Distance Education for ordination in Lutheran Church

Vacant pulpits a problem in northwest Kansas.

Story from The Kansas City Star. Snippet:

• ... "Over the next 10 years, we have a projected shortfall of pastors by 25 percent across the synod and a greater shortfall in rural areas like northwest Kansas"
  
  ... the Lutheran Church recently introduced the Distance Education Leading to Ordination program, an alternative to the traditional, four-year seminary program. It was designed for laymen who already were providing pastoral services in congregations that could not otherwise financially support a full-time minister. The program also allows those seeking ordination the opportunity to continue to work at their secular, paying jobs.

It's not clear to me to which Synod this refers. Can someone explicate?

 

Looks like Missouri Synod...

Here's a March 11, 2002, article on the first class to complete the six-year cycle of Distance Education Leading To Ordination, or DELTO...
http://www.lcms.org/news/2002_012.html

And the Concordia University System ("an educational mission of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod") has an official summary description of DELTO at
http://higher-ed.lcms.org/408-pastoral-delto.asp

 

It is the LCMS. They are a conservative Synod within Lutheran denominations and what I would consider *biblical* unlike the LCA who have steadily steered away from scriptural Christianity to focus on social issues not unlike much of the Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, there is some contention between the LCA & LCMS in that at one point the synod made a public statement that they could not longer consider the LCA an orthodox Lutheran body. Then there is the small Wisconsin Lutheran Church body who consider the LCMS to be too liberal.

North

 

Re: Re: Distance Education for ordination in Lutheran Church

Minor correction, it is now the ELCA which is a merger of the LCA, the ALC and the ELCC (Canada).

 

Re: Re: Re: Distance Education for ordination in Lutheran Church

You are correct. In fact when they are referred to in the LCMS church I attended they were referred to as the ELCA (Ehlka). Nothing used to burn the LCMS more than when the media would refer to some *liberal* pronouncement of the ELCA and just refer to it as Lutherans say X. The LCMS is rather amusing in its own way. Very legalistic. I think at one point there was a proposal to have people (orthodoxy police) going from congregation to congregation to ensure orthodoxy. At one point a LCMS pastor particpated in his niece's wedding with his ELCA brother. The synod was incensed and ordered him to apologize to President Barry for not following instructions NOT to particpate. When the pastor relented and apologized it was said to be not enough of an apology. Then there is the more recent 9-11 case where the new LCMS President particpated in an interfaith Christian prayer. Several clergy brought charges against him for it. The last two incidents certainly did not seem to bear much resemblance to what Christ would do.

North

 

Over the years I have seen the wages of several different preachers working in small congregations.

Making a personal sacrifice is one thing, but most of these guys had families. Being amongst the poorest families in the community is not a lot to look forward to.

I am not sure whether the Missouri Synod has a national pay scale or whether the minister's paycheck is voted on locally.

I know that many of the baptist, pentacostal, and other similar ?? churches pay out of local funds and in small congregations it isn't very much.

The amount of education asked of ministers is often out of proportion to the job. A local (to me) Missouri Synod minister had two masters degrees and left to sudy for his doctorate.

I think sharing ministers and ordaining lay ministers is the only way small congregations will survive.

 

And then there is always the tale of Semin-X.

Somehow I really find it difficult to believe that the LCMS is more "progressive" than the ELCA when it comes to educating its pastors!

 

I have a friend that is a United Methodist paster and her first pastorate was serving two churches, both in small towns in northern California (Upper Lake was one of them; don't remember the other). Neither congregation could every hope to solely support a pastor. I know that this is quite common in both the UMC and the Disciples of Christ.

Apparently it was a big deal which town she would live in. Talk about church politics.

Finally two years ago she was moved to a church in Sacramento where she only has to deal with one congregation.




Tom Nixon