Each convention year, nominees for LCMS president answer questions posed by The Lutheran Witness editors relating to faith, life and the Synod. This year, we asked our LCMS Facebook followers to submit the questions, and they obliged. What follows are some of the most commonly asked questions with answers from the three pastors with the top number of nominations.
Q
What specific things would you recommend that the Synod do to address the student loan debt of her church workers? yHarrison “Pray the Lord of the harvest send workers” (MATT. 9:38). I recently gathered leaders from the seminaries, Concordia Plans, LCMS Foundation, LCEF and the Lutheran Federal Credit Union. We identified facts and trends. Most students are not heavily in debt. A third are deeply challenged, especially couples that borrowed heavily for undergraduate education. Sems are great at raising money and providing scholarships. Some districts provide great assistance, others far less. Concordias must monitor the debt of presem students. There are debt limits in place for sem entrance. Endowments should be expanded significantly. Over the past triennium, Synod has provided $10 million to the sems. God help us to do more (1 TIM. 5:18; GAL. 6:6; HEB. 10:24).
Synod should encourage such campaigns in all districts and the “Adopt a Student” program in congregations. LCEF’s Education Repayment Loan Program (lcef.org/loans/education_min.cfm) is an amazing blessing that should also be emphasized and utilized.
yMeyer The St. Louis seminary has taken the issue of student debt very seriously and has worked very diligently to significantly reduce out-of-pocket tuition costs for our M.Div. students. Part of the solution is to make the needs known to the people of the LCMS, part of it is sound stewardship on the part of the seminary and part of it is working directly with students on their own financial planning and stewardship. My encouragement will be to develop a “culture of stewardship” wherein we all practice, “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.”
yMaier I would encourage all students at
PHOTOS: LCMS/ERIK M. LUNSFORD, MICHAEL SCHUERMANN
our universities and seminaries to go through a financial management program like Financial Peace University. Learning to manage our finances responsibly is critical. The Michigan District’s capital campaigns “The Future Is Now” and “Here We Stand” have given, and continue to give, significant financial aid to students going into full-time church work in our universities and seminaries.
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