{"id":8929,"date":"2024-05-28T14:42:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T14:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/?p=8929"},"modified":"2024-05-29T14:57:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:57:18","slug":"whom-do-you-call-pastor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/","title":{"rendered":"Whom Do You Call Pastor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.<\/em>
\n\u2014Roman 12:6a<\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes I wonder how the Christian tradition developed such clear lines between those in our community with a clergy role and those without.<\/p>\n

Certainly, humans crave order and prioritize roles and responsibilities. In doing so\u2014intentionally or not\u2014we 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> and fix less, lift up all Christian communities<\/a> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fourth pivot we are engaging is one of leadership\u2014from 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2014not by choice but out of necessity. So the question now becomes: \u201cWhom do we call pastor?\u201d If the people leading Christian communities today weren\u2019t trained in the particular ways we would recognize for them to be called \u201cpastor\u201d\u2014perhaps they don\u2019t have a Master of Divinity degree or haven\u2019t been ordained\u2014how does that change what we think of as ministry?<\/p>\n

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\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We conferred master\u2019s and doctoral degrees on graduates seeking ordination into the ministry of Word and Sacrament and on those called to a variety of other ministries.<\/p>\n

Among this faithful cohort of Christian leaders who crossed the stage at commencement, we give thanks for those who might be named \u201cpastor\u201d and those who will go by many other names as ministers of Jesus\u2019 gospel\u2014each following the Spirit in sharing their gifts with the world according to the grace given to them.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> on the theme of \u201csurprising vocations.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Whatever gifts have been accorded you by the Spirit, we are glad to be accompanied by you in this journey of faith.<\/p>\n

Peace and blessings,
\nRobin Steinke
\nPresident<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. \u2014Roman 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\u2014intentionally or not\u2014we assign worth to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-newsletter","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhom Do You Call Pastor? - Luther Seminary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Whom Do You Call Pastor? - Luther Seminary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. \u2014Roman 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\u2014intentionally or not\u2014we assign worth to the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LutherSeminary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-28T14:42:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-29T14:57:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jspies001\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lutherseminary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@lutherseminary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jspies001\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jspies001\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cf7bd84710a2a1d2614950515048224d\"},\"headline\":\"Whom Do You Call Pastor?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-28T14:42:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-29T14:57:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\"},\"wordCount\":624,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Newsletter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\",\"name\":\"Whom Do You Call Pastor? - Luther Seminary\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-28T14:42:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-29T14:57:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Whom Do You Call Pastor?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Luther Seminary News\",\"description\":\"Luther Seminary\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Luther Seminary\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/12\/LS_Box_Red_150x150_RGB.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/12\/LS_Box_Red_150x150_RGB.jpg\",\"width\":150,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Luther Seminary\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LutherSeminary\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/lutherseminary\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/lutherseminary\/\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LutherSeminary\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cf7bd84710a2a1d2614950515048224d\",\"name\":\"jspies001\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10852e3bfe5f1fd1bb10cb0004428b1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10852e3bfe5f1fd1bb10cb0004428b1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jspies001\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/author\/jspies001\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Whom Do You Call Pastor? - Luther Seminary","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Whom Do You Call Pastor? - Luther Seminary","og_description":"We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. \u2014Roman 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\u2014intentionally or not\u2014we assign worth to the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/","og_site_name":"News","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LutherSeminary","article_published_time":"2024-05-28T14:42:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-29T14:57:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":250,"height":250,"url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jspies001","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@lutherseminary","twitter_site":"@lutherseminary","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jspies001","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/"},"author":{"name":"jspies001","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cf7bd84710a2a1d2614950515048224d"},"headline":"Whom Do You Call Pastor?","datePublished":"2024-05-28T14:42:31+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-29T14:57:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/"},"wordCount":624,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg","articleSection":["Newsletter"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/","url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/","name":"Whom Do You Call Pastor? - Luther Seminary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-05-28T14:42:31+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-29T14:57:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/05\/RobinSteinke_May2024.jpeg","width":250,"height":250},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/28\/whom-do-you-call-pastor\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Whom Do You Call Pastor?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/","name":"Luther Seminary News","description":"Luther Seminary","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"Luther Seminary","url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/12\/LS_Box_Red_150x150_RGB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/12\/LS_Box_Red_150x150_RGB.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"caption":"Luther Seminary"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LutherSeminary","https:\/\/x.com\/lutherseminary","http:\/\/instagram.com\/lutherseminary\/","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LutherSeminary"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cf7bd84710a2a1d2614950515048224d","name":"jspies001","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10852e3bfe5f1fd1bb10cb0004428b1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10852e3bfe5f1fd1bb10cb0004428b1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jspies001"},"url":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/author\/jspies001\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8929"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8947,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8929\/revisions\/8947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}