ALTS Report The Evangel

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4 ALTS Report 2012 A Message from the American Lutheran Theological Seminary by ALTS President Rev. Rich Shields Greetings in the Lord. I am delighted to be with you today to share the status of American Lutheran Theological Seminary (ALTS). The last two years have seen dramatic changes in ALTS, both in terms of the method of teaching and in terms of student numbers. ALTS Status Two years ago we had begun the online, live video seminary training as part of the Master of Theological Studies (MTS). This program of 28 courses constitutes the online equivalent of the Master of Divinity (MDiv.) conferred by Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, for on-campus students. We had taught two online courses by the time of the 2010 convention. Now we have three of our pastors who are teaching courses, with two more expected to begin teaching next year. All of our professors have advanced theological degrees covering all four areas of theology. To date, we have offered the following courses: Exegetical, Historical, Doctrine, Practical, OT Survey, AALC History/Polity, Law and Gospel, Preaching 1, NT Survey, Early Church History, Large Catechism (I), Worship 1, Genesis, History Overview, Confessions (I), Prolegomena, Matthew ALTS Students In 2010 we had one student who had just graduated from seminary on campus. Another student had just completed his first year on campus. Today, we have one student finishing his one year internship at Good Shepherd, San Diego, CA under Pastor Greg Stenzel. Clyde Awtrey, after serving one year as Rostered Licensed Lay Pastor (RLLP) completing ALTS requirements was ordained and serves Mountain View, Thornton, CO. John Maynard also completed requirements for ordination and serves Good Shepherd, Franklin, NC. The following have been approved as RLLP s and are serving congregations: Dave Spotts, Faith, Watseka, IL; Dean Stoner, St. Paul s, Napoleon, OH. We have several others who are in various stages of working on the MTS degree: Shane Cleminson, John Morley, George Gianakas, Oly Olson, Peter Kouba, plus four additional students taking Greek this summer and to enroll this fall in continuing the MTS program. One man, who completed one graduate degree in theology, is applying this summer for completion of the MTS. MTS Curriculum Prerequisite: Koine Greek, Prolegomena Exegetical: Hermeneutics, OT Introduction, NT Introduction, Synoptic Gospel, Pauline Epistle, Pentateuch, Prophet Confessions: Law and Gospel, Confessions I, Confessions II, Doctrine I, Doctrine II, Catechesis, Apologetics History: History Overview, Early Church History, Reformation History, Modern/Post-Modern (AD 1600 Present), AALC History Practical: Missions, Worship, Preaching I, Preaching II, Teaching, Pastoral Theology and Life, Pastoral Leadership, Church Administration Deacon/Deaconess Alongside the pastoral training route, we have designed a program for Deacons/Deaconesses at either the undergraduate or graduate level (and graded accordingly). Brigitte Gassman is currently working on the master s level deaconess program. There are sixteen courses in this program. We have designed it to be complementary to the MTS program. That is, they can take the courses offered for our seminary students that match their specific requirements. For those men who might enter into the Deacon program but decide to switch to the MTS pastoral route, all courses are directly transferred, so no repetition or loss of time or study. The Future and Recruiting With the turn around in the ALTS program and the continuing needs of congregations, you see that our work is just beginning. But we have set the foundation for looking ahead to greater teaching opportunities and areas of service. We still have need for on-campus students, specifically for those who show potential for additional advanced work in theology. These men would eventually be future professors for the ALTS program. And we have need for those who are over 30 years of age, with some career experience or advanced theological education. These men would participate in the MTS program, and after eight courses would apply for the RLLP designation. If you know of men in our congregations who have the potential to be pastors, have them contact the seminary office for further information and encouragement. If you know men or women who have demonstrated spiritual gifts that would make them suitable deacons/deaconesses, also encourage them to contact our office and begin the process of enrolling and beginning training. This is our future for the ALTS and especially for AALC. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, your congregations, and the men and women in various stages of training. 4 The Evangel

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13 Stay Inspired Missional Challenges By Rev. Dr. Craig Henningfield & Kathy Buhr Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so All that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. II Timothy 3:16-17 The Rev. Dr. Craig Henningfield, a Lutheran Pastor and a missional-missionary living in the Denver area, was a keynote speaker at the 23rd Convention of The AALC. We gathered in St. Louis under the theme: Stay Inspired Celebrating 25 Years of God s Blessings. Pastor Henningfield began his remarks by asking us as leaders in the church the important question, what is it to be inspired to what or whom? A life-long learner, Pastor Craig lived his childhood in a Midwest rural setting under the influence of Western culture. At seven, he moved with his family to Taipei, Taiwan under the influence of Eastern culture. This exposed him to two totally different cultures (Eastern and Western) and two totally different ways to look at life and the way one thinks. We were reminded that Jesus, of course, lived and taught in the Eastern culture and way of thinking; the Bible was written in its entirety within the thought-patterns of Eastern culture. What are basic differences between Western and Eastern thought-patterns? Western thinking tends to be abstract, whereas Eastern thinking is based on the five senses. For example, consider how each looks at a pen. The Western way is to take a pen, hold it out, and then describe it using various adjectives. The Eastern says, Oh, that s something I write with. Those who are shaped by Western influences hold objects at a distance while those shaped by Eastern influences acknowledge their personal relationship to the object. Pastor Henningfield challenged us to ask: Do we hold the Bible out there? Do we only talk about the Gospel or do we talk/live Gospel? Significant question! The Gospel has to be personal to us and when we share the Good News it has to be shared with the unconditional immeasurable love of God through Christ for all. Further, regarding church the Western way is to describe the church, the Eastern way is to be church. I think what Dr. Henningfield was saying to us was, No matter where we are what culture we are in be real. Be real in how we follow Jesus and how we lead others in following Jesus. He, also, urged us to not do as I do or think as I think but to begin to think as Jesus thinks do as Jesus is doing and then watch and see what happens. How do we as Christian leaders inspire? Not the way the world motivates or inspires. Culture today urges us through music, magazines, television, movies, and social networking to think of me, depend only on me, focus on my desires and my needs. That me gets us into a heap of trouble. How do we communicate and practice God s faithful presence? How do we inspire? We need to know our culture and think of better questions such as: How do we inspire the mission of the church? How do we prepare church leaders to follow Jesus? How do we transform members into missionaries? It is imperative that we know what we are going to do, what we are going to say to inspire others in the ways the Biblical Word is used. Inspired and Inspiring: How? How we are inspired and how we inspire others should have Biblical grounding: The Lord inspired him to teach (Exodus 35), meaning the Lord put it into his heart so that the people would learn within and under the Word and Spirit of God. In Exodus 3, Moses realizes he is being asked to do something by the Lord Himself. Moses says, Here I am, Lord, but he is very reluctant to do God s will. God, however, says (paraphrased), I will inspire you I will put it into your heart. I will give you my Divine aid. If we are to inspire others we must be clear, we must know God s Word, we must listen, we must follow His guiding and His leading. Our focus should be on the Lord s Faithful Presence the Incarnation and our faithful presence within life. The Incarnation is grounded in three directions: 1) Vertical from God to us (Word and Sacrament), 2) Horizontal from us to faithful community, 3) Horizontal from faith community to community at large. To demonstrate the three directions, Dr. Henningfield stood with outstretched arms, reminding us of the cross of Jesus. It was moving to see. God is the original faithful presenter and presence. Ultimately, Pastor Henningfield challenged us as church leaders to show God s love by looking to God, listening to Him, knowing His Word, teaching and leading baptizing others into the kind of teaching and leading that is grounded in Christ, so that each of us can guide others in our congregations and in our cultural community. To be a Christian influence, we need to be, and then teach others to be, an exact copy of Jesus. July/August

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