FROM THE
One of the greatest joys of my service at CTSFW is teaching class after class of young men and women who desire to serve the Lord. Over the course of each quarter, I have the opportunity to see individual epiphanies as students discover something new and begin to understand how the Lord was working in and through that situation. I am there to help guide discussion as we apply lessons from the past to what we are experiencing today. Invariably I leave the classroom feeling invigorated by the students’ interest and enthusiasm and find that I have learned something new myself from the interaction.
That’s because teaching is not a download of information. Teaching is a give and take. It’s participatory. And at CTSFW, it isn’t limited to the classroom. This is how I have explained it in our Academic Catalog:
In contrast to a world that reduces life to a series of discrete moments of consumption, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), offers a rationale for a life of true community, one characterized by cohesiveness in classroom and community. CTSFW’s curriculum is a theological construct, a way of articulating a theological vision, and a way of thought that determines life. That theological vision embraces a hermeneutic, an epistemology, a way of knowing God as He truly reveals Himself—incarnationally, sacramentally, and christologically. The incarnate Christ is the knowledge of God, the crucified Jesus shows us the very nature of God.
A curriculum is more than a collection of courses in academically independent disciplines. The center of all our endeavors is the crucified, risen, and ascended Christ who has taken away our sins through His blood and remains really present with us through Word and Sacrament. Theology, then, and by extension CTSFW’s curriculum, seamlessly joins the highest level of academic preparation with pastoral formation. For the content of academic theology is more than information. It goes well beyond the mere form of propositional truth— it is lived reality in fellowship with the Holy Trinity. Theology ultimately fails in its purpose if it ceases to be pastoral in the sense of providing the Church with essential and saving norms. Rather, theology is life. It is the story of God at work in human history to redeem a lost and sinful people.
Our mission and reason to exist is to form servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all. Out of love and concern for the faithful members of their congregations and those in their communities who have yet to know Christ, our graduates will:
@ Know the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions and have a deep appreciation for the Church and its manifestations throughout history.
@ Commit themselves to live lives faithful to the Scriptures, the witness of the early Church (as expressed in the three ecumenical creeds), and the Lutheran Confessions.
@ Catechize the people of God so that they are able to testify to the hope that is within them.
I encourage you to take full advantage of the Bible classes in your home congregations. Learn and grow alongside one another. Consider coming to the Seminary and participating in one of our conferences. Maybe our Lord is calling you to be one of those who will teach the faithful. Get in touch with us. We would love to start that conversation with you.
In Christ, Lawrence R. Rast Jr. President
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), mailed its 2023 wall calendar to CTSFW alumni and congregations of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod at the beginning of December. A limited number of additional copies are available to individuals and congregations. Special features include: @ Three-Year and One-Year Lectionary @ Church Seasonal Colors (Advent to Advent) @ Feasts and Festivals @ CTSFW Campus Events @ CTSFW Academic Calendar
To request your calendar(s), please contact Colleen Bartzsch at (260) 452-2150 or Colleen.Bartzsch@ctsfw.edu. There is an $8.25 mailing charge for quantities of two to 10 calendars.
Kramer Chapel towers above every other building on campus, but it’s not just the building that towers over these 190 acres. Given that it is within these chapel walls that God comes among the students, faculty, and staff— not to mention the constant stream of visitors—to nourish them with His life-giving gifts, the worship life of the Seminary community extends well beyond the brief time it occupies in our day. Indeed, through subtle ways it shapes everything we do.
At their ordination, our pastors subscribe—“sign on to”— the same Confessions that every single one of our LCMS congregations accepts. Our congregations, after all, are a place for proclaiming and living out the truth of God’s Word, not for trying to discover or reinvent it. Our CTSFW graduates are well prepared to sign on to those Confessions, and to “teach the faithful” accordingly.
10 Forming
For the Life of the World is published by Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 6600 N. Clinton St., Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the Editor of For the Life of the World by email at FLOW@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-3153. Copyright 2022. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Berne, Indiana.
For the Life of the World is mailed to all pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the United States and Canada and to anyone interested in the work of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture verses are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
through
Community Gifford Grobien Community life at CTSFW is rich, participatory, and formative: worship and prayer together; the shared communion of Christ’s body and blood; mutual conversation and learning; mentoring and material support. In all these ways the community is built up, and members of Christ’s body serve one another. By this way of life students learn not just facts to be communicated, but the shared joys, support, knowledge, and love that come in life together. Also in this Issue: Able to Teach
Date: September 21, 2022
Time: Approximately 9:25 a.m. (EDT)
Location: Kramer Chapel on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
“…for You have mightily governed and protected Your holy Church, in which the blessed apostles and evangelists proclaimed Your divine and saving Gospel. Therefore with patriarchs and prophets, apostles and evangelists, with Your servant Matthew, and with all the company of heaven…”
So it was that the Seminary community gathered in the one place on campus for which no one ever has to ask directions in order to commemorate St. Matthew, an apostle and evangelist of the Lord Jesus. In many ways, it was no different than any other chapel service, except for the fact that the majority of those in attendance, the 120 or so pastoral formation students on campus this past fall, desire to do precisely that which St. Matthew did so long ago: proclaim God’s “divine and saving Gospel.”
Any visitor to the campus of CTSFW knows that Kramer Chapel is located at the center of the campus and towers above every other building. But it’s not just the building that towers over these 190 acres. Given that it is within these chapel walls that God comes among the students, faculty, and staff—not to mention the constant stream of visitors— to nourish them with His life-giving gifts, the worship life of the Seminary community extends well beyond the brief time that it occupies in our day. Indeed, through subtle ways it shapes everything we do.
Consider, for example, our regular praying of Morning Prayer and Matins each week or our constant use of Responsive Prayer. Seldom do we need to open the hymnal to any of these services; over weeks and months of repeated use, the texts and melodies become a part of us. Actually, it’s we who become a part of these services, as the words, which come quickly to mind, gently “school” us in the deeper truths
of God’s saving deeds. When we sing week after week, for example, that God has “visited and redeemed His people,” as we do in the Benedictus, we are led to remember and hold fast to the central truth of the Church’s proclamation. Or when we are invited to join in the Sanctus in the Divine Service with that familiar close to the Preface—“therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven”—we take up ancient words of the Church that confess a reality that our mortal eyes cannot see. Without even realizing it, our hearts and minds are formed to see that time and eternity are joined together and that in this moment our voices are one with that grand company of heaven.
The formation of our students extends beyond the normal participation in the services. All Master of Divinity and Alternate Route students are encouraged to lead a service from time to time, not only at the main service each morning, but at 10 other services that are held in the early morning or evening hours.
Any visitor to the campus of CTSFW knows that Kramer Chapel is located at the center of the campus and towers above every other building. But it’s not just the building that towers over these 190 acres. Given that it is within these chapel walls that God comes among the students, faculty, and staff—not to mention the constant stream of visitors—to nourish them with His life-giving gifts, the worship life of the Seminary community extends well beyond the brief time that it occupies in our day. Indeed, through subtle ways it shapes everything we do.
When we sing week after week, for example, that God has “visited and redeemed His people,” as we do in the Benedictus, we are led to remember and hold fast to the central truth of the Church’s proclamation. Or when we are invited to join in the Sanctus in the Divine Service with that familiar close to the Preface—“therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven”—we take up ancient words of the Church that confess a reality that our mortal eyes cannot see.
These opportunities, coupled with even more frequent experiences in the students’ fieldwork and vicarage congregations, help to mold our future pastors as confident worship leaders.
There’s still more! We encourage all of our students to participate in the special music-making in Kramer Chapel in order to bring about what J. S. Bach called centuries ago a “wellregulated” church music. For some, that comes in the form of instrumental music—everything from trumpets and trombones to flute and saxophone, to violins and timpani, and even, on occasion, the marimba!
But not everyone comes to Seminary with such abilities. They can, however, sing! And so they receive the encouragement—sometimes a gentle nudge—to participate in one of our choirs. Beyond the opportunity to become acquainted with and carry on the rich musical tradition of the Church, they also gain helpful insights into the complexity of what church musicians deal with all the time: the planning, the rehearsals, even the unexpected surprises. They probably don’t realize that such experiences are also formational. What better way might there be, however, to give them a little insight into the effort the musicians in their future parishes go through week after week as they work hard to enrich the services in those congregations than to experience it for themselves?
A few weeks after that September 21 celebration of the apostle and evangelist
St. Matthew, we gathered again around the altar to return our thanks and praise for the Lord’s abundant blessings with another familiar phrase that took us to “school” on that day: “It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” The Holy Gospel for that occasion was the account of the Samaritan leper who returned to Jesus to give Him thanks for his healing (Luke 17:11–17). We know that story well, but how often does it occur to us that week after week as the pastor invites us with the words, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” that it is we who are actually taking up the thanksgiving of that leper? Having been made whole by the words of the Absolution and washed clean with the precious Gospel in the preaching of Christ, we, like that leper, cannot help but give our Lord thanks. It is, after all, the fitting and right thing to do. And all that with words and phrases that we know like the back of our hand.
Thus it is that our students—the Church’s future servants—are formed for a life of service in Christ’s name.
The Rev. Dr. Paul J. Grime (Paul.Grime@ctsfw.edu) is Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, Vice President of Spiritual Formation, and Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Jon S. Bruss
The Holy Christian Church has always distilled the entire teaching of the Scriptures—the norm by which all teaching must be normed—into brief form, often to establish, or at least assert, truth against error.
All confessions that accurately reproduce the teaching of Scripture, including Peter’s, have a value that far exceeds their length. Their power isn’t in “their many words,” but in their conciseness. They are a guide for teaching and a guide for discerning truth and falsehood. Whoever has them is blessed. Whoever does not must reinvent his faith every day.
This follows the example of Scripture itself, as we see in the conversation between Jesus and His disciples at Caesarea Philippi in Matthew 16. There Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples offered various answers: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, other prophets.
Wrong!
Jesus then asked His disciples what their confession was. Peter spoke for the group: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”—the entire content of the Holy Scriptures boiled down to 10 words in English and Greek, maybe five in Aramaic (as I count it). Jesus pronounced a blessing over Peter for his response and revealed for all to hear that this confession was in fact θεόσδοτος (theosdotos)—given and revealed by God the heavenly Father Himself. Peter had spoken a “normed norm”—an utterance entirely in harmony with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures because it is drawn from the Holy Scriptures, and therefore given and revealed by God.
Indeed, this short truth—“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”—encapsulates the entire testimony of the Holy Scriptures. In it is wrapped up the first promise to Adam and Eve delivered in Satan’s curse, the promise to Noah, the promise to Abraham and to David, the promises in Isaiah of the Suffering Servant, and in Malachi of the “great and terrible day of the LORD.” It’s an identification of “Son of Man” and “Jesus” and “Son of Mary” and “Christ [Messiah]” and “Son of God,” all in one, and a denial that anyone else is any of those.
And it’s just 10 words.
Jesus calls Peter’s confession the rock on which He’ll build His church; the Christian must call it solid gold. It’s short enough to remember and packed enough to shape faith and give salvation. It’s concise enough not to be confusing, and broad enough to encompass everything said about Christ in the Holy Scriptures.
It’s simple enough that a child can say it and incisive enough that theologians can use it—and have used it!—to combat false teaching.
All confessions that accurately reproduce the teaching of Scripture, including Peter’s, have a value that far exceeds their length. Their power isn’t in “their many words,” but in their conciseness. They are a guide for teaching and a guide for discerning truth and falsehood. Whoever has them is blessed. Whoever does not must reinvent his faith every day.
And this is precisely the role our Lutheran Confessions play in the life of our church. At their ordination, our pastors subscribe—“sign on to”—the same Confessions that every single one of our LCMS congregations accepts, including the Apology, the Small and Large Catechisms of Luther, the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise, and the Formula of Concord. Our congregations, after all, are a place for proclaiming and living out the truth of God’s Word, not for trying to discover or reinvent it.
Our CTSFW graduates are well prepared to sign on to those Confessions, and to “teach the faithful” accordingly. In fact, every one of our MDiv graduates is required to take three courses, or nine credits, in the Lutheran Confessions. To give you a sense of how weighty a curricular commitment this is, one commonly used edition of the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is 660 pages long. That includes footnotes and brief introductions.
So let me break this down. On average, each of the three courses in the Confessions covers roughly 220 pages of material. Courses meet for 10 weeks. That means that roughly 22 pages of the Confessions are covered weekly. Or, to put it in terms of daily class (three times each week), it means that students read the Confessions at a rate of roughly seven pages per class meeting. Of course, this is supplemented by pointed secondary readings. But even those
secondary sources are in the service of making the most of such a pace.
What we’re after, after all, is not a glancing acquaintance with our Confessions, but a deep knowledge of them. The pace affords both instructors and students alike what should not be regarded as a luxury, but a necessity: the ability to engage in close reading, to understand the language and categories and arguments of our Confessions, their application to life in the church in 2022 and how they inform teaching, preaching, and practice, and above all,
Jesus then asked His disciples what their confession was. Peter spoke for the group: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”—the entire content of the Holy Scriptures boiled down to 10 words in English and Greek, maybe five in Aramaic (as I count it). Indeed, this short truth—“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”— encapsulates the entire testimony of the Holy Scriptures. In it is wrapped up the first promise to Adam and Eve delivered in Satan’s curse, the promise to Noah, the promise to Abraham and to David, the promises in Isaiah of the Suffering Servant, and in Malachi of the “great and terrible day of the LORD.”
the other, and a certain deafness toward the good develops.
So you can see, conversely, how the steady diet of our Lutheran Confessions at CTSFW is good eating, slowly digested. This approach yields pastors capable of discerning the important from the unimportant (1 Tim. 4:7) and truth from falsehood (1 John 4:1-6), able and ready to teach and preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) according to the pattern of sound words (2 Tim. 1:13), rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15), and holding forth Jesus Christ in all His redemptive glory as the Savior of sinners (1 Cor. 2:2).
That’s a good thing, because what the Holy Christian Church wants—what you want—is Jesus Christ and His gifts, pure and simple. You want them unadulterated by falsehood. And you want them taught and proclaimed with the clarity and vigor that comes from intimate familiarity.
In other words, you want your Lutheran pastor to be deeply formed by scriptural, Lutheran doctrine—not just as some sort of aesthetic nicety, but because what hangs in the balance is the pure teaching and preaching of the Gospel. And your salvation.
how they extol Jesus Christ and the redemption in His blood.
This exposure and pace have a huge formative impact. You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” It means that what goes in either helps or hinders your health. The same is true of reading. Spiritually and intellectually, you are what you read. Read poor material, and it will stultify your mind. Read bad theology, and you’ll turn into a bad theologian. Read good stuff but without real attention to what it means, and it’s in one ear and out
So think again about the ordination rite and the pastor’s unreserved acceptance of Scripture and the Confessions. At the end of the day, that's what the rite is all about: your salvation. And that’s why the Seminary works so diligently and pointedly to use the tools of our Lutheran Confessions to form pastors. The goal is to extol Christ and the true confession of His name, to God’s glory and the salvation of sinners. And a key way we do that at CTSFW is by sending forth pastors steeped in our confessional theology—pastors who “hold fast the pattern of sound words.”
The Rev. Dr. Jon S. Bruss (Jon.Bruss@ctsfw.edu) is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Christians get their understanding of community from the Greek word koinonia Koinonia is often translated “fellowship” but includes the richer meaning of “communion” or “sharing something in common.” This something is no thing, but a person, the man Jesus Christ. The most fundamental way in which this manifests is in the community gathering around the Word of God and the Holy Communion in regular chapel services. Multiple times each weekday, services are held, Scripture is read, the Word is taught, hymns are sung, and people pray.
Teaching is most compelling not only when the teacher informs you of something that he understands, but also when he lives and experiences what he teaches. When the teacher himself embraces the knowledge that he has, finds joy in it, and lives it out, his own passion for what he teaches is evident and brings his students along. His excitement is infectious, he experiences the benefits he talks about, and he grows even further in his understanding because of this experience. Future pastors and deaconesses at CTSFW become excellent teachers not only because of the information they learn in the classroom, but also because of the community life they share with professors, each other, and others in the Seminary community, thereby living out what they are learning and growing in the habits that they will teach and practice in their congregations.
Christians get their understanding of community from the Greek word koinonia. Koinonia is often translated “fellowship” but includes the richer meaning of “communion” or “sharing something in common.” This something is no thing, but a person, the man Jesus Christ. Fundamentally, Christians have a share in the man Jesus, and we are all His members (1 Cor. 12:13, 27). This fellowship extends through the catholic church throughout the world, yet also manifests itself in daily life in local Christian communities.
The most fundamental way in which this manifests is in the community gathering around the Word of God and Holy Communion in regular chapel services. Multiple times each weekday, services are held, Scripture is read, the Word is taught, hymns are sung, and people pray. At least weekly, the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, and the CTSFW
community shares together in eating and drinking the body and blood of Jesus. God’s Word is the heritage of the church; under it we submit ourselves, hearing it, being taught by it, our habits being formed by it. We meditate upon it, repeating it to ourselves in our hearts, contemplating Christ in the Word, and His redeeming and sanctifying work in our lives. His blood is that which forgives our sin, reconciles us to the Heavenly Father, and purifies us before Him. His body nourishes us and sustains us, such that as He died and rose again victorious over death, so we also die to sin and rise daily to walk in newness of life.
This sharing in Christ defines the rest of our community life. With Christ the source, center, and life of the CTSFW community, Christ orients, first of all, community prayer, study, and mutual learning together. Besides chapel prayer, students often gather for
The CTSFW community is a place for students to discuss material outside of class and to work together in study groups. Working through points from lectures or readings is a common occurrence at lunch tables. Faculty often join in these conversations, especially at lunch time, clarifying, directing, or simply encouraging the ongoing talk spilling over from the classroom. CTSFW is a place of community learning.
Beyond the financial benefits, the Co-op is intentionally a place for community interaction and support. Students are not anonymous, nameless customers, but part of a network of support. Many donors personally visit the Seminary to interact with students. Students, in turn, have opportunities to communicate with donors, to pray with them, and sometimes even visit their congregations.
prayer in dorm lounges in the evening or pray spontaneously with each other at social events, meals, or study sessions. Although away from their hometowns and, in many cases, not living with families, student life still offers a setting for domestic support of one another, beginning with the practice of prayer. Students are never alone, and they are able to share with one another joys, thanksgivings, burdens and sorrows, and to intercede for one another.
This spiritual life nourished by Christ’s body and Word, and by prayer, extends into a common life of study. Learning and studying is not an individual, independent endeavor at CTSFW. Besides discussion in class sessions, the CTSFW community is a place for students to discuss material outside of class and to work together in study groups. Working through points from lectures or readings is a common occurrence at lunch tables. Faculty often join in these conversations, especially at lunch time, clarifying, directing, or simply encouraging the ongoing talk spilling over from the classroom. CTSFW is a place of community learning.
CTSFW also has formal community institutions to serve student life. In recent years, the Seminary has expanded its faculty advising program into a mentoring program in which faculty are matched with students not only to provide academic guidance but to act as mentors in ministry. Through formal conversation groups, social events, and personal meetings, students have the opportunity to develop deeper relationships with a more intimate group of students and a professor. These relationships provide further context and opportunity for understanding what is learned in class, processing the Seminary experience, and reflecting more deeply on vocational milestones and goals.
In a related fashion, the Seminary Food and Clothing Co-op supports the student community in multi-faceted ways. Most obviously, the Co-op helps to minimize food, clothing, and household expenses faced by students.
Some students indicate that up to 80% of such needs are met by the Co-op. Beyond the financial benefits, the Co-op is intentionally a place for community interaction and support. Students are not anonymous, nameless customers, but part of a network of support. Many donors personally visit the Seminary to interact with students. Students, in turn, have opportunities to communicate with donors, to pray with them, and sometimes even visit their congregations. Students work together to sort Co-op donations, stock the stores, and keep them clean. Deaconess Katherine Rittner, Director of the Co-op, is a mother figure and mentor to many of the students, and she considers them her personal charge. In this way, economic support does not simply address a material need but serves the greater community life together. In this experience, students will be able to teach the holistic nature of community love and care for one another.
Community life at CTSFW is rich, participatory, and formative: worship and prayer together; the shared communion of Christ’s body and blood; mutual conversation and learning; mentoring and material support. In all of these ways the community is built up, and members of Christ’s body serve one another. By this way of life students learn not just facts to be communicated, but the shared joys, support, knowledge, and love that come in life together. This formation, these habits, in turn, inform what they bring to congregations–what they teach congregations. And this teaching, finally, is a teaching that is lived and shared with Christians throughout the country and throughout the world. Truly this is the body of Christ. Truly we are all members of it, sharers in the common life of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Rev. Dr. Gifford Grobien (Gifford.Grobien@ctsfw.edu) is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Assistant Provost, and Director of the DMin Program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
substitutes for the ability to teach that Paul commends in 1 and 2 Timothy. “Study to show yourself approved unto God,” St. Paul said to Timothy, “a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
διδακτικός (didaktikos) is the Greek adjective, rendered “able to teach” in the ESV and most modern translations, “apt to teach” in the King James Version. St. Paul uses the word twice in the pastoral epistles, once in a list of qualifications for a pastor (ἐπίσκοπος; episkopos) in 1 Timothy 3:2, and again in a similar list for a servant (δοῦλος; doulos) of the Lord in 2 Timothy 2:24. And, while it could rightly be argued that anyone who handles God’s Word of truth should be able to teach, such a qualification certainly applies all the more to pastors whose formation is summarized under the mission statement of Concordia Theological Seminary, which exists to form servants in Jesus Christ to teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all.
So how does a pastor become able to teach? And why is it important that pastors be able to teach?
Concerning the how, there are certainly God-given gifts that are desirable in the one who desires the noble task of ministry. The intellectual abilities to read, comprehend, analyze, synthesize, and retain information are just a few of the God-given gifts that prepare a man for formal studies for the pastoral ministry. But the requisite gifts are not only intellectual and academic. The ability to teach God’s Word also requires a certain ability to relate to and communicate with those who are being taught. Some of these “natural”
gifts—the intellectual and academic ones especially—can be measured and quantified. Others, such as the ability to relate to and communicate in an engaging way with others, are less quantifiable, though “you know it when you see it.”
Besides the natural or God-given gifts that contribute to a pastor’s ability to teach, there is also the very important
But the development of a seminarian’s God-given gifts includes more than a deep dive into content. It also includes a development of those important relational and communication skills—development that comes through practice during fieldwork, vicarage, etc. and is a vital part of making a man able to teach as a well-formed pastor.
And why is it important that pastors be able to teach? Well, think back to that three-fold purpose encapsulated in CTSFW’s mission statement.
development of these gifts—as well as the inculcation of new skills—that happens during formal training at seminary as part of the broader pastoral formation that the seminary fosters.
In Romans 11, St. Paul marvels at “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” Part of pastoral formation is to take a deep dive into God’s Word and theology in order to mine these riches and gain the basic tools for a lifetime of deep study of God’s Word. Reliance on teaching methods alone, or a shallow study of God’s Word, are poor
Being able to teach the faithful is certainly one of the core aspects of being a servant in Jesus Christ. But it’s not the only one. Teaching the faithful is also essential for reaching the lost because what else is reaching the lost if it’s not proffering the Word of God, which centers in the Gospel of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross and conveys the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who believe. So also, caring for all is manifested in the busy, active life of faith that serves the neighbor, but the faith that serves is kindled and sustained by the Word of God, which is not only received by Christ’s servants but is also taught and shared alongside of the care for others that it engenders.
The Rev. Peter Lange (Peter.Lange@lcms.org) is First Vice-President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
“
Able to teach.”
It’s only a single word in Greek and is used just twice in the entire New Testament, yet it’s such an important qualification for those who would feed the people of God with His life-giving Word.
The prompt: Think about a pivotal experience in your formation at the Seminary that helped prepare you to teach the faithful. Was it a class?
Or maybe the influence of a professor or fieldwork supervisor?
Discussions with peers? Interaction with laypeople?
Our church is blessed to have a rite titled “Commendation of the Dying.” While I understand this rite may be unfamiliar to many, I have found it to be one of the most precious and beautiful rites The Lutheran Service Book Agenda has to offer to those nearing the end of their life, their families, and their pastor. While I was blessed to have assisted my vicarage supervisor in performing this rite five times during vicarage, the fifth and final instance was a pivotal experience in my pastoral formation.
Throughout vicarage I was often invited to a certain parishioner’s home to talk and play chess. Unfortunately, about nine months into my vicarage, his health took a turn for the worse. While he was never able to play chess again, I was honored to regularly offer him the assurance of the forgiveness of sins found in God’s Word. Then one day, while entering his hospital room for my routine visit, I found this parishioner unresponsive and on death’s door. After calling my supervisor and awaiting his arrival, we prayed the “Commendation of the Dying” and left the hospital room in silence. A few hours later, the parishioner’s niece informed us of his death.
While I cannot say for certain, God’s Word and our prayers may very well have been the final words my friend heard on this earth. While words cannot begin to describe the lasting impact of this experience, I am humbly excited to continue being Christ’s servant in the pastoral office.
Hometown:
reasons to enjoy any particular class at seminary. But often those reasons revolve around personal interest, curiosity, or some deficiency in a given area. I love studying theology. It’s that simple.
While this perspective did not change after vicarage, there is another part to it now. It was always there but unexperienced by me. That is, the faithful want to hear God’s Word. More than that, they hunger for it. There is nothing so humbling as teaching a Bible study to sheep eager to hear the voice of their Shepherd. Paul says that the man who desires this office desires something noble (1 Tim. 3:1). It certainly is that. It is also both heavy with responsibility and light with joy. I learned both of these things over my vicarage year, and it changed how I look at what I do at the Seminary.
This fourth year, as I take up my studies again, it is not just for my own knowledge and curiosity that I labor in my studies. Now I consciously think of all the people out there for whom Christ died. I wonder how each new thing touches the lives of the faithful. I remember the lesson taught to me by those faithful saints over vicarage. Now when I labor, it is for them. Because both of us are saved by the pure doctrine which comes from the mouth of our Shepherd.
at CTSFW is the pivotal experience in my formation that has helped me teach the faithful. My story is different from most as I was ordained via lay ministry SMP colloquy in 2018. Yes, I was a pastor prior to enrolling; however, nearing the end of my four-year program, I truly believe pastoral formation happens at the seminary, including the year of vicarage.
I liken this experience to those who attend one of our military academies. One is completely immersed in the culture. One learns daily firsthand from the very best in the world. One is surrounded by brothers who are going through the same trials and triumphs as we all grow together in our training. One gains insights and shared personal experiences from those who have been there and who know and teach us the wonderful theology that we Lutherans have.
Formation happens more than just in class. It’s time we spend together—faculty and students. We spend time together in Chapel, over a cup of coffee, and at our weekly gatherings. All sorts of topics are discussed during these countless, valuable hours spent together. The enrichment I’ve experienced towards becoming a better pastor from these non-classroom settings is priceless.
Another aspect of pastoral formation is leaving all behind to follow Christ. It is a sacrifice—our hands are on the plow, and we do not look back (Luke 9:62). Yet, with the sacrifice each of us has made to follow Christ to CTSFW, there’s a bond with my brothers that for me is far beyond what I’ve given up. Not only that, but in retrospect, I’m so much better prepared and equipped to serve the Church now by coming to CTSFW. I also realize that to be a better teacher, I must always be a student. There’s always more to learn. By God’s grace, the skills and depth of formation that I am acquiring here will go far in teaching the Church.
and I
knew it—I was going to one of our seminaries. I’d been planning for this for years, and it was finally time to check out both seminary campuses. Our Fort Wayne Seminary has a beautiful campus, wonderful faculty and staff, and turns out faithful pastors. But this was not what ultimately attracted me to study at Fort Wayne. It was just a moment with a professor.
As I had a chance to look Fort Wayne over and meet students and professors, there were a few minutes to mingle. I happened to be reading Joshua at the time, and I asked one of the professors about the commander of the Lord’s army in Joshua 5.13-15. “Who is this?” I asked the professor. Little did I know that the man I had asked literally wrote the book on angelomorphic Christology (the preincarnate Jesus in the Old Testament). With deep passion Dr. Gieschen began to tell me how that commander of the Lord’s army was the Son of God, not a created angel. Dr. Gieschen opened Scripture and explained how Jesus is all over the Old Testament—walking with Adam and Eve, appearing to Abraham, wrestling with Jacob, there in the burning bush before Moses, leading Israel with cloud and fire, even appearing to Gideon.
Dr. Gieschen didn’t say anything new to me, but just gave me the Word of God. He opened my eyes to see what was there. He changed the way I viewed Scripture—it’s all about just Jesus. Since that moment I’ve appreciated what teaching Scripture can do. Let me not say anything new, but just give and speak of Jesus.
I had a chance to spend time with Dr. Gieschen at the Synod convention in Milwaukee in 2016. I thanked him over lunch for that moment and all the others he spent teaching me during my years at seminary. And as we talked, I had the privilege again to hear him speak about just Jesus.
Pastor Michael Boyer (Class of 2007)
Immanuel
MI
2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the “second Martin,” Martin Chemnitz, who was born in Germany November 9, 1522, the same year Martin Luther’s translation of the New Testament into German was published. This fall, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, celebrated Chemnitz’s significant contributions in memorable fashion, using the anniversary of his birth to showcase the Reverend Doctor D. George Williams Collection of Rare Books, dedicated September 16 in the Elaine Kirkpatrick Rast Reading Room outside the Ross Rare Book Room on campus.
Prof. Robert Roethemeyer, the Wakefield-Kroemer Director of Library and Information Services, integrated several books from the 378-volume Williams collection into a Chemnitz anniversary display that served as a backdrop for the dedication service. At the dedication, Roethemeyer commented on various books in the display and walked several of them around the room, including a 1573 copy of Chemnitz’s Examen and Magdeburg and Dresden editions of the Book of Concord (two of six copies of the Book of Concord in the Williams collection).
“Our students here really enjoy the rare books interlude the
second week of Bib and Tech,” said Roethemeyer as he showed onlookers a clean title page of the Dresden Book of Concord. “It associates them with the confession they’re going to make at their ordination in a very real way.”
When pastors make that confession, they speak in one voice with each other and with all those who came before them, including Martin Chemnitz—a fitting example of the order, permanence, and durability of theology that Pastor Williams so admired.
To read more about the dedication of the Reverend Doctor D. Georg Williams Collection of Rare Books, visit ctsfw.edu/news.
As Coadjutor in Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Martin Chemnitz was called upon to work with his superintendent to bring peace among differing theological positions within Lutheranism and to defend Lutheran doctrine against Roman Catholic and Reformed critics. In 1562, he began an exchange of treatises with Jesuits in Cologne. In the midst of this debate, he wrote a detailed commentary on the doctrinal decrees of the Council of Trent with the title: Examen Concilii Tridentini. This influential work shaped the Lutheran approach to the claims of the Roman Catholic tradition.
De duabus naturis in Christo [Two Natures of Christ] (1570) Chemnitz wrote De duabus naturis as an attempt to reconcile the various opinions on Christological matters present in the Lutheran movement of the 1570s. The first edition of the work became the basis for Article VIII of the Formula of Concord. In 1576, he published a greatly expanded version of the work. Highly regarded among Lutheran theologians, it became the starting point for most of the later expositions of Christology.
The Formula of Concord reached its final form at Cloister Bergen, near Magdeburg in 1577. There Jakob Andreae, Nikolaus Selneccer, Martin Chemnitz, and others edited the Torgau Book (an earlier effort to articulate a unified Lutheran position) in response to the criticisms and suggestions made by theologians throughout Germany. The result became known as the Solid Declaration. Signed first by the theologians at Bergen, the Epitome and Solid Declaration were submitted to Elector August, who subscribed to it, along with his theologians. He distributed it to the other Evangelical princes and territories for subscription and distribution. In all, 20 dukes and princes, 24 counts, four barons, 35 imperial cities, and about 8,000 pastors and teachers embracing about two-thirds of the Lutheran territories of Germany subscribed.
The complete Book of Concord was published almost immediately under the editorship of Jakob Andreae. However, the official date of publication was set for June 25, 1580, the fiftieth anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, to be promulgated and published at Dresden. Like previous corpus doctrinae, the Book of Concord gathered all the confessional writings to which Lutherans subscribe under one cover. These are the three Ecumenical creeds, the Augsburg Confession of 1530, the Apology of 1530, the Smalcald Articles of 1537, Concerning the Power and Supremacy of the Pope, Luther’s Small Catechism, Luther’s Large Catechism, the Formula of Concord, with separate title pages for the Epitome and the Solid Declaration, both dated 1580.
prepared by the Rev. Robert Smith for the Chemnitz Anniversary Exhibit
“One of my scary professors would say I’m nothing but a 16th-century Lutheran. Well, I don’t know about that, but I certainly claim that I am a Chemnitzian. If the second Martin had not come, the Lutheran Church would have been reabsorbed into the Roman Church, and the spark that Luther generated would have grown cold and eventually faded like a shooting star. Into this area of controversy Martin Chemnitz stepped and brought order out of chaos, permanency to theological education, and durability to our systematic understanding of theology.” —Rev. Dr. D. Georg Williams, biographical statement
“Gird up the loins of your mind.” This could well be the proper epitaph for the life and ministry of Georg Williams (MDiv, 1977; STM, 1982, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.) He was the consummate pastor-scholar who placed his considerable intelligence in the service of the crucified Savior. He was a scientist, a wonderful linguist, a deeply read theologian, and a remarkable preacher. After short pastorates in Louisiana, Georg was pastor for 42 years at Zion Lutheran Church, Ainsworth, Nebraska.
For many pastors, Georg was a theological mentor and counselor. His influence and theological interest went well beyond the little town of Ainsworth. For 27 years, under Georg’s leadership, Zion Lutheran Church hosted the Ainsworth Pastors’ Symposium. Presenters at this symposium were among the best thinkers that the Lutheran Church has to offer, and attendance was high, frequently with 50–70 pastors and lay in attendance. Pastor Williams was a self-educated expert on Martin Chemnitz, publishing a translation of Chemnitz’s commentary on The Lord’s Prayer (CPH) in 1999.
Concerning what Georg thought about his book collection, his wife, Georgia, says, “I can only repeat what he said every year at the pastors’ symposium at our church. Everyone came to our house for a barbecue one evening, and at some point Georg would lead a procession of pastors and vicars, usually first-timers, back to the bedroom to look at the books. Georg always said the same thing: ‘I don’t consider myself to be the owner of these books. I am merely the caretaker until they can be passed on to future generations.’ Georg collected for all the 50 years that I knew him, and he got his last books just a few weeks before he died. It was his dream to have all these books collected in one place for the use of the Church, and it was his dearest wish to have them at the Seminary.”
Pastor Williams himself noted his love of old books in a biography submitted to the Seminary in 2014. “Whether it be the first edition Dresden Book of Concord, a 1560 edition of Melanchthon’s Loci, or a sermon by Luther printed in Wittenberg in 1523, I love to collect my books. I do this so that once we are out of this dark age of scholarship, future generations may have access to the original copies of these monumental works.”
The Seminary, as the new caretaker of these treasures of the Lutheran tradition, now has 378 new ways to resource the Church and the world, thanks to Pastor Williams’ passion for preserving and passing on what has been handed down to us through the ages.
This text is a slightly revised version of a profile prepared by Dr. William Weinrich for the dedication of the Reverend Doctor D. Georg Williams Collection of Rare Books.
Four pallets of boxes, packed with core Lutheran texts and stacked high in the lower level of Kroemer Library, will soon be headed to Africa, where they will expand the modest library holdings of three seminaries of the Ethiopian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC). Some of the books will also help rebuild the library of the Rev. Eric Stinnett, a missionary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) whose home in Ethiopia was flooded in 2021.
The project is part of the Seminary’s Chemnitz Library Initiative, which aims to strengthen confessional Lutheran seminaries around the world by providing materials, expertise, and training in theological librarianship. The books in this shipment— including Luther’s Works and commentaries—will help develop regional libraries in Bossa and Assela and seed the library of a planned seminary in Addis Ababa.
The Chemnitz Library Initiative has partnered with the Theological Book Network in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to transport the books to Africa.
The Rev. Ervin Daugherty, a 1984 CTSFW graduate, and his wife Sharon presented Albrecht Dürer’s “Entry into Jerusalem” to the Seminary on a visit to campus September 10. Prof. Robert Roethemeyer, the Wakefield-Kroemer Director of Library and Information Services, received the beautifully framed and presented woodcut. This is one of 36 woodcuts from Dürer’s Small Passion, a series completed in 1510 and published as a book in 1511. The certificate of authenticity and appraisal documents note that “the Small Passion cycle is Dürer’s longest series of woodcuts and the best known of his series during the sixteenth century.”
“
God loves you very much!” Deaconess Kimberly Trombley says those words first. The gathered children echo. “That’s what this red heart in Luther’s seal means,” says Trombley as she leads a Reformation-themed session of The Word for the Wee, a weekly program for children at the Seminary.
Trombley, assisted by Deaconess Intern Michaela Dub, presented the lesson October 26, bringing with her unpainted ceramic seals, paint kits, a finished example, and Luther’s Small Catechism. The ceramic seals were created by girls visiting Shepherd’s Hand, a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in central Fort Wayne, where Trombley serves. The seals served double duty, providing an opportunity for Trombley to share the Gospel with the girls at Shepherd’s Hand, then with the wee and others gathered in Kroemer Library.
Top, left to right: Christ Academy College participants Owen J. C. Weber, Kerby Baars, Elisa Torrance, Katy Willweber, Emma Symmank, Austin Bradford, and Brenna McGuire.
Above: Christ Academy Director Rev. Matt Wietfeldt interacts with Christ Academy College participants at breakfast on the first day of the program.
For three days in October, 70 college-age students gathered at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, for Christ Academy College, a program that offers students considering the vocation of pastor or deaconess a chance to experience life at the Seminary. The students came from all over the country, representing 14 states and all five regions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).
How did they end up here? Who started a conversation with them about serving the church? We know from the LCMS’s Set Apart to Serve church worker recruitment initiative that intentional conversations with young people are critical, particularly in the middle school and early high school years, yet not enough of those conversations are happening. (See
“Presentation for Congregations”; www.lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.)
We grabbed lunch with seven Christ Academy College participants, five of whom are considering church work, to find out more about how the seeds were planted. As you read their accounts, think about young people you know with whom you could start the conversation.
Below: Christ Academy College students work together on a close reading of Article IV of the Apology in a Lutheran Confessions class.
Below: The Rev. Dr. Jon Bruss, Professor of Systematic Theology at CTSFW, works with students during a class session.
Below: Deaconess Admission Counselor Katie Aiello, once a Christ Academy College student herself, talks with participants.
For me it was my pastor during confirmation. I’d be in confirmation class and say, “Maybe you could teach this like this,” or “You could almost say this.” And my pastor would say, “Tell you what, when you’re a pastor, you can do that.” Pastor kept dropping hints (“If you’re a pastor …”). I thought it was funny and kind of blew it off until I was about to graduate from high school. I thought, “What do I actually want to do with my life?” I thought it was mechanics, but it’s not. I just don’t like how it’s done anymore. So I’ve had two interests: mechanics and God. The first one didn’t work out, so why not the other one?
I didn’t know what a deaconess was growing up. I became a Lutheran when I was maybe six or seven. I attended Higher Things conferences every year since 2015. I sat in on a sectional; a deaconess was there, and I said, “That’s a thing!” I had no clue. It seemed really cool. I didn’t hear about it again for a couple years. Just before I graduated from high school, my mom texted me and asked me to come to her room. She said, “Remember that meeting we had at Higher Things? I really think this is something you could possibly do. A few members of the church have talked to me about it. You should look into it.” So I went to the Christ Academy High
School just to get an idea, and I’ve been stuck since. It’s in my calendar every year. I love it.
I didn’t convert to Lutheranism until later in high school—junior or senior year. The person who got me into Lutheranism also talked to me about pursuing ministry. It was my church elder. He was also a teacher at my high school. I took a class in church history with him, and when I was at the church, he said, “You know Austin, you like theology. You could always be a pastor.” And alas, here I am.
I had heard of deaconesses. When I was in high school, someone else in my congregation was thinking about going to Concordia, Irvine and doing that. I thought, “Oh, yeah, that sounds cool.” Then I went to George Fox, a Quaker University, and studied psychology. I’ve actually already graduated—in 2021. Toward the end of my senior year, I was sort of dissatisfied with the field of psychology. I wanted to be more theologically grounded in whatever I was going to be doing after graduating. I decided to take a gap year and worked at George Fox as an admissions rep for the honors program, and I thought I’d look at what a deaconess is. I told Austin [Bradford, also a George Fox student],
and he said, “Oh, I think you’d be good at that.” I kept looking into it, and I think this is what I should do.
Owen J. C. Weber, Alliance, Nebraska I’ve always kind of wanted to do this. Growing up, my mom said a couple things when I was really little, but it wasn’t until confirmation that I started looking at this a lot more seriously. My parents divorced, which made me want to be more in the church, made me want to hold on to all of that stuff more closely. All the traditions and teachings. I remember one time our district president came and preached at our church, and he was talking about the need for pastors. I guess that’s where it kind of clicked. Right before confirmation—between 8th and 9th grade. I love the liturgy and the words and all that stuff, and I clung to that during the hard times. The church is my home. If I can find something where that’s all I do, that’s awesome.
Registration is open for the 2023 Christ Academy Confirmation Retreat (Feb. 17–19), the Prayerfully Consider Visit (March 16–18), and Christ Academy High School (June 18–July1). To learn more, visit ctsfw.edu/events or contact the Admission staff at Admission@ctsfw.edu
The Rev. Dr. David Scaer, Professor of Systematic Theology and New Testament and The David P. Scaer Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination this year. Following are his remarks, edited for length, delivered September 1, 2022, at the annual Anniversary Recognition Dinner at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Not long ago an academic dean preached that we should remain content in being the second seminary. The folks to the south were destined to be the Hertz seminary, and we were the Avis seminary. In coming to Fort Wayne, our Seminary expanded its doctrinal heritage in several directions including the Symposia, conferences of all sorts, organ and liturgical workshops, Luther Hostel, confirmation retreats, and youth academies. It is one thing to say that disciples should be made out of all nations, but it is another thing to actually to do it, and the Fort Wayne Seminary did it and has kept on doing it. As Isaiah wrote, nations have come to the brightness of our light.
Our ambitious programs have succeeded because of the faculty and staff that comprise the Seminary. Without our recruiters we would not have a seminary, and without a seminary we would not have a synod. So it was with the apostles. Without Andrew, Peter would not have become an apostle. A faculty might be a perfectly tuned theological engine, but without the Advancement Department, we would be going nowhere. And if we marvel at what the printing press did for the Reformation, we should take note of what the PR and IT folks do for our Seminary. Without them the folks out there would not know who we are or that we are here.
When asked whether the churchly or academic aspects should predominate at the Seminary, [former Seminary President] Jack Preus came down on the
side of preaching, and so emblazoned in Greek on the Seminary’s seal is “preach the word.” Behind the Greek words is the cross by which Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice to God, and so Satan was conquered. Behind the cross are three circles for the triune God by whom, in whom, and through whom atonement was made.
Clarence Spiegel, a former acting president of the Seminary, was prophetic in saying during our backwater days that our Seminary had a special role to play in our Synod. Some prophecies do not come to pass. This one did.
So we are here tonight to observe how God has included our 300+ accumulated years in the heritage known as the Fort Wayne theology and to ask Him that in us and those who come after us it may be continued for future generations.
The Rev. Prof. Robert Roethemeyer, the WakefieldKroemer Director of Library and Information Services at CTSFW, received an award for Leadership in External Collaboration from the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) during its biennial All-Staff Meeting in August. Roethemeyer, who received the honor in recognition of his long-standing leadership and partnership building for the consortium, was among 17 library and consortial staff members recognized for outstanding service, deep collaboration, and leadership.
Now in its 30th year, PALNI is a nonprofit organization supporting collaboration for library and information services for 24 private academic institutions throughout Indiana. The PALNI community comprises more than 150 employees from those libraries, serving approximately 47,500 students and faculty statewide.
The Rev. Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn served as chaplain for a Doxology “Take Heart!” respite retreat for teachers and commissioned ministers, held October 28-30, 2022, in Dayton, Ohio. The respite retreats, fully funded by the Office of National Mission of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), are designed to encourage teachers and other church workers in their vocation, allowing them to take a few days to rest and recharge as they worship, talk to other participants, and explore spiritual care resources.
The Rev. Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn with the Rev. David C. Fleming, Doxology’s Executive Director for Spiritual Care, at a worship service at the “Take Heart!” respite retreat October 30, 2022.
The Rev. Prof. John Pless and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes delivered papers on the topic of “Lutheran Care of Souls” at the annual Bjarne W. Teigen Reformation Lectures, held October 27-28 at Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, Minnesota. Pless addressed “Care of Souls in Modern Lutheranism,” while Mayes spoke on “Care of Souls in Lutheran Orthodoxy.” Videos of the presentations and panel discussion are available at blc.edu/reformation-lectures.
Dr. Benjamin Mayes speaks at the annual Reformation Lectures in Mankato, Minn., October 27, with Prof. John Pless seated to the right.
The Lutheran Leadership Development Program (LLDP) of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) held its first commencement exercises November 17, 2022, in Troy, Illinois, awarding the Certificate in Theology in Lutheran Leadership to four graduates. CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence Rast and ILC Chairman Bishop Juhana Pohjola sent their greetings. Pictured from left (front row), President/Bishop John Donkoh (The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana), General Secretary Teshome Amenu (The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus), Deputy Bishop Helmut Paul (The Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa), and Bishop Dr. Emmanuel Makala (South East of Lake Victoria Diocese, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania); (back row) LLDP Director Dr. Naomichi Masaki (who conducted the ceremony), commencement speaker Dr. Albert Collver III, and LLDP teaching faculty Prof. John Pless and Dr. Timothy Quill (ILC’s General Secretary).
For more information, visit our website at ctsfw.edu/Events or call (260) 452-2100. Please check the events webpage for current information as events are subject to change.
Lenten Preaching Workshop
Monday, January 16, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/PreachingWorkshop
Phone: (260) 452-2204
Symposia Series
January 17–20
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/Symposia Phone: (260) 452-2204
Choral Vespers with the Schola Cantorum Tuesday, January 17, 5:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Epiphany Evening Prayer with the Kantorei Wednesday, January 18, 5:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Vespers and Organ Recital
Thursday, January 19, 4:15 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Seminary Guild
Tuesday, February 14, 1:00 p.m.
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Christ Academy: Confirmation Retreat February 17–19
Information: ctsfw.edu/Confirmation Register: ChristAcademy@ctsfw.edu or (800) 481-2155
Seminary Guild
Tuesday, March 14, 1:00 p.m.
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Prayerfully Consider Visit
March 16–18
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/PCV
Contact: Admission@ctsfw.edu or (800) 481-2155
Lenten Vespers with the Kantorei Sunday, March 19, 4:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Services and lectures will be livestreamed online at ctsfw.edu/DailyChapel or facebook.com/ctsfw. Please check the events webpage for current information as events are subject to change.
Seminary Guild Spring Luncheon
Tuesday, April 11, 12:00 p.m.
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Easter Hymn Festival
Sunday, April 23, 4:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Vicarage and Deaconess Internship
Assignment Service Monday, April 24, 7:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Candidate Call Service Tuesday, April 25, 7:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
CTSFW Golf Outing
Wednesday, May 17
Register: Alumni@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-2260
Alumni Reunion May 18–19
Register: Alumni@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-2204
Baccalaureate Friday, May 19, 10:00 a.m.
Commencement Organ Recital Friday, May 19, 2:00 p.m.
Commencement Ceremony Friday, May 19, 4:00 p.m.
Organist Workshop: Beginner Level
June 12–16
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/MusicWorkshops
Contact: LeeAnna.Rondot@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-2204
Christ Academy: Timothy School
Christ Academy: Phoebe School
June 18–July 1
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/TimothySchool (boys) or ctsfw.edu/PhoebeSchool (girls) or (800) 481-2155
Organist Workshop: Intermediate & Advanced Level
June 19–23
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/MusicWorkshops
Contact: LeeAnna.Rondot@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-2204
(Phil. 2:4).
The CTSFW Seminary Guild has kicked off another year of activities in support of the physical and spiritual needs of Seminary students and their families. At the opening meeting of the Guild September 14, President Phyllis Thieme welcomed new and returning members and provided an overview of ongoing projects that will make the students’ days a little brighter, including birthday skillet cookies, a Pastoral Care Companion for first-year seminarians and deaconess students, support for the annual Donation Day, snacks during quarter-end finals week, gifts for newborns, and a farewell gift for each fourth-year seminarian’s wife and outgoing deaconess.
“I’m very thankful for the Guild and all they’ve done throughout the years,” said Deaconess Wendy Boehm, who graduated from the CTSFW Deaconess program in 2019 and is now a member of the Guild. “I think it’s really neat that as a student I received a Pastoral Care Companion for fieldwork from the Guild. I still use that same PCC today and am now the chairperson of the project. It’s a blessing to be able to be a part of such a gift.”
The Guild’s recording secretary, Cindy Powell, echoes that enthusiasm for other reasons. “My husband and I have been long-term supporters of CTSFW, and I saw Guild participation as a way that I could support the Seminary in small ways, besides money,” said Powell, who joined the Guild three years ago, shortly after retiring. “We have two sons-
in-law who are fairly recent graduates of CTSFW, so I’ve seen first-hand some of the ways the Guild helps students.”
In addition to ongoing projects, the Guild helps students through an annual special project. In 2022-23, the Guild is aiming to purchase new microwaves for the Dining Hall and Student Commons. Past projects have provided the Seminary with hands-free water bottle filling stations, an upright freezer for the Food Co-op, and refurbishing of the pool table in the Commons.
“Guild members are not just a list of names belonging to yet another organization,” said Thieme. “Their participation, their prayers, and their love make this an organization of faithful women who serve the Lord by serving others—the Seminary students and their families.”
Above: On display at a recent Guild meeting: A collection of thank you notes from students, including a thank you for a birthday skillet cookie. Guild member Elaine Elsner is happy to pass on the cookie tradition at CTSFW, recalling that a similar guild provided “birthday cakes and other touches of home and family” when she was a student at Concordia, Seward (now Concordia University, Nebraska).
To join the Guild or support Guild projects, use the form on this page. You can find additional information, including a schedule of this year’s meetings, at ctsfw.edu/seminary-guild.
As happened to many people during the pandemic, a lot has changed for my wife and me since December of 2020. I don’t know how I contracted the COVID virus, but in early December I tested positive, and shortly thereafter I was bedridden. I eventually was hospitalized with a lifethreatening blood clot in my lung. I spent Christmas in the hospital separated from my family and friends and isolated spiritually with nothing to do but dwell on my recently discovered mortality. Thank the Lord He still had plans for me.
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).Photo: Erik M. Lunsford/The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
After three difficult months of recovery and another eight months of searching, a path guided by my Lord and Savior led me to work for the benefit of His Kingdom as an Advancement Officer at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW). I am now using my God-given business management skills for the purpose of helping to support the formation of men as pastors and women as deaconesses as they study to become servants of Jesus Christ.
You’re probably thinking this is a nice story, but what does this have to do with being supportive of CTSFW and its mission to teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all?
I had not thought too much about supporting my church other than with my normal weekly donations, let alone CTSFW with a legacy gift in my will or an estate plan. Yes, my wife and I had a will, made when our children were younger, but now that I was studying how and why donors give, much of what I was learning shocked me. The numbers and percentages were staggering in both a good and bad way.
The good: In the next two decades the Baby Boomer generation will leave 68 trillion (yes, that is trillion with a t) to their heirs. What an opportunity for donors to make an impact with a significant gift! Americans, particularly Christians, are generally very charitable, with around 80% of them giving to their church or charity each year. Are we in a time of charitable abundance, and should we be heeding the advice Joseph gave to Pharaoh by laying up God’s gifts in preparation for leaner times?
The bad: Only 5% leave charitable gifts to those same churches or charities they supported in life when they pass away. Why such a discrepancy? It’s quite simple: Many people do not have estate plans. As of 2021 over 70% of adults in the U.S. have never made a will, or they have a will that is extremely out of date. Count my wife and me in that last
category. Those who make an estate plan with an attorney or a financial planner are rarely led in the direction of giving to the charities or religious organizations they support. Are the lean years already here?
The question of how to engage and serve more of God’s people with the opportunity to experience the joys of giving seemed rather obvious. The Seminary Advancement officers can only effectively engage a relatively small number of donors. We needed to find new ways to reach donors across the country with a giving heart for CTSFW. The internet seemed the obvious choice.
helped over 600,000 people prepare legal wills or document their wishes so that an attorney can finish the will process. FreeWill offers secure online estate planning tools that can help the faithful members of our Seminary community complete this essential life task for free and, if they choose, establish a lasting legacy with CTSFW at the same time.
When you leave a gift to CTSFW in your will, you model to your loved ones a legacy of generosity, a legacy that helps us promise that future pastors and deaconesses will have the critical opportunity to study at CTSFW in person well beyond your lifetime. Including a gift to CTSFW in your legal will, using FreeWill’s online tool, costs nothing and is a powerful commitment to advancing our core value of being distinctively Lutheran for generations to come.
When you leave a gift to CTSFW in your will, you model to your loved ones a legacy of generosity, a legacy that helps us promise that future pastors and deaconesses will have the critical opportunity to study at CTSFW in person well beyond your lifetime. Including a gift to CTSFW in your legal will, written using FreeWill’s online tool, costs nothing and is a powerful commitment to advancing our core value of being distinctively Lutheran for generations to come.
Adoption of internet technology has become a part of our lives since the onset of the pandemic, as people were forced to meet, bank, and even worship online. Charitable online giving has also increased 42% in the last three years. There would never be a better time for CTSFW to reach more potential donors, making it easy for anyone to initiate a gift that would have a lasting impact on the mission of CTSFW.
In order to widen our reach through the internet, we found a partner with expertise to help us attain that goal. We recently partnered with FreeWill, whose online estate planning tools have
Less than 33% of American adults have a legal will in place; those who don’t are missing the opportunity to plan for the future and protect what they value. If you don’t have a will or your will doesn’t fit your current plans, please prayerfully consider using this tool, which is available at our website www.ctsfw.edu via the “Donate” tab. You may also receive an email from us with a link to FreeWill. While the process of documenting a will through FreeWill is simple and straightforward, we are always available to help with your questions and concerns.
The impact of your legacy gift will help to ensure that Concordia Theological Seminary will continue to exist to form servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all.
Martin Lewis (Martin.Lewis@ctsfw.edu) is an Advancement Officer at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Afundamental reality and major component of life in the Church— whether the Old Testament Church or the New Testament Church—was and is teaching. This is teaching of spiritual truths for the edification and everlasting welfare of those who are being taught. God teaches through His Word, spoken or written. God also uses people to teach His Word—to present this Word, interpret it, and apply it to the lives of the listeners. This theme of teaching is seen throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.
I. The Old Testament presents God, or the Lord, as Teacher. Read Job 36:22. What does Elihu, a character in the Book of Job, say about God?
Read Ex. 24:12. Why did God write the Law?
Read 1 Kings 8:36. Solomon was confident that the Lord would teach .
The theme of God teaching is prominent in the Book of Psalms. See, for example, Psalm 25:8, 12; 71:17; 94:10, 12; 132:12. What is a frequent prayer in this book? (Read, for example, Psalm 25:4–5; 27:11; 119:12, 66, 108; 143:10.)
II. The Old Testament also shows how God used people to teach His Word.
God used prophets to give instruction. A great example of this is Moses. Read Deut. 4:1, 5, 14; 6:1; 31:22
Read 1 Sam. 12:23. Samuel’s intention was to pray for the Israelites and
An example of God teaching is in Ex. 4:12 and 15. Whom did God teach?
Read Psalm 34:11. What invitation does David, under inspiration, present?
Read Psalm 51:13. David, having experienced the grace of God, promised to .
Read Eccl. 12:9. What did the Preacher (probably Solomon) do? .
Read 2 Chron. 17:7-9. Whom did King Jehoshaphat send to teach throughout Judah? .
Indeed, God used priests to teach His Word. See Lev. 10:11; Deut. 17:9–11; 24:8; 33:10; Mal. 2:7. Whom did the priest Jehoiada instruct (2 Kings 12:2)? _____________. What priest taught in post-exilic Judah (Ezra 7:10)? _____________.
The core passage for this Bible study, Deut. 6:6–7, highlights the fact that godly instruction starts in the home. It is a sacred responsibility of parents. See also Deut. 6:20–25; 11:18–19; Is. 38:19. What advice does Moses give parents in Deut. 4:9? .
What did God at Mt. Horeb/Sinai say about parents in Deut. 4:10? .
According to Ps. 78:5–6, Israelite fathers were to
Solomon tells his readers to ____________________________ (Prov. 1:8). Read Prov. 4:3–5. What does the wise man (probably Solomon) say about his father? __________________ Read Song of Solomon 8:2. What does the wife in the Song say about her mother?
Read Prov. 22:6. What encouragement does this verse give to parents? .
I. The foremost teacher of the New Testament is, of course, Christ. See, for example, Matt. 4:23; 5:2; Mark 6:34; John 7:14. How did Jesus teach (Matt. 7:29)? __________________ Jesus often taught by using __________________ (Mark 4:2). Describe what Jesus did on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27). _________________________________. The ascended Christ, the Son of God, continues to teach through His Word, Scripture: 2 Tim. 3:14–17.
II. The New Testament also shows how Christ uses people to teach His Word.
Read Matt. 28:20a. What is one aspect of the Great Commission?
Christ gave as gifts to the Church those who could teach. See 1 Cor. 12:28; Acts 13:1.
Paul was appointed a preacher, and apostle, and ____________ (2 Tim. 1:11). Paul was a teacher especially of the __________ (1 Tim. 2:7). Paul taught wherever he went; for example, in __________________________ (Acts 11:26; 15:35), in __________________________ (Acts 18:11; see v. 1), and in __________________________ (Acts 28:31; see v. 16).
Priscilla and her husband Aquila instructed ________________ (Acts 18:26).
Paul in Titus 2:3 directs the older women to teach __________, and in Titus 2:4 to __________ the young women.
Read Eph. 4:11. Christ gave to the Church “pastors and teachers.” The terms in this verse can be understood as referring to the same office, that of pastor. One important qualification for a pastor (also known as an overseer) is that he be “able to teach.” See 1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:24; also Titus 1:9. The seminaries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod endeavor to educate students so that when they go out to serve they are “able to teach.”
The New Testament, as the Old Testament, encourages parents to instruct their children. Paul in 2 Tim. 1:5 highlights the good example of _________________ and _________________, who instructed Timothy through the Word of God in the Christian faith. In turn, Timothy became a leader in the Church and was directed by Paul to _________________ (1 Tim. 4:11). Read what Paul wrote in Eph. 6:4. What are fathers (and mothers) to do? .
Finally, read Col. 3:16a. Paul wants believers to and admonish one another in all wisdom. They do this through the Word of Christ which dwells in them. How does this Word dwell in believers? __________________________________.
We thank God that He still teaches us through His Word, and that He has blessed the Church with those who are able rightly to interpret this Word and from it to give proper, beneficial instruction.
The Rev. Dr. Walter Maier III (Walter.Maier@ctsfw.edu) is Professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
38th Annual Symposium on Exegetical
Faith, Family, and Formation
January 17–18, 2023 Q
46th
January 18–20, 2023
For more information or to register online scan the QR code or go to ctsfw.edu/Symposia. Deadline for registration is January 10, 2023.
Lenten Evening Prayer led by the Kantorei of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
March 5–12 and March 19
The Kantorei will visit churches in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, with the concluding concert at Kramer Chapel.
Sunday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m.
Kramer Chapel Concordia Theological Seminary 6600 N. Clinton St. Fort Wayne, IN 46825 (260) 452-2204 ctsfw.edu
