LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 108

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

108 SEMINARY ISSUES

While graduates of the Synod’s colleges and seminaries were
accepted into graduate studies before these institutions were
accredited, admission from an unaccredited school into grad-
uate study is becoming increasingly difficult.

Another important consideration is the fact that our sys-
tem of Christian elementary and secondary schools would
be jeopardized by the loss of accreditation by synodical col-
leges, particularly the synodical colleges which prepare
teachers. Many states accept the credentials of a teacher
who has been trained outside that state only if the institu-
tion from which he or she has been graduated is accredited
by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher
Education (NCATE). All three of the Synod’s 4-year col-
leges which prepare teachers are NCATE-accredited. One
prerequisite for NCATE accreditation is regional accredita-
tion. so that if these colleges were to lose their regional
accreditation. they would forfeit accreditation by NCATE,
and their graduates would find it difficult to teach in states
other than those in which the colleges themselves are lo-
cated.

Still another important consideration is a financial one.
Federal. state. foundation and other grants which are made
to accredited institutions are usually unavailable to those
which are unaccredited. Not the least of these grants are
those which are made to students themselves,

Especially for these reasons the Task Force is convinced
of the value of accreditation to the educational institutions
of the Synod. It urges that there be no downgrading or de-
preciation of accreditation. The Synod needs to make every
effort to maintain the present status of its institutions of
higher education so long as its doctrinal position and free-
dom of action are not compromised.

Il. Reviewing the Seminary’s Probation

The Task Force spent much time in carefully reviewing
the report of the Special Visiting Team to Concordia Sem-
inary, St. Louis, March 16 and 17, 1972. The visit was con-
ducted by a Committee of the Commission on Accrediting
of the AATS in the U.S. and Canada. The team consisted
of President C. Benton Klirs: Jr. and Dean Allen W. Graves.
Dr. Jesse Ziegler supplied a copy of the report to President
Preus at his request. This report was forwarded by Presi-
dent Preus to the members of the Special Task Force.

The Task Force believes that the Visiting Team’s on-site
review and written report were based on several misinter-
pretations and the omission of certain salient facts. It also
believes that the imposition of probation on Concordia Sem-
inary by the Commission on Accrediting — an action which
exceeded the Visiting Team's own recommendation of re-
imposition of prior notations — is the result of a number
of misunderstandings. Important among these is that of
the Synod’s ecclesiastical polity and its assignment of re-
sponsibilities for academic governance and educational su-
pervision of its system of higher education to the local
Boards of Control, the Board for Higher Education, and the
President of the Synod.

It is the judgment of the Special Task Force that the
action of the Commission on Accrediting of the AATS in
placing Concordia Seminary, St.Louis, on probation was
unjustified and that the AATS has gone beyond its own
requirements. It seems evident that the Commission an Ac-
crediting does not comprehend in depth our synodical con-
cept of Church-owned. controlled, and operated seminaries
and does not fully understand the educational philosophy of
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod. The concept of a
common emphasis on education and missions, for instance,
in which the church's educational program is regarded as
part of its mission out-thrust in preparing men to go to the
far corners of the earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
appears to be a unique and unusual one, at least to the mem-~
bers of the committee with whom the Task Force subcom-
mittee met.

The AATS states that it is not concerned with the doc-
trinal position of a seminary or supporting church body.
It states that, as an accrediting agency, it is concerned with
governance, and that its action in placing Concordia Sem-
inary on probation was due to the fact that doctrinal super-
vision was exercised not by the Board of Control, but di-
rectly by the synodical President and by the Board for
Higher Education.

Yet the Task Force believes it is difficult to separate doc-

trinal matters from governance, namely, the ways in which
a church body seeks to maintain its doctrinal position and
its loyalty to the Scriptures and to the Confessions. More-
over the Task Force does not believe that a synodical sem~
inary can be completely autonomous. Indeed, the AATS
recognizes that autonomy must be relative since its stan-
dards for accrediting provide that the “governing board shall
be accountable to the constituencies of the school” (Bulletin
29, p.12). The Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod has al-
ways shown great concern for doctrine and loyalty to the
Seriptures and to the Confessions, as well as for Christian
living. and its reputation for showing such concern is known
throughout the world. Because of this concern, it has set
up a system of checks and balances in its governance. Some
responsibilities for doctrine and administration are assigned,
not only to the local Board of Control, but also to the syn-
odical President and to the District President as his repre-
sentative, and to the Board for Higher Education. It is for
this latter reason — because doctrinal supervision and su-
pervision of administration are exercised through the Board
of Control and through the Board for Higher Education and
the synodical President — that the AATS has censured Con-
cordia Seminary, St.Louis. The church, indeed, holds the
local Board of Control responsible as its agent in governing
the seminary, but it has also assigned overall responsibility
for coordination of its system of higher education to the
Board for Higher Education: has assigned fiscal responsibility
in the broad sense of the word to the Synodical Board of
Directors; and has given to the synodical President specific
responsibilities for supervising the doctrine of all members
of the Synod (congregations. pastors, and teachers) and the
administration of all officers of the Synod. The AATS seems
to regard these ecclesiastical structures as not guaranteeing
adequate authority to the Board of Control.

The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally shared the
concern of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod for the
doctrine taught at church-supported seminaries. It is worth
noting that a number of these have been accredited by the
AATS, even though a majority of the members of the Boards
of Trustees are appointed by the hierarchy or serve ex officio
because of their position in the hierarchy.!

The checks and balances system in The Lutheran Church
— Missouri Synod with only one board member appointed
directly by the President of Synod makes the synodical pres-
ident in reality much less a factor in the day-to-day opera-
tions of the seminary than is the case with members of the
hierarchy appointed to the governing bodies of Roman Cath-
olic seminaries. This system protects against interference in
the life of the seminary by the synodical President except
in areas in which the Synod has assigned him specific duties
and responsibilities.

In the report of the Special Visiting Team, it is rather
striking that the Special Visiting Team interviewed neither
a member of the Board for Higher Education nor a member
of its staff. This is especially noteworthy in view of the fact
that the action of the Board for Higher Education in declin-
ing to consent to the appointment of Dr. Arlis Ehlen seems
to have been a major factor in the action of the Commission
on Accrediting. It is possible that at the time of the special
visit the Visiting Team did not feel any concern for the role
of the Board for Higher Education; yet, the prior notations
on Concordia Seminary, St.Louis, and Concordia Theolog-
ical Seminary, Springfield. appear to have involved largely
the role of the Synod's Board for Higher Education. It would
seem that an interview with the Board for Higher Education
and its staff might have helped the Commission on Accredit-
ing better understand the action and thinking of the Board
for Higher Education.

There are many statements in the report of the Special
Visiting Team that may be misunderstood or have implica-
tions that are erroneous: this may well be due, to a degree,
to the necessary brevity of the report. The report of the

1 For instance. the Board of Directors of Kenrick Seminary,
St. Louis, accredited by AATS in January 1973, consists of the
Archbishop of St. Louis, the Vicar General and the Chancellor of
the Archdiocese of St. Louis and other members elected by the ex
officio members, in accordance with the Bylaws. Similar arrange-
ments exist at St.John University and School of Divinity in Col-
legeville, Minn., accredited in 1970: at Mount St. Alphonsus Sem-
inary, Esopus, N. Y., accredited in 1972: and St. Thomas Seminary,
Denver, Colo., accredited in 1970.