ISSUES Fall 2014

IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Fall 2014

Vol. 48, No. 1

Church Worker ENROLLMENT

CHALLENGES:
How Can the CH U RCH

?

respond

IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Fall 2014
Vol. 48, No. 1

Editor
Editorial Committee
Editorials
Associate
Associate
Graphic Design
Copy Editor
Circulation Coordinator

A PUBLICATION OF CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, SEWARD, NEBRASKA

Church Worker Enrollment Challenges: How Can the Church Respond?
3

Reflections
Rev. Dr. Brian L. Friedrich, President

4

Editorials

8

lcms Church Worker Enrollments: The Current Scene
The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Philp

14

Ways of Recruiting Church Workers: One Person’s View
of One Church’s Approach
The Rev. Dr. Jeffery Schrank

18

Increasing Access and Opportunity to the Lutheran Teacher Diploma
Dr. Bernard D. Bull

23

Two Worlds: Called to the Beautiful and Truthful World
The Rev. Dean O. Wenthe

25

Book Reviews

Marvin Bergman, Ed. D., Ph. D.

Russ Moulds, Ph.D.
Daniel Thurber, A.D.
Brian L. Friedrich, M.Div., Ph.D.
Seth A. Boggs, M.F.A.
Marlene Block, B.A.
Holly Matzke

Issues in Christian Education is available online only. We encourage church workers, lay leaders, interested
congregational members, university and seminary faculties, district and synod offices, and libraries to visit
www.cune.edu/issues and simply complete the sign-up form on the page.

reflections
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

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As mother tells it, I gave only one answer to this question, “a pastor!” Whether
that was my only answer, I do not remember. However, I do remember how well
and often I was encouraged to follow this vocational calling. It was the work
of the Holy Spirit and the call of the church that led me to prepare for and to
be placed in the pastoral ministry of The Lutheran Church¬–Missouri Synod.
However, it was also the support of my parents, prayers of congregational
members, encouragement of relatives and friends, the financial support of
Synod, district, congregation and family, and the never-ending love of my
wife that, humanly speaking, made this possible.
This edition of Issues peels back many layers of a much asked and vitally
important question being asked throughout our church: “How can the church
respond to the decline in church worker enrollments?” The answers to the
question are complex, but there are answers, the most important of which
is the power of the Holy Spirit sending forth workers into the harvest field.
The following quotes of authors of the edition are samples of the richness
of their perspectives.
The mission of the cus institutions has experienced a shift. The shift
has been in the broadening and expansion of the mission, rather than
a change from one mission to another. The distinction is crucial to
understand. (Philp)
I believe that the value of a degree from a cus institution plays a large
role in challenging, molding, and equipping men and women for
service and leadership in church and world. (Schranz)
It can seem to be presumptuous to comment on God’s work. Recruiting
church workers is essentially a person answering God’s call. To suggest
that we can orchestrate, manipulate or force such is problematic ….
It is God’s activity. (Schrank)
Research indicates that 85 percent of those seeking a college degree
are post-traditional, not seeking a traditional residential college
experience. That means that less than 15 percent of undergraduate
students in the United States are pursuing their degree in a traditional
residential program (Soares, 2014). As a result, creating options for
those 85 percent to become rostered church workers will require
alternate models, many that are made possible by the revolution in
digital education. (Bull)
It is the privilege and calling to announce, to embody, to live out and
display the truthful and beautiful world that is ours by God’s grace
in Christ. To spend one’s life in inviting people to the realization
that they are the apex of God’s creative labors rather than cosmic
accidents is noble and satisfying in a profound way, for it flows from
God’s grace and mercy. Indeed, every Christian is called to witness to
this truthful and beautiful world. The blessing of giving one’s life to
service to Christ is simply that one can fill one’s days and nights with
the beautiful and truthful narrative of God’s love and mercy. (Wenthe)
Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle in us the fire of your love that through the
witness, work and words of your called workers, all may know the Good News
of the Gospel and be saved for all eternity.

Brian L. Friedrich, President

editorials

A Decade as Placement
Director

4

fill out a ministry position request form
for a candidate, and then submit the form
to any cus institutions they choose. It has
been a valued time saver for call committees,
principals, and placement directors. In
the past three years, this online form has
been filled out by over 850 different calling
bodies who were seeking to call any first
time commissioned candidate as a Teacher,
Director of Christian Education, Director
of Parish Music, Director of Family Life,
Lay Minister, and Deaconess.
The request form has also allowed us the
ability to collect and use data to see trends
that are taking place in our synodical calling
bodies and those candidates who are being
placed. Below are trends that indicate a need
for more synodical candidates to meet our
ministry needs.

The “Requests for Candidates” indicates
the number of candidate requests we
have received from calling entities of the
lcms. These requests include a variety of
commissioned minister positions, with 85
percent being requests for teacher ministers.
“Total Candidates Assigned” indicates those
candidates who were approved by the Board
of Assignments for their first Calls. The
data show that our synodical calling bodies
cannot fully meet their current ministry
needs through our church worker programs.
We can get a clearer view of the trends
by looking more closely at the candidates
assigned. Candidate assignments are broken
down into Teachers, Directors of Christian
Education, Directors of Parish Music,
Directors of Family Life, Lay Ministers,
Deaconess, and other Commissioned
Candidates positions. The largest group of
assigned candidates is teachers. Teachers
assigned are “Graduates” from our cus
institutions who have completed their

Issues

This past year I celebrated my 10th year road to travel. Though the placement process
as Director of Synodical Placement at itself hasn’t changed, the call documents
Concordia University Nebraska. Though have changed, and the way information
my title has changed some over the years, is exchanged between calling bodies and
my role has remained the same: to facilitate placement officers has changed. In my
placement for our synodical candidates and early days in Placement, before we used
assist our public education candidates in digital and electronic copies, our office
their search for employment. It has been a sent out hundreds of paper credential files
decade of blessings for me, watching God with candidates’ information to calling
work through the gifts He has given me, bodies. My administrative assistant and her
to assist more than 1,000 candidates find organized groups of student workers stuffed
opportunities to serve and share the Good large envelopes and coordinated the mass
News of Jesus Christ in ministry within mailings of these files. At that time, some
schools and churches in communities of our student credential files required two
weeks to reach a calling body. Today, we
around the world.
I begin each academic year meeting get digital copies of a credential file in the
in groups with all Education, Director hands of calling bodies usually within 24
of Christian Education, and Director of hours and sometimes even within the hour
Parish Music candidates. This allows me of a request.
The days when we held a “Service of
the opportunity to introduce myself to our
soon-to-be graduates and get them thinking Consecration” or “Call Service” where
about life after college. Over the next few graduates received their call documents
weeks I meet individually with our synodical are gone. Today’s candidates and calling
and public candidates. As they enter my bodies work through a protocol process
office, many will comment on the photos and known as the “Guidelines for Designation.”
mementos on my shelves—a memory lane to Candidates openly correspond about
me, reminding me how God continues to ministry opportunities with calling bodies
work in and through my life. It is also a great using technology to communicate. Skype
conversation starter as we get to learn more interviews are common. Candidates share
about each other. Candidates share their their online portfolios which contain their
future teaching goals and job preferences. education philosophy, classroom teaching
We talk about geographical preferences examples with sample lesson plans and
and also where they don’t see themselves rubrics. Most portfolios contain photos and
beginning their ministry. Some will share some contain video clips, which provide a
news of their upcoming marriage and others plethora of information for calling bodies
their love for ministry overseas. This time of to review.
Technology has allowed us to become more
life for our soon-to-be graduates is exciting
and adventurous, yet scary and complicated. efficient in getting information about our
They often share their concerns about candidates to calling bodies and to public
school districts looking to hire teachers.
finding a teaching job or being called.
Not many candidates at first see the poster More than 90 percent of the hiring for
hanging above my computer. It reads, “We public teacher openings are facilitated in
may not know what the future holds, but some way through submitting information
we know Who holds the future.” But it to school districts electronically. In a
reminds the candidate and me how God similar way, all Lutheran Church–Missouri
works through us to serve others. Here is the Synod calling bodies are able to make
time I get to remind them of who is really their requests by contacting the Concordia
in charge of our lives and of this placement System University Placement Directors
process. We complete the credential files and filling out an online form called the
and prepare for interviews, but we continue “Candidate Request Form.” This form was
to pray always and leave God in control of developed by the placement directors six
years ago and has been supported by the
the process.
My ten-year time line as Director of Concordia University System (cus). This
Synodical Placement has been an interesting has enabled calling entities to go online,

What my Teachers
Showed Me

Fall 2014

Lutheran Teaching certification as well
as candidates who complete the colloquy.
Colloquy candidates who have graduated
from other public or private institutions,
are hired by a church or school as contracted
workers, and then complete the online
colloquy program are usually called to their
positions by the calling bodies.

now in the minority as more calling
bodies choose to issue non-tenured calls
to candidates. Under some circumstances,
some calling bodies issue contracts, deciding
that a contract works best for their purposes.
Of the 21,256 Christian educators who teach
in our schools, 10,658 are called.
Health care costs have caused calling
bodies to change family coverage plans to
employee-only plans, and candidates are
asked to pick up the costs for spouses and
families. This year the required 3 percent
offset in benefit plans which previously
assisted church workers’ disposable income
was eliminated. Many calling bodies are
now trying to figure out how to provide for
their church workers without the worker
taking on the extra costs which decrease
their already low starting salaries. The
As our cus teacher graduate numbers challenges of church worker ministries are
decline, our synodical calling entities must great, but the cost of not continuing is even
turn to hiring other educators to meet their greater. We no longer have to go overseas
ministry needs. This raises the question, for a mission field: the mission field is our
“Why the decline in the number of cus own community.
teacher graduates?” A number of variables
Concordia University Nebraska did a
affect this decline, including some factors study last year to see where our Lutheran
in college admissions but also some at the teacher candidates were teaching five years
completion of a student’s program that we after they were assigned their first call. We
placement directors can address. One that I found that after five years almost 70 percent
have noticed recently is candidates deferring of our candidates were still at their first
their church worker placement because as assigned call. Did this surprise me? Not
students they have taken on state-sponsored really. I have the opportunity to spend time
teacher education loans. The graduate can with our graduating candidates going into
then have the loan forgiven by teaching a ministry. I see and hear the passion they
certain number of years in approved low- have for ministry and why they want to
income schools. One may wonder if this teach in a Lutheran school. I believe that
candidate will seek a call once completing the value of a degree from a cus institution
the required commitment. It is difficult plays a large role in challenging, molding,
to say.
and equipping men and women for service
Other changes I have observed include and leadership in church and world. I’m
the closing of more than 200 Lutheran looking forward to seeing how God uses
schools. But other churches and associations me to facilitate placement this year. I know
of congregations have made a commitment Who holds the future.
to their school ministry. They are willing to
Bill Schranz
revisit and change their mission statements
Director of Education and
to meet the challenges of dynamic changes
Synodical Careers,
in their community. These Lutheran
Concordia University Nebraska
schools have survived by pursuing unique
[email protected]
and diverse mission opportunities within
their communities.
There have been at least four revisions
in the format of call documents, from a
typewriter format to an online format.
Whatever the format, tenured calls are

Detroit was a wonderful place to grow
up. I know that when people today think
of my hometown, they shake their heads
and wonder how things could have gotten
so bad. Still, I am confident that “the
American Dream” f lourished more in
our neighborhoods and our hearts than
anywhere else in the country. We believed in
the future. The assembly line workers knew
that the war could have been lost without
the contributions of the Motor City. It was
President Eisenhower who designed the
Interstate Highway System, but Detroit put
the cars on the roads.
My baseball team lived in the shadow of
the Yankees, but we had Al Kaline, a man of
class and consistency. We had Willie Horton,
who boldly addressed the racial divide that
ultimately took its toll on our city. Today the
hot stove league twitters in anticipation of
how the top free agents will judge our cities.
But Al Kaline was loyal; he was dependable
and embodied the persona of success that
parents wanted for their kids.
I loved the Tigers! I wanted to be
Al Kaline.
But the Tigers weren’t the only team that
made growing up in my Detroit suburb a
joy. The team at Emmanuel Dearborn was
more important to my future than I could
ever have imagined. I attended public school
until the end of sixth grade. My parents
faced a choice that is still in front of tens of
thousands of families even as you read this
article: “Is public school the right choice
for our family?”
I know that for those of us in Lutheran
schools, we would like all of our families
to attend our school because of their
commitment to the spiritual growth of their
children. Alas, it is not always so. When I
ended the sixth grade, my parents looked
for a “better” place for me to continue my
education. Spiritual growth was not on
the top of the list as my parents weighed
their options.
I was about to discover a new world, a
world where the teacher’s concern for a
student as a child of God provided the
power to change lives. During my first days
at Emmanuel in Dearborn, Mrs. Glotzober
was the embodiment of Christ. From her
second grade class she saw this new seventh

5

editorials

6

2. See the potential of the student who
appears to be wandering.
Talk to them about future plans.
Chances are they have not thought
much about the Call that God has
for them. If they are unsure, help
them to inventory the gifts that they
have and the motivations that are just
below the surface. By doing this you
will show them the skill-set that you
believe God has a use for, not just in
the future, but today.
3. Help them to see the impact they
can have bringing Christ to a postChristian world.
“It is not good for the man to
be alone.” By our nature we are
communal creatures. We want to
make a difference. Let your students
know that you see in them a spark that
can start a fire in the lives of others.
4. Introduce them to the people in the
universities who share a common
interest, trait or skill.
Ta k e t h e m t o g a m e s a n d
competitions on campus. Book
the traveling music group in your
building. Invite speakers from a
range of schools in our Concordia
system to speak at your chapel, to
come to career day, to watch your
students’ performances.
5. Give them an application.
No, seriously, hand them an
application to the school of your
choice or to more than one. Put it
in an envelope and handwrite them
a short note, asking them to consider
how great they will be in the service
of the Lord.
I love the story of how Saul became Paul.
I would give a lot to have been one of the
fishermen who was called away from his nets
to follow Christ. But most of us receive our
calls from a friendly and familiar face. I am
happy that my teachers showed me the joys
of being a church worker.

Don Gillingham

Executive Director, Rockford Lutheran
High School, Rockford, Illinois
[email protected]

Issues

grader as a child of God. When my parents application to Concordia Teachers College.
were not able to get me to the Christmas
There are lots of days when I lose my focus.
Eve service, Mrs. G sent a cab to bring me I complain about low pay and long hours. I
deliver a disproportionate dose of the law in
to the celebration.
The leader of that Emmanuel team was my classroom. I make movie references that
Principal Justin Schwartz. He taught me Law show I’m out of touch with the kids today. I
and Gospel. He held the Law up before a kid make God’s Word seem to be less relevant
without direction; he helped me understand for a changing world than I know it is.
that all of the flaws and weaknesses in my
At many of our schools, we issue press
young life were countered by a loving God releases when a student is accepted at an
who is full of Grace. The loyal and consistent Ivy League school, but don’t say a word
team that took their place in the classrooms when a student makes a commitment to
each day showed me the face of Jesus.
preparing for a life in the classroom. In
When my two years as a Bulldog were our Concordia universities we have a need
coming to a close, my teachers encouraged to build enrollment by launching new
me to attend Lutheran High School West. programs. The training of lay leaders is
I trusted them, and I enrolled at LHW. certainly a God-pleasing pursuit, but do we
Mr. Ralph Nitz found me there and saw in give enough encouragement to those who
me something I never saw in myself. Miss are choosing to teach the children and our
Lilla Finzel required us to do a college children’s children?
application. No one from my family had
The challenge of recruiting church
ever been to college. I would be the first to workers can best be met by those who
even apply. I was given an application to understand most completely the joy that
Concordia Teachers College, River Forest. comes from a career of service. When our
Ha, me in college, me a teacher? I filled it kids look at us, they need to see a spark in
out and began my college experience in the our eyes that says being Al Kaline would
fall. On campus I found people with earned be great, but so would being Mr. Schwartz.
doctorates who invested in me. They believed Often students leave our schools and our
in my potential when I was consumed by my system because they feel they have outgrown
present activities. Dr. Lyle Kurth asked me the intimate surroundings of the parish
how my passion on the baseball field would school or the tiny high school with one
serve my students. Dr. Pete Becker asked hallway. Our challenge is to show students
me to consider the perspective of a student who desire to perform on a big stage that
rather than see the classroom as a fiefdom Lutheran teachers influence the world, and
where my rules and my opinions were the our impact continues across generations.
Dr. Kurth challenged me to look into the
only ones worthy of consideration.
And so, I grew up with the guidance of future and see the effect I could have on
role models who walked the path to the others who are searching for their role in
future, my future, with me. Furthermore, the Kingdom of God. I want God to use my
I became a church worker, and I am walking life like he used Dr. Becker’s life.
that path today. The first 35 years have been
Let me share again, step by step, what
rewarding, but I have a lot of growing to do. my Christian teachers did to invite me into
Today, there is angst over the difficulties their world.
in recruiting church workers. We wonder
1. Be a real living example of God’s love
why kids are not knocking down the door
in the life of your students.
to begin preparation for full-time church
Keep your standards and expect
performance from you students, but
work. I think I have a simple answer.
I am not Mrs. Glotzober. For that matter,
also be on the lookout for the times
too often I am not Ralph Nitz. My life was
when they need a minister and be
shaped and directed because of these people
that minister. Your actions will
who believed in me; these people who
demonstrate to them that church
encouraged me to consider my response
workers make a difference in the lives
to God’s love; these people who gave me an
of others.

Theological Living that
Draws into Church Work
*Note to reader: For the sake of clarity, I have great failing of current thinking in the
underlined the “problem” and bold-typed church is hoping that someone else will
find church workers, train them, employ
a “solution.”
I have the best job in the world. I teach them. Philip took the hand of his friend,
Jesus every day. I connect people to the talked with him, walked with him to Jesus
Bread of life that they may have treasure in and learned with him from Jesus. In the
heaven, grace in abundance, freedom from second place, Philip faced adversity from
the world and sin, and relationship with his friend in the form of reluctance and
an incomprehensibly loving almighty God. doubt. These things did not deter Philip.
I have the dumbest job in the world. I teach In the third place, Philip trusted that the
Jesus every day. What fool would consume Lord Jesus was really worth the time and
the idea of less money, little gratification, effort. Philip was not disappointed.
So far in this editorial, I believe I have
heartbreaking sacrifice, dependence upon
a strange invisible deity, and living under offered little in the way of new insights.
Allow me now to postulate what may initially
scandal and ridicule every day?
We Jesus-teachers teach what the spirit seem foolishness, but if indeed it is true,
craves and the flesh recoils from. Is it any we can turn the rudder of the church more
wonder that few people knock on our door? precisely toward the bright Morning Star.
T hesi s: T he moder n pract ice of
We don’t promise more money or a better
job. My sales pitch offers the less tangible. confirmation in the church has led to low
What do our students receive? Confidence. levels of people entering the church work
Peace. Assurance. Knowledge. Answers. vocation.
Ev ide nc e. E it he r i n he r e nt l y or
Insight. Balance. In a word: Jesus. I have
yet to hear regret from anyone finishing a unintentionally, confirmation is perceived
course I teach, as if the time and money were similar to other modern educational systems,
ill-spent. Not that I take glory from this that once completed, return is unnecessary.
success, for it is not I who have succeeded. One never returns to elementary school
Rather, it is I who was passive that Jesus after graduation; one never revisits (to learn
more about) the material of 2nd grade math
might be active.
This edition of Issues asks how the church or 4th grade literature. One never returns
can respond to dismal enrollment in the to high school after graduation, or college,
church work vocation. You’ll hear talk about or trade school, or medical school, or law
pouring more money into the problem school. Once you “know the stuff,” you are
(which would help a bit), but remember, done. So it is with confirmation. Once you
we Jesus-teachers teach poverty of earthly “know the stuff,” there is no need to return.
riches. You’ll read about better recruitment Thus, Christian living, or I might suggest
through better marketing and better alumni the term “theological living,” becomes like
services. But remember, we Jesus-teachers division in math. Sure, you learned how
teach scandal over scintillation and sacrifice to do it in elementary school, but if you
need to do it in real life, you pull out the
over success.
I believe the best recruitment method calculator. Sure, you learned about God in
for the church work vocation is taught to confirmation, and if you need God again,
us by Philip of Bethsaida. Philip knew the you have the pastor do it—after all, he’s
Lord Jesus and found someone to whom he faster at it, knows it better, and that’s his job.
Now that several generations have been
said (and I paraphrase a bit), “Come, let’s
get you more Jesus.” In this historical event, imbued with this thinking, the idea of
we learn three absolutely vital lessons about coming back to church seems, intellectually,
recruitment for Jesus. First, partnership. silly. (I speak here not of the need of the
Second, steadfastness. Third, trust. In the soul for God and His church.) Thus, prior
first place, church work is cooperative. One to the stumbling blocks of dismal wages,

endless hours, unnoticed sacrifice, and little
gratitude, there is an underlying wave of
purposelessness in the minds of those who
have been confirmed. “I’m done with church.
I graduated. I was confirmed.”
Thesis: Religious instruction should be
regarded in similar ways to cooking classes.
Evidence. Learning the basics of cooking
(how to crack an egg, how to peel a potato,
how to steam vegetables) is not a diploma
for never having to cook again nor never
having to eat again. So, too, learning the
theological truths of the faith (traditionally
later elementary, early high school level) is
but the merest taste of what is to come and
what can be.
If a person, for instance, once learned
how to scramble eggs or how to steam
green beans, do they think they are done
with preparing or eating food? Such a
presumption is unreasonable. More likely,
the person retains such skills, improves on
them, and broadens one’s horizons about the
many methods of preparation, the variety
of products available for consumption, and
the artistry necessary for true enjoyment.
So, too, theological training of the
adolescent—and the adults I teach—must
have the inherent and the expressed
understanding that this is but the surface
of the riches to be found and experienced
throughout life. The Ten Commandments,
for example, are not a memorized-anddone list, which is what most confirmation
programs stress. Rather, a Commandment
is like an egg (if we pursue the food analogy
here). How many ways are there to prepare
an egg? In how many different dishes can
eggs be included? How many ways are there
for a Commandment to be prayed, studied,
illustrated, lived, expressed? This is the
Christian life—exploration, discovery,
understanding, deeper relationship, greater
denial of self and evil, greater Love, Truth,
and Life.
This thinking, this “theological living,”
draws people back to the church and into
church work vocations. It is time for a
new generation to rise up and know the
Lord Jesus.

Fall 2014

Rev. Timothy Sternberg

M.Div., M.S. Ed
Colloquy Mentor, Director of Technology,
Concordia University Education Network
[email protected]

7

lcms Church Worker Enrollments:

Enrollment fluctuations within institutions
of higher education are a common part of the
life of an institution, particularly at the level
of individual programs. Even in institutions
where overall enrollment may not be shifting
substantially, enrollment within particular
programs offered by the institution may see
dramatic shifts. An institution’s enrollment
could be shrinking while the enrollment in a
particular program is increasing; conversely,
an institution’s enrollment could be growing,
perhaps even substantially, while the
enrollment in a particular program of study
may be decreasing. Such internal programmatic
enrollment fluctuations may result from a
variety of different circumstances.
Internal programmatic changes may be
the result of biological or unplanned change.
Biological change happens over the course of
time in somewhat of a natural progression
which may result in a gradually developing
level of support from institutional stakeholders
(Fiedler, Welpe, & Picot, 2010; Kezar & Eckel,
2002). In a similar manner, change may also
be very intentionally planned or teleological
change, which can range from minor alterations

8

The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Philp
is the Director of Institutional
Research and Integrity, Concordia
University System, The Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod.
[email protected]

in the manner in which business is conducted
to substantial changes that result in radical
restructuring of an organization (BekmeierFeuerhahn, 2009; Burnes, 2004; Kezar,
2005; Kezar & Eckel, 2002; Van Loon, 2001).
Changes of both types may ultimately result in
changes which alter the overall system within
an organization; systemic change of this nature
often leads to a change in one area that results
in changes throughout the system (FosterFishman, Nowell, & Yang, 2007).
Changes of all of these types, the interaction
between changes of various types, and numerous
external factors have the capacity to result in
shifts within programmatic enrollments at
institutions of higher education.
The institutions of the Concordia University
System (cus) have experienced changes in
enrollment over the course of history. The
articles in the present edition of Issues in Christian
Education are exploring those changes particularly
relating to enrollment within the programs of
church work formation at the cus schools. The
nature of these changes fits within a variety
of the categories of change; some change has
been planned, some has been unplanned, and
much of it has some bearing on the overall
system. Setting the current scene of church
work enrollment is particularly crucial for
both gaining an understanding of the nature
of the change that has transpired, as well as
exploring in greater depth, as other authors
do in this edition, the potential ramifications
of such change.

Issues

The Current Scene

Table 1

cus 2013 Fall Enrollment
Program
Enrollment

Pre-Seminary
156
Lutheran Teacher*
1,011
DCE
251
DCO
9
Deaconess**
21
Lay Ministry
32
Dir. Family Life
28
Dir. Parish Music
23
Total Church Work
1,531
Total Undergraduate
16,580
Total Graduate
16,819
Total Enrollment
33,399

Number of Schools with Students
Currently in the Program
9
10
6
1
3
* The data does not break down this
1
category; teachers at all grade and
1
specialization levels are included.
5
** This number includes diaconal
students enrolled at Concordia
NA
Chicago (16), as well as 5 students
NA
enrolled in pre-deaconess programs
NA
at other cus institutions who will
complete their studies elsewhere.
NA

Fall 2014

The Current Scene
Enrollment data from each of the cus
institutions is compiled on an annual basis.
Among the pieces of data which are collected
are the enrollment statistics for church work
preparation programs. The most recent data
available is from the Fall 2013 reports of the
institutions and is the data used for this article.
Table 1 provides a summary of church work
enrollment at the cus schools in comparison
to overall enrollment. {Table 1}
The data presented above indicate that the
percentage of the cus student population
preparing for church work is 4.58 percent.
This number represents those students who
are formally enrolled in a program of church
work study; however, not included are any
students who may be enrolled in a graduate level
program that pertains to a church profession,
such as a master in church music degree. The
percentage also does not include students
who may be planning to attend seminary, but
are not enrolled specifically as pre-seminary
students. While the percentage of the total
student population is an important number to
consider, perhaps more helpful is the percentage
of the undergraduate student population that
is preparing for church work. The church
work programs are primarily undergraduate
programs. The percentage of the undergraduate
population preparing for church work of 9.2
percent is nearly double the percentage of total
enrollment.
The percentages of the total enrollment and
of the undergraduate enrollment represented

by church work students provide a snapshot of
the current scene. What these numbers fail to
provide is indication of whether or not there is
a substantive change in these percentages. As
such, it is not possible to draw any particular
conclusions without considering what the
data show from prior years. This comparative
analysis is the subject of the next section.

Enrollment Trends
2000 to the Present
The current enrollment numbers and the
numbers of church work students included
in those numbers provide a snapshot of the
current scene across the cus. Table 2 illustrates
how these numbers compare to cus enrollment
and church worker enrollments since 2000.
The years 2005 and 2009 are provided as
touch points of comparison between 2000 and
the present. {Table 2}
An examination of the data presented
in Table 2 reveals a number of trends in
enrollment at the cus institutions. Enrollment
at the cus institutions during this period of
time has increased substantially; more than
twice as many students were being served and
taught in cus institutions during the 20132014 Academic Year than in the 2000-2001
Academic Year. The increase in enrollment
illustrates the strong growth and academic
excellence of the cus institutions. The overall
trend of increased enrollment does not match
the trend in church work enrollment; while
it might be expected that a corresponding

9

Table 2

2005
426
1439
404
34
33
182
57
38
0
0
0
2,613
13,658
4,911
18,569

enrollment increase would be present among
church work programs, the opposite is true.
During the same period of time when
enrollment at cus institutions more than
doubled, the enrollment in church work
programs overall decreased by about half
(49.77 percent). The decrease in church work
enrollment was not consistent across church
work programs. The program with the greatest
decrease was the Lay Ministry program and the
least change was in the Director of Parish Music
enrollment which remained the same in 2013
as it was in 2000. This program did experience
an increase in 2005 which had disappeared
by 2013. While three programs that were
counted in 2000 are no longer counted, one
new program began after 2000, offsetting
these numbers to some degree. The decrease in
church work enrollment represented in these
data illustrates the current trend, but they do
not provide an indication as to why the trend
is transpiring.

Explanations

10

Developing explanations for the trend identified
in the data involves a multiplicity of factors.
Among the factors are issues which will be
discussed in other articles within this edition
of Issues in Christian Education: challenges facing
church work enrollment, challenges in ministry
contexts, educational debt, and a variety of
recruitment-related challenges. Additional
factors are related to the size of the population

2009
245
1192
278
18
26
78
44
19
0
0
0
1,900
13,852
11,664
25,516

2013
156
* The data does not break down
1,011
this category; teachers at all
251 grade and specialization levels
9 are included.
** This number includes diaconal
21
students enrolled at Concordia
32
Chicago, as well as students
28
enrolled in pre-deaconess
prog rams at ot her cus
23
institutions who will complete
0
their studies elsewhere.
0
*** This program was not in
0
existence in 2000.
****These programs ceased to exist
1,531
in the reporting between 2000
16,580
and 2005.
16,819
33,399

from which church work students are able to be
drawn. Reporting of lcms Rosters and Statistics
(just over 70 percent of congregations reported
current data in 2012) indicates a reduction
in the total number of both baptized (13.99
percent) and communicant (11.72 percent)
membership between 2000 and 2012. Such a
reduction of the overall population of potential
church work students may also be a contributing
factor. Finally, systemic changes, perhaps
unplanned in nature, have likely developed out
of transformations that have slowly taken place
relative to the manner in which the institutions
of the cus carry out the mission of bringing
Christ to the Church and World.
The context in which the cus institutions
are presently operating is ever-changing.
Institutions of higher education of all types
are facing transformations in the historic
models of revenue receipts, cultural changes,
technological changes, increased governmental
and accreditation agency requirements for
accountability, and a myriad of complex
issues (Asplund, Abdelkarim, & Skalli, 2008;
Blumenstyk, 2009; Cheslock & Gianneschi,
2008). These factors, paired with fluctuating
economic trends and a sense of political
uncertainty, have made the operation of an
institution of higher education difficult at best.
Challenges such as these are often exacerbated
in the private institution sector and particularly
in the religious institution sector of higher
education. The institutions of the cus are

Issues

cus Enrollment 2000 – Present
Program
2000
Pre-Seminary
422
Lutheran Teacher* 1852
DCE
374
DCO
33
33
Deaconess**
Lay Ministry
203
Dir. Family Life
0***
Dir. Parish Music
23
Parish Assistant **** 1
32
Social Work****
75
Parish Nurse****
Total Church Work 3,048
Total Undergraduate 12,657
Total Graduate
2,044
Total Enrollment
14,701

Fall 2014

facing the changing demographics in their
respective communities as well as decreases
in the population from which students can be
drawn. At the same time, new opportunities for
these same institutions to serve the Church and
world through Christ-centered programs have
developed, leading to increased enrollment in
many areas.
Enrollment increases within the cus
institutions, as illustrated in Table 2, have come
in a variety of areas. In particular, the number
of students enrolled in graduate programs
has increased at a significant rate since 2000.
The total number of graduate students at cus
institutions has increased at a staggering rate
of over 700 percent, with the largest share
of that increase coming after 2005. Such a
dramatic increase was the result of a number
of key factors coming together at the same time
and creating somewhat of a tipping point, which
led to the exponential increases.
The institutions of the cus have experienced
significant increases in graduate enrollment as
a result of several key factors. First among them
is the strong development of reputations as
institutions of excellence through the increased
prominence of the Concordia brand nationally;
but somewhat of even greater importance,
the development of such reputations within
the institutions’ local markets. Graduates of
cus institutions, both church workers and
non-church workers, have gone out into the
communities around the institutions from
which they have graduated and performed
well in the marketplace. In the non-church
work world, in particular, graduates began
to return seeking to study at the graduate
level with the same excellent cus faculty
in a familiar context. In response, the cus
institutions began to develop graduate level
programs, built upon their existing strong
and reputable undergraduate programs, while
at the same time also seeking to develop new
undergraduate programs which could serve to
meet the needs of local niche markets. Each
of these programs is marked by a decidedly
Lutheran identity, and thus carries the mission
of the institution forward. As the reputation
of these programs developed at various cus

institutions, the world of online education was
also growing exponentially.
cus institutions were able to begin offering
already well-respected programs in the online
environment. These online program offerings
allowed for increased enrollment of students
in a program of study that could be completed
while continuing to serve in their respective
vocations without travel to a local campus. Many
of these students are from the local area near
the institution at which they are enrolled. In
several locations this pairing of well-respected
programs with online access quickly allowed
cus institutions to become the institution of
choice for many. The influx of students and
tuition revenue for these programs provide key
support for the institutions to also continue
to support the programs of church work
preparation which form the historic core of
the institutions.
The argument may be made by some that
such rapid increase in graduate programs
and new programs of undergraduate study
redirected the focus of the cus institutions
or caused institutional missions to shift.
Certainly there is an aspect in which such an
argument is correct. The mission of the cus
institutions has experienced a shift. The shift
has been in the broadening and expansion of
the mission, rather than a change from one
mission to another. The distinction is crucial
to understand. Many of the institutions which
have experienced the largest growth in new

11

Further Discussion …
What Does This Mean?
The data presented raise several items for
discussion within the cus institutions and the
broader church. The increases in enrollment,
the addition of new programs, the extension
of institutional mission, and the many
opportunities for shining the Light of Christ
into the dark arena of higher education and the
world itself are all positive aspects of the work
of the cus institutions. At the same time, these
items have generated a substantial amount of
discussion about the work of the institutions
and are often linked directly with the decrease
in church work enrollments. Paramount
for any discussion regarding enrollment at
cus institutions is the clarification that the
relationship in enrollment trends is not causal.
Closely related to this key point is the process
of emphasizing a Christ-centered focus paired
12

with a strong Lutheran identity through the
cus. This is a central component of the work
of the task force created by Resolution 5-01A
at the 2013 Convention of the Synod. Helpful
progress is being made within the 5-01A Task
Force on these specific issues.
The discussion of these aspects of the cus by
the 5-01A Task Force is excellent, but there are
other items which must also be discussed related
to this data. Among the items for additional
discussion is what the various changes noted
in the data mean for the institutions in terms
of student recruitment, faculty recruitment
and development, sources of funding, and
relationship to the church body of which they
are a part. Discussions on these topics should
transpire and have the potential to result in
positive developments for the cus institutions,
greater partnerships with various entities of
the Synod, and numerous blessings through
the collective work of Witness, Mercy, and Life
Together. What such discussions are not likely
to do is to address the related key questions of
church work enrollment.
The trend in church work enrollment
indicated in the data presented raises an
additional set of items for discussion with the
church body and the cus institutions. Several
of those issues will be discussed in other articles
within this edition. The multiplicity of issues,
challenges, demographics, and other factors
that have resulted in the decrease in church
work preparation enrollments have arisen
over a period of many years and may not be
assigned to any one particular entity or group of
entities. Discussions surrounding church work
enrollment decreases will only be fruitful and
beneficial to the church body if this fact is clearly
emphasized from the outset. What’s needed in
the discussions related to a decrease in church
work enrollment patterns is attention to the
needs of the church body both in numbers and
in the nature of the work for which church work
students are being prepared.
Church work preparation falls into a variety
of categories, and a component of the discussion
that the data from the last several years illustrates
is that some programs cease while others begin.
While programs for the preparation of teachers

Issues

programming and online offerings are the same
institutions which have seen the least decrease,
if not balance or even some growth, in the
enrollment within the church work programs
at the same institutions. The two trends are
connected because they are both components
of what is presently happening within the
enrollment trends of the cus institutions,
but the relationship of these trends is not
necessarily causal.
The relationship between the two trends,
while not causal, does underscore the crucial
need for the cus institutions to be diligent
in maintaining a Christocentric focus and a
strong Lutheran identity. The effort required in
maintaining this identity and focus within the
context of church work preparation programs
has challenges, primarily of a theological nature;
the same effort in other programs involves even
larger challenges. The cus institutions are
committed to this effort as collectively they work
to ensure that the mission of the institutions
and of the Church is advanced. The relationship
between the two trends suggests the need for
a broader discussion regarding both aspects
of enrollment in what has become a somewhat
bifurcated issue.

References

Fall 2014

and pastors are perennial, programs for other
types of church workers may in fact change with
the needs of the church body and the nature
of where the Lord of the Church has need of
workers. The way in which teachers and pastors
are prepared to carry out the work of teaching,
preaching, and distributing God’s gifts may
also change with the needs of the church body
and the opportunities presented by the Lord
of the Church. The Word of God remains the
same; however pastors, teachers, and other
church workers may require education to enable
them to fulfill the work of their service to the
Church that was not previously a component
of church work preparation. Not only must the
question of whether or not the present levels
of church work enrollment are sufficient, but
it must also be asked whether the nature of the
programs is preparing that which is needed.
The questions noted above are a critical
component in the analysis of this data. It is true
that the number of church work students has
dropped substantially in the years covered by
this study. What the data does not say is whether
the enrollment in 2000 should be the target.
The target must be set, and it must include not
only numbers but the nature of the programs of
preparation, as well. For example, how many of
the 1,011 Lutheran Teacher program students
need to be able to teach preschool in Spanish
or Mandarin? How many of that same number
need to be willing to teach in the schools of
worldwide partner churches? How many of
that same number need to be prepared to lead
a faculty in a Lutheran school where they are
one of the few who has completed training for
the Lutheran Teacher Diploma? These and
similar questions could be asked of all church
work programs. What is clear from the data
is that as the answers to these questions are
developed and the opportunities which those
answers produce are presented to the CUS
institutions, the institutions have the capacity,
the expertise, and focus on the mission of the
Church to accomplish the task.

Asplund, R., Abdelkarim, O.B., & Skalli,
A. (2008). Education Economics, 16(3), 261-274.
doi:10.1080/09645290802338102
Bekmeier-Feuerhahn, S. (2009). Mechanisms of
teleological change. Management Revue, 20(2),
126-137. doi:10.1688/1861-9908_mrev_2009_02_
Bekmeier-Feuerhahn
Blumenstyk, G. (2009). Market collapse weighs
heavily on college endowments. The Chronicle
of Higher Education, 55(22), A17, A21. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/article/
Market-Collapse-Weighs-Heavily/16390
Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and the planned
approach to change: A re-appraisal. Journal of
Management Studies, 41(6), 977-1002. doi:10.1111/
j.1467-6486.2004.00463.x
Cheslock, J., & Gianneschi, M. (2008). Replace
state appropriates with alternative revenue
sources: The cast of voluntary support. Journal of
Higher Education, 79(2), 208-229. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25144659/
uid=2134& uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&
sid=21102045454133
Fiedler, M., Welpe, I., & Picot, A. (2010).
Understanding radical change: An examination
of management departments in Germanspeaking universities. Management Revue, 21(2),
111-134. doi:10.1688/1861-9908_mrev_2010_02_
Fielder

Foster-Fishman, P. G., Nowell, B., & Yang, H.
(2007). Putting the system back into systems
change: A framework for understanding and
changing organizational and community systems.
American Journal of Community Psycholog y, 39, 197-215.
doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9109-0
Kezar, A. (2005). Consequences of radical
change in governance: A grounded theory
approach. Journal of Higher Education, 76(6), 634-668.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/
stable/3838781
Kezar, A., & Eckel, P. (2002). Examining the
institutional transformation process: The
importance of sensemaking, interrelated
strategies, and balance. Research in Higher Education,
43(3), 295-328. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.
org/stable/40196456
Van Loon, R. (2001). Organizational change: A
case study. Innovative Higher Education, 25(4),
285-201. doi:10.1023/A:1011098607957

13

Ways of Recruiting Church Workers:
One Person’s View of One Church’s Approach

14

The Rev. Dr. Jeffery Schrank is
the Executive Pastor of Christ
Church-Lutheran, Phoenix
(hosts of the annual Best
Practices Conference).
[email protected]

desiring to do God’s will in Phoenix, Arizona.
We believe in many things...

We Believe in Death
This may seem to be a strange place to start,
but we begin at the end, otherwise known as
the end, that is, our new beginning. Death is
real. So are heaven and hell. Without Christ an
eternity of separation from God awaits. Over
seven billion people now inhabit this planet.
The vast majority does not know Jesus Christ.
Each person who reads this article will die
someday. Our time is limited. “Teach us to
number our days,” as the Scripture says. This
perspective forces the question, “Who will
follow you in your Christian work?” Who will be
the teacher who will succeed you, the preacher
to speak from your pulpit, the missionary on
the field, the youth workers to shepherd the
young? Who follows you when you die?” You
might say, “This is morbid.” I say, “Teach us
to number our days.”

We Believe in the Church
“And the gates of hell will not prevail.” As long
as there is an earth there is a church. And in
heaven it is the church triumphant. The church
does not end when we go to heaven, so there will
be teachers and pastors and missionaries in the
church after we are gone. Because we believe in
the church, we by extension believe in church
workers. I love the phrase, “the local church
is the hope of the world.” Think of it—where
is the church thriving, where does the church

Issues

It can seem to be presumptuous to comment
on God’s work. Recruiting church workers is
essentially a person answering God’s call. To
suggest that we can orchestrate, manipulate or
force such is problematic. “We who plant or we
who water are nothing, it is God who gives the
growth” (1 Corinthians 3). It is only the favor
of God, the movement of the Spirit and the
good news of Jesus Christ that fuels the church.
As Luther said in his catechism, “calls gathers
enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian
church on earth.” It is God’s activity. With
humility, I proceed to share one church’s story.
I have the humble privilege to be a pastor at
Christ Church-Lutheran in Phoenix, Arizona.
We are a city church with a large school. We
have about 1,000 folks who worship in our
services over the course of a week. We value the
Word of God, children, missions and helping
people. We have goals by 2020: zero debt, ten
missionaries, 100 people launched into church
work careers, 1,000 people on mission trips
and 10,000 people who are helped. We have a
health clinic and a Celebrate Recovery program,
summer camp, and connection to mission fields
on four continents. Our church spans the
socioeconomic spectrum. We are real people

seem to do its most joyful and best work? This
is happening where church workers are where
God wants them to be doing what God wants
them to be doing. Certainly the church is not
just its professional staff, but the brothers and
sisters in Christ who are at a certain location
doing and living the will of God. It would be
hard to say, “I believe in the church,” without
by extension meaning “I believe in the value of
church workers for the church.”

We Believe in Work and Prayer
As a child in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I heard
my pastor say these words that he attributed
to Martin Luther, “Work as if everything
depended on work, and pray as if everything
depended on prayer.” Ministry is hard work. It
costs. It takes time, effort and energy. Work is
not something to be avoided. It is a good and
Godly gift. When church workers are viewed as
not working, not competently working or not
working well with others; problems arise. These
are stumbling blocks to the church that have
created many a reason why people fall away from
“the organized church.” People work hard for
many things in this life: their family, money,
leisure, security, accomplishment. But there
is no higher aspiration than working hard for
God. As a young adult recently stated:
“Essentially, growing up in Christ Church-Lutheran
had to be a great opportunity. I worked hard for my
community and for kids. How could I not? That place
encouraged and grew my passion to help children.”
(Nathan Stevens, Education Program
at Concordia University-Irvine, Irvine,
California)

Fall 2014

We Believe in Children 
What a great season of life is childhood. How
many of your childhood memories include
church? Christmas Eve services, singing on
Easter Sunday, sitting with family, serving
together, etc. are precious memories. Our goal
is to instill faith in the children entrusted to our
care. What a precious season of life and what

a grand privilege, building up children in the
faith. In our community the vast majority of our
time, effort, and energy is focused on children.
As they say, “Children are wet cement.” We only
have so much time with them.

We Believe in Parents
“Honor your Father and Mother.” The fourth
commandment comes right after three that
speak of God’s priority, Name and Word. It is
significant to note that parents have a Godgiven role for their children. In my 26 years in
church work I have met many different parents’
views of the question, “Have you ever thought
about your child being a church worker?” I have
many that are honored that I thought of their
child in that light. Others have said, “Oh no. I
do not want that life for my child.” Then they
catch themselves. “That life.” When explaining,
they name fewer resources and heavier burdens
to carry through life as undesirable challenges.
But that becomes a jumping off point for the
blessing of impacting eternity. Parents are our
partners. What greater joy than to say that your
child is impacting eternity?

We Believe in Congregational
School Partnerships
“Christ Lutheran-Church and School contained my
early life and was my home. It reared me. I was baptized,
catechized, confirmed, wed and ordained there. And for
it I am eternally grateful. Though at times imperceptibly
and often with my resistance, the Holy Spirit through
that church provided the soil and spiritual cultivation
that led to me becoming a pastor. I simply would not
be the person I am today without it.”
(Rev. Adam Burke, Mt. Hope Lutheran
Church, Boulder, Colorado)
Our congregation has an elementary school,
and is the primary supporting church for
Arizona’s only Lutheran Church–Missouri
Synod high school. These three work together.
Like a stool with three legs, church work
recruitment culture cannot and does not
work unless all three are standing. Without

15

them nurturing my faith in Christ. To all the
teachers reading this, THANK YOU!
Great teachers inspired me. I want to have that same
effect on people. I want to be in a position where I can
share my faith walk with children and talk to children.
(Matt Siebert, studying to be a science
educator at Concordia University-Irvine,
Irvine, California)

We Believe in Liking, Dare I Say,
Loving Each Other

We Believe in Teachers
We have great teachers. Let me write it again.
We have great teachers. Buildings are nice, but
teachers are the most fundamental components
for future church workers.
My teachers at Christ Lutheran School helped me
tremendously as I learned how to use the gifts God
gave me. Through countless service opportunities and
summer camp experiences, I saw in myself a desire
to lead others toward Christ. Living as Christ in the
classroom has been the greatest joy of my life!
(Tiffany Hartfield, Teacher at Christ
Lutheran School, Phoenix, Arizona)
If you are a teacher and are reading this, you
matter. Your life and calling matter. Look at
your students. Can any of you see any of them
serving God with their lives? Your words are
powerful; your encouragement is life changing.
My own faith and calling were influenced almost
exclusively by teachers. It was one well-placed
question, “Have you ever considered being a
pastor?” which changed the course of my life.
I attended a Lutheran elementary school in
Milwaukee. Milwaukee Lutheran was pivotal
for my life. I am eternally grateful for all of
16

Not many young people aspire to spend their
lives in conflict. Is your church in conflict? Is
your church fighting? Is you school in turmoil?
Are church and school fighting and in turmoil
with each other? Are there more parking lot
conversations than speaking the truth in love?
When there is conflict, we try hard to address
conflict in a Godly way. Unresolved conflict
does not work. This is not to say there is no
disagreement or offense being given or taken.
That would not be true. But we attempt to
jealously guard the culture. This is hard word. It
costs time, emotion, tears even, but the church
deserves the best we can give. We attempt to
address things quickly and speak the truth
in love to one another. Little and big ears are
listening. People are repelled by organizations
and institutions whose members do not like
each other. This statement sounds simple, but
it is powerful.

We Believe in Welcoming and We
Believe in Fun
If Wal-Mart and Disney have it figured out, why
not us? If companies can greet people as part of
a plan for the bottom line, why not demonstrate
the same motivation for the kingdom? How do
people feel when they come on your campus?
Is it a welcoming, joyful place? We have some
time ago begun the practice of standing in
front of the school and welcoming the student
in the morning. It is not uncommon for a
pastor to greet children with puppets on his
hands or dressed like a giant chicken. “Why?”

Issues

our elementary school, rarely do students go on
to Lutheran High, and without the high school,
rarely do students go into church work. Be a
cheerleader for Lutheran schools. All of them.
Our congregation’s culture is caught up in the
service of children, which is school culture.

you ask. Remember what it was like to be a
child? Apprehension coming to school, fighting
boredom, sameness. Laughter and a joyful
spirit set a tone for the day and the campus.
This is what we are about. We welcome fun.
We try hard to create a memorable experience
that says to the child that this is a special place
where you are loved, and that it is a place of joy.
Not long ago a pastor was wearing a band hat
with a drum and tambourine in tow and a slide
whistle in his mouth, creating music to celebrate
the beginning of the school day, when a sevenyear-old student walking from the parking lot
came upon this “celebration with music” for
the beginning of the day. Playful a bit, and
corny, but joyful. The seven year old looked at
the pastor, then looked back at the parent and
said, “That’s going to be me someday!” Fun is
contagious. And it recruits church workers!

We Believe in Putting Legalism
in Its Place
The New Testament church had its struggle with
legalism. Consider the church of Galatia and
the Judaizers. They added to the Gospel. Some
in our own churches debate and ostensibly say
“Thus sayeth the Lord” when the Lord has not
said so. They debate what the Scripture does
not discuss. Recently a church worker who
came out of our congregation came back for a
visit and asked, “Why did you not tell me about
the disagreements that happen in churches?”
Would doing so have helped this person? No.
A legalistic tone draws all the oxygen out of the
room. Pastors, teachers, missionaries, directors
of Christian education, and all church workers
are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. If we overstate the value of one over and against another,
this does not promote unity in the body of
Christ. We want to say no more or less than
the Scripture says. In all things the Gospel
must predominate.

Fall 2014

We Believe in Opportunity
The world is filled with needs, not the least
of which is the need to know and love Jesus
Christ. The brokenness and stress of our age

cry out for the church to be church. Christ
Church-Lutheran functions with a series of
champions, that is, people who are passionate
about an area of ministry and are interested in
serving. Other people gather around them to
meet those needs and serve the broken. Some
ministries work very well and increase. Others
last a short time. When things fail, we repent
and try something else. But there are always
more opportunities. Faithful in the small thing;
faithful in the large thing. We often give young
people an opportunity to serve. Sometimes
called interns, they serve in a variety of areas
of ministry including children’s ministry,
youth ministry, physical labor, and soundbooth responsibilities on Sunday mornings. We
try to keep them close in the pivotal times of
their lives, namely the ages of 14 to18. Without
opportunity, it would be hard to ask them to do
more and to give their life to a church vocation.
Small steps provide a basis for conversation.
This is intentional.
“Multiple opportunities in worship leading and playing
in the band pushed me and inspired me to consider
what I am doing now.”
(Mike Pruhs, dce Student at Concordia
University-Irvine, Irvine, California).

We Believe in Life
Death, the church, work and prayer, children,
parents, church/school partnership, teachers,
love of each other, a culture that is welcoming
and fun. These words represent a picture of the
life of this Christian community. A life that
embraces a church, an elementary school and
a high school. A community that is attempting
to impact lives for eternity. I end as I began. It
is presumptuous to suggest that one can find
a formal program for finding church workers,
for ultimately it is God who calls one to service.
All ministry is local, and by the Spirit of God,
people from your community will be called to go
out, to be sent, to serve for a lifetime. How are
you a participant in that plan of redemption?
May God grant your ministry His strength and
grace and wisdom.
17

Increasing Access and Opportunity
to the Lutheran Teacher Diploma

18

Dr. Bernard D. Bull is the
Assistant Vice President for
Academics—Continuing and
Distance Education, Concordia
University Wisconsin at Mequon.
[email protected]

need to be ashamed and who correctly handles
the word of truth.” Access to the CUEnet online
program is an important part of such rigorous
yet accessible solutions, but there is value in
creating even more access and opportunity with
other options. Consider the following scenarios.
Sarah grew up in a Lutheran family. She always wanted
to be a teacher in a Lutheran school. When it came
time for college, she looked at several schools in the
Concordia University System, but she also visited some
of the schools near home. The price difference was
significant, and two of the schools near home had
teacher education programs that were ranked among
the best in the country. In the end, she decided to
attend a university near home. She earned her degree
and was promptly inducted into service at a Lutheran
school in her hometown.
James was an adult convert to Lutheranism who had
taught for 25 years in the public school system. As
time passed, he found himself wanting to teach in a
Christian school. After church one day, he chatted
with the principal of the local Lutheran school, and
learned that they were seeking a new middle school
math teacher, a position that fit well with his own
experience, education and skill set. He was delighted
with this opportunity, resigned from his job in the
public school, and started his new service as a teacher
in a Lutheran school the following year.
Marilyn was a pastor’s kid and grew up in a part of the
country that had no Lutheran schools. She was very
active in the church, a leader in youth ministry, and led

Issues

Since there is a shortage of church workers,
especially called teachers, one wonders how we
can provide routes toward a Lutheran Teacher
Diploma that maintain a high standard, but
remove unnecessary barriers that prevent
people from pursuing it. Research indicates
that 85 percent of those seeking a college degree
are post-traditional, not seeking a traditional
residential college experience. That means that
less than 15 percent of undergraduate students
in the United States are pursuing their degree
in a traditional residential program (Soares,
2014). As a result, creating options for those 85
percent to become rostered church workers will
require alternate models, many that are made
possible by the revolution in digital education.
I am concerned that our numbers of church
workers will continue to decline if most of our
options are only within those traditional models,
and if we do not act swiftly but thoughtfully
(and prayerfully) to create rigorous but more
accessible routes to become rostered church
workers. While increasing access, we remain
firmly committed to the direction provided in 2
Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself
to God as one approved, a worker who does not

after-school Bible studies for young people in her local
public school. After graduating from high school, she
went to the community college to save money and then
earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from
the state university. She did this while working parttime in a local bakery, taking eight years to gradually
progress toward the degree. She ended up marrying a
man who wanted to become a pastor, and the two of
them relocated to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.
While there, she found a teaching position in a Lutheran
school. She wanted to learn more about Lutheran
theolog y, so she enrolled in evening classes at the
seminary. By the time of vicarage, she had completed
coursework in church history, Old and New Testament,
and systematic theolog y. When her husband finally
graduated from seminary and headed to his first call,
she became a teacher in the local Lutheran school.

Fall 2014

Mike attended one of the universities in the Concordia
University System. His dream was to become a Lutheran
schoolteacher, and he was studying toward that end.
However, because of family health problems and
financial issues, he just pursued a license as a public
school teacher, not taking the extra courses (and extra
semester) required by many of our campuses to get
all of the requirements for both the Lutheran teacher
diploma and the major in early childhood education.
He finished his degree in four years and headed back
home to care for an ill family member. Mike was excited
to find a job at the local Lutheran early childhood
center, where he ended up working for the next 45 years,
sharing the love of God in Christ with little ones from
around the community. Even though he did not finish
his theolog y classes at Concordia, he was a voracious
reader, and loved to study theolog y on his own. He
often met with the pastor at his church to discuss these
books, and became deeply informed about the theolog y
of the church. Over time, many of the rostered church
workers looked up to him for his knowledge and wisdom,
and he became a beloved leader of Sunday school and
adult Bible study.
What do these people have in common? They
are all teachers in Lutheran schools who are not
rostered church workers. Look at the current
statistics about teachers in Lutheran schools,
and you will find that people I am describing
above represent a significant percentage of those
serving in Lutheran schools today. They are
Lutheran, committed to Lutheran education,
but they are not rostered church workers.

There is another population of people like
those mentioned in the introductory scenarios,
but they are not teaching in Lutheran schools.
They are teachers and leaders in the public
school system, but they are also active in their
church and have a love for learning and the
Scriptures. If asked, perhaps many of them
would be interested in exploring the possibility
of serving in a Lutheran school.

Opening the Doors
How can we embrace such people more readily
and open the doors to rostered church work
more broadly? I am not suggesting that we look
for options with lower standards or expectations.
In fact, with a bit of creativity, we might even
want to raise the standards for what it takes to
be eligible for a call as a rostered church worker.
However, why must we be tied to options that
depend upon a traditional schooling model? We
already have one notable and viable alternate
route to becoming a commissioned minister,
namely the Concordia Online Colloquy
Program through CUENet (http://cuenet.edu/
colloquy/index.html). What would happen if
we created even more options?
We live in an age of personalized education.
The concept of mass customization in education
is quickly replacing visions of mass-production
schooling. Michael Horn is a national leader
on topics related to disruptive innovation in
education. Recently, he has devoted much
of his energy to promoting the power and
possibility of what is called blended learning.
In his definition of blended learning, he also
gives a thought-provoking way of thinking
about personalized learning. He explains a
vision for education where the student has some
control over “time, pace, place and pathway”
(Horn, 2014).
From a distinctly Christian philosophy of
education, this definition also gives us a way
of thinking about education informed by the
doctrine of vocation. Each of us has a distinct
set of gifts, talents, abilities and passions. One
of the purposes of a Christian education is to
help people discover their gifts, talents, abilities
and passions, and then learn how to strengthen
and leverage them to love one’s neighbor.
From this perspective, school is not about a

19

by another person … because people are in
different places in their life and learning.
What would it look like to consider new routes
toward becoming a rostered church work that
were more informed by a desire to honor the
many callings in a person’s life and giving
people more control over the “time, pace, place
and pathway” (Horn, 2014) of their learning?
This is not to suggest that the current options
are flawed. Rather, it is an effort to increase the
options while maintaining a firm commitment
to high standards and the requirements agreed
upon by those in the church.
With that goal in mind, I have put together
three possible models—routes that seek to
address the types of scenarios shared at the
beginning of this article while also providing
learners more flexibility in terms of “time, pace,
place and pathway” (Horn, 2014). No single
route addresses all scenarios, but if we offered
these plus the existing routes, we could be
confident that we have opened the doors wide to
people who aspire to be rostered church workers.
This will not provide a complete solution to
the shortage in church workers, but if there is
a shortage, this will help create a system where
everyone who wants to be a church worker
has a variety of options, at least one of which
is likely to meet the unique circumstances
of most people.

Campus Ministries and Church
Worker Preparation
The lcms has a robust campus ministry
throughout the United States. These ministries
serve students attending many of the state
universities throughout the country. Each of
these campus ministries could offer a curriculum
that leads toward earning a Lutheran Teacher
Diploma while pursuing a degree at the state
university. Such a program might also be entered
by students who are in programs other than
teacher education. It would provide them with
a rich and substantive theological foundation
to help inform their work in the secular world.
Even if a student aspires to teach in a public
school, having this foundation would better
prepare them to live out their faith in diverse
worker environments. We could leverage local
clergy and other qualified church workers to

Issues

20

standardized curriculum as much as a collection
of personalized lessons and experiences.
What would it look like if we were to imagine
Lutheran church worker training in view of
such a vision, one that honors existing vocations
and prepares people for future ones? Consider
those four elements described by Horn: “time,
pace, place, and pathway” (Horn, 2014). Do
our current routes to church work allow for the
customization of time and pace? Or, do they
require people to work through coursework
on a pre-determined schedule or at a pace
established by the education provider? What
if there were options that allowed people to
progress more quickly or slowly based upon their
other vocational commitments, background
knowledge, and overall profile as a learner?
Many find it difficult due to the limited routes
and options, or perhaps due to the demands of
their existing vocations: teacher, son, daughter,
husband, wife, parent, coach, etc. Might this
increase access and opportunity to those who
would love to be rostered church workers?
Place is another important consideration, but
this is one that has already been addressed to a
large extent. We have campus-based and some
online options at campuses in the Concordia
University System, the online program through
CUEnet, along with emerging blended and
online learning through the Concordia
University System and the two lcms seminaries.
Yet, there are many other possibilities that we
could explore alongside the existing good and
important options.
This leads us to the last of Michael Horn’s
four attributes: pathway. What would it look like
to give future church workers options where they
have more control of the learning pathway that
leads to becoming a rostered church worker?
Imagine that you are in a room full of people
and something occurs that requires everyone to
leave the room quickly. Should we have everyone
gather behind a leader and walk out of the room
in a single-file line? Or, would it make more
sense for people to each take the quickest route
or, the closest exit, based upon where they are
in the room? The quickest route is different for
each person because not all people are in the
same place. The same is true for learners. The
path that is most effective and most efficient
for one person is different from what is needed

Fall 2014

teach these classes, and the cost of running
such a program would be negligible. Note
that we would hold the graduates to the exact
same standards. We could develop the exams,
reviews or assessment necessary to assure us
that these students are indeed prepared for
commissioned ministry.
One concern about such an option would
be questions about what this might do to the
teacher education programs in the Concordia
University System. Would this lead more
students to opt for a state university instead
of a Concordia? That is a possibility, but
the mission of Lutheran education is larger
than one form or structure. Lutheran teacher
programs in the Concordia University System
do not exist for the purpose of self-preservation.
Our mission must inform our practice. The
formation of church worker preparation has
changed many times since the first century,
and the current academic model is not one
prescribed or described in the Scriptures or the
Lutheran Confessions. If our goal is to increase
the number of fully equipped church workers,
this option still has promise and merit. Also,
as a professor and administrator at Concordia
University Wisconsin, I am completely confident
that our program is at a level of excellence that
we would continue to draw students who wanted
an excellent program and a potentially lifeshaping “Concordia experience.”

of being in the same space with others. They
want the experience of learning in a physical
community with people. Why not create more
of such options? In partnership with district
offices or our 12 higher education campuses
throughout the United States, it would not be
difficult to leverage the excellent curriculum
from the online program through CUEnet,
adding to it options for face-to-face meet-ups
around key topics in the program.

Low-residence Programs

A National Competency-Based
Digital Badge System

A low-residence program is one that leverages
online learning, but also includes one or more
intensive face-to-face learning experiences. I
am one of the first to champion the benefits
of online learning, as there is ample research
to indicate its effectiveness. In fact, my first
piece of graduate research for my master’s
thesis in the 1990s was on the promise and
possibility of online learning for the mission
and ministry of Lutheran schools. Yet, there are
some people who are not ready for a fully online
option. By “not ready,” I am not suggesting that
anyone is incapable of learning in an online
environment (granted an appropriate design
and accommodations). Instead, I am suggesting
that some people would rather not go the
online route. They want to have the assurance

What do we need future church workers to
know and be able to do? The lcms Synodical
Handbook does not provide a detailed answer
to this question. However, both the CUEnet
online program and the curricula for church
work programs in the Concordia University
System provide much detail, refined through
years of experience. Using those details, we
could generate a list of competencies expected
of future church workers.
From there, we ask another important
question. How will we know when a learner
has met a given competency? That leads us
to develop a list of robust criteria to measure
whether or not a learner has demonstrated
competency. What type of evidence does the
learner need to provide so that we can be

21

22

Imagine how such a model would open the
doors to anyone aspiring to earn a Lutheran
Teacher Diploma while maintaining a high
standard. People with significant informal
theological training could progress quickly.
Others could work at this over a series of
years. By establishing such a system, we could
be confident that we sustained quality and
credibility without adding unnecessary barriers
for someone who truly wants to be a rostered
church worker.

Conclusion
I have chiefly written this article to initiate
a national discussion, not to offer a specific
solution or roadmap. These three proposed
models are far from refined, and they leave
many unanswered questions. What’s more,
every model has its benefits and limitations.
Yet, what if we embraced a vision like this on
a national level, maintaining high standard,
providing highly affordable options, and
making a strong effort to provide flexibility of
“time, pace, place and pathway” (Horn, 2014)?
This will not solve all the problems related to
a church worker shortage, but implementing
such a multi-faceted approach would give us
confidence that we have not unknowingly or
unnecessarily prevented people from earning
a Lutheran Teacher Diploma.

Footnote
For a Helpful introduction to Digital Badges, watch
the following short YouTube video: “What is a Badge?”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgLLq7ybDtc).

References
Horn, M. (n.d.). What is Blended Learning?
Retrieved September 16, 2014, from http://www.
christenseninstitute.org/ blended-learning/
Soares, L. (2013, January 1). Post-traditional
Learners and the Transformation of Postsecondary
Education: A Manifesto for College Leaders. American
Council on Education Newsletter. Retrieved September 16,
2014, from http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/
Documents/Post-traditional-Learners.pdf

Issues

confident that he or she has indeed met a given
competency? Once we have an answer to that
question, we have accomplished some of the
most important work.
Add to this notion of competency-based
education a recent development known as
digital badges. Digital badges are visual digital
symbols (think Boy Scout badges) with data
attached to them. These data include who issued
the badge, a badge description, criteria met to
earn the badge and much more. They can be
authenticated to ensure that the badge is not an
imitation, and recipients of a badge own and
display it in various online locations.
Now consider a model where you could earn
a digital badge1 once you meet the criteria and
demonstrate a given competency. Once you
earn all the required badges, you have met the
requirements necessary to earn a Lutheran
teacher diploma. Note that this model is largely
ambivalent to how you learn something. It could
be through self-study, taking formal courses,
guidance from a pastor or mentor, through
small group study led at a church, through a
program established by an individual school or
district office, or even through a series of free
open online courses. The pathway you take to
learn it is not important, only that you have, in
no uncertain terms, demonstrated that you met
100 percent of the competencies, as verified
by an approved group of reviewers around the
country (perhaps our faculty in the Concordia
University System).
If we created a competency-based badge
system like this, we would not only have a
common standard across the entire LCMS,
but also an immense amount of flexibility on
how one reaches that standard. Such a badge
system would have some upfront design costs,
but once it is in place, this could be used by the
Concordia University System and also work as
a stand-alone route toward a Lutheran Teacher
Diploma or a comparable endorsement. Apart
from a small cost for people to review one’s work,
this route to church worker endorsement could
potentially serve as a system that is nearly free.

Two Worlds: Called to the Beautiful and
Truthful World

Fall 2014

Imagine a world where there were no real
choices … no adventures … no mysteries …
no beauty. In this world everything--work and
play--is determined. Some say that everything
is determined by chemical variations in the
human nervous system. Others suggest that it
is determined by a chance process … a portion
of a larger aimless movement of natural forces
moving into the future.
What would people do in such a world? Many
would seek satisfaction in the moment. Some
would strive for power, others for popularity,
and still others for pleasure. But what would
characterize all of their activity would be an
inexorable flatness--a complete, confining
flatness. Self-absorption would define every
moment. Every human would quite simply be
trapped in this shallow reading of reality, for
there would be no possibility for meaning and
significance beyond the moment. In a word,
selfabsorption followed by absorption into the
darkness of the cosmos would summarize every
human life.
Such a world, tragically, does exist. It exists
today. It can been seen on television and
throughout the Internet. In many and various
ways, it asserts and advances an understanding
of human beings that reduces men and women to
only transitory and material beings. Countless
numbers have been confined, reduced, and their

The Rev. Dean O. Wenthe is the
President of the Concordia
University System, The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod.
Dean [email protected]

lives destroyed by believing they actually are
such beings who live in such a world.
This false world is the result of Adam and
Eve’s desire to be like God, i.e., to create their
own world where they would define their own
being. Every generation since has been tempted
by this false and tragic self-definition.
Listen to a prestigious, recent voice who
advocates such an understanding of our world.
We humans are one among millions
of separate species who live in a world
burgeoning, overflowing with life. And
yet, most species that ever were are no
more …. No species is guaranteed its
tenure on this planet. The hard truth
is this: We live in a vast and awesome
universe in which daily suns are made
and worlds destroyed, where humanity
clings to an obscure clod of rock. The
significance of our lives and our fragile
realm derives from our own wisdom
and courage. We are the custodians of
life’s meaning. We would prefer it to
be otherwise, of course, but there is no
compelling evidence for a cosmic Parent
who will care for us and save us from
ourselves. It is up to us.
(Carl Sagan, Pulitzer Prize winning
author and Stanford University Professor)
Now, imagine a world that is rich and complex
and full of mystery and wonder and beauty. In
this world, there is complexity and richness
and joy and peace. It is a world where a loving
and giving God has bestowed and sustained
life. It is a world where God’s infinite love has

23

The Annunciation, Fra Angelico (1387-1455)

been lavished upon all of humanity by the gift
of His very Son—Jesus of Nazareth.
It is a world where the hand of God is
rightly perceived in everything from the dense
complexity of a single cell to the wonder of a
newborn child. It is a world where the heart
of God is seen in the life, death, resurrection,
and ascension of Jesus who came that we might
“have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
Such a world is full of meaning and
significance for each human being who is called
to love God and one’s neighbor in each moment
of one’s life. And it is a world that does not end
in death, but in the glorious life of God as Jesus
returns to welcome His own with the gift of
eternal life in God’s loving presence.

24

“Here God becomes man in the Virgin’s womb. Note
how Mary reverences the angel Gabriel, and Gabriel
in turn reverences Mary, for the Son of God resides in
her womb. The rich warm colors capture this sacred
moment as the Holy Spirit—portrayed by the dove—
descends upon Mary. In the upper left corner, the
Father places Adam and Eve outside of the garden of
Eden while in the lower left is the new, fruitful Eden
the Christ will bring. He is God’s very Son ‘who will
make everything new.’ (Revelation 21:5) and invites
us into the beautiful and true world forever.”

Issues

Tree with Crows, Charles-Francois Daubigny (1817-78)

A Confined, Reduced World of Black and White
Without a Future.

Indeed, that life of God is already present
in those who have been joined to Christ’s death
and resurrection in Holy Baptism. It is present
in Christian worship where the voice of Jesus
pronounces forgiveness upon the faithful and
feeds them with His very body and blood in the
Holy Eucharist.
This world is full of good: “Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent
or praiseworthy—think about such things”
Philippians 4:8.
It is a world where learning is an adventure
in serving God’s creation and humanity. It
is where to be a good husband, wife, father,
mother, sister, brother, son, daughter, is a noble
calling for every moment of life together, full
of wonderful significance.
It is a world where life is rightly seen as a
sacred gift from conception to natural death,
and where the weak—whether young or old—are
cared for as creatures created in God’s image.
What a contrast! These two worlds are worlds
apart! The one is flat, false, and confining. The
other is truthful and beautiful. The one delivers
pain and death. The other bestows peace and
life in Christ.
This contrast is precisely the motivation
to become a pastor, teacher deaconess, dce,
or another full-time church worker. It is the
privilege and calling to announce, to embody,
to live out and display the truthful and beautiful
world that is ours by God’s grace in Christ.
To spend one’s life in inviting people to the
realization that they are the apex of God’s
creative labors rather than cosmic accidents is
noble and satisfying in a profound way, for it
flows from God’s grace and mercy. Indeed, every
Christian is called to witness to this truthful
and beautiful world. The blessing of giving
one’s life to service to Christ is simply that one
can fill one’s days and nights with the beautiful
and truthful narrative of God’s love and mercy.
So, reflect and ponder. Consider the contrast
between these two worlds. God may be calling
you to spend your life sharing the beautiful and
truthful world that flows daily from the life of
the Blessed and Holy Trinity.

book reviews
Thriving in Leadership:
Strategies for Making a Difference
in Christian Higher Education.
Edited by Karen A. Longman.
Abilene, Texas: Abilene Christian
University Press, 2012.
This work is a valuable resource for any
and all persons who are leaders or striving
to become leaders in Christian higher
education. It is worthy of a “must read”
designation for such persons. The book,
while “primarily oriented toward seniorlevel administrative leaders,” has potential
for application for leaders beyond such
a narrowly defined group. Divided into
three chapters, the 17 essays written by
scholar practitioners provide a wide range
of theological, philosophical and practical
resources for college and university leaders,
but have applications to leaders of other
Christian organizations as well.
Longman’s work, drawn from persons
who served as “resource leaders for the
cccu’s Leadership Development Institutes,
held since 1998 at Cedar Spring Christian
Retreat Center in Sumas, Washington,” seeks
to help grow leaders for Christian colleges
and universities. To that end, each essay is
accompanied by a set of questions to foster
discussion about fundamental leadership
issues as well as the mission and strategic
operation of an institution.
Some of the nuggets I mined as I read the
work include:

Fall 2014

“ T h i s c h apte r i s ba s ed on t he
underlying premise that Christ
calls us to lead like Him in body
and place …. Leading with Christ
at the center of our physical beings
and at the center of our workplaces
requires a particular attention
to our own physical being in our
workplaces.” (p. 61)

“If we spend our leadership development
efforts trying to fix our inadequacies,
we will be left with little time and
energy to grow the gifts and abilities
that we do possess. Individual
leadership development is not
about well-roundedness; it’s about
identifying personal talents and
focusing on growth.” (p. 82)
“Influence is defined in varying ways,
including how an individual has
an effect on another person, or the
ability to shape the direction of
someone or something. Each person
within an organization, whether
aware of it or not, has an effect on
others.” (p. 139)
“Trust is the single most important
key to effective leadership, but it
can be difficult to define, let alone
build.” (p. 122)
“ To be s uc ce s sf u l w it h fac u lt y,
administrators must understand
that their authority is earned through
hard work in building relationships
and trust; it is not given along with
title and nameplate.” (p. 164)

“What kind of place will the world need
our institution to be 10, 15, or 25
years from now? Yet the vision for
academic excellence and Christcenteredness has not changed,
nor has the fact that we are not
alone. We stand firm because of an
unchanging God who enables us to
dream well, to cultivate the vision
He has given us, and to partner with
other Christian colleges to model
strong campus cultures for a watching
world.” (p. 259)
While a rich resource, leaders of Lutheran
colleges and universities will be disappointed
to find no authors representative of the
theological traditions, constructs or
confessions that guide and direct the
leaders of Lutheran higher education.
Lutheran leaders have much to contribute
to the conversation including significant
strategies that enable leaders to make a
difference in Christian higher education.
Not the least of such contributions, from
a Lutheran leadership perspective, would
be the clear articulation and application
of key Reformation doctrines such as: sin
and grace; two kingdoms; Law and Gospel;
Christian liberty; and vocation, all of
which focus upon and play out for Lutheran
colleges the grace of God in Jesus Christ,
the true, lasting source and norm of all
leadership.

“In sum, campus culture is bold and
confident authenticity, w ith a
collective faithfulness—the campus
that ‘feels good in its own skin.’
Such campuses are special places
Brian L. Friedrich
that offer distinctive experiences,
places that are relevant and worthy of President, Concordia University Nebraska
preserving.” (p. 246)

25

book reviews
Faith and Learning: A Handbook
for Christian Higher Education.
Dockery, David. Nashville:
B & H Publishing Group, 2012.
Of the 2,284 four-year colleges and
universities indexed at the Big Future
website maintained by the College Board,
742 of them are listed as having some
sort of religious affiliation. The nature
of this affiliation varies considerably,
from a vestigial historical connection
to a thoughtfully integrated Christian
ministry concept.
In my 20 years on the faculty at Concordia
Nebraska, I have been blessed to be part of a
continuous conversation with my colleagues
regarding the nature of our Lutheran and
Christian identity. The nature of this
conversation—which has taken place on many
levels, from ingenuous attempts to “figure
out what our mission is” to well-organized
Lutheran Identity table talks with the full
faculty to the always necessary one-on-one
talks with colleagues in halls and offices—is
less important than the fact that it continues
to take place, renewing and regenerating our
commitment to serve in ministry together
as a Christian learning community.
In these post-2008 years of tight budgets
and media-fueled public skepticism about
the value of higher education, when each
institution fights for its market niche and
Christian schools can be tempted to craft
their religious identity around whatever
we think will appeal to students, those of
us who wish to maintain that identity must
work harder than ever before. We have seen
too many peer institutions drift away into
the default blah secularism of the academy,
drifting along with the worldly winds that
blow always away from Christ.

One fine way for members of a Christian
college to continue these necessary efforts
would be to read Faith and Learning, A Handbook
for Christian Higher Education edited by David
S. Dockery. This book is a handbook in
the sense of its comprehensive treatment
of college life in three sections of essays
covering Foundational Commitments,
Christian Faith and the Disciplines (16
of the 24 chapters in the book), and
Concluding Applications.
This book is infused with the culture of
Union University in Jackson, Tennessee,
with 22 of the 25 contributors being faculty
and staff members of that institution, a
Baptist school whose website announces a
goal of “integrating top-tier academics and
Christian faith.”
David Dockery, the editor of the book
and immediate past president of Union,
sets the tone in the initial essay, introducing
some provocative and perhaps unavoidably
undefinable themes, including “thinking
w it h t he mind of Christ,” “spheresovereignty,” and the idea that I would
consider the theme of the book: a call to
examine the assumptions and foundational
principles in each of our academic disciplines
so that faculty members in each specialty
area will always work to identify topics such
as possible tensions, differences, apparent
contradictions, and analogical comparisons
that exist between the proclivities of their
specific corner of the academy and the
Christian faith.

Faculty members who pick up this book
will no doubt be tempted to turn immediately
to essays within their own discipline and are
likely to find an essay of relevance. However,
while there are essays on sociology, social
work and counseling, there is none that
particularly addresses psychology. In each
of the disciplinary essays, a reader will find
an author who is thoughtfully struggling to
make faith connections in one’s disciplinary
area and sharing insights from years of
reflective practice.
As a physics professor, I was delighted to
find three science-themed essays included
and particularly appreciated the outstanding
essay by Jeannette Russ, who shared some
original ideas for making connections in
the areas of math, physics and engineering. I
enjoyed her discussion of a familiar topic, the
“unreasonable effectiveness” mathematics,
an idea I have discussed with my students
many times. Now, I am eager to discuss some
of Russ’s suggestions that were new to me,
including the idea of Christians pushing
back against the fragmentation of knowledge
with the idea that all truth is God’s truth,
and the memorable relativistic analogy that
ties together the biblical description of God
as light with timelessness.
While Lutheran readers may not feel at
home with some of the theology and will
notice its lack of a vocational concept, I
would recommend this book as part of
the continuing quest of any Christian
educator to further develop one’s personal
ministry concept.

Dr. Brent Royuk

26

Issues

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Concordia University Nebraska
[email protected]

Higher Education in America.
Derek Bok. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2013.
After reading this thorough, thoughtful
analysis of the state of American higher
education, I wish I could quote the allk now ing, insightful sentence which
powerfully sums it up. Appropriately, given
the diversity of higher education, I didn’t
find it. What the reader will find, however,
is a fairly accurate, although incomplete in
relation to religious-affiliated institutions,
analysis of where American higher education
currently is and where it might be headed.
Bok starts by putting American higher
education in context, recounting its
transition from, initially, the almost
universal pre-Civil War purpose of educating
elite young men for learned professions
and positions of leadership to a variety of
purposes thereafter, including preparing
students for useful occupations, emphasizing
research and scientific inquiry, cultivating
the mind through study of the humanities—
successor to the earlier singular focus—and,
more recently, engaging in service activities
and encouraging economic development.
These multiple purposes, combined
with what Bok terms “needless growth”—
intercollegiate athletics, donor influence
and programs initiated solely for revenue
generation—have, he asserts, created
institutions that are difficult to manage,
and, because the quality of education can be
difficult to measure, easily distracted from
their core mission.
Focusing most of the book on the state of
undergraduate education, Bok then focuses

on two primary challenges—quantity, namely,
that the undergraduate graduation rate for
American colleges and universities, once
the envy of the world, has been stagnant at
approximately 40 percent for the past 30
years, and quality, how to improve the delivery
of education so undergraduates learn more.
As to the first, many factors contribute to
the static graduation rate, some outside an
institution’s control. Significantly, more
students are being educated—20 million
in 2012 versus four million in 1960—but
they are frequently arriving unprepared for
post-secondary work.
T here a re, however, steps wh ic h
institutions could take to increase graduation
rates, one of which is serving more “college
ready” students. In fact, there are large
numbers of qualified, prepared middle and
low-income students who are either unaware
of their college options, or due to financial
aid policies focused on merit-based, rather
than need-based aid, lack the resources to
attend college. For an institution to serve this
potential audience, however, will require
bucking today’s widely accepted focus on
rankings, SAT scores and rewarding student
accomplishments.
Another way to increase graduation
rates is to better engage students in their
academic studies, which also responds to
the second challenge. It is here that Bok
makes his greatest contribution, calling
attention to the fact that, despite the change
in the undergraduate constituency, today’s

students are likely being taught in the same
way as their predecessors—by lecture, with
classes concentrated among a major field
of study, electives and general education
requirements. At the same time, they are
spending less time actually studying, with
class and homework accounting for 27 hours
per week in 2004 versus 40 hours per week
in 1961, while grade averages continue to rise.
It would seem that students have achieved
their nirvana—better grades with less work.
To counter this, and better engage
students, Bok persuasively argues that today’s
classroom should replace the traditional
lecture with a mix of discussion in class,
group work, comprehension exercises
that provide immediate feedback, and
comprehensive course design that ensures
classes, assignments and tests build on each
other. Combined with a reconsideration of
the division between majors, electives and
general education, this interactive learning
model could ensure, through increased
engagement, that students both grow and
graduate.
Bok’s proposal for enhancing the quality
of education should find a receptive
audience among Lutheran higher education
institutions. After all, with their focus on
spiritual growth as well as academics, they
have always been about more than “earning
a degree.” They are well positioned, then, to
take up a challenge that other institutions
will find more difficult to address.

Kurth A. Brashear

Fall 2014

Associate Vice President for Institutional
Advancement & University General
Counsel, Concordia University Nebraska
Seward, Nebraska
[email protected]

27

Church Worker ENROLLMENT

CHALLENGES:
How Can the CH U RCH

?

respond