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CTSFW is blessed with a truly world-class faculty and a curriculum built around the primary service in the Church for which our students are formed. Our faculty developed this curriculum with Christ at the center of everything we do, recognizing that: “In a world that increasingly has never known or has forgotten Christ, we were convinced Christ must be known deeply from the Scriptures, confessed clearly with lips, and also seen vividly in lives of mercy and love” (Curriculum Concept Paper, 2017).
As any of our students or graduates can attest, the formation that takes place at the Seminary is so much more than what happens in the classroom. We invite you to come to our campus and see this formation in action. After daily chapel, our students, faculty, and staff gather for coffee and discussion. That conversation continues between classes and over lunch, in study rooms in our wonderful library, and in the dorm lounges, the Student Commons, the gym, and around our beautiful grounds.
The formation continues as our students participate in the life of a local congregation as part of field education. Service projects and short-term mission opportunities expand their understanding of witness, mercy, and life together as the Body of Christ. Then, after having had the opportunity to participate in over a thousand services and heard over a thousand sermons preached by hundreds of different pastors, our students head out for their vicarages and internships, where they continue to be molded by experienced supervisors and the people of God.
In the pages that follow, you will read about some of the many opportunities available to our
students and the impact these experiences have had on their formation and service to the Church. My own fieldwork and vicarage experiences were incredibly influential on me and my family. My vicarage supervisor, the Rev. Philip Meyer, was a true father in the faith for me then and continues as such still today.
I thank God for the community He has built in this place and for the many faithful men and women who partner with CTSFW to form these servants of Jesus Christ who will go into all the world to teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all. If you are interested in learning more about what our Lord is doing here and how you can be a part of this mission, I would encourage you to contact us at Admission@ctsfw.edu or even better, come for a visit and experience this firsthand.
In Christ, Lawrence R. Rast Jr. President Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Field education for our students is an important part of their formation as pastors. At Shepherd of the City, this fieldwork takes on some added dimensions. In the past, various field workers have shared the Gospel with the homeless man sleeping on our front steps, prepared and delivered home-cooked meals to the shelters, participated in outreach dinners to our communities, tutored school children after classes—they have worked in the midst of the disease of poverty. This can be quite the wake-up call for our seminarians, but it also helps prepare them for a possible call to urban ministry.
David R. Nehrenz
In the Summer 2022 issue, we incorrectly reported that the Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF) and speaker at the CTSFW Commencement Ceremony May 20, was found guilty of hate speech in his trial in Finland. He was, in fact, acquitted. Thanks be to God!
It is a privilege to mentor vicars. Much work is required. The congregation must also be committed to doing their part in showing the vicar what parish life looks like in the real world. The rewards are a joy to behold when we see men go all around the country and world to be pastors in Christ’s church. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up pastors in His harvest field!
Our CTSFW trip to Detroit for a weekend immersion in urban ministry was two years in the making (due to COVID). Finally, at the end of April, three pastoral and two diaconal students headed to Detroit to take it all in. The immersion trip served its intended purpose. We gained insight into the challenges and blessings of urban ministry, and eyes and hearts were opened to serving the Lord and His church in such ministry.
Above left to right: The Shepherd’s Hand Community Outreach Center next to Shepherd of the City Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Pulse installs CTSFW students Ruth Mussman, Zac Johnson, and Tim Schleusener as field workers at Shepherd of the City Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.
Community members come check out one the health fairs offered by The Shepherd's Hand.
Deaconess Tiffany Manor, Director of LCMS Life Ministry, leads a workshop on choking prevention during The Shepherd’s Hand Family Health Fair and Diaper Giveaway.
Igrew up on a cow farm in Iowa. I began my college years studying to be a veterinarian. My first call was to a rural parish in Burt, Iowa—rural ministry should be my thing! And yet, here I am writing an article on field education in an urban/inner city context. What do I know about any of that?
When I came to CTSFW 15 years ago, I soon thereafter volunteered to be the vacancy pastor at Shepherd of the City Lutheran Church in the inner core of Fort Wayne. I was missing the parish life, so I jumped at this opportunity. That was 14 years ago. I am still serving Shepherd of the City today.
Urban ministry in Fort Wayne is not like Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Chicago, but our zip code is the lowest per capita income in our state. There are some serious needs and issues. I learned this reality quickly when I came to church early on my first Easter Sunday and
cleaned up the syringes and bottles from our parking lot.
The last 14 years have been a steep learning curve for me and my family— and it provides an opportunity for our field workers to experience the same curve! We learn together that we live in a broken world—a broken world with broken cities and broken people. While this is true for the whole world, in the inner city, in the urban core, brokenness hits you up the side of the head with the force of a two-by-four. Brokenness is not a pretty Band-Aid on a little booboo—it is an open, bleeding sore. It is
The solution to brokenness, to sin, is not the “social” Gospel that is employed too frequently in the inner city. Sadly, much of that is a guilt response by those who have fled. The solution was, is, and will always remain the same: the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, His real presence in the midst of His people, in the midst of His city.
there for all the world, all the city, all the community to see. In the city brokenness is inescapable. You cannot turn the corner or close your eyes and make it all disappear. There is no clicking heels and reciting, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.” This is home—to so many. The only way to escape the brokenness of the inner core is to leave it behind, flee the city, hide in the suburbs, and take up hobby farming—and that has been the option chosen by many who have options. It has also been the option chosen by many churches in our history. Get out!
Of course, this leaves the city broken. Nothing has been solved, no attempts have been made to deal with the reality. Flight and avoidance are responses, but they are not solutions. Fifty-two years ago Shepherd of the City was formed because people chose, intentionally, not to leave the city behind. The solution to
brokenness is not to flee and ship in aid— it is in the real presence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The solution to brokenness, to sin, is not the “social” Gospel that is employed too frequently in the inner city. Sadly, much of that is a guilt response by those who have fled. The solution was, is, and will always remain the same: the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, His real presence in the midst of His people, in the midst of His city.
Field education for our students is an important part of their formation as pastors. At Shepherd of the City, this fieldwork takes on some added dimensions. In the past, various field workers have shared the Gospel with the homeless man sleeping on our front steps, prepared and delivered homecooked meals to the shelters, participated in outreach dinners to our communities, tutored school children after classes— they have worked in the midst of the
disease of poverty. They have learned that poverty is not about money and the lack thereof. Poverty has become a way of life in our community—generation after generation struggling with the lack of health and good nutrition amid gangs, violence, undereducation, and underemployment—and to those who do not live in this context, the solution seems simple and easy. Give money and things and tell them to stay in school, get a better job, open a savings account at the bank— get their act together! Not so simple. The cycle of poverty must be broken!
When an inner city resident wins the lottery—and it does happen—they share the money with all their family and neighbors until everyone is “poor” again. Wealth and goods are not the problems. This is the attitude of poverty at work. This can be quite the wake-up call for our seminarians, but it also helps prepare them for a possible call to urban
Shepherd of the City continues to stand firm in the city while teaching others to be a part of a mission field. We see the city as a mission field with mission eyes—not because the inner city is more important, but rather because it is equally as important as any mission field. We stand firm in the city by being a physical presence in its midst. The church—physical and spiritual—is a place from which the hungry are fed, the thirsty receive a cup of water, the naked are clothed, the homeless are housed, the sick healed, and those in prison are visited.
Below left to right: Vicar Bill Winter helps a student with his homework during The Shepherd's Hand's Homework Club held for free every Tuesday.
A volunteer helps distribute diapers during The Shepherd's Hand Trunk.
ministry. It is important to recognize and know what you are dealing with.
Recognizing the problem for what it is prompted Shepherd of the City to explore ways to meet the real needs of our neighborhood. Twelve-plus years ago the idea, followed by the plan, for an urban outreach center was formulated. The building across the street went up for sale, and with the help of some generous friends, it was purchased and renovated into an urban outreach center. It took almost 10 years, but the outreach center, known as Shepherd’s Hand, is now a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
Shepherd’s Hand is another opportunity for our members and fieldworkers to be actively involved and hands-on with the needs of our neighborhoods. We are especially focused on nutrition, health, and education. We are part of the National Diaper Bank and to date have supplied over 240,000 diapers in the Fort Wayne community. We teach healthy cooking, eating, and birth classes and have provided afterschool tutoring. We conduct three to four health fairs every year and serve many different income levels and ethnic groups by providing resources.
Obviously, we have many partners and a lot of volunteers and supporters. Our deaconess, Kimberly Trombley, is
now spearheading this outreach, and we have both MDiv field workers and deaconess field workers. The church yearly has a vicar, so our opportunity to prepare men and women for service in our church body, and perhaps in the area of urban ministry, is great.
Shepherd of the City continues to stand firm in the city while teaching others to be a part of a mission field. We see the city as a mission field with mission eyes—not because the inner city is more important, but rather because it is equally as important as any mission field. We stand firm in the city by being a physical presence in its midst. The church—physical and spiritual—is a place from which the hungry are fed, the thirsty receive a cup of water, the naked are clothed, the homeless are housed, the sick healed, and those in prison are visited. These acts of physical mercy flow forth from God’s church, from the Lord’s pulpit and the altar, from His real presence among us.
The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey H. Pulse (Jeffrey.Pulse@ctsfw.edu) serves as The Dean O. Wenthe Professor of Old Testament Theology, the Director of Certification and Placement, and the Director of Continuing Education at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
David R. Nehrenz
Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman, Oklahoma, presently has our 33rd consecutive vicar. I have been the vicarage supervisor for all 33 men. Our congregation of 500 baptized members also has an Early Childhood Learning Center. In addition, we are the Campus Ministry, the official LCMS U chapter, for the Oklahoma District at the University of Oklahoma. With each vicar, we examine the biblical framework for the pastoral office:
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil
“Lord God, Thou hast made me a pastor and teacher in the Church. Thou seest how unfit I am to administer rightly
this great and responsible Office; And had I been without Thy aid and counsel, I would surely have ruined it all long ago. Therefore do I invoke Thee. Now gladly do I desire to yield and consecrate my heart and mouth to this ministry. I desire to teach the congregation. I, too desire ever to learn and to keep Thy Word my constant companion and to meditate thereupon earnestly. Use me as Thy instrument in Thy service. Only do not Thou forsake me, For if I am left to myself, I will certainly bring it all to destruction. Amen.”
As we go through the vicarage year, I share my understanding of our vocations and callings:
Each one of us is a:
@ Disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ
@ Husband of his wife
@ Father of his children
@ Pastor of his flock
@ Member of his congregation
@ Citizen in his community
Our daily reminder is that “God gives—we receive” (Divine Service). Wherever we go each day, we ask God, “Remind me to be what I say I am.” The life of a pastor is stressful, so we need to breathe in, breathe out, and relax. The pastor is a shepherd of sheep. So we pray for wisdom, humility, courage, patience, and love—not for our own sakes, but for the sake of the Gospel.
The world does not define us. God does. Who am I? I am a Lutheran pastor who is called to be faithful, biblical, confessional, creedal, evangelical, liturgical, sacramental, and thoughtful.
We have basic proficiencies. We are not to become workaholics nor lazy. So we model a consistent work ethic with regular office hours so our people can come to see us. To be organized in daily tasks we use planning systems.
The pastor’s calling includes the following:
@ Learn to listen carefully before speaking.
@ Don’t just like your people; love your people.
@ Study, read, and ponder theology as the lifeblood of the church.
@ Teach your people to think theologically and have a Christian worldview.
@ Be engaged in the news of the day— nationally and locally.
@ Talk to people every day with an attitude of care and compassion.
@ Preach Law and Gospel, and have a detailed outline before the written manuscript.
@ Teach the Bible effectively in confirmation class, adult instruction, and in various studies.
@ Challenge your church folks in evangelism through knowing how to speak of Christ in one’s daily vocation and calling (The Table of Duties).
@ Be committed to the use of our three main “texts” as Lutherans: the Bible, the Catechism, and the hymnal.
@ Use active calling procedures to visit the sick, the homebound, the lonely, and those with special needs. (Take elders once a month on calls.)
@ Ensure accountability to the Board of Elders and the congregation, giving monthly evidence of how you have done the pastoral work you are called to do.
@ Offer your services to your circuit, district, and Synod.
@ Tithe out of your income for the church’s work, so you set a stewardship example.
It is also important to have time off and take vacations. Require yourself to take your weekly day off and have hobbies—it gives outlets for one’s creative energies. Life is short, so take vacation time to do fun things with your wife and children.
The daily devotional life includes:
@ Rejoicing in and being committed to a daily encounter with God through Word and Prayer. (This consists in the offices of the church, the reading of biblical texts from the Psalms, Old Testament, Epistle, Gospel lessons, the study of a portion of the Book of Concord, the singing of a hymn that fits the liturgical year, and the praying of the prayers of the church and prayers for special needs.)
Finally, we are called to be grateful and thankful!
@ Do not complain about your lot in life—be happy you have a job and a way to support your family.
@ Ask your elders if there are suggestions they have in order for you to be a better pastor.
@ Be present at all the fellowship events so your members can better get to know you.
@ Have lunch with the leaders of your congregation, and ask them about their joys, sorrows, and challenges (which will put your life as a pastor in a clearer perspective).
@ Take care of your health, and get plenty of sleep, because every day requires your best effort.
@ Finally, read through the pastoral epistles every year.
It is a privilege to mentor vicars. Much work is required. The congregation must also be committed to doing their part in showing the vicar what parish life looks like in the real world. The rewards are a joy to behold when we see men go all around the country and world to be pastors in Christ’s church. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up pastors in His harvest field!
The Rev. David R. Nehrenz (tlcnormanpastor@gmail.com) has served as Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman,
Oklahoma, (tlcnorman.org) since 1988. He also serves as the LCMS Oklahoma District President (oklahomalutherans. org), elected in 2022.
It is a privilege to mentor vicars. Much work is required. The congregation must also be committed to doing their part in showing the vicar what parish life looks like in the real world. The rewards are a joy to behold when we see men go all around the country and world to be pastors in Christ’s church. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up pastors in His harvest field!
1. Peter Scaer 1990–91
2. Christopher Irelan 91–92
3. Todd Schlechte 92–93
4. Scott Sundbye 93–94
5. Marcus Zill 94–95
6. Christopher Esget 95–96
7. Steve Willweber 96–97
8. Tim Gerdes 97–98
9. Eric Ahlemeyer 98–99
10. Paul Beisel 99–2000
11. Jeffrey Ahonen 00–01
12. Chadric Dietrich 01–02
13. Dan Mackey 02–03
14. Ryan Mills 03–04
15. David Menet 04–05
16. David Carver 05–06
17. Mark Preus 06–07
18. George Kirkup 07–08
Below left to right: Exterior photograph of Trinity Lutheran Church, Norman, Oklahoma.
Vicar Mark Gaschler leads a Bible study on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Norman, Oklahoma.
Framed photographs of prior vicars hang on the walls at Trinity Lutheran Church, Norman, Oklahoma.
Evan Goeglein, Matthew Moss, Jay Hobson (LCMS U student who then attended seminary), David Menet, David Nehrenz, Eric Brown (LCMS U student who then attended seminary)
19. Jacob Gaugert 08–09
20. Evan Goeglein 09–10
21. Matthew Moss 10–11
22. Bill Willenbrock 11–12
23. Aaron Uphoff 12–13
24. Joshua Woelmer 13–14
25. John Zimmerman 14–15
26. Eric Rudsenske 15–16
27. Eric Bednash 16–17
28. Keith Kettner 17–18
29. David Keating 18–19
30. Robert Schrader 19–20
31. Jordan Peiser 20–21
32. Mark Gaschler 21–22
33. Jonathan Anderson 22–23
The immersion trip had served its intended purpose. We gained insight into the challenges and blessings of urban ministry, and eyes and hearts were opened to serving the Lord and His church in such ministry. May the Lord bless all those who reach out with Christ’s compassion in the city!
Our CTSFW trip to Detroit for a weekend immersion in urban ministry was two years in the making (due to COVID). Finally, at the end of April, three pastoral and two diaconal students headed to Detroit to take it all in. We arrived at Camp Restore Detroit (camprestore.org/detroit)—a ministry to aid the community of the 9th Precinct of Detroit—late on a Friday night. The camp houses volunteers throughout the year to provide labor for restoration projects determined by community leaders. District Missionary Rev. Dietrick Gladden, serving at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church (mtcalvarydetroit.org), gave us the first glimpse into ministry in the region. After an orientation of the Camp Restore facilities (originally a Christian day school of Mt. Calvary), we rested for the 14-hour whirlwind tour of LCMS urban ministries in Detroit on the morrow.
Saturday, we arrived at Family of God Lutheran Church (fogdetroit.com) at about 8 a.m. The Rev. Jim Hill and the Rev. Tyler Cronkright—together with CTSFW Vicar Nick Gapski— provided a full picture of the history of their outreach ministry to bring the transformative power of the Gospel to the homeless, addicted, and all those living in southwest Detroit. Also housed on the property, The Luke Clinic (thelukeclinic.org) provides “accessible, high-quality pro-life prenatal and medical care for expectant mothers and infants under 12 months of age.” Executive Director Penny Armbruster emphasized that it’s the grace and compassion of Christ that motivates their medical staff and volunteers to care for the women and children of the area.
Next was a visit to Elli’s House (ellishouse313.org), an organization that works “to abolish sex trafficking in the City of Detroit through building relationships, offering safe shelter, and providing education.” Executive Director Deb Ellinger provided the group with insight into the ministry and the increasing problem of women who are homeless, addicted, and sex-trafficked in Detroit. Elli’s House provides a two-year residential shelter program, mentoring for middle schoolers, and weekly food, hygiene, and clothing to survivors. Our CTSFW group was able to witness the compassionate outreach as we traveled together to our next location.
At Bethany Lutheran Church, Michigan District Missionary-at-Large Rev. Chris Bodley spoke to us about the district’s Acts 2 Enterprise or A2E (michigandistrict.org/ministries/acts-2enterprise) and their work throughout the Michigan District (concentrated in the Detroit area). Through strategic and holistic urban outreach, A2E seeks to reconnect urban congregations with their surrounding communities to evangelize and disciple with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Camp Restore, Elli’s House, Family of God, and The Luke Clinic, as well as our last two stops—the Franklin Avenue Mission in Flint (served by the Rev. Christian Jones) and St. Paul Community in Pontiac (served by the Rev. Chris Jung)—are all part of the district’s A2E Ministry.
Our final stop for the day was in downtown Detroit just a mile from the river—Historic Trinity Lutheran Church (historictrinity.org). The Rev. D. Lee Andrzejewski provided a tour of the historic landmark and brief history of Lutheranism in Detroit before we headed out for a late dinner. We returned to Camp Restore to take in a presentation of the wonderful work they are doing in the community by Executive Director Amy Fanta.
Sunday we packed up and said goodbye to Amy. Our last urban ministry visit would be Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (ziondetroit.org). We received Christ’s gifts of Word and Sacrament through the Rev. Mark Braden before taking in lunch and returning to CTSFW.
The immersion trip had served its intended purpose. We gained insight into the challenges and blessings of urban ministry, and eyes and hearts were opened to serving the Lord and His church in such ministry.
May the Lord bless all those who reach out with Christ’s compassion in the city!
The Rev. Dr. Don C. Wiley (Don.Wiley@ctsfw.edu) serves as Assistant Professor and Chairman of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, Director of the Spanish Language Church Worker Formation Program, and Director of the Specific Ministry Pastor Program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
The Office of Black Ministry for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), as well as pastors of the Black Clergy Caucus, met July 27–30, 2022, for the triennial Black Ministry Family Convocation. Although it’s been four years since the last family convocation, the group was excited to get together in Mobile, Alabama, at Trinity Lutheran Church, where the Rev. Dr. Ulmer Marshall (CTSFW Doctor of Divinity, 2014) has served for nearly 50 years. This gathering is an important opportunity to gather together and discuss ministry as it pertains especially within the Black Ministry context, to look back on the LCMS’s history and heritage in Black Ministry as well as to look towards the future of what Black Ministry looks like for the LCMS. Many things have changed since the last gathering, but what hasn’t changed is the purpose of this event, which is to share the Gospel of Jesus with all people. With this as the focus, the gathering was a rousing success, allowing for open conversation about Black Ministry to come to fruition.
Top: The Rev. Dr. Ulmer Marshall welcomes participants.
Bottom: The Rev. Aubrey Watson Jr. (CTSFW 2002) leads morning worship.
In 2016, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, partnered with the LCMS Office of National Mission to fund and promote the Dr. Rosa J. Young Scholarship, established to support and encourage men and women in the African American community to pursue training in church work. If you know someone who would benefit from this scholarship or if you would like to contribute to this fund, contact the Rev. Matthew Wietfeldt in Admission (Admission@ctsfw.edu).
Recruitment of future pastors, especially from communities of color, was a major focus at the convocation. A think tank formed after the last gathering presented its ideas on a wide variety of topics including recruitment. One of the most important reminders from the think tank was that the task of recruiting future church workers calls for the involvement of the whole church, regardless of geographical area, vocation, or race. We must all be about identifying and encouraging men and women, young and old alike, to consider church work professions.
Later in the gathering, both seminaries and the Concordia universities that were present had an opportunity to bring greetings, well wishes, and updates from their institutions. It was a joy being able to see many of our own alumni pastors of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), serving in black congregations. We were able to hear from them how we can continue to resource and support pastors and congregations in predominantly black contexts. As CTSFW continues to teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all, it is important to continue striving to improve how and where we reach out with Jesus Christ and the message of the Gospel. His life, death, and resurrection
bring forgiveness of sins and the hope of life everlasting, for all people throughout the whole of the world. Let us not forget that this is and must remain the heart of all the work the church does and will continue to do.
Please continue to pray for all of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregations, including those providing ministry to the black communities of our country, as they, like all our congregations, carry the Gospel of Jesus into a hurting and broken world. Please also pray for our congregations as they raise up men and women to serve in church work vocations. As the LCMS continues its focus on church work recruitment through the Set Apart to Serve initiative (more information at www. lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve), please also encourage and support the young men and women in your life who could possibly serve as pastors, deaconesses, and other church workers someday. The work that they could do will be difficult but eternally rewarding for those who hear the Good News of Jesus through them.
The Rev. Matthew J. Wietfeldt (Matthew.Wietfeldt@ctsfw.edu) serves as Director of Admission and Director of Christ Academy at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
For those concerned about the current demographic trends of the LCMS (I’m not particularly concerned, but if you are), there is an answer out there: do ministry in the city and nearby suburbs! American cities are increasingly diverse. The world is, quite literally, coming to this country. According to a Pew Research Center report (2020), the number of immigrants living in the U.S. has more than quadrupled since 1965, with immigrants accounting for 13.7% of the U.S. population These recent arrivals tend to cluster in cities and near-adjacent areas. They are our neighbors, and they need the Gospel and our acts of service. Herein, I bear witness to the experience of just one congregation, Immanuel in Alexandria, Virginia, but I think it is instructive.
One thing right off the bat: being urban and multi-ethnic in no way connotes a retreat or compromise of traditional, orthodox worship practice or doctrine. This is the “great mistake” of the intentionally “diverse” and mainstream Protestants. They seek to relate, but the power of the Gospel is to transform! My firm conviction is people come to a church not to see, and be fed, the same detritus our popular culture dishes out in heaping helpings. Quite the contrary, authenticity is the coin of the realm. This is true with Gen Xers and Millennials, but it is also true more generally. We need to be who we are, not what we might think “they” want us to become. Why they come, and more
to the point, why they stay, is because of an authentic difference: different from the world, different from the ordinary and the debased, and different, above all, from the meaninglessness of the postmodern. They come for the difference, an authentic faith, truly expressed. As generations before us, and as the Epistles urge, we need to bear witness to Truth and enunciate the Gospel clearly so that our neighbors can “hear” the Holy Spirit through our witness (actions speak louder than words) as well as through our voices— raised in song, vibrant in teaching, and clearly in preaching.
A congregation needs to “clap with both hands,” living both tables of the Ten Commandments: to love God above all things and to love (and serve) one’s neighbor as oneself. The LCMS is equipped to do both! The glories of the traditional liturgy and orthodox hymnody are nonpareil—to worship liturgically is to worship as the people of God have worshiped for centuries. To sing the great hymns is to revel in the genius of the ages (can you really improve on Bach?). The LCMS’s superpower in the second table—serving our neighbor—is education, particularly what is called classical education.
Educating our parish children, and the children of our neighbors, in loco parentis is a clear and valuable service. Given the current sorry state of public education—dominated by unions and other academic/bureaucratic forces not just at odds with, but often inimical to, the best interests of children—we serve our neighbor with an identifiable, tangible, much-valued good. It is the perfect complement to orthodox liturgy/doctrine/worship practice in the nurturing of a family. If a child is to be educated outside the home, a classical Christian school is the place to convey knowledge but also build character. The
more “diverse” than our congregation, but that continues to change. What has not changed (and, God willing, will not change) is what we have on our sign by the highway: “traditional liturgy, confessional doctrine.”
One thing right off the bat: being urban and multiethic in no way connotes a retreat or compromise of traditional, orthodox, worship practice or doctrine.
In our parish, traditional worship (with closed communion) + confessional doctrine + classical education = growth. Weekly church attendance has almost quadrupled in the last 20 years, and our school’s attendance has tripled since we “went classical” a few years ago. We have also become more “diverse.” Growth and “diversity” were never the point, but they were a sure artifact of our parish’s location in the close-in suburbs of a major American city. As I’ve said, our Lord is sending the world to our cities; let us serve our neighbors.
Classical education is the pursuit of virtue and wisdom, not the mere communication of knowledge from teacher to pupil. We help parents in their duty to create mature gentlemen and ladies. Classical education uses the trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. I haven’t the space to explicate fully, but it is a building approach, from the basics to thinking and abstract thought to forceful and original oral and written communication. It is language-focused and rigorous. It prepares the student to be a reasoning member of society, and, when embedded in the foundation of Holy Scripture and right doctrine, produces a “classical Christian” moored to the truth of our Lutheran faith and to western civilization.
two—classical and Christian—were literally designed to fit together. Since the Romans, western civilization’s one continuing fact is the presence of the Christian church and Judeo-Christian morality and ethics. The dignity of the individual is a “western” idea in so far as it is a Christian idea. Only in Christianity are men and women endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights, created in the very image of the Almighty, and redeemed by an Incarnate Savior. Immanuel in Alexandria, Virginia, is a proof point. In my 17 years, it has been transformed by the faithful service of its pastors, by its historic liturgy, revitalized chancel, growing music program, and especially by the incorporation of a classical, Christian school. Services at Immanuel are somewhat crowded and generally noisy! We have no staffed nursery, so children sit with their parents and siblings. You can generally hear the pastor over the din of babies, toddlers, and younger children . . . some call it “noise,” but it is the lullaby of the ages. And because we are adjacent to the DC Metroplex and welcome all who come, we are growing in what is colloquially called “diversity.” True, our school is
So, the message is simple: The LCMS needs to go into the urban/suburban space, to stay in the urban/suburban space. In a conventional sense, there is an opportunity there. In truth, there is a great need. This is a new mission field . . . of sorts. We need to minister to all who our Lord will send, and He has sent the world to American cities and surrounding neighborhoods. We have the tools to minister and serve with aplomb, to bear a clear witness, to serve and love our neighbors, and to create the difference that endures
Dr. Leo Mackay Jr. serves as Senior Vice President—Ethics and Enterprise Assurance at Lockheed Martin Corporation and also as the Vice Chair, Board of Regents at CTSFW. As a member of the CTSFW Board of Regents Dr. Mackay shares, “We are all committed to preparing pastors and deaconesses for ministry in the LCMS; to continuing to work on the special circumstances of ministry in urban areas, internationally, and across ethnic boundaries; and to assist international confessional Lutheran bodies in educating their pastors.”
New Faculty and Staff Installed in Opening Service
By the grace of God and in His holy name, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), held its 177th Opening Service Tuesday, September 6. President Lawrence R. Rast Jr. welcomed and thanked the faculty, staff, students, families, and friends in physical and virtual attendance, noting how God continues to be generous and faithful.
“We pray that the Lord might give us many excellent gifts, and we see that prayer realized, fulfilled . . .” said Rast. “It is such a joy to welcome you all to Concordia Theological Seminary on this great day as we begin our 177th academic year. It is astounding to see how richly God answers that prayer, and how freely He gives His gifts to His church. This class—what a delight to welcome you, to have another class begin your path towards service.”
CTSFW was blessed and honored to have LCMS Indiana District President Rev. Daniel J. Brege (CTSFW ‘82) in Kramer Chapel to perform his last official acts while in office: preaching the sermon and installing new Seminary faculty and staff. Dr. Rast thanked Brege for his service while welcoming the Rev. D. Richard “Rick” Stuckwisch Jr. (CTSFW ‘93) as his successor.
Before installing CTSFW’s newly
appointed staff and faculty members, Brege delivered an inspiring sermon based on the Gospel lesson, welcoming new students to a place where the truth is spoken daily and with confidence.
“What is impossible with man is possible with God,” said Brege, who then spoke of how Christ manifests “the greatest impossibility . . . God performs the camel [through the eye of a needle] miracle, only in reverse. God, the One who is all-powerful, the One who is present everywhere, the One who knows all, the One by whom the world was created, God goes through the eye of the needle and becomes man.” Throughout each student’s experience, professors “continue to teach how God has done and continues to do the impossible”—prayerfully and hopefully inspiring a confidence in students that will help strengthen their future service to the church.
Stephen Bornheimer (BA, Concordia University, Ann Arbor; MS, Lawrence Technological University) was installed as digital communications specialist in this year’s Opening Service. He was eager to express his joy and gratitude, having settled into his role in July of this year. “I feel honored and blessed to have joined the CTSFW family. Faculty and staff have gone out of their way to introduce themselves and welcome me and my family to this community. CTSFW is an incredible ministry, and I am blessed to be able to work alongside others in serving future church workers and their families.” Bornheimer joins the CTSFW team from his former role at Emmanuel-St. Michael Lutheran School in Fort Wayne.
The Rev. David L. Witt (BA, Birmingham-Southern College in
Alabama; MDiv, CTSFW) was installed as an officer in the Advancement Department. Witt worked as a deputy and detective with a major crimes unit in Georgia and was the general manager of a multi-location hardware and feed business before attending the Seminary and then serving a dual parish in the LCMS Southern District.
An ‘09 alum of CTSFW, the Rev. Geoffrey Boyle (BA, University of Michigan; PhD, the University of Toronto) was installed in the Pastoral Ministry and Missions Department as an assistant professor, having served the SMP Program here for the past 10 years. Boyle shared his thoughts about the transition: “I knew that leaving parish ministry would be difficult, but it’s even harder than I thought. The rhythm of preaching and teaching, along with the daily integration into the lives of the saints in that place, shapes who we are as pastors. The greatest consolation comes in the hope
of forming these men to do so for generations to come. I look forward not only to the teaching, but also to the mentoring, fellowship, and gathering together in this new rhythm of praying, praising, and giving thanks to God.”
The Rev. Jon S. Bruss (BA, St. Olaf College; MDiv, Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary; MA and PhD; the University of Minnesota) was installed as associate professor of systematic theology. “It’s humbling, when you consider the great breadth of experience and talent on this faculty and amongst the staff, to be considered one of them,” said Bruss. “I only pray that, whatever the Lord has done here in calling me to this position, it will be of great benefit to students and the community. I’ve always lived with feet on two sides of the parish/ academy fence, oftentimes more firmly planted on one side than the other. In so many ways, teaching at CTSFW provides the perfect opportunity to balance that out.” Bruss joins CTSFW from his previous role as pastor of St.
John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas.
“The faculty is thrilled to welcome two new colleagues who were installed in the Opening Service,” said Dr. Charles Gieschen, provost. “Both Dr. Bruss and Dr. Boyle bring wonderful pastoral experience and great academic learning to the classroom and campus that will be a true blessing to our students and the church.”
The CTSFW community certainly continues to be blessed with generous and gifted people dedicated to fulfilling the Seminary’s mission to form servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all. Speaking to all those newly installed, Dr. Rast said, “We are so delighted you are here, and we look forward to working with you as you use your very significant gifts.”
“It is such a joy to welcome you all to Concordia Theological Seminary on this great day as we begin our 177th academic year.”
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The Lord works in mysterious ways.” It seems like everyone says that, and each person has a unique story about what that means. I am no exception. Little did I know what the Lord would have in store for me when I started seminary. I still don’t know what He plans for me tomorrow. But the God we follow leads us in His paths, not ours.
I had no particular focus or aspiration when I started seminary. Some guys have this idea that they want to go to an inner-city urban setting. Others want a “St. John of the Cornfield” rural parish. Others are pining to go overseas on the mission field. I just thought I would go through the process and see where I ended up. Well, at the beginning of my second year, I got drafted into Deaf ministry, in an attempt to restart the Deaf ministry that had previously existed in Fort Wayne. The Lord ultimately had other plans for that effort, but it did lead to my being placed in a Deaf congregation (along with two hearing congregations) for my vicarage. I spent a year being the spiritual head of a small parish of Deaf people in Omaha, Nebraska, preaching and teaching and doing the ministry there.
Then I went back to Fort Wayne for my fourth year, went through the
placement process like everyone else, and the Lord saw fit to call me to serve St. Peter Lutheran Church in Elma, Iowa—a small parish in a small town in rural eastern Iowa. There, for the first four-and-a-half years of my ministry, I learned a ton about the ministry—and a ton about farming and hog production. The Lord did not let me get too far from the Deaf ministry there, however. The district missionary for the Deaf retired, and the Iowa District East asked me to take on a few preaching stations. So, I was back in Deaf ministry.
When the Lord closes a door in one place, He opens another somewhere else. In my case, as the door was closing on my ministry in Iowa, the door was opening on my opportunity to serve with the LCMS Office of International Mission. Again, I was called to serve in Deaf ministry—this time as an
evangelistic missionary for Deaf ministry with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana. My family and I moved to Ghana and began the work of ministry in West Africa. Of course, the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and the priorities of the mission field change. So, I was to be transferred to the Centre Luthérien d’Etudes Théologiques (Lutheran Center for Theological Studies) —CLET—in Dapaong, Togo, as the Area Facilitator for Deaf Ministry for West/Central Africa. This meant learning French in order to teach and work with our French-speaking partner churches across Africa, so we moved to Togo via a nine-month sojourn in Burkina Faso to study French. Once we arrived finally in Togo, my work was to teach at the seminary, both providing core classes and also sensitizing students to the need to do ministry with people with disabilities and their families. I also worked with our partners to help identify opportunities for Deaf ministry in their contexts.
After a time in that role, the Lord again saw fit to close a door and open another. We were brought back to the US, and a position opened up in Madison, Wisconsin, for me to be the
When you pray for something, watch out—the Lord might just give it to you! He works in mysterious ways, but always for the blessing of His people.
pastor of a Deaf congregation. The South Wisconsin District Board of Directors extended a call that I accepted to become a Missionary at Large for Deaf Ministry assigned to Our Savior Deaf Lutheran Church and the Madison Deaf community. How’s that for a business card title?
When I was called to Our Savior, the congregation had been in a pastoral vacancy for a few years, and some significant internal conflict was brewing in the parish. I was also installed just a month before the widespread outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic—welcome to your new parish!
The slowdown that the pandemic forced did give us the time to concentrate on working through some of the conflicts in the parish. It took about 18 months, but by mid-2021 we had come to a point where the parish leadership and I felt as though we had turned a corner and were ready to look forward and outward for new opportunities as a congregation.
We had been discussing our options and praying about how to move forward for a few months, when suddenly the Lord, through the City of Madison, answered our prayers in a rather unexpected way. Our Savior Deaf
Lutheran Church sits on several acres of land in the middle of an industrial park. It is a very nice property, but not great in terms of public visibility or passerby traffic. However, across the street was a vacant lot owned by the city. Madison, like many other cities across the country, is experiencing a crisis of people who are homeless or under-sheltered. During the worst of the COVID pandemic, the Madison Common Council had suspended enforcement of vagrancy laws to allow people to camp in parks, but that situation had become unsustainable. They decided to build a camp group of small shelters, each one 64 square feet, to get people out of the public parks.
We needed a new outreach opportunity, and God plopped one literally in our backyard! Suddenly, we have a new community that is ripe for works of mercy and Christian love, just a stone’s throw from us. With the help of the South Wisconsin District, we have begun a program where we prepare and serve a meal every Sunday evening to the residents of the homeless camp. Many of the people choose to take their meal to go and eat on their own, but some do stay and eat with us
in our fellowship room. We are building relationships bit by bit, but it is a blessing to be able to touch lives with God’s love in any way we can.
Another blessing in this story is that our members are learning to serve their neighbors in love. The Deaf community is historically a community served by others, but in this way, our members are doing the serving. They are learning to give back what they have received.
And what comes next, only God knows!
So, when you pray for something, watch out—the Lord might just give it to you! He works in mysterious ways, but always for the blessing of His people.
Scan the code or visit https: //youtu.be/atB4bMXN5HM to learn more about Our Savior Lutheran Church's mission outreach with the residents of the Little Homes.
The Rev. Ryan M. McDermott (ryan_mcdermott@osdlc.org) serves as pastor of Our Savior Deaf Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin.
An assumption many people have is that the formation of pastors and deaconesses takes place solely at the Seminary, but the reality is that the process begins years earlier. Men and women are formed by their parents, pastors, teachers, and even the exemplary conduct of other Christians in their congregation.
When working with prospective students, admission counselors must field a wide variety of questions, from “When do I find out if I’m admitted?” to “Which books should I be reading before I arrive?” Enthusiasm is not usually the problem. In order for that person to pick up the phone and start that first conversation, they have to have some interest in becoming a pastor or deaconess. On the contrary, there is often too much eagerness, being unwilling to accept any delays in what they perceive to be God’s will for them.
The writer to the Hebrews, in his address to the mature Christians in the church, encouraged them to imitate those who have both faith and patience. Each person’s journey in the faith is different but the same in that it is a journey, a long trip or expedition, and as such it takes time. You may have to wait until you are out of college to go to Seminary, or you may have to wait until your daughter graduates from high school before you can move. Maybe the housing market is soft, and you can’t sell your home right now. None of these are bad or selfish reasons. Have patience and know that God is not worried about the time it takes. In the meantime, you can continue to serve where you are, in your hometown or on your college campus, in preparation for formal study at the Seminary.
An assumption many people have is that the formation of pastors and deaconesses takes place solely at the Seminary, but the reality is that the process begins years earlier. Men and women are formed by their parents, pastors, teachers, and even the exemplary conduct of other Christians in their congregation. They are shaped by all of these mentors toward a life of service, service both to God (First Table of the Law) and to their neighbor (Second Table). The word “minister” comes to us from the Latin for “servant,” and it is a fitting description of the necessary attitude that one must have to be a pastor or deaconess. We do not train to become lords over Christ’s church but to be servants within it.
Patience is a virtue, we know, but it is hard to practice. In those months or years before you can formally enter the Seminary, you can both work on your patience while allowing yourself to be further formed as a servant. For those “second career” individuals, there are many opportunities in your congregation to serve, some of which you may not even be aware of. Ask your pastor how you can help. Whether it is as the only male member of the altar guild or the unglamorous job of helping the trustees
clean the windows, an attitude of service doesn’t begin when you step onto the Seminary campus. And for those who think, “A pastor would never be stuck vacuuming,” I can assure you that not only do pastors vacuum, they also perform a whole host of other tasks not listed in the call documents. They do what is necessary because that is what servants do.
Outside of the four walls of your church, there are ample opportunities for service while you continue the journey set before you. It is also not a coincidence that time goes by more quickly when you are engaged with others. There are shut-ins who rarely get visitors; there are single mothers who need someone to watch the kids so they can go to the store. Everywhere you look there are people who need someone to notice, to care, to sacrifice a small amount of time out of their day. The exact same type of people that Jesus took the time to notice.
Our Lord taught His disciples this attitude of love and service through an explanation of the final judgment. “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me’” (Matt. 25:40). That is the servant attitude that impels pastors and deaconesses to lives of service, to pick up the phone on a cold wintry night or in the middle of a long summer weekend, to set aside their plans and wants for those who need the comfort of Jesus.
Whether you are considering attending the Seminary or just serving where you are within your various vocations, you can strive to do more and help form others for a life of service. Have faith and patience, confident that if Christ Jesus wants you to serve in a new way, He will make it happen at the right time.
The Rev. Chad C. Schopp (Chad.Schopp@ctsfw.edu) serves as an admission counselor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Our Lord taught His disciples this attitude of love and service through an explanation of the final judgment.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me’” (Matt. 25:40). That is the servant attitude that impels pastors and deaconesses to lives of service, to pick up the phone on a cold wintry night or in the middle of a long summer weekend, to set aside their plans and wants for those who need the comfort of Jesus.
Being a professor at one of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) seminaries comes with a level of respect and authority—but beyond theological degrees, international service, and countless published writings—these are warm, caring, and real human beings, with unique teaching styles and senses of humor that have endeared them in the hearts of many a student. And although new to the role, the Rev. Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn has already solidified his position in this storied legacy of scholars, leaders, and mentors.
Dr. Peperkorn—self-described on social media as, “Husband, Father, Baptized, Lutheran Professor in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Slightly goofy”—may be best known for his many published writings and speaking at conferences, particularly concerning a spiritual, theological approach to mental health. However, there are many more reasons why Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW) is blessed and thankful that this man of many talents joined our faculty as assistant professor of pastoral ministry and missions and director of vicarage and internships a little over one year ago.
As President Rast put it, Peperkorn was called to CTSFW because it was
clear that his “significant parish work (20 years) and teaching experience (at both the university and seminary levels) make him uniquely suited to oversee the vicarage program and teach counseling and preaching.” Provost Dr. Charles A. Gieschen also said, “Pastor Peperkorn brings considerable pastoral, administrative, and academic experience . . . a great blessing to our students and faculty.” Gieschen also noted how his prior service in the CTSFW Admission Department (1996 to 1999), as well as his recent service on the Concordia Seminary St. Louis Board of Regents (member, vice chairman, and chairman, 1995 to the present), “have enriched his understanding of the vocation of a professor and mission of the Seminary.”
Very much like all of our faculty here on the campus, Peperkorn is a busy person with many irons in many fires. However, I was able to catch him between speaking at the Higher Things conference and teaching a Continuing Education class, but just before he needed to leave to fulfill his regular role of volunteering with youth (including chaperoning trips). While his schedule is pretty packed—including teaching, serving at church, volunteering as a chaplain for DOXOLOGY (providing respite, retreat, and resources for pastors), and being an active husband and father of four (Renata, Isabella, Richard, and
Beata) in a musical household that includes an accomplished operatic singer (wife Kathryn) and three pianos (“It’s loud.”)—he was gracious and generous with his time, plainly energized by his passion for the people he loves and the work he does to serve them.
After growing up in Iowa, Colorado, and St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Peperkorn got a BA in pre-seminary studies and history from Concordia University Nebraska (‘92), an MDiv and STM at CTSFW (‘96 and ‘99 respectively), and a DMin at The Aquinas Institute of Theology (‘21). He and Kathryn both student taught (Holy Cross Lutheran School and Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne), started dating during his time at the Seminary, married in 1995, and went on vicarage to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Waco, Texas. After completing his degree, Peperkorn was one of a few graduates who were asked to stay on and join the CTSFW Admission Department, where he served (and traveled frequently) from 1996 to 1999.
In 2006, Dr. Peperkorn was diagnosed with clinical depression, leading to a year on disability and becoming what he jokingly calls “the poster child for depression.” Part of his healing process was an anonymous blog discussing the relationship between faith
and mental/physical illness, which led to the publication of his first book, I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression (LCMS World Relief and Human Care, 2009), and becoming a speaker on the subject at The Lutheran Foundation’s Look Up Conference, among many other places and events.
Dr. Peperkorn’s background and experiences inform his work, and he enjoys teaching pastoral counseling from a theological perspective. “Pastors are not amateur psychologists. Pastoral care overlaps. It’s about the care of the whole person . . . body, soul . . . You can’t pull them apart.”
There are many things Dr. Peperkorn enjoys and cherishes about working on the Seminary’s campus. When asked what he finds most rewarding, it was difficult to choose: “definitely getting to know the students, their stories, why they decided to pursue ministry . . . each has a unique perspective.” In fact, one may say Peperkorn is one of the people who gets to know the students the most, given the approximately 90 to 100 interviews he gives every year in his position. He laughed, “It’s a good thing I like people.”
Parish ministry has always been close to Dr. Peperkorn’s heart. He served for 12 years (1999 to 2011) as the sole pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin (where he was instrumental in starting Christ Lutheran Academy). From 2011 to 2021, he served alongside Deaconess Pamela Boehle-Silva (CTSFW ‘11), Pastor John-Paul Meyer (Springfield ‘74), and Pastor Charles E. Froh as senior
pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, California (where he still actively supports numerous mission activities, especially in Kenya).
Peperkorn cherishes his time serving our church’s youth and had some advice to give on connecting with them. “Be open and present. That shows that love is there. It’s hard not to want to fix problems. Be a patient and active listener. Don’t jump to the answer. We are trying to care for our children and provide a place where they can feel safe and have real conversations.” He also notes that there is plenty of room for grace, for both parents and their kids. “Parents are going to screw up. You, as a parent, need to reach out for help when you need it.”
It is always interesting to explore how an artist plies their craft, and Dr. Peperkorn was kind enough to give us a glimpse into his creative/writing process. One interesting aspect of his routine is that he enjoys using old fountain pens and the “beauty and simplicity of writing by hand. Being forced to slow down. Gather your thoughts. Decide what to say.” Even with deadlines mounting, “This is not a project or something to get done. This is how I converse with my people. It is part of something bigger.”
An active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Dr. Peperkorn knows how “the partnership
between the church and the Seminary is so important. We exist to serve congregations in the church. We can’t do what we do without them. We have to be continually watching and learning, to shape our pastors to be what they need to be. It’s always a partnership—between the Food and Clothing Co-ops, Student Adoption, etc.— they are all facets of that partnership.”
When asked how he would encourage those considering a call to ministry or giving to the Seminary, Peperkorn said, “Bringing students and donors here is key. It’s about community. It’s the people who make this place what it is. How do you encourage men and women? Let the story be what it is. I don’t get to decide what God’s Word is going to do and the work God does through this place. Come and see. There is nothing that will give you more clarity. Sit in on classes. Come find me. I’ll be happy to talk to you.” He does feel honored and blessed to be someone who gets to build up and help form our future church leaders. “Someday this man could be my pastor or the pastor for one of my children. That keeps me moving forward.” It’s all about providing both a place and people for the next generation.
Rebecca S. Ahlersmeyer (Rebecca.Ahlersmeyer@ctsfw.edu) serves as the communications specialist at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
Both courses offered in this session focused on the practical skills of ecclesial leadership. The Rev. Dr. Jeff Skopak of Grace Lutheran Church and School of Jacksonville, Florida, provided essential teaching and training in “Strategic Planning and Task Management.” “The LLDP was richly blessed with Dr. Skopak’s remarkably helpful guidance and instruction,” said Dr. Naomichi Masaki, LLDP director.
The second week of the session, led by LCMS Mid-South District President Rev. Dr. Roger Paavola, focused on “Budgeting and Financial Accountability.” President Paavola brought in a wonderful team of presenters to enrich his teaching, including Tom McCain (MBA/CPA), Ed Holderle (JD), Dr. James Sanft (President and CEO of Concordia Plans), Larry Crume (Senior VP of Lutheran Church Extension Fund), and Rev. Matthew Clark (pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church, St. Louis). Like the course on strategic planning, this course “provided enormous resources to participating church leaders,” said Dr. Masaki.
Dr. Daniel Mono, District Pastor of SELVD-ELCT; Rev. John Donkoh, President/ Bishop of ELCG; Rev. Dr. Denis Rakotozafy, Bishop of FLM; Rev. Modise Maragelo, Bishop of LCSA; Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Makala, Bishop of SELVD-ELCT; Rev. Helmut Paul, Deputy Bishop of FELSISA; and Dr. Jeff Skopak, Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church and School, Jacksonville, Florida
The Lutheran Leadership Development Program (LLDP) of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) held a twoweek instructional session July 25–August 5, 2022, at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW). The nine (out of 11) participants in the program, all church leaders in Africa, represented the following church bodies:
@ Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA)
@ Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa (FELSISA)
@ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG)
@ South East of Lake Victoria Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (SELVD-ELCT)
@ Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY)
@ Malagasy Lutheran Church (FLM)
The Lutheran Leadership Development Program is a collaborative effort of the ILC, Concordia Publishing House (CPH), CTSFW, and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Launched in 2019 as a twoyear certificate program, LLDP aims to provide Lutheran church bodies around the world an opportunity to develop leaders who are competent in both solid confessional Lutheran theology as well as practical skills in leadership and resource management, such as organizational dynamics, task management, budgeting, strategic planning, and accountability. As of August 2022, ten courses have been offered in five sessions (with a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic). The next session is scheduled for November 2022.
To learn more, visit the International Lutheran Council website at ilc-online.org
Gerald D. Heinecke
Carolyn if she had a Book of Concord I could get. She sent me three. I asked for two Catechisms. She sent me 10. Now I have given away all but a few. I have also found that many soldiers need to learn about the dangers of living together outside of marriage, and she sent me 20 Second Thoughts on Living Together. She’s been a priceless gift with those and many other resources!
I have even been able to connect fellow chaplains who are curious about Lutheranism with resources. Soldiers want to learn about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We deliver hope to soldiers who are lost in this world with the promise of life and salvation through Jesus Christ alone by His sacrifice for our sins.
My learning curve has been steep, having joined the National Guard and become a chaplain just two years ago. The one area where I have a great advantage is with our church. The Chaplain Corps of the LCMS is the envy of chaplains from other denominations.
The soldiers in our Armed Forces are in dire need of the Gospel. They hunger for a word of hope. It has not been difficult to find opportunities to proclaim the promise of Jesus. I have counseled multiple soldiers who do not believe in Jesus or have fallen from the faith. Others desire to learn why our Lutheran faith is so hopeful and confident.
Yet I wondered, “How was this fledgling faith going to be nurtured when I only see them for two or three days a month, especially if they miss a month?”
It starts with putting simple words into their hands. I needed good catechetical materials: Luther’s Small Catechism!
But the Army doesn’t have a budget to purchase these because they lump all chaplains together. (They even include Unitarians and Mormons under the Christian Cross of Chaplains.) I asked Chaplain Steven Hokana if the Synod’s Ministry to the Armed Forces had any resources to help teach the soldiers. He directed me to the director of the CTSFW Military Project, Deaconess Carolyn Brinkley. It is amazing all the resources she had at hand to share with me, and wow, did she deliver—abundantly!
During one drill, a soldier asked to learn the Lutheran faith because he was thinking of becoming a pastor. I asked
Yet the Military Project wouldn’t be able to provide theological resources without your help. Your gifts make it possible to meet the ever-growing demand of the harvest that needs to be gathered. Please pray for all of our chaplains, because many soldiers have wandered from the fold or eaten from the poison of false doctrine.
Dear donor, I don’t know who you are, but I give thanks for you. Through your generous stewardship, I have the opportunity to plant or water the seed of faith. I don’t know how these opportunities turn out, but I know one thing for sure, God promises that He will give the growth. Pray for these soldiers and our LCMS chaplains. There is a lot of work to be done.
Please keep our chaplains and military personnel in your prayers. They are God’s instruments of protection. For information on service projects or how to start your own,
call (260) 542-2140 or
Concordia Theological Seminary
Military Project Coordinator
N. Clinton St.
Wayne, IN 46825
From America to Africa and to the Pacific !
Paul G. HopkinsThe Lord said to Abraham: leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home. Genesis 12:1
Above: Imbu Yange greets Julie Lutz, LCMS missionary to Papua New Guinea.
It has been my joy to meet many of God’s servants, who are quietly serving our Lord with their various talents and tithes. Our story in this issue features two women who each served the church in their vocations for over 40 years and continue to serve the church and their neighbor with their tithes.
Lois was born in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and had several relatives who were pastors. Today she is a distant relative to a seminary student at CTSFW. She attended Concordia Teachers College (River Forest). She met and then married her husband, Leroy Eckert, who, after graduating from the seminary in 1965, was called to the mission field in Papua New Guinea, where Lois also taught school. After serving 20 years in the field, the Eckert family returned to the States where her husband served as a pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Baldwin, Illinois, until 2006. She served as a Lutheran schoolteacher until 2007 in nearby Red Bud, Illinois. One of her former students called her the greatest teacher she ever had. The missionary gene was passed down to their daughter Lisa, who is a missionary in Africa with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Timothy Beckendorf, who serves with Lutheran Bible Translators.
Dorothy is a native of Zion Lutheran Church in Clyman, Wisconsin, and the daughter of dairy farmers. The seed for service was planted at her confirmation. After high school, she entered the nursing program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. While in the Master's in Nursing program at the University of Pittsburgh, she entered
the medical mission field in Nigeria, West Africa. During her service, she was evacuated because of civil war. Dorothy returned to Africa, serving with the international Red Cross. After a brief stay in Illinois, Dorothy’s next mission field was Papua New Guinea, where she faithfully served until 1987. After 1987, she served in her home state of Wisconsin at the Bethesda home in Watertown. Since her retirement she has also served as the parish nurse at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Watertown, Wisconsin.
Both of these women have been long and faithful supporters of Concordia Theological Seminary’s mission. They have seen firsthand the impact the Gospel can have on a hurting world in need of Christ and His salvation. This mission cannot be fulfilled without your help. We need pastors and deaconesses who can go into all the world to teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all. Please prayerfully consider how you can partner with us in this mission.
The Rev. Paul G. Hopkins (Paul.Hopkins@ctsfw.edu) serves as an advancement officer at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.
This issue is full of examples of how various vicarage and shortterm experiences have significant impact on the formation of our church’s future pastors and deaconesses. None of these would be possible without our many wonderful vicarage congregations who help support our students and partner with us in forming them for service. Would you be interested in having a vicar or deaconess intern at your congregation? Consider helping to fund various vicarages or short-term mission experiences. These opportunities broaden the worldview of our graduates regardless of where they eventually serve and thereby benefit our LCMS congregations here and our church partners around the globe. Contact Advancement@ctsfw.edu to see how you can get involved today!
Above, left to right: Rev. Leroy, Lois, Linda, and Lisa Eckert
Dorothy Degnitz, 1983, Papua New Guinea Lois Eckert with gifts from students in Papua New Guinea
It’s a real and dangerous problem. We could call it the false doctrine of unlimited human potential, or the “you can do anything” attitude. We hear news reports of people with lofty aspirations. Having succeeded in their endeavors, they describe all the personal efforts and sacrifices that led them to reach their goals. The implication for us and others then unfolds: “Do you want to be an Olympic gold-medalist, a Supreme Court justice, or the president of the United States? Well, just believe in yourself, set your mind to it, work hard, let no one discourage you, and your goal will be realized.” Really? Is that even possible? Is that even biblical?
The problem with the “you can do anything” attitude from the perspective of God’s Word is that it involves too much pride and not enough humility, too much idealism and not enough realism, too much you and not enough Him. It’s a sinful role reversal. We put ourselves in the place of the Lord and relegate Him to a passive observer. Sadly, that attitude can permeate the hearts and minds of those who serve the Lord in His church. Seminary graduates, vicars, or interns might have high expectations of what will occur in their new fields of service. We can often misapply Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” in support of the “you can do anything” mindset. The words of our Lord in John 15 help us to approach every task and aspiration with a faithful, biblical perspective.
Read John 15:1. Why does Jesus say that He is the true vine? What is the difference between Jesus as the vine and God the Father as the vinedresser?
Read John 15:2. Now, the concept of branches enters the discourse. How does that apply to us? What kind of fruit does our Savior seek? Is fruit to be equated with success? What does it mean to be pruned?
Read John 15:3. Jesus tells us that we are clean because of the Word that He has spoken. How can we be unclean even in our aspirations for the church? How should we respond to the praise that is sometimes given to our efforts in Christ’s church? Conversely, what should our reaction be to criticisms we receive or disappointments we encounter? Our Lord’s mention of the Word brings to mind the promise of Isaiah 55:11. How are we also to understand this passage in relation to our efforts in proclaiming it? How do we feel when we read or hear of the person who began a congregation in a storefront with only a handful of members, but then grew it into a megachurch in only a short period of time? Have we ever questioned the Lord when numerical success does not come to us?
Read John 15:4–7. Note how often the word abide occurs in these verses and throughout the entire chapter. Why is it such a crucial verb in this context? What does it mean, and how is it done? Is the abiding all our doing? How does the work of the Holy Spirit fit in here?
Read John 15:12–17. How can we love one another as Christ has loved us? What does it mean that Jesus calls us His friends? What are the implications of the fact that Christ chose us instead of us choosing Him?
What are the consequences of not abiding in Christ according to verse six? Conversely, how are we to understand the promise associated with abiding in verse seven? How can we relate this promise to the Catechism’s explanation of the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer? Are there any constraints to the Lord’s invitation to “ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you?” What sorts of requests, then, should we be making both for ourselves and for the Lord’s church?
What a comfort it is to know that Jesus is the Lord of the church. We are deceiving ourselves if we think we have the ability to do anything on our own or bring the church back to the “glory days” of the past. Christ uses us as His instruments and witnesses of His saving name. He chose us as His own in the waters of Baptism. Throughout our lives, His grace and mercy are ours in abundance. He loves us with the greatest love, laying down His life for our sins of pride, despair, and everything else in between. He went to the cross for us. He rose from the dead for us. He empowers us and gives us the privilege of serving in His church. He is not merely our cheerleader or coach standing on the sidelines saying, “I believe in you; I know you can do it.” He is the Savior who is—as Luther says in “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” “by our side upon the plain with His good gifts and Spirit,” saying instead, “Believe in me; you can’t do it on your own.” So, you see, the “you can do anything” attitude is false. You can’t. But He can and He will. So, rejoice as He chooses and uses you for the glory of His name.
Read John 15:8. What is the connection between fruitbearing and discipleship?
The Rev. Dr. Wilfred L. Karsten (wkarsten@mchsi.com) serves as pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Moline, Illinois. Rev. Karsten was the first recipient of the CTSFW Wyneken Vicarage Award. This award is given to pastors and congregations who have demonstrated exceptional service to the church by having vicars, usually for many years. Pastor Karsten has supervised 18 vicars, and this year’s vicar is number 53 for Holy Cross.
Read John 15:9–11. How does the love of Christ especially comfort us when we don’t seem to be producing fruit? How can we still have His promised joy in a world that seems to be increasingly hostile to Him and His people?
Concordia Theological Seminary 6600 N. Clinton St. @ Fort Wayne, IN 46825-4996
For more information, visit our website at ctsfw.edu/Events or call (260) 452-2100. Please check the events webpage for current information as events are subject to change.
Tuesday, October 11, 10:00 a.m. in Kramer Chapel
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
October 13–15
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/PCV
Contact: Admission@ctsfw.edu or (800) 481-2155
October 28–30
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/CAC
Contact: ChristAcademy@ctsfw.edu or (800) 481-2155
November 2–4
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/LutherHostel
Contact: (260) 452-2204
Good Shepherd Institute: The Steadfast Love of the Lord Endures Forever; His Faithfulness to All Generations
November 6–8
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/GSI Phone: (260) 452-2204
Sunday, November 6, 4:30 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Sunday, November 6, 7:30 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Monday, November 7, 5:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Monday, November 7, 7:30 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Seminary Guild Tuesday, November 8, 1:00 p.m.
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Advent Candlelight Evening Prayer
Saturday, December 10, 4:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Seminary Guild
Tuesday, December 13, 1:00 p.m.
Information: ctsfw.edu/SemGuild or (260) 485-0209
Lenten Preaching Workshop
Monday, January 16, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/PreachingWorkshop Phone: (260) 452-2204
Symposia Series
January 17–20
Information and registration: ctsfw.edu/Symposia
Choral Vespers with the Schola Cantorum Tuesday, January 17, 5:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Epiphany Evening Prayer with the Kantorei Wednesday, January 18, 5:00 p.m. in Kramer Chapel
Services and lectures will be livestreamed online at ctsfw.edu/DailyChapel or facebook.com/ctsfw.