I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
—John 15:5

In the transformational work we have been doing at Luther Seminary in recent years, it is clear that we are called to be a seminary in the Lutheran tradition—with a Christ-centered, gospel-focused mission and grafted onto the true vine by God’s love and grace.

Belonging to God is a gift that washes over us in the waters of baptism. This Lutheran tradition equips us to engage deeply with difference, to seek connection with all of God’s children whoever they might be, and to see the face of Christ in the other.

To live into our calling to be a community rooted in God’s unconditional love for all people, Luther Seminary has developed a distinctive approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion that we call ABIDE. Our approach is centered in God’s promise to abide with us—a promise that frees us to live for each other around our common commitments of accountability, belonging, inclusion, diversity, and equity.

While no single acronym or set of principles can fully describe what it means to be a gospel-centered community, we are shaped by these five core ideas that are made possible by God’s promise to abide with us:

• Accountability, through confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness, is both law and gospel.
• In the waters of baptism, God gives us the gift of belonging and in so doing lifts up the distinctive identities and ways of being that we each bring to the body of Christ.
• Christ’s communion table is one of true inclusion, as all are invited to partake.
• In the diversity of our vocations, our daily work and play, we pray that others can see the love of God.
• And as instruments of Christ’s radical love for the world, we pursue just policies and practices that ensure everyone in our community experiences true equity.

Throughout this fall season, I look forward to sharing more about these ABIDE practices that are central to our life together here at Luther Seminary and well beyond.

We begin with accountability, which means we acknowledge the pain and suffering we cause, both individually and collectively. In this acknowledgement, we experience anew the power of truth in our lives to illuminate a more hopeful future. Confession, the Christian practice of naming our sin, goes beyond remorse and contrition. Confession means we tell it like it is in the presence of God and each other.

Accountability and confession are paths to our new life in Christ. God does not need our good works, because Christ has accomplished our salvation on the cross—but our neighbors do need us, and we need them. Confession is not easy work, but it is life-giving. It is a way not only to demonstrate our love for others but also to receive love from others when our confession is met with forgiveness.

As we confess, we try to follow the way of Jesus, who always engages “the other” with love and compassion—the Samaritan woman at the well, the tax collector in the tree, and each of us in the waters of baptism. In today’s polarized political context, it is all the more important to be formed by practices of accountability, confession, and love.

Christ abides in us—today and every day—and the Spirit animates our life together. Because of this, we are able to pursue the five ABIDE commitments as a community, dwelling in these life-giving practices as expressions of our faith in the one who is the true vine.

Peace,
Robin Steinke
President