We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.
—Roman 12:6a
Sometimes I wonder how the Christian tradition developed such clear lines between those in our community with a clergy role and those without.
Certainly, humans crave order and prioritize roles and responsibilities. In doing so—intentionally or not—we assign worth to the people in those roles. But across the scriptural accounting, the Holy Spirit seems to have introduced more narratives around questioning and subverting the institutional status quo than upholding it.
At Luther Seminary, we are committed to following where the Spirit is leading in our time. We know our commitment to the gospel and to educating Christian leaders means we want to wonder more and fix less, lift up all Christian communities whether or not they fit our image of church, and shift our focus from membership to living out our call to be disciples of Jesus.
The fourth pivot we are engaging is one of leadership—from clergy-led/lay-supported models of ministry to lay-led/clergy-supported ministries. This is perhaps the most difficult pivot for a seminary, with its many connections to ecclesial and academic structures and its long institutional history. Fully committing to church structures and processes that are lay-led means rethinking in deep, existential ways how we view leadership in the church and what expectations we set up for Christian leaders.
Across the church, professionalized models of ministry as we know them are changing. In many contexts, mostly notably rural communities, local congregations are already lay-led—not by choice but out of necessity. So the question now becomes: “Whom do we call pastor?” If the people leading Christian communities today weren’t trained in the particular ways we would recognize for them to be called “pastor”—perhaps they don’t have a Master of Divinity degree or haven’t been ordained—how does that change what we think of as ministry?
At Luther Seminary, we choose to view these questions as an opportunity to reimagine the call to ministry. We continue to adjust and experiment with nearly every aspect of being a seminary in order to lift up leaders in ways that faithfully mobilize all the gifts of the body of Christ to participate in God’s mission.
This pivot in how we model and educate for leadership resonates strongly for me in this graduation season. As we came together in prayer and thanksgiving this month to celebrate our newest graduates, we sent them out into God’s world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We conferred master’s and doctoral degrees on graduates seeking ordination into the ministry of Word and Sacrament and on those called to a variety of other ministries.
Among this faithful cohort of Christian leaders who crossed the stage at commencement, we give thanks for those who might be named “pastor” and those who will go by many other names as ministers of Jesus’ gospel—each following the Spirit in sharing their gifts with the world according to the grace given to them.
We see real gifts of ministry all around us every day, including in you. Have you ever thought about going to seminary, or returning to seminary for additional study and formation? I encourage you to read our summer issue of Story magazine on the theme of “surprising vocations.” Throughout the issue, we explore the dynamic contexts in which we do ministry and the innovations in theological education Luther Seminary has led in recent years, from a reimagined doctoral program to refreshed graduate certificates.
Whatever gifts have been accorded you by the Spirit, we are glad to be accompanied by you in this journey of faith.
Peace and blessings,
Robin Steinke
President