Before the phone interview begins, he politely asks, \u201cWould you mind if I use a headset since our conversation will go an hour?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not,\u201d you reply. \u201cNot at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
This discussion should go smoothly, you think to yourself.<\/p>\n
Then he promptly hangs up on you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat didn\u2019t work, did it?\u201d he asks with self-effacing laughter after he picks up on the first ring when you call back. \u201cSorry about that. Let\u2019s just go without.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to picture gentle laugh lines taking shape at the corner of David Tiede\u2019s eyes when the smile in his voice makes its way across the miles. Counselor, coach, and cheerleader, Tiede is a purposeful listener and thoughtful responder, eager to engage in rich dialogue that sweeps from faith to a brief dip into politics; from teaching and pastoral care to the church of the past and of the future; from educational and fundraising innovations at his beloved Luther Seminary to a Jack Benny reference that he cracks himself up with, and so you laugh along.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an hour that could be played on a loop to find things on a third or fourth listen that were missed the first few times. Because while he\u2019s expansive in his thoughts about so many things, the one thing David Tiede ’66 B.Div.<\/strong>, president emeritus of Luther Seminary, doesn\u2019t want to dwell on is the Christus Lux Mundi Award he\u2019s receiving.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s lovely, of course,\u201d Tiede said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t have false modesty\u2014we did good stuff during my time there. My discomfort is only that there are so many other people for whom this award would fit so beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n He is equally humbled and inspired by past recipients.<\/p>\n The annals of Christus Lux Mundi Award winners include the likes of Gudina Tumsa \u201866 M.Div.<\/strong>, general secretary of the Lutheran Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.<\/p>\n Tumsa was a vocal dissident of Emperor Haile Selassie and later of the new political leadership that took control of the country in the mid-1970s. He voiced concerns about the class system and government oppression there, and he was unapologetic in his pursuit of the faith and in helping others build lives centered on gospel teachings. Those beliefs and actions made Tumsa a target, and in July 1979, he was abducted off the street and killed by Derg soldiers.<\/p>\n It would be impossible, Tiede said, to deny the ways in which Tumsa embodied the Christus Lux Mundi spirit.<\/p>\n True.<\/p>\n Still, there\u2019s a common thread that unites these two men who both happen to be alumni of Luther Seminary\u2019s class of 1966. There\u2019s a deep connection between the African pastor who wrote, \u201cIn every situation and in every event, both divine and demonic elements are at work,\u201d and the American pastor who says that in any situation it\u2019s good to ask, \u201cWhat in heaven\u2019s name is going on?\u201d and \u201cWhat in hell is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n People who know him well say those questions are in many ways indicative of what makes Tiede so unparalleled, laying open the nexus of not only who he is but why.<\/p>\n And they lead to insight into the reasons behind Tiede\u2019s selection to the Christus Lux Mundi corps.<\/p>\n The name of the Christus Lux Mundi Award derives from the Latin inscription carved in the stone lintel above the main entrance to Gullixson Hall, the home of the Luther Seminary library. That inscription (translated \u201cChrist the light of the world\u201d) articulates the central purpose of Luther Seminary.<\/p>\n The Christus Lux Mundi Award is the most distinguished award presented by Luther Seminary, reserved for limited use to honor the witness and service of those who have manifested the light of Christ during their career, either in the pastoral office or as laypeople. The criteria of the award are:<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got the wisdom of a scholar, the heart of a pastor, and the imagination of someone who is perpetually curious about what God is doing in the world,\u201d said Robin Steinke, president of Luther Seminary. \u201cHe cares about what God is doing in and for the world through the church. But the thing that draws all of that together, and why it\u2019s so rare, is that it\u2019s combined with the humility of someone who is rooted in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n Steinke said that commitment to Christ and the church continues to resonate through Tiede\u2019s work and the example he sets.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that might be curious is that after he retired he was willing to step in to very complicated situations,\u201d Steinke said. \u201cHe could have relaxed in Arizona. He could have just taken a step back and put his feet up and enjoyed doing a lot less. But he chose to stay in service to the church through leadership roles that are often so complex.\u201d<\/p>\n Through his continued scholarship and relationship stewardship, Steinke said, Tiede continued to build and empower leaders of and for the church.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll laugh and say he\u2019s failed retirement three or four times,\u201d Steinke said. \u201cBut there\u2019s something deeper there, something really substantive about who he is and who he and Muffy (Tiede\u2019s wife of more than 50 years) are together.\u201d<\/p>\n What theological education has to offer to the church and to the world, how that education is provided, and the means by which it\u2019s made available to those who are called\u2014those ideas fuel his thinking, Steinke said.<\/p>\n Especially given the changing needs of the church.<\/p>\n When Tiede began his work in the church, seminary education was often fully funded by a denomination.<\/p>\n And once a pastor was connected to a congregation, that pastor was able to raise a family and enjoy a secure lifestyle. Now, fewer and fewer congregations can afford a full-time pastor. School is rarely fully subsidized. Even the modalities of education have changed, as students find themselves telecommuting to classes while juggling other life demands.<\/p>\n It was Tiede who gathered teams within and beyond Luther Seminary to begin the process of changing not only the way theological education was delivered but also how it was defined. Their adaptations would touch every corner of the institution\u2014from its classrooms to its congregational partners.<\/p>\n Change came neatly packaged on the fronts of poster boards, carried into family rooms and living rooms throughout Minnesota and parts of the Midwest by a group of fundraisers and educators who had no way of nowing if what they were doing would work.<\/p>\n A few hundred cups of coffee later and the team knew they were on to something.<\/p>\n Though fundraising had been a successful part of Luther Seminary for some years, Kathy Hansen<\/strong>, former vice president for seminary relations, said that during Tiede\u2019s presidency the seminary moved in a direction that was revolutionary.<\/p>\n \u201cHe asked the all-important question, \u2018Who is the Luther Seminary customer?\u2019\u201d Hansen said. \u201cWhat we came to understand was that the customers of Luther Seminary were the congregations of the church.\u201d<\/p>\n Once that information was unlocked, Hansen said, the traditional ways of securing support were no longer sufficient.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of his introduction he would say, \u2018I\u2019m a school teacher,\u2019 and I always thought that summed him up so well,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cAt heart he was a teacher. He understands how to share information, but also how to engage people and draw out their best thinking. That humility, that directness\u2014we always said we\u2019re not fancy, we\u2019re going to speak with people plainly and directly. We were just people talking.\u201d<\/p>\n Those informal but informational conversations with what Tiede jokingly called his \u201cRoss Perot boards\u201d evolved, and in time included weekend-long retreats that brought together donors, seminarians, theologians, alumni, and other key stakeholders. These events eventually were named Leadership Circle Retreats (and even continue today). The weekends often had themes, and featured opportunities for donors, faculty, students, and administrators to dig deep together into topics like ensuring the faith of the church\u2019s children, while also participating in spiritual enrichment of their own through Bible study and worship services.<\/p>\n The \u201crich and substantive weekends\u201d succeeded in engaging attendees\u2019 \u201chearts and minds in real conversation on things that mattered to them,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cWe were engaging people deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n The staying power of those weekends extended well beyond the formal close of the retreats. \u201cIt was really kind of a ripple effect,\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n Churchgoers and community members cared about who would be preaching on Sunday, she said, and whether the messages from that person would resonate with young people enough to encourage fidelity to the faith.<\/p>\n \u201cWould they have someone who could help their children and grandchildren understand Jesus and have a relationship there and stay in the church?\u201d she asked. \u201cIt was their own personal congregations they were thinking of. We created a movement of people whose hearts weredeeply committed to Luther Seminary,\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n Solidifying a support system for Luther Seminary was only one of Tiede\u2019s overarching concerns.<\/p>\n Were the seminarians who were graduating best prepared for the needs of the congregations who awaited them? What\u2019s more, was Luther situated to provide what those graduates needed?<\/p>\n In typical Tiede fashion, he went straight to the sources.<\/p>\n He put a call out to alumni, asking generally and specifically if Luther Seminary was providing what graduates needed to be successful pastoral leaders within the church. The grads weren\u2019t shy in responding.<\/p>\n \u201cHe got hundreds of letters back,\u201d said Daniel Aleshire<\/strong>, retired executive director of The Association of Theological Schools. And because of those letters, Aleshire said Tiede \u201cbegan seeing what alumni valued, what they experienced, and what they could now see they needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Tiede also recognized the need to empower and encourage the faculty to express their ideas in order to define, then secure, a sustainable future. As a former faculty member, he understood faculty engagement and support were critical for any lasting success. Looking back, he said he knew the passion and expertise those educators would bring to bear on the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are fine scholars, and they have persisted with curriculum reforms for three decades as the church continues to change. The arguments, turf battles, and competing visions are intense. You can hardly imagine how fiercely such smart, committed people can go at it when the stakes are so high,\u201d Tiede said.<\/p>\n Lois Malcolm \u201889 M.A.<\/strong>, professor of systematic theology at Luther, said faculty needed and valued the opportunity\u2014the responsibility\u2014to help shape what the future of the school could and should be. She agreed that discussions on a revised mission statement were, at times, \u201cfractious,\u201d because of the passion everyone brought to the conversation and individuals\u2019 deeply held perspectives.<\/p>\n It was crucial, Malcolm said, that the seminary faculty had the opportunity to publicly plant a flag about what they considered their non-negotiables. Ultimately, everything centered around two halves of what would be the one Luther Seminary: The confessional (the internal identity) and the missional (the external focus beyond one church to a larger community).<\/p>\n \u201cThe 1990s were a period of anxiety about the changes that we were going to need to address,\u201d Malcolm said. \u201cThe church no longer had the privileged place in society that it used to have.\u201d<\/p>\n This meant traditional rationale and beliefs were no longer sufficient for the justification of theological education. New arguments needed to be made, and that started with the faculty\u2019s public debate of just what Luther Seminary was going to commit to being.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you lose the theological depths we stand for, we lose our reason for existing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It was the faculty who first articulated that argument, Malcolm said, and they continue to be a voice of the mission today. She says the years have softened the arguments and now many \u201csee Tiede as a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is an exemplar of presidential leadership, not only for a seminary, but for other deans and provosts to [articulate] why the academy needs to exist to benefit society,\u201d Malcolm said.<\/p>\n Tiede didn\u2019t limit animated conversations to the faculty. Hearty discussions with his administrative cabinet members were also good opportunities for Tiede to listen and reflect\u2014two things, Aleshire said, that Tiede excels at. \u201cA leader can work in a way that draws attention to the individual or empowers other people,\u201d Aleshire said. \u201cDavid consistently worked to empower others.\u201d<\/p>\n The instinct to champion those around him is born of an internal peace that comes because of and through his faith, Hansen added. \u201cHe has a kind of self-confidence and inner security to be very open to other people\u2019s perspectives, other people\u2019s ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n This creates opportunities for those around him to live the teachings of the gospel, she said, without exactly replicating what Tiede does.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are multiple ways of looking at the same central truth\u2014he\u2019s not threatened by people looking at these things from multiple perspectives,\u201d Hansen said, adding that the very notion of inviting many ideas into a larger conversation \u201cis in fact very biblical.\u201d<\/p>\n And she\u2019s convinced that a large part of the comfort others find in Tiede is because regardless of who he encounters, people feel heard after he\u2019s engaged with them.<\/p>\n That ability to simultaneously consider the micro and the macro of any situation is what Charles Olson<\/strong>, longtime Luther board member and founding member of the seminary foundation, recalls about his time with Tiede.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways there was a smile on his face and interest in whoever it was that came onto campus,\u201d Olson said. \u201cHe was a master at relating to people, just a true master. People liked him\u2014they just had automatic quick respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Olson said Tiede was \u201ca preacher, a teacher, and a planner for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf he wasn\u2019t clear about what someone was saying, he would get down into that conversation a little bit. He would ask questions and really hear what someone was explaining.\u201d<\/p>\n And Olson said Tiede did it in such a way that it was a conversation, not an interrogation.<\/p>\n The secret?<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it\u2019s all about listening,\u201d Tiede said.<\/p>\n What he\u2019s always hoped for, worked toward, believed in, is the blueprint for life the Gospels map out for those willing to read them, learn them, and live them.<\/p>\n \u201cAstute listening is a very complex task,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you bring with listening is a huge witness of the love of God for all people.\u201d<\/p>\n If Tiede is remembered only for intentionally listening, well, that\u2019s just fine by him.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as it is clear that together we are listening for the Spirit of Christ,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I would hope would come through, as you\u2019re telling this story, would be about the calling of Luther Seminary, not about David Tiede,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe David Tiede is a servant in this story.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I hope, what I know, is that I believe the calling of Luther Seminary, and what\u2019s needed from it is not ambiguous. How to do it\u2014to prepare the next generation of listeners so the church will be adept and adroit and able to engage what\u2019s really happening in the world\u2014well, that\u2019s hard.<\/p>\n \u201cSo let\u2019s speak to it with a word of promise, and hope, which the gospel is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christus Lux Mundi Award honors alumnus, professor emeritus, and former seminary president David Tiede \u201866 B.Div. for his unwavering, decades-long commitment to Luther Seminary and the broader church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"issue-spring-summer-2019","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAbout the Christus Lux Mundi Award<\/h2>\n
\n
Called to question, called to answer<\/h2>\n
Listening across the church<\/h2>\n
The next generation of listeners<\/h2>\n
One mission, many voices<\/h2>\n