Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1941 · 38th Convention, Fort Wayne › Page 98
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1941, Page 98

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

98 Report of Board for Higher Education

of our seminaries and normal schools and is in a position to report
the following:

1. The courses in St. Louis and Springfield and those in River
Forest and Seward are being amplified and intensified to include
training in the essential areas of religious education as carried on
in the Church today. Opportunities are likewise provided for
practical mission-work, for observation and instruction of various
types of classes, and for the study of desirable methods and
procedures.

2. Congregations desiring the services of trained educators
may apply to either of the seminaries or to the normal schools with
the expectation that such persons are available, or they may find
the required talent among the graduates now serving in the field.

3. For the sake of convenience and economy, congregations
have become accustomed to combine the office of parish~school
teacher with that of organist and choirmaster, and it appears that
in many cases the director of religious education will likewise be
expected to serve as director of music, In the light of this even-
tuality our teachers’ colleges have placed renewed emphasis on
music requirements for the development of that versatility of talent
which seeks to combine in one person the virtues of an educator,
an organist, and a choirmaster.

4, Whether a candidate with a predominantly theological back-
ground or one with a specialized pedagogical training shall be called
will depend upon the conditions and circumstances existing in the
local congregation and its community. Whether such a person
shall be called as a teacher, assistant pastor, parish assistant or
educational director is likewise to be determined by the needs
of the congregation and the type of service required.

5. The designations “director of religious education,” “director
of Christian education,” and “educational director” are conventional
terms, which must not suggest a new position or office in the
Lutheran Church. The functions implied in the term include every
form of service whereby the Word of God is applied for the spiritual
nurture of the children, the youth, and the adult members of a
Christian congregation. Strictly speaking, the pastor is officially
the director of Christian education in his congregation, although
for the sake of convenience one of his assistants may be termed
“educational director” or whatever designation his duties may
suggest. Qualified persons duly called to perform such work
would fill positions similar to those of parochial-school teachers or
assistant pastors and would be officially recognized as such.
As members of Synod they would assume the same obligations and
be accorded the same privileges as pastors and teachers. Similarly
they would be subject to the same requirements for eligibility,