Kairos University, a completely online program for
theological study. Students may enroll in an M.A. in counseling or an M.Div.
In addition, in February 2025 at the pre-conference in Phoenix, Ariz., for Best Practices in Ministry, the
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Kloha announced a new initiative through the Institute of Lutheran Theology (ILT) to
create an online-only M.Div. program known as the Center for Missional and Pastoral Leadership (CMPL).
Earlier, less public, announcements of the launch of CMPL were made by Tim Ahlman and Jeff Kloha at
the Large Church Network Conference in San Diego on Jan. 24–25, 2025, and on Facebook on Feb. 7,
2025, respectively. 6 The program confers M.A., M.M., and M.Div. degrees.

Luther House of Study
The LHOS curriculum is readily available. What follows is an analysis of that curriculum.

Overall Structure
The LHOS curriculum, since its accreditation is through Kairos University, is characterized foremost as
being “contextual” and “competency based.” 7
Competencies
The competencies outlined by the Kairos model consist of the following:

Mentorship
Each student in the Kairos/LHOS program is assigned three mentors, who accompany the student all the
way through his or her education: an LHOS faculty mentor, a vocational mentor and a personal mentor. 10
Students must demonstrate their nine-fold competency to these three mentors. 11
Distance education modules
Aside from their interactions with their vocational and personal mentors, students’ academic work
consists of readings, written assignments and online modules. On average, 60–70% of the learning
directed toward gaining a competency is not achieved synchronously, and the ratio of synchronous to
asynchronous work varies greatly. Asynchronous elements require students to watch pre-recorded
lectures, for example; synchronous elements are conducted via Zoom or other similar platforms. Because
of the flexibility allowed by the preponderance of asynchronous learning modules, there is no specific
curricular schedule to which students must adhere: Students thus pay a $300 monthly fee for access to
the curriculum and may take as short or as long as they wish. 12

Faculty
“Luther House of Study Curriculum Master of Divinity Kairos 9.0,”
docs.google.com/document/d/1e8okNL2DW1G0ZA9fLHIqgr6FMQKVEVJqWrX3dbevIUk/edit?tab=t.0, accessed Feb.
9, 2026.
9
Zoom meeting between J.S. Bruss and Chris Croghan on Jan. 2, 2025.
10
“Master of Divinity,” kairos.edu/academics/programs/master-of-divinity/, accessed Feb. 9, 2026.
11
Zoom meeting between J.S. Bruss and Chris Croghan on Jan. 2, 2025.
12
“Students,” lutherhouseofstudy.org/students/, accessed Feb. 9, 2026.
8

“Get Started,” uniteleadership.org, accessed Feb. 9, 2026.
6
Source of January 22–24 announcement, Ron Mudge, CSL Provost, who was in attendance at the Large Church
Network Conference; the Feb. 7, 2025, announcement is found at facebook.com/watch/?v=2010013649497735.
Accessed Feb. 9, 2026.
7
kairos.edu/academics/programs/master-of-divinity, accessed on Feb. 9, 2026.
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2026 Convention Workbook

Chris Croghan, the academic director of LHOS, has indicated that as he and his team at LHOS were
developing their curriculum in conjunction with Kairos, he advocated for competencies broad enough to
allow for the “Lutheran emphasis” that LHOS sought to have in its curriculum. 9 The same set of
competencies are thus used not only by Lutherans, but by a broad mix of differing confessions.

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