Lawrence R. Rast Jr.
Confessional Subscription: What Does This Mean?
Scott R. Murray
David P. Scaer, Dean O. Wenthe, Walter A. Maier III, and Christian A. Preus
The theme for this issue of For the Life of the World follows the topic that was discussed at CTSFW’s 2024 Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions: “Seminex at the Half-Century.” In the pages that follow you will find a bit of a personal take on the events surrounding the theological debates that came to a head in 1974 and led to a split in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Those events were deeply personal and divided families as well as institutions.
Why dredge up and study these events that many would prefer to forget? When studying the lead up to the “Walkout,” you see how quickly things can change in a church body and how long lasting and far reaching those things can be. The results of our church body’s debates during that time on the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, our Lutheran identity and the interpretation of the Lutheran Confessions, church fellowship, ecclesiology, ecumenism, and the right understanding of missions continue to inform the theological stance of the LCMS today and its engagement with Lutherans around the world as we seek to strengthen and establish confessional Lutheran churches here and abroad. We have been given a wonderful gift in our Lutheran Confessions. Our theology is clearly articulated with Law and Gospel rightly balanced. Yet living out those Confessions is often tainted by our own sinful human nature and the politics that we too often allow to intrude into our church and practice.
I am a historian and a systematician. I enjoy delving into the complex interplay of theology and history. The issues surrounding the Walkout of 1974 and the establishment of Seminex were complex indeed. We were dealing with timeless biblical truths in this controversy, but they were expressed within the context of a very dynamic historical situation. This issue of the magazine will hopefully pique your interest in learning more about these topics. One of the first writing projects I plan to finish after retiring from the CTSFW presidency this spring is an extensive book with the working title Exile or Walkout? A Historical Narrative of the 1974 Crisis at Concordia Seminary Saint Louis. I expect that the findings within will provide a fresh understanding of what led to the controversy, fed the debates, and influenced the actions taken.
We are all called to be students of our theology and our history. One of the lessons that we need to keep learning again and again is that we must hold fast to our Confessions. We must be faithful at every point. It is easy to forget, but we
cannot allow ourselves to fall into the same traps of the past.
We are incredibly blessed at Concordia Theological Seminary with a faculty and staff committed to the Lutheran Confessions and to forming servants in Jesus Christ who will teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all. Here we are daily reminded of all that the Lord has given us out of His abundant grace and mercy. If you haven’t spent time on our campus, I would encourage you to do so. Learn with us. Grow with us. Come discover the glorious mysteries of Christ and join with us in upholding His unchanging truth for the sake of our families, our congregations, and our communities in desperate need of the saving Gospel of Jesus.
In Christ’s service,
Lawrence R. Rast Jr.
President
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
4 Seminex at the Half-Century
Lawrence R. Rast Jr.
Many—today perhaps most—of our students were not even born in 1974. What they know of the Seminex controversy is secondhand at best. But they are keenly interested in what transpired. And I strive to put it in the context of the larger narrative of American Lutheranism, neither overstating nor understating its importance.
7 Confessional Subscription: What Does This Mean?
Scott R. Murray
The first verb in the introduction to the Book of Concord is “we subscribe.” Remarkably, the last word in the text of the Book of Concord (except the signatures themselves) is “we subscribe.” What does it mean to subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions?
10 Memories of Seminex
David P. Scaer, Dean O. Wenthe, Walter A. Maier III, and Christian A. Preus
At the time of the 1974 Walkout, two of our authors were serving at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, one was a student at Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, and one was a teenager living in faculty housing on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Corrections: Winter 2023 For the Life of the World
• Page 15: Dr. Todd Peperkorn presented at a campus ministry event at College Hill Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa, not Cedar Rapids.
Unless
• Page 22: CTSFW student Aaron Wade, not Andrew Berg, appears in the fieldwork assignment day photo with the Rev. Andrew Yeager.
Thank you, readers, for letting us know.
CI regularly teach a required course on the history of Lutheranism in the United States. When I ask the students what they are interested in learning about in the class, their unanimous response is “the Walkout.” I often then show a little video of the actual event and then tell them, “That’s it.” But then I back up and say, “An event of this importance simply doesn’t appear out of nowhere. Let me tell you more.”
ontroversies in the church can have a real impact on families. Anyone who has experienced conflict in a local parish can probably relate a story or two about families that were adversely affected when parents and children, brothers and sisters, found themselves on different sides of a congregational conflict. It’s painful, disruptive, and can have generational impact.
Take that to the church body level, and the disruptive potential of church conflict can take on striking proportions. Leadership changes, institutions are impacted, and even years later, most tragically, relationships are affected.
That’s where we find ourselves presently—recognizing a particularly painful anniversary in the history of our church body.
On February 19, 2024, we observed the fiftieth anniversary of one of those family conflicts, and the disruptions that we feel from the events of that day remain with us. On that chilly February day, the vast majority of students and faculty at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, left the seminary campus and established what they called “Concordia Seminary in Exile.” Their claim was that they remained “Concordia Seminary” since they were the same students (mostly) and the same faculty (mostly) working through the same curriculum at what had been Concordia Seminary, but now would always be called “801” (after its physical address, 801 De Mun Avenue).
The precipitating factors of the event are many, but the immediate cause was the suspension of Dr. John Tietjen (1928–2004) from his office as president of the seminary (January 20, 1974), the declaration by the majority of students to effect a moratorium on classes (January 21, 1974), and the action of the
faculty majority to recognize the student moratorium and to see in Tietjen’s suspension their own (January 22, 1974).
While a small cadre of professors and students continued their classes, the seminary—and the synod—struggled to find a solution to the division. It proved unrealizable. By mid-February the seminary’s Board of Control demanded that the faculty agree to return to work. Failure to do so would result in termination. When the deadline of Monday, February 18, at noon passed, the contracts of those professors who chose not to return set the stage for the events of Tuesday, February 19.
The events themselves did not take particularly long—just several hours. There was the vote to go into exile, the planting of crosses in the Quad, the gathering at the Luther statue and boarding up of the Walther Arch, and finally, the procession off the campus with the tolling of the bells covering it all. But the impact of those actions remains. Students and faculty processed off campus and were welcomed by other institutions in the St. Louis area (specifically Eden Seminary and the Divinity School of St. Louis University) where the seminary-in-exile—everyone soon called it Seminex—began its work. Eventually it occupied a series of buildings before ultimately being absorbed into the work of the Lutheran
School of Theology at Chicago, even while retaining an identity of its own in its new home.
We’ve even struggled with how to refer to the events. Was it properly an “exile”? Some would say yes, others no. Was it a “Walkout”? Again, yes and no are the answers. Still others have settled on “Walk Off,” while others note that after the events of February 19, a number of participants did make their way back onto the 801 campus for lunch.
How one answers the question largely shows one’s commitments. John Tietjen told his version of the story in Memoirs in Exile: Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990). The seminary Board of Control earlier straddled the issue somewhat by calling it Exodus from Concordia: A Report on the 1974 Walkout (St. Louis: Concordia Seminary, 1977). But the volume leaves no doubt as to where the board stood. In the
end, personal commitments will likely determine the descriptor one chooses, but in today’s Missouri Synod, most people simply refer to “the Walkout.”
I regularly teach a required course on the history of Lutheranism in the United States. When I ask the students what they are interested in learning about in the class, their unanimous response is “the Walkout.” I often then show a little video of the actual event and then tell them, “That’s it.” But
Conflict is conflict. It is painful and disruptive. Some would argue that the Walkout made resolution impossible. Others would say that the outcome was predetermined. It is my hope, however, that now that we are fifty years down the path from February 19, 1974, that a new generation of scholars will take advantage of the mass of materials that are available through, for example, Concordia Historical Institute and the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, so that the story may be told more fully and faithfully for the generations to come.
then I back up and say, “An event of this importance simply doesn’t appear out of nowhere. Let me tell you more.” Many—today perhaps most—of our students were not even born in 1974. What they know of the controversy is secondhand at best. But they are keenly interested in what transpired. And I strive to put it in the context of the larger narrative of American Lutheranism, neither overstating nor understating its importance.
Because what was it really all about? A snapshot like the one just given cannot capture all that was involved in the controversy. The books that have already been written about it and the ones that are to come are partial treatments, written by people who have commitments and biases that affect not only material they include in their narrative but also the very way in which they tell the story. That is part of the challenge of doing history.
In December 1976, a number of pastors and congregations formally left the Missouri Synod and established the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). Some members of my family were part of that move. Others, including my own parents, opted for
Left: Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. delivers his presentation on Seminex in a packed Sihler Auditorium January 17 of Symposia Week at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
other church bodies like the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). Some—and I was one of them—stayed in the Missouri Synod. The bottom line was where we had been a largely LCMS family, we were no more. And we are not today. Perhaps the drifting away would have happened without the events of 1974, but they certainly accelerated the process.
That left us to sift through what it all meant. The last time I was together with my father, who was a church musician, and his two surviving brothers, who were both pastors/theologians, we talked about “Seminex.” We always did when we got together. And although we had strongly differing perspectives on matters of theology, I always respected them for the integrity they showed in holding to their positions and, even more so, for the effort they made at maintaining our relationship and the encouragement they always gave to me, even as I followed a path different from theirs.
Conflict is conflict. It is painful and disruptive. Some would argue that the Walkout made resolution impossible. Others would say that the outcome was predetermined. It is my hope, however, that now that we are fifty years down the path from February 19, 1974, that a new generation of scholars will take advantage of the mass of materials that are available through, for example, Concordia Historical Institute and the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, so that the story may be told more fully and faithfully for the generations to come.
Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. is President of Concordia
Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He is currently finishing a book on Seminex, which is expected to be published later this year.
The first verb in the introduction to the Book of Concord is “we subscribe.” Remarkably, the last word in the text of the Book of Concord (except the signatures themselves) is “we subscribe.” What does it mean to subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions? Lutherans have been subscribing to the Book of Concord or its constituent parts for more than 400 years. However, there is no guarantee that just because a signature is affixed it will be taken seriously. But what does an appropriate seriousness look like?
The theological center of the confessions is Article 4 of the Augsburg Confession, which delivers the faith that Christ suffered for us (Latin: “qui sua morte pro nostris peccatis satisfecit”; “who by His death made satisfaction for our sins”). There is no room for a vapid pseudo-gospel of good feeling, but our Confessions tie justification to the satisfaction of Christ.
Subscription may not be considered as separate from what is being subscribed. Confessional subscription is not the same as endorsing a check or signing a legal contract. The modifier “confessional” makes a demand on us by drawing us back to the source of the confession, the Word of God itself, the Holy Scripture. Often when people take their subscription to the Lutheran Confessions lightly, they will also take the Scripture lightly, making it subject to their own faulty human reason.
By subscribing to these Confessions, we are binding ourselves, our churches, and our posterity to these statements. Confessionalism must not become an artifact, like the family Bible that gathers dust in the formal living room; honored, but seldom used.
Sadly, by the middle of the twentieth century American Lutheranism had settled into a confessional formalism in which non-Lutheran sermons, teaching, and practice were tolerated in parishes with confessional clauses in their founding documents. If the title “Lutheran” could be seen on the sign board of the church, everything would be all right. Being Lutheran was simply presumed. In 1951 Hermann Sasse, writing from Germany to his American friends in the LCMS, said the drift away from the Confessions was “the most astonishing turn in the life of American Lutheranism which formerly took its stand so firmly on the Book of Concord and lived in it.”1 Sasse thought that the Missouri Synod had given up a living confession of the Lutheran symbolical books and their content. About this Sasse was right. This would have baleful outcomes in the future of the Missouri Synod. Ironically, Sasse himself foresaw these disastrous consequences yet to come when he predicted that although the Missouri Synod had a great future ahead of her, “the contrasts which are visible today should lead to a schism.”2 Tragically, Sasse’s foresight was correct.
Formalistic confessionalism, about which Sasse warned, had no strength to provide appropriate responses to the ecumenical movement, an effort to establish Christian unity that swept across all denominations after World War II and gained momentum as a result of the ecumenical turn of Roman Catholicism in the Second Vatican Council. As a result of the many mergers of Lutheran church bodies in the twentieth century, the LCMS was forced to consider issues of church fellowship. Although a leader of the discussion of Lutheran theology in nineteenth-century America, the LCMS seemed to be late to the party in the twentieth century because of its isolationistic attitude, born in part of the formalistic confessionalism described above.
The theological center of the Confessions is Article 4 of the Augsburg Confession, which delivers the faith that Christ suffered for us (Latin: “qui sua morte pro nostris peccatis satisfecit”; “who by His death made satisfaction for our sins”). There is no room for a vapid pseudo-gospel of good feeling, but our Confessions tie justification to the satisfaction of Christ.
The Confessions deal with and disclose things that are spiritual and therefore not susceptible to the arguments arising from naked reason. Such a rubric touches the very center of our faith: justification, the incarnation, the real presence, baptismal regeneration, etc. We must ever remain on guard against the attempts of human reason to rip the guts out of the Confessions.
The Confessions make an ecumenical catholic claim to teach what the church at all times and in all places has taught and believed. Philip Melanchthon contended that the medieval accretions that were injected into the faith and practice of the medieval church were novelties and could not be sustained by the teaching of the Bible. In the Apology Melanchthon argued: “Nor should we be regarded as teaching anything new in this matter, since the Church Fathers have so clearly handed down the doctrine that even in good works we need mercy” (Ap 4.204).
Some theologians denied that the Confessions had the authority to “enforce theological conformity,” and that they instead served church unity. Thus, their purpose
was to bring about unity, even without agreement in doctrine. Of course, the text of the Confessions described their use in a somewhat different way: “All teachings should conform to these directives, as outlined above. Whatever is contrary to them should be rejected and condemned as opposed to the unanimous explanation of our faith” (Ep R&N, 6). The truth must conform to this standard, and what does not conform must be rejected and condemned.
The Confessions must be taken seriously by accepting the threat of the condemnation of false teaching that is inherent in their text. Theodore Schmauk identified the theological content of the Confessions as their proper use when he wrote, “The real question is not what do you subscribe, but what do you believe and publicly teach, and what are you transmitting to those who come after?”3 Subscription to the Confessions must not become merely formal. This is precisely what had happened as the Confessions were affirmed as part of the constitutional baggage of the American Lutheran churches in the twentieth century while the actual appropriation of the faith and pattern of the Lutheran Confessions was shoved into the background. In some cases, “subscription” was reduced to mere “identifying with” the historic Confessions of the Lutheran church. This is like “identifying with marriage” while committing adultery against your spouse.
Concordia Theological Seminary’s rejection of this confessional formalism led the confessional revival of the late twentieth century. When Robert Preus described confessional subscription, he described something that was intensely personal. It was obvious that he himself took subscription seriously. He would rather die than defect from it. Confessional subscription could only be whole-hearted.4
Confessional subscription was also a churchly act. The Confessions could never be “mine” as opposed to “yours.” We are obligated to confess because it is the faith of our church; it is the biblical faith which is the bulwark of the church catholic (Ap 12.90).
Subscription must be made in the same sense in which the Confessions themselves intended. Preus quoted from the Preface to the Book of Concord: “Therefore we also have determined not to depart even a finger’s breadth either from the subjects themselves, or from the phrases which are found in them, but, the Spirit of the Lord aiding us, to persevere constantly, with the greatest harmony, in this godly agreement, and we intend to examine all controversies according to this true norm and declaration of the pure doctrine.”5 Notice that the confessors promised not to depart from the subjects or the actual phrases used to express those subjects. It can hardly be argued that these subjects would only include some trimmed-down gospel as the only compelling and binding content of the Confessions. A wholehearted confessional subscription requires our constant attention to the Lutheran Confessions. Let us use them for our devotions, as a source of preaching and prayer, and as a standard to which we are bound in joyous service to the bride of Christ. Let us love them without nit-picking evasions and modernistic quibbles.
The Rev. Dr. Scott R. Murray is senior pastor of Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, and chairman of the Board of Regents at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
1 Sasse, “Confession,” 207.
2 Sasse, “Confession,” 214.
3 Theodore Schmauck and C. Theodore Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church (Philadelphia: General Council Publication Board, 1911), 890.
4 FC SD N&R, 4–7.
5 Trig, 23. The language is much more arresting than the insipid text in K-W. The Trig is translating the Latin.
The Confessions deal with and disclose things that are spiritual and therefore not susceptible to the arguments arising from naked reason. Such a rubric touches the very center of our faith: justification, the incarnation, the real presence, baptismal regeneration, etc. We must ever remain on guard against the attempts of human reason to rip the guts out of the Confessions.
Dr. David Scaer, the David P. Scaer Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology and editor of CTQ, was a professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield at the time of the Walkout. A graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (MDiv, 1959; ThD, 1963), Scaer experienced firsthand the “neoorthodoxy” that had started to creep into the seminary classroom. He was called to serve at CTS in Springfield in 1966 and took the reins as editor of The Springfielder (now CTQ) in 1968. For more of his memories, see Surviving the Storms (Luther Academy, 2018).
The Concordia Seminary faculty and student walkout on February 19, 1974, in support of its suspended president, John H. Tietjen, was set in motion by the July 1969 election of J. A. O. Preus as president of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod (LCMS). On the day of the Walkout, the LCMS as the standard of orthodox Lutheranism stood on the edge of disintegration. Whatever the future held for the synod, things would not be the same again.
There has been no shortage of articles and books analyzing what was behind the Walkout, and still more will be written. At the heart of the conflict was that some professors were teaching that gospel, defined as the proclamation of forgiveness, was the criterion of what in the Bible to believe. This came to be known as gospel reductionism. Law and gospel, not an inspired Bible, was the criterion of belief. This neoorthodox theology had been proposed in Europe after World War I and had made its way into the LCMS.
Neoorthodoxy, which literally means “new orthodoxy,” took the words of older orthodoxy and gave them different meanings and left unaddressed whether the things the Bible reported really happened. In the seminary, course readings from neoorthodoxy were assigned alongside Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics with little or no explanation that each viewed the Bible differently. With equal billing for each position, confusion set in, and this came to a head February 19, 1974.
The quad at the center of the campus had the appearance of the dedication of a cemetery, with students placing white crosses in the ground, one for each person going into self-imposed exile. Professors gave orations.
Some participants could claim lineage traceable to the beginnings of the LCMS. Since its founding in 1847, LCMS orthodox theology came to be identified with the St. Louis seminary as an institution whose presidents were C. F. W. Walther and Francis Pieper, each of whom had prepared dogmatics that were recognized by the LCMS as standards for what it believed. The board’s challenging of the St. Louis faculty’s orthodoxy by suspending President Tietjen was seen by some as disrespect of its past and of what it meant to be Lutheran.
For some of the seminary’s alumni serving LCMS congregations, personal attachment to the faculty was reason enough to support the Walkout, even though in the end most did not follow them into the ELCA. Some professors continued their teaching in the break-off institution known first as
“Concordia Seminary in Exile” and then as “Christ Seminary— Seminex.” Beginning in 1983 Seminex began to operate within the seminaries and congregations of the future ELCA (founded in 1988).
Students in whose name the Walkout was staged paid a higher price. Anticipating pastorates in LCMS congregations at the time of their seminary enrollment, each now had to decide in which synod to stake his future. Some went to LCMS congregations that they would lead into the ELCA. (To the credit of LCMS president J. A. O. Preus, the vast majority of congregations remained.) Other students chose secular vocations. Sadly, some left the faith.
What happened on February 19, 1974, was set in motion by eighteenth-century rationalism, from which C. F. W. Walther and other LCMS founding fathers fled in the 1840s. By addressing doctrinal aberrations in February 1974, the LCMS was going back to its roots in asserting that the supernatural events the Bible reports really happened.
Dr. Dean Wenthe, Professor of Exegetical Theology and President Emeritus of CTSFW, entered Concordia Seminary as a student in 1967. In 1969, when Wenthe was in the middle of his MDiv program, J. A. O. Preus was elected synod president; he began an investigation of the seminary shortly thereafter. Wenthe graduated from Concordia Seminary in 1971 then headed north to Springfield. Following is a brief excerpt from an article that will appear in the Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly later this year.
My first call, upon graduation, was to serve as an instructor in Hebrew at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois. To my surprise, a number of the younger faculty and a few administrators were supportive of the St. Louis faculty majority. Some faculty votes on sensitive issues such as the proper role of the “historical-critical” method would result in only a twovote majority for Synod’s historic position on Scripture.
When the emotion-laden Walkout took place in 1974, actions and events quickly displayed the depth of viewpoints on both sides. The faculty majority had negotiated for a space to occupy at St. Louis University—a Roman Catholic and Jesuit school. Moves and logistical arrangements fell into place in the following months, with many LCMS churches sending support. Very soon the number of students on the seminary campus was reduced to around fifty. Dr. Harold Buls, Dr. Walter A. Maier II, Dr. David Scaer, and I traveled by train on a weekly basis to teach the remaining students. I still recall how sobering it was to be on a campus so reduced in its number of students in comparison to the over 700 when I graduated in 1971. At the same time, it was a pleasure to watch how swiftly a new faculty was assembled and how rapidly numbers of students came to study. In fact, Dr. Robert Preus, by then the president of Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, minimized recruitment efforts for several years to assist the St. Louis seminary.
Dr. Walter Maier III, Professor of Exegetical Theology at CTSFW, was a student at Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne at the time of the Walkout in St. Louis. Concordia Theological Seminary relocated from Springfield to the Senior College campus in Fort Wayne in 1976. Maier earned his MDiv from CTSFW in 1978 and has been on the CTSFW faculty since 1989.
In February 1974, I was in my last year at Concordia Senior College (now the location of Concordia Theological Seminary). It was a tense time, and as student body vice-president I was well aware of the various factions on campus. Most of the professors were supporters of Seminex. Recruiters came to the Senior College from the three seminaries. My own class was divided into four groups: those going to Seminex, those going to “801” (a reference to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, which at that time had the address 801 DeMun Ave.), those going to “Springfield” (the Illinois city where Concordia Theological Seminary was then located), and those in a fourth group. In this last group were those not going to any of the seminaries. They had decided not to become pastors, because they had grown disillusioned due to how they perceived the “politics” and the turmoil in the LCMS.
The history of the events leading to the formation of Seminex must be remembered so that the LCMS will maintain constant vigilance against subtle intrusions of false doctrine and practice.
Christian Preus, son of Dr. Robert Preus and chairman of the LCMS Board of Directors, was a teenager living on the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis campus at the time of the 1974 Walkout. His father was one of the “faithful five” faculty members who remained on campus. Later that year, the family relocated to Springfield when Dr. Preus accepted a call to serve as president of Concordia Theological Seminary. Following are excerpts from an interview with Christian Preus about his memories of those years.
The first fourteen years of my life were on the St. Louis Seminary campus. It was a wonderful place to live. I had a lot of friends who were faculty members’ children. I remember playing capture the flag and baseball and softball and kickball and other things on the seminary campus with other seminary faculty children. I also hung around the gym a lot. I loved basketball and other things at the gym. I went to the seminary basketball games and sometimes played with seminary students.
I could probably walk down the street now and tell you where everyone lived. [Martin] Scharlemann was #1. In #2, which was right next door to us, were the Mehls. Duane Mehl was a professor at the time, at least in the latter years. His son, David, was one of my best friends. We were #4. The Tietjens were #6. We lived right next door to them.
I talked with my older brother, Peter, recently, about the Walkout. He drove to school every day with two Tietjen
children. He went to high school with them, and his comment was, “There were days when going to school was very quiet, especially after certain events, but there was never antagonism.” Obviously, they were aware of everything going on, but it stayed cordial and pleasant, even though it was maybe a little stressed and quiet on some days.
I remember how I was treated by the Mehls. After it all happened, just a few days before all the Seminex professors were moving out, they invited me for dinner, had me into their home. That’s how I was treated by some.
Not all were that way. It was one of those classic “two sides” and “we versus them” situations, but you have to be fair and recognize that a lot of the people involved, even though they may have left with Seminex, weren’t necessarily unpleasant, certainly not to me as a kid. Others were. Others were extremely antagonistic.
We’re a big family. At this time my father was very busy. I was fourteen. There were six or eight kids at home, depending on who was away at college. My mom took care of everything that went on in the home. She was extremely wise, and she had a manner in which she handled things.
There was no Caller ID back then. The phone rang, and you had no idea who was calling. Someone had to answer the phone. My mom reached a point where she said, “I’m not taking these calls anymore. If Robert is not there, then one of the kids will have to answer the phone.”
I was one of those who would answer the phone. I guess I was young enough not to be bothered by things. My parents were wise enough to pick up the phone and leave it off the hook all night long, because if you didn’t . . . Dr. Scharlemann got calls all night long, and he would answer. That wears on someone.
One of my sisters and I answered the phone probably 90% of the time. We took the prank phone calls and some of the other kind of vicious attacks that were made. There was a lot of that. There really was a lot. But it certainly wasn’t everybody.
It was kind of a lonely feeling on campus. A lot of my friends, at least all those in the neighborhood, were gone. If I’m recalling correctly, we were the only ones left on campus with kids. Before that, growing up on the campus, we mostly hung out with the other professors’ kids. And now they’re all gone.
I remember Dr. Scaer and Dr. Wenthe. I remember Dr. Scaer coming into our home regularly after the Walkout up until the time when my father was called to be the president in Springfield, and I remember Dr. Wenthe as well.
When you step back and try to look at Seminex objectively, for the seminary and our church body and also for Christendom in this country, it’s in stark contrast to what almost every other denomination has done. Theologically, when you look at where we are compared to where other church bodies are theologically, the significance of Seminex and the success of the seminary and the synod in maintaining the St. Louis Seminary and preventing it from going in the wrong direction theologically is really amazing.
Walter Dissen, who recently died, was on the Board of Control at the St. Louis Seminary at the time. There were people like him and my father and others who simply would not accept allowing the seminary to go down theologically, and everything else with the seminary to go down with it. They were willing to be the strong minority that defended the school.
marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Robert Preus, a member of the “faithful five” during the Seminex years. As a tribute to his enduring legacy, we are reprinting the address he delivered on the occasion of his inauguration as the thirteenth president of Concordia Theological Seminary on September 15, 1974. Preus’s unwavering commitment to Scripture and the Confessions continues to be an inspiration as we form faithful servants in Jesus Christ at CTSFW.
Published in The Springfielder, September 1974, 38:2; text available at media.ctsfw.com.
There are so many things that one could say on an occasion like this that I hardly know where to start. Certainly a few personal remarks are in place first of all. It is a great honor to be called to a Lutheran seminary which for over 100 years has been preparing men for the Christian ministry, the greatest honor which I have ever received or ever expect to receive. And in speaking of this seminary I am not thinking of brick and mortar or a place in a city, but of people, faculty and students. And it is a great joy to be accepted by a faculty, a student body, a board of control and many townspeople and fellow Christians—
It is significant that Concordia is the name given to almost all of our colleges and seminaries in the Missouri Synod. It is the name originally given our Lutheran Confessions which every pastor in the Lutheran Church subscribes and which has united Lutheranism in the Christian doctrine in a way almost unique in the history of the church.
to be received as my family and I have been received since moving to Springfield. The Christian love and hospitality which my family and I have experienced in these few weeks here is overwhelming and is a reflection not on us, but on your kindness and generosity.
But this evening I know you expect me to do more than make a few well chosen personal remarks. Tonight I should like to talk to you for a few minutes about a subject which I am sure is important to all of us here. I should like to speak about what Concordia Theological Seminary is and what it ought to be and, by grace, shall be—and about what I would like to be a part of as this school of the prophets moves into its future.
Naturally I cannot be very specific because I am new here—although in passing I might just mention that our board of control has yesterday authorized three new chairs to be endowed in missions, evangelism and stewardship and the beginning of a graduate school to confer the Doctor of Ministry degree and has taken hold of many other bold projects, all of which augur well for the future of our school and its service to the church.
Rather I should like to speak this evening in generalities about the school and its future, but in generalities which are very important. I believe that this school is and ought to be exactly what its name indicates: Concordia Theological Seminary. Those who named this school knew what they were doing and they named it well.
I. Concordia.
There is a word and name for this institution, a goal for this institution, a goal which we ought all to foster and for which I as president will give my labors and my life. It is significant that Concordia is the name given to almost all of our colleges and
seminaries in the Missouri Synod. It is the name originally given our Lutheran Confessions which every pastor in the Lutheran Church subscribes and which has united Lutheranism in the Christian doctrine in a way almost unique in the history of the church.
Concordia. That is a Latin word meaning unity, harmony, agreement. Not agreement to disagree, not negotiated agreement in this or that, not agreement through compromise. But agreement, unity in the Gospel and in all its articles, agreement in the doctrine which we all believe, teach and confess. This unity which has in the past typified and ought to typify this institution is not the unity of the holy Christian and apostolic
Theology is language, doctrine, about God. And in the nature of the case you cannot study such a subject from a detached, uninvolved, faithless posture. God is not an idea or theory. He is the living Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the Redeemer and Savior of all men. One cannot study theology without being caught up by it, changed, born again, without commitment, without faith. As our old Lutheran teachers used to say, there is no such person as an unregenerate theologian.
church described in our creed; it is not the oneness which is simply given by the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Christ and therefore make up His church.
Concordia is rather an external oneness in doctrine, often a fragile thing, but a God-pleasing thing and greatly to be prized, achieved by grace only, often after much struggle, prayer, controversy and even suffering. Paul speaks of this unity when he says, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).
Concordia. But the struggle and the suffering to achieve it is always worth it. For unity in the pure doctrine of the Gospel is not only a basis for all preaching and teaching and evangelism and love and work in the church, as our Lutheran Reformers never tired of stressing. It is also an end in itself, the highest worship and service of God, the noblest hallowing of His Name. How is God’s name hallowed, Luther asks in our Small Catechism. And the answer: “When the word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God also lead a holy life according to it.” This seminary is dedicated unashamedly and unabashedly to the preaching and teaching of the pure doctrine of the Gospel and all its articles. And this seminary is dedicated to unity in this doctrine, complete unity and unanimity, unity in the faculty, unity in the student body, in our congregations and our synod. That is what is meant by our very name, Concordia. And to retain this unity shall remain a goal of this institution.*
That is the second word in our name. We teach theology here. Theology means language about God. All our studies here center in God, in His Word, His will, His mighty and redemptive acts, His Law and Gospel, His grace and salvation, His answers to every question, every condition and situation and exigency of life.
Many seminaries throughout the world have lost such a direction. They
teach almost everything but theology. One seminary on the east coast in its four-year curriculum requires only six hours devoted to the study of Scripture or Christian doctrine. Another divinity school in the East which I attended for three years had as the head of its department of doctrinal theology a professor who did not even believe in the existence of God, a thorough-going, atheistic humanist.
Such a development at a theological school is a travesty, an absurdity. Theology is language, doctrine, about God. And in the nature of the case you cannot study such a subject from a detached, uninvolved, faithless posture. God is not an idea or theory. He is the living Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the Redeemer and Savior of all men. One cannot study theology without being caught up by it, changed, born again, without commitment, without faith. As our old Lutheran teachers used to say, there is no such person as an unregenerate theologian.
Faith in what? In our theology of course, in our doctrine, in the Gospel. But in more than all that, in a person, in Christ, our Lord and Savior, the heart and center of all our theology. “Christ is the center of the circle,” Luther says, “and all that Scripture tells us, if it be viewed rightly, will point to Him.” The purpose of Scripture and all theology is to lead sinners to faith in Him. “Come unto me,” He says. And in that profound theological masterpiece the Evangelist John says, “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31).
Faith in Christ, a life of fellowship with God, obedience to His will, hope in His coming—that is the goal of theology and of all our endeavors here. All this may sound crassly naive and simplistic or even pietistic for an institution like ours, striving and struggling to achieve academic excellence, scholarship, accreditation, recognition; but such goals are all secondary and ancillary to the one goal of theology and this theological seminary.
During the past days and weeks I have wondered why I was chosen to be president of this seminary. Perhaps some
of you have wondered too. There are many reasons for choosing a president. He may be an experienced educator or administrator or church leader or even public relations man. But the most important qualification is surely this: that he be a good, committed, orthodox theologian. It is my earnest wish and prayer that through the Word the Spirit of God will make me such a theologian here and that by grace I can offer evangelical theological leadership at Concordia Theological Seminary.
3. Seminary.
That is the third word in our name. A seminary is not a university or college or divinity school. It is more than an ordinary school. The word “seminary” comes from the Latin word for “seed” or the verb “plant.” We seek to implant something here in the minds and hearts and lives of our students. We seek to inculcate not merely facts, but faith; to teach not merely ethical principles, but love; to impart not merely information, but dedication, commitment. Commitment to what? To our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, of course. And to His Gospel, the good news, the never changing, always relevant good news, of what He has done to save us and all the world. And to the only source of this Gospel, the written Word of God, Scripture. And to our Lutheran Confessions as a true and correct summary and exposition of the biblical Gospel and all its articles.
That’s what we are about here at Concordia Theological Seminary. That is what we seek to inculcate here: total commitment, commitment to the highest and greatest work in all the world, ministry, the ministry of the Gospel, the ministry of reconciliation.
May I repeat: I am honored to be called to this seminary. And under God and by His grace I shall strive to be faithful and support its great name and its goals.
* “See Preface to the Book of Concord, Tappert 14: “We are minded by the grace of the Holy Spirit to abide and remain unanimously in this confession of faith and to regulate all religious controversies and their explanations according to it.” Cf. also FC, SD, Rule and Norm 1, 2, 8, 13, 16; Epit., Rule and Norm 3, 6.
Idon't think I could have had any greater blessing than to have the parents that I did, both my mother and my father. They were always a team, and they were different, in the best sense.
My father in everything, in his way, taught wisdom and applying it to what is right and what is wrong. He taught his children to use judgment to face everything that one might face in life. He tried to prepare his kids for the future. He taught us to think. He was totally in favor of memorization, but as a part of teaching people to understand and think, not just to recite. I recall taking classes in college and being frustrated because it was simply a matter of receiving information and then spewing out the information on an exam. And I thought, “That's not how I was raised. I was raised to learn information and then apply it and think about it and exercise it.”
My dad had dozens, if not hundreds, of pieces of advice that he would give regularly on how to handle things. That's how he raised us, along with always having a lot of fun. We traveled extensively. We lived overseas in France and Norway, and I also lived in Australia, when he was on sabbaticals. So not only did he teach us to do things in life, he actually lived it, believed it thoroughly, and brought all his kids along with him on life ventures, where he lived out what he taught.
Whatever I say is not going to be enough to reflect how incredibly grateful I am to God for giving me a father like Robert Preus.
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), recently celebrated the addition of two new endowed faculty chairs, made possible by a generous gift from the Walter C. Dissen Trust. The new chairs, the Reverend Victor H. and Lydia Dissen Chair in the Lutheran Confessions and the Roemer-Baese Chair in Pastoral Ministry and Missions, were dedicated January 15, 2024, at the conclusion of the morning chapel service, with CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. presiding.
15,
Dr. Walter C. Dissen
CTSFW President Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. and Mark Stern, secretary of the Board of Regents at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
the new Walter C. Dissen
“Giving thanks for the faithful service of Walter C. Dissen, who faithfully served a total of thirty years on the boards of regents of both this seminary and our sister seminary in St. Louis, it is fitting that we bless and sanctify these professorial chairs established by his generous gifts, to aid in a bold confession of the saving faith revealed to us in God’s holy Word,” said Rast.
Walter Dissen (1931–2023) established the chairs in honor of his parents, the Rev. Victor H. and Lydia (Baese) Dissen; his grandparents, the Rev. Ernst Baese and Emma (Roemer) Baese; and his great-grandparents, Johann Carl David Roemer and Maria (Kalbfleisch) Roemer. In establishing the chairs, Dissen aimed “to ensure that the rich historic, biblical, and confessional heritage of the Evangelical Lutheran Church be taught in the classrooms of the Seminary and shared throughout the world.”
“At the heart of a faithful seminary is a faculty committed to the teaching of the Scriptures as stated in the Lutheran Confessions,” said CTSFW Provost Dr. Charles Gieschen. “This generous gift of two endowed chairs will ensure the support of two faithful faculty members who will be used to
form faithful servants for the church for the decades ahead.”
Systematics Professor Dr. Naomichi Masaki has been appointed the Reverend Victor H. and Lydia Dissen Professor in the Lutheran Confessions. Masaki serves as Director of the PhD in Theological Studies Program (PhDTS), Director of the Master of Sacred Theology Program (STM), and Director of the Lutheran Leadership Development Program of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). A seasoned theological educator, Dr. Masaki has visited over twenty-five countries on behalf of CTSFW and the LCMS, teaching regularly in Africa, Nordic countries, and Asia.
Dr. K. Detlev Schulz has been appointed the Roemer-Baese Professor in Pastoral Ministry and Missions. Prior to his call to the Seminary, Schulz, who also serves as Dean of Graduate Studies and Director of the PhD in Missiology Program at CTSFW, served for several years as a missionary in Botswana. In the fall of 2023, he was installed as General Secretary of the ILC.
The two new chairholders presented inaugural lectures on the evening of the dedication, following a dinner honoring Dissen and celebrating the new chairs.
“Missiology remains a theologia viatorum. It never rests, it never stands still, it is always engaging and addressing new challenges that the church faces within and from the outside. But is it still in search of a home? I think not.
That is in my mind the wrong question to ask. Missiology is not in search of a home, for it is the home, and ecclesial theology is welcome to enter and join it.”
K. Detlev Schulz, Inaugural Lecture
“Missiology: A Theologia Viatorum in Search of a Home?”
“That our beloved seminary is given an endowed faculty chair in the Lutheran Confessions by the generous gifts of Dr. Walter C. Dissen in honor of his parents, Rev. Victor H. and Lydia Dissen, is an enormous testimony to the world that here we continue to breathe the air of the Book of Concord and keep on studying, confessing, and teaching the vibrant confessional heritage we have received.”
Dr. Naomichi Masaki, Inaugural Lecture
“Rejoicing in the Vibrant Confessional Heritage: CTSFW Breathing the Air of the Book of Concord”
Above, top: Dr. Detlev Schulz presented “Church Relations and Altar and Pulpit Fellowship” at the International Lutheran Councilʼs Africa Regional Conference held in Nairobi February 6–8, 2024.
Above, bottom: Dr. Naomichi Masaki and Dr. Charles Gieschen (second row from bottom) were in Gothenburg, Sweden, for the fifth commencement of the joint Master of Sacred Theology (STM) program at the Lutheran School of Theology in Gothenburg (LSTG) February 25, 2024. Pictured with Masaki and Gieschen are the STM graduates, faculty of LSTG, and members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Education Foundation (SELEF).
Dr. Samuli Siikavirta of Helsinki, Finland, has accepted a call to join the faculty of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), as Assistant Professor of Exegetical Theology. The CTSFW Board of Regents extended the call to Siikavirta at its November 2023 meeting.
“The news of Dr. Siikavirta’s acceptance of the call to our faculty brings our seminary community great joy,” said Dr. Charles Gieschen, CTSFW Provost. “His fine academic credentials as a young New Testament scholar, his ten years of faithful pastoral experience in a challenging context for confessional Lutheranism, and his international perspective will be a great blessing to our seminary and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.”
Siikavirta holds a PhD in New Testament exegetics (2015), an MA (2012), an MPhil in theology and religious studies (2010), and a BA in theology and religious studies (2008) from the University of Cambridge, UK. His dissertation was revised and published as Baptism and Cognition in Romans 6–8: Paul’s Ethics beyond ‘Indicative’ and ‘Imperative’ by Mohr Siebeck of Tübingen, Germany, in 2015 as volume 407 in their distinguished series Wissenschafliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe.
“In my doctorate, I dealt with the issue of identity in Paul’s baptismal theology,” said Siikavirta. “Although being a pastor has over the past decade entered into the core of my own identity, I have always dreamt of the opportunity to teach at a confessional seminary. The Lord has now answered this longing.”
Siikavirta was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF) in 2014 and was called to serve as associate pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Helsinki. In 2016, he was called as head pastor of St. Mark’s, where he is presently serving.
“Rev. Dr. Siikavirta is a trustworthy pastor, who tends his flock with love and care,” said Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Bishop of the ELMDF. “He has preached and taught according to the Holy Scriptures and our Lutheran Confessional writings, and his life has been exemplary to his congregation, St. Mark’s in Helsinki, where he has served ten years.”
Siikavirta is expected to arrive in Fort Wayne in November. He will start teaching New Testament courses in CTSFW’s winter quarter, which begins December 2.
CTSFW faculty, students, staff, and their families participated in the 50th annual Right to Life of Northeast Indiana’s March for Life in downtown Fort Wayne January 27, 2024. Dr. Peter Scaer, Professor of Exegetical Theology and member of the Board of Directors of Right to Life of Northeast Indiana, prayed for pastors and physicians at the gathering prior to the march. “It was so great to see so many of our Lutheran congregations represented,” said Scaer.
Dr. Jon Bruss, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, and Dr. Paul Grime, Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and Dean of the Chapel, served as instructors at the Decatur Lutheran Bible Institute, a four-week education program held on Tuesday evenings from January 23 through February 13 in Decatur, Indiana. Bruss taught “The Acts of the Apostles,” while Grime taught “The Divine Service in Detail.” The Rev. Leonard Tanksley (left), pastor at St. Peter (Fuelling) Evangelical Lutheran Church in Decatur, and the Rev. Samuel Wirgau (right), pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, rounded out the teaching crew.
Dr. Don Wiley, Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, and Dr. Geoffrey Boyle, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, presented sessions at a conference January 9–12, 2024, as part of Formación Pastoral para Hispanoamérica (Pastoral Formation for Hispanic America), an online pastoral formation program at Seminario Concordia El Reformador (Concordia Seminary of the Reformer) in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The in-person conference was for students from all over Latin America. “This year, one of our SMP-Español/ English students also participated,” said Wiley. “I planted the idea at last year’s conference, and they were able to make it happen. This gave the student a unique opportunity to meet and learn with fellow students from several of our sister Spanish-speaking church bodies.”
Nominations for president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), closed December 31, 2023. Forty-two individuals were nominated for the office by congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), the CTSFW Board of Regents, and the CTSFW faculty, per Synod bylaws. The following nineteen nominees have allowed their names to stand for consideration:
Rev. Dr. Geoffrey R. Boyle
Rev. Dr. Jon S. Bruss
Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III
Rev. Dr. Burnell F. Eckardt Jr.
Rev. Dr. Charles A. Gieschen
Rev. Dr. Gifford A. Grobien
Rev. Dr. Jamison J. Hardy
Rev. Dr. Chad D. Kendall
Rev. Dr. Adam C. Koontz
Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland
Rev. Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn
Rev. Dr. Paul A. Philp
Rev. Dr. David R. Preus
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey H. Pulse
Rev. Dr. Geoffrey L. Robinson
Rev. Dr. Gregory N. Todd
Rev. Charles E. Varsogea
Rev. Matthew J. Wietfeldt
Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford
The Presidential Search Committee, which expanded to include three additional faculty members in January, is now evaluating nominees in Phase 2 of their work. The committee will recommend at least five candidates from the list to the electors for consideration prior to the presidential election, which will take place May 18, 2024.
Anyone wishing to offer comments about any of the nominees or ask questions about the search may do so by contacting the search committee secretary, Rev. William Cwirla, at presidentialsearch@ctsfw.edu.
Naples, Florida
April 8–10, 2024
Dr. Jeffrey Pulse
No More “Peek-a-Boo’ Jesus: The Christology of the Old Testament
St. Paul, Minnesota
May 28–30, 2024
Prof. John Pless
Marysville, Washington
June 11–13, 2024
Rev. Eric Andrae
“The Atheist Who Became a Bishop”—Bo Giertz Is a Unique, Broad, and Deep Voice
Luther’s Catechism in the Life of the Congregation
Nashville, Tennessee
June 3–5, 2024
Dr. John Stephenson
How Knowledge of the Last Times Can Shape Us for the Present Times
Ocala, Florida
June 3–5, 2024
Dr. Adam Koontz
The Gospel Always Grows: Evangelism and Apologetics in the Book of Acts
Panama City, Florida
June 3–5, 2024
Dr. Brian German
Luther and the Psalms
Mound City, Missouri
June 4–6, 2024
Rev. Eric Andrae
“The Atheist Who Became a Bishop”—Bo Giertz Is a Unique, Broad, and Deep Voice
Collinsville, Illinois
June 10–12, 2024
Dr. Benjamin Mayes
Johann Gerhard on Exegesis, Study, and Preaching Grand Rapids, Michigan
June 10–12, 2024
Dr. R. Reed Lessing
The Book of Jeremiah: Overcoming Life’s Sorrows
Lombard, Illinois
June 10–12, 2024
Dr. Carl Fickenscher
Looking Again at (And Listening Again To) Our Preaching: An Advanced Workshop
Hammond, Louisiana
June 10–12, 2024
Prof. John Pless
Lutheran Preaching Today Traverse City, Michigan
June 10–12, 2024
Dr. Adam Francisco
Apologetics for the 21st Century
St. Cloud, Minnesota
June 11–13, 2024
Dr. Dean Wenthe
Christology of the Old Testament Silver Bay, Minnesota
June 12–14, 2024
Dr. Jon Bruss
The Seven Ecumenical Councils
Knowles, Oklahoma
June 17–19, 2024
Dr. Carl Fickenscher
Preaching the Upper Room Discourse
Sharon, Pennslyvania
June 17–19, 2024
Dr. Peter Scaer
Luke and the Formation of the New Testament
St. Paul, Minnesota
June 17–21, 2024
Dr. R. Reed Lessing
Preaching from the Old Testament Prophets
Anaheim, California
June 18–20, 2024
Prof. John Pless
The Psalms as Pastoral Theology
St. Paul, Minnesota
June 24–26, 2024
Dr. Mike Middendorf
Romans
Davenport, Iowa
June 24–26, 2024
Dr. Cameron MacKenzie
Luther’s Theology in Today’s World
Hickory, North Carolina
June 24–26, 2024
Dr. Robert Macina
The Divine Service in the Old Testament
St. Augustine, Florida
June 25–27, 2024
Dr. Roland Ziegler
Faith and Reason
Little Rock, Arkansas
June 26–28, 2024
Dr. James Bushur
Let Us Die That We May Live: Confessing Christ with the Noble Army of Martyrs Lawrence, Kansas
June 27–29, 2024
Dr. Adam Francisco
Apologetics for the 21st Century Grass Valley, California
July 1–3, 2024
Dr. Todd Peperkorn
Advanced Sacramental Preaching Kansas City, Missouri
July 8–10, 2024
Dr. Gifford Grobien
Law, Virtue, and Life in Christ
Truman, Minnesota
July 8–10, 2024
Dr. Jeffrey Pulse
Psalms: What Makes Them Work?
Riverton, Utah
July 15–17, 2024
Dr. Peter Scaer
The Abolition of Man: The War on Our Humanity Shawano, Wisconsin
July 15–17, 2024
Dr. Gifford Grobien
Law, Virtue, and Life in Christ Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
July 16–18, 2024
Dr. Robert Macina
The Divine Service in the Old Testament Westminster, Massachusetts
July 22–24, 2024
Dr. Geoffrey Boyle
O Lord, Open My Lips: Praying the Psalms with Christ and His Church
Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 29–31, 2024
Dr. Jeffrey Pulse
The Joseph Narratives: A Tale of Two Brothers in Genesis 37–50
Flathead Lake, Montana
July 29–August 2, 2024
Dr. David Maxwell
The Theology of St. Cyril of Alexandria
For additional classes or to register online: Visit ctsfw.edu/CE or scan the QR code.
To register by phone with credit card: Call LeeAnna Rondot at (260) 452-2204.
Auburn, Michigan
August 5–7, 2024
Rev. William M. Cwirla
The Heard Word
Cheyenne, Wyoming
August 5–7, 2024
Dr. David Maxwell
The Theology of St. Cyril of Alexandria
Ely, Minnesota
August 5–7, 2024
Dr. David H. Petersen
21st-Century Preaching: Gleaning Method—Luther, Gerhard, Walther
Lubbock, Texas
August 5–7, 2024
Dr. Adam Koontz
Why Imitate Paul?
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
August 5–7, 2024
Dr. Brian German
Luther and the Psalms
Council Bluffs, Iowa
August 6–9, 2024
Dr. Walter Maier
Selected Studies in 1 and 2 Kings
Decatur, Illinois
August 12–14, 2024
Dr. R. Reed Lessing
The Book of Numbers
Lynchburg, Virginia
August 12–14, 2024
Dr. Gregory Schulz
Ministry of the Word in an After-Word World
Fort Wayne, Indiana
September 23–25, 2024
Dr. Adam Francisco
Apologetics for the 21st Century
Chattanooga, Tennessee
September 26–28, 2024
Dr. Peter Scaer
Standing Strong: A Biblical Response to the Present Crisis
Camp Okoboji–Milford, Iowa
October 14–16, 2024
Dr. Peter Scaer
Luke and the Formation of the New Testament
At the heart of the recruitment effort here at Concordia
Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), is the synod’s premier vocational discernment program, Christ Academy. The program has been instrumental in helping young people discern and consider vocations in church work for a quarter of a century. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Christ Academy stands as a testament to the seminary’s commitment to nurturing and equipping the next generation of church leaders.
Since its founding in 1999, Christ Academy has walked alongside young men and young women considering pastoral ministry or deaconess service. Originally started as an intensive summer program for high school students, Christ Academy provides a unique opportunity to delve into theological study, engage in rigorous academic coursework, and experience firsthand the life of a student at CTSFW. Over the years, Christ Academy has welcomed countless eager participants from all over the country and all over the world, each drawn by a shared passion for serving Christ and His Church.
The impact of Christ Academy extends far beyond just the two weeks during that summer. For many participants, this program serves as
a critical moment of discernment, affirming their calling to ministry and pointing them toward studying at the seminary someday. Countless alumni of Christ Academy have pursued theological studies at Concordia Theological Seminary and other Lutheran institutions, ultimately answering the call to serve as pastors, other church workers, and faithful laymen and women.
Christ Academy plays a central role in church worker recruitment, effectively building a pipeline of future church leaders. Through lectures, worship services, and fun times bonding with Lutheran peers, Christ Academy students gain invaluable insights into the joys and challenges of service in the Church, which equips them with the knowledge
and confidence to consider service in the Church and future studies at CTSFW.
Moreover, Christ Academy fosters a sense of camaraderie and fellowship among participants, who build lifelong friendships founded on a shared experience and a commitment to Christ and His bride, the Church. Our alumni continue to speak fondly of the friendships formed and the spiritual growth experienced at Christ Academy, highlighting the program’s formative impact on their lives and ministries.
Since its founding, Christ Academy has continued to grow, both in the number of students served every year and in the number of programs offered. In recent years, Christ Academy High School has had record attendance numbers, and programs have been added for collegeaged students, middle school students, and families. These additional programs share a singular focus on raising up future church workers and equipping those who serve alongside them.
As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Christ Academy, we pause to reflect on the countless lives touched and formed through this program, faithfully forging on through these uncertain times. From humble beginnings to its current stature
You are cordially invited to the Christ Academy 25th Anniversary Reunion on June 27–29, 2024.
Information and registration: (800) 481-2155
as a cornerstone of pastoral recruitment efforts, Christ Academy continues to embody the seminary’s mission of preparing faithful servants for the life of the world. We give thanks to those directors and students who paved the way for the program we have today. We give thanks to our dedicated faculty and other teachers who sustain it by imparting knowledge and faith to our students. Finally, we give thanks to our passionate alumni who carry the legacy forward.
June 13–15, 2024
June 12–14, 2025
In the words of St. Paul, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:3-5 ESV). Indeed, we give thanks for the enduring partnerships forged through Christ Academy, as together we strive to raise those who may someday proclaim the Gospel and provide acts of mercy as they serve the Church for the life of the world.
The Rev. Matthew J. Wietfeldt is Assistant Vice President of Admission and Christ Academy Director at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Christ Academy Family Institute (CAFI) is perfect for parents, families, and church workers interested in growing in their care and love for one another and passing on the faith to future generations.
For more information or to register please visit ctsfw.edu/CAFI.
June 13–15, 2024
June 12–14, 2025
is perfect for parents, families, and church workers interested in growing in their care and love for one another and passing on the faith to future generations.
For more information or to register please visit ctsfw.edu/CAFI.
September 20–22, 2024
February 21–23, 2025
Margaret and Joseph Moore (Sem II, St. Louis, Missouri) check out one of the many quilts donated for the annual Christmas Marketplace December 9. The Marketplace provided a quilt to each student as well as a chance to win one of forty-nine gift baskets (including thirteen from a Sunday School in Texas and others assembled with new donated items). Students also received donated gift cards. “This is our way of saying Merry Christmas to everyone,” said Deaconess Katherine Rittner, director of the Food and Clothing Co-op. “Our students are truly blessed by the love and care of our donors.”
The CTSFW Kantorei, an auditioned choir of pastoral ministry students under the direction of Kantor Kevin Hildebrand, sang at a special Evening Prayer service at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Huber Heights, Ohio, January 13. The Rev. Daniel Burfiend (CTSFW Advancement) served as preacher. The next day, the Kantorei served as the choir for regular morning worship services at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio. The Kantorei’s March tour includes stops in Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas, with a home concert March 17 at Kramer Chapel.
Dr. Jeffrey Pulse, the Dean O. Wenthe Professor of Old Testament Theology, interacts with participants at the Lenten Preaching Workshop January 15, the Monday of Symposia Week. The all-day workshop, “Who Is . . . Jesus?” focused on the Christological nature of the Old Testament.
The Rev. Andrew Mundinger, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Concord, California (CTSFW MDiv, 2019) battles John Kastner (Sem IV, Henrico, Virginia) and Joshua Gerken (Sem II, New Haven, Indiana) of the King’s Men in the alumni basketball game January 16. The alumni team defeated the King’s Men by a score of 46-44, thanks to a three-pointer in the last few seconds of the game.
Students and faculty write encouraging notes to LCMS military chaplains and members of the military after chapel February 12. Deaconess Carolyn Brinkley, CTSFW Military Project Coordinator, creates the cards and organizes the signing events. “These notes from the Seminary community are a tremendous encouragement and comfort to both those who serve as God’s instruments of protection and our LCMS chaplains as they bring the mercy of Christ to the Armed Forces around the world and also here in the states,” said Deaconess Brinkley.
The CTSFW Seminary Guild celebrated its 85th anniversary February 13, with Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. as keynote speaker and the Rev. Chad Schopp (CTSFW Admission) leading their devotion. In the months leading up to their anniversary, the Guild aimed to raise $8,500 for their Legacy Project, which provides every first-year student at CTSFW with a Pastoral Care Companion. The Guild far exceeded their goal, thanks to generous donors from all over the country. Soli Deo gloria!
Seminary Guild Spring Luncheon
Tuesday, April 9, 12:00 p.m.
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Easter Evening Prayer with the Schola Cantorum and Kantorei performing Bach Cantata 67, Hold in Remembrance Jesus Christ
Sunday, April 14, 4:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Vicarage and Deaconess Internship Assignment Service
Tuesday, April 23, 7:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Candidate Call Service
Wednesday, April 24, 7:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
CTSFW Golf Outing (see ad on opposite page)
Wednesday, May 15
Organist Workshop: Beginner Level
June 3–7
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/BeginningOrgan
Contact: LeeAnna.Rondot@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-2204
Organist Workshop: Intermediate & Advanced Level
June 10–14
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/IntermediateOrgan
Contact: LeeAnna.Rondot@ctsfw.edu or (260) 452-2204
Christ Academy Family Institute
June 13–15
Information: ctsfw.edu/Family-Institute or (800) 481-2155
Information: ctsfw.edu/alumni-golf-outing or (260) 452-2204
Alumni Reunion (see ad on opposite page)
May 16–17
Information: ctsfw.edu/alumni-reunion or (260) 452-2204
Baccalaureate
Friday, May 17, 10:00 a.m.
Commencement Organ Recital
Friday, May 17, 2:00 p.m.
Commencement Ceremony
Friday, May 17, 4:00 p.m.
Christ Academy High School
June 16–29
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/TimothySchool (boys) or ctsfw.edu/PhoebeSchool (girls) or (800) 481-2155
Christ Academy 25th Anniversary Reunion
June 27–29
Information and registration: (800) 481-2155
Prayerfully Consider Visit (Family)
July 11–13
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/PCV
Contact: Admission@ctsfw.edu or (800) 481-2155
Opening Service
For full details and updates, please visit ctsfw.edu/Events or call (260) 452-2100. Events are subject to change. Services and lectures will be livestreamed at ctsfw.edu/DailyChapel or facebook.com/ctsfw.
Sunday, September 8, 3:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Seminary Guild Meeting
Tuesday, September 10, 1:00 p.m. in Luther Hall
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Christ Academy Confirmation Retreat
September 20–22
Information: ctsfw.edu/Confirmation
Register: ChristAcademy@ctsfw.edu or (800) 481-2155
One of the most cherished slogans of the Lutheran church is abbreviated VDMA, “Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum”—The Word of the Lord Endures Forever. It was first used by Elector Frederick the Wise and became the motto of the Schmalkaldic League, the defensive alliance formed by Lutheran princes in the sixteenth century.
For the Lutheran princes, their theologians, and pastors, the Scriptures alone had to be the source and norm of faith. It is the foundation of Lutheran doctrine and practice. Because the Word of God endures forever, we can rely on it. Traditions and the opinions of men and women come and go, but the Word of God endures forever.
The motto is based on 1 Peter 1:24–25. In this passage, St. Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6–8. What do both passages tell us about the Word of God?
The Good News that Luther and the reformers cherished has been proclaimed by the Lutheran church for 500 years. Lutherans have believed, taught, and confessed that God became flesh to live a perfect life, carry our sin to the cross, suffer and die there to atone for them, and to earn forgiveness for us. They preached that His death destroyed death, and His resurrection opened the kingdom of Heaven to all who believe. They confessed that God the Holy Spirit called us by this Gospel, and that salvation is a gift by God’s grace alone through faith in him and his promises alone. This Gospel, and much more about the Christian faith, sounds crazy to people who do not believe in Christ.
So, how do we know the Gospel is true? (Luke 1:68–70; Hebrews 1:1–2)
How did God inspire the Holy Scriptures? Why should we believe the Word of God? (2 Peter 1:19–21)
How did the Old Testament Scriptures point to Jesus?
(Luke 24:25–27)
During the Missouri Synod’s battle for the Bible, the methods of modern scholars, which challenged the reliability and message of the Scriptures, were adopted by the majority of the faculty and students at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. In the end, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod rejected all such methods because they undermined the whole of the Christian faith.
What does Jesus teach about the reliability of the Old Testament? How should we view those who seek to weaken it?
(Matthew 5:17–19)
What does the Word of God do?
Men prepare to become pastors by studying the Word of God and its teachings for four years. Women prepare to show God’s mercy to people in need as deaconesses by studying Scripture for three years. But their reading of God’s Word continues until they die. They also constantly invite every Christian to join them in learning at the feet of Jesus.
Why do we study the Word of God? What do the Scriptures do for us? (John 8:31; John 20:30–31; 2 Timothy 2:14–17)
How does the Holy Spirit create faith in us? (Romans 10:14–17)
How does the Word of God work to show us our sin?
(Hebrews 4:12–13)
Throughout recorded history, God gave the human race many talented artists, musicians, poets, and authors of great literature. They painted pictures, sculpted statues, built magnificent buildings, penned epic poems, and wrote stories, novels, treatises, and countless other works that we remember and teach children. We describe them as inspiring. Yet even the greatest of these rarely change us. The Word of God is different. It comes with the power to save.
How do we find eternal life in the Scriptures? (John 5:29)
Does God’s Word do what he intended it to do? (Isaiah 55:10–11)?
How can we have God’s peace in our daily lives? (Colossians 3:15–16)
Why is it dangerous to build our lives on anything other than the words of Jesus? What is the value in building on his words alone? (Matthew 7:24–27)
God’s Word is a great gift to us. He reveals himself to us in it because we cannot fully understand him. In it is everything we need to know about him, his will, and his plan for our lives. With it he sanctifies the water of Holy Baptism to wash away our sins and unite us with Jesus in his death and resurrection. With it he gives us in the Lord’s Supper his own Body and Blood with bread and wine to eat and to drink. Through it the Holy Spirit calls us with the Gospel, enlightens us with his gifts, makes us holy, and keeps us safe until we enter Christ’s sabbath rest. On the last day, as it was on the first day, by his Word he will call us from our graves to live with him forever.
The Rev. Robert E. Smith serves as Electronic Resources Librarian at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
