Perpetuating pastoral propaganda
So, I check the mail upon returning from a wonderful spa weekend at Casa de big sis and what do I find but the Feb 2007 edition of the Detroit Lutheran (Serving Michigan Since 1941 
). And what is the top headline of the periodical that chronicles the activities in the tri-county bastion of Lutheranism that spawned yours truly?
Seminaries Need More Seminarians
From the article:
In 2005, 800 congregations in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod were without pastors, and there are more pastors retiring, or otherwise leaving the ministry, than are being ordained. Moreover, in the next decade there will be an increase in age-eligibilities for retirement.
Only 162 men graduated, in 2006, from the seminaries. For 2006-07, the two seminaries together show enrollment of 164 first-year students for the Master of Divinity degree, compared with 186 last year.
That number is only about half of the total exodus from the pulpit ministry for the most recent 12-month period.
Interesting stats, I think you’ll agree. Interesting, but not wholly accurate. Why not? Well, they don’t take into account the number of pastors that have been forcibly removed from their pulpits in unscriptural “firings” and either driven out of the ministry completely, or unwillingly placed on “CRM” status because they fit neither the congregation’s “itching ears” needs, nor the District President’s desired profile of a “good company man.” Equally troubling is that there is no mention made of the fact that the seminaries are facing problems both in finding vicarage placements for all eligible seminarians, and that there is an increasing problem of not having enough calls for qualified graduates.
IOW, there is no shortage — not of fully qualified, faithful undershepherds, that is. There might be a shortage of malleable company men who are willing to toe the line and scratch the itching ears.
What this is indicative of, I think, is that the toxic political situation in the LCMS is such that men are being discouraged from starting, completing, and enduring in the ministry. Thankfully, organizations like the Augustana Ministerium exist, to help fill the gap in support that faces our faithful undershepherds.
What’s sad is that the article from which I quoted seems to gloss over all these “unpleasant” realities when attempting to understand and explain the numbers, preferring to fall back on the old saw of “it’s too expensive!” Now, I’ll admit that the fiscal implications of a seminary education are daunting. They certainly were when I considered it a few years back. And it’s particularly problematic that the Synod has almost completely cut the seminaries off, funding-wise, especially when seminary education was a primary reason for forming the Synod back in the day.
That said, I in no way, shape, or form believe that finances are the primary deterrent to qualified men entering & staying in the pastoral ministry. No, Satan is not that obvious, for money alone is not the prime motivator for men who are truly called to the OHM. Money may be a component, but it’s only one of the many things that Satan uses to eat away at the will of the men called by Jesus to serve in His stead and by His command.
We sheep must certainly support our undershepherds in all ways — which certainly includes financial. But I know many good men who would gladly endure fiscal hardship and uncertainty in order to minister to the flock, if they would only receive the support & encouragement to do so without all the non-monetary barriers.
May God make such support the realized goal of all congregations.
-ghp
Impasse
I fear that I’m at a contradictory impasse.
To wit - I think/feel that I ought to simplify my life, particularly as it pertains to that with which I occupy my thoughts and/or intellectual capacities. At the same time, however, I have a darned near insatiable desire (dare I say, compulsion) to acquire & assimilate information. Not always the information that is most productive, mind you (as I’ve often said, my brain is a vast repository of useless pop-culture triviata…), but information nonetheless. Although, now that I think about it a little more, perhaps “data” is a better/clearer descriptive term than is “information”, for information is merely data organized & put in to reasonably proper context…
Even as I feel overloaded by my desire for turning more data into more information, the sheer amount of data out there is overwhelming in its scope which, in turn, makes me want to simplify things. Then, if/when I resolve to simplify, I run up against my fear of being out of the informational “loop” — I don’t like feeling out of touch.
Oh well. It’s late, and maybe if I try to stop thinking, I can get this borderline migraine to go away…
-ghp
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