bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "My Classmate Stanley Olson: There But For the Grac...":
Evidently the 2 years of "entrenchment" meant declared fiscal emergency. In 2008 Wartburg declared an emergency, revoked tenure, and dismissed 3 professors:
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2008
Seminary Emergency
http://stjohnprairiehill.blogspot.com/2008/11/seminary-emergency.html
Monday, November 17, 2008
Seminary Emergency
For quite some time, many have been saying that the nine seminaries of the ELCA are underfunded. For the last twenty years, the percentage of seminary expenses that have been covered by benevolence funds has been steadily on the decline. I just received word this morning that the current financial crisis is starting to push our educational institutions over the edge.The Wartburg Seminary has declared exigency (thus revoking tenure) and are letting go of 3 faculty and 5 staff. Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago is up against a $1 million shortfall. In addition, the Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest, which is a joint extension of both schools, will be discontinuing the MDiv program there and focusing on the "Theological Education for Emerging Ministries" program.
I have a feeling that we will be hearing similar stories from the other seminaries of the ELCA in the weeks to come, this news just happened to reach me first. And I wonder, how did we get into this situation? And now that we are here, how do we get out?
There was a time - not that long ago - that seminary education was 100% funded at denominational institutions. The belief was that the persons being trained at the schools were trained for the sake of the church - and thus, the church carried the cost. Today, the average seminarian comes out of school with at least $30,000 in debt (higher if you are a first career pastor, straight out of college). The question becomes, who can afford to be a pastor? If you already have college debt, no significant savings (because you have not yet had a career), and you are looking down the barrel of another at least $30,000 in debt, how can seminary be an option?
The problem is compounded by the impending clergy shortage. Last year at the
So where do we go from here?
Continuing Seminary News
Here is the official news release from the ELCA, covering the recent decisions at Wartburg Seminary discussed on this blog earlier this week.The ELCA, as an institution, has not been unaware of the growing financial burden born by seminarians. One response has been the establishment of the Fund for Leaders, a denominational scholarship program. It is a good start, but only a start. I recall when I was first looking at seminary, I think they awarded like 8 or 10 full-tuition scholarships - which left all the other seminarians paying the exact same cost for their education. In 2008 they awarded 33 "full or partial scholarships" -- reading further down in the release finds 17 full-tuition, meaning that the rest were partial. This year, according to the release, the fund will provide just over $750,000 in seminarian support. Like I said, it is a good start.
But it also raises the question, are those funds best used to provide a lot of help to a small number of students (full tuition scholarships for 17 out of somewhere around 250 of first year seminarians, or 6.8%); or would the support be better used by providing support across the entire seminary system, and lowering the overall cost?
Another response has been to pursue and emphasize paths to ministry that do not require a full theological education. In the ELCA, this is known as the "Theological Education for Emerging Ministries" program. Those eligible for TEEM ministry are persons over the age of 40, "who are perceived by the ELCA to possess those leadership abilities that are needed in specific communities such as African American, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native, Arab Middle Eastern, deaf, remote rural and inner city communities." There are some theological education requirements: a year in residence at an ELCA seminary, a CPE, and an internship - but the guidelines specifically allow that any of these may be waived. Is this the way out of the dilemma? Take care of the overwhelming cost of theological education by requiring less? This does seem to be at least part of the message coming from Chicago.
I have my own thoughts, but what say you? Is this the way forward?
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GJ - The 2009 ELCA convention detonated a bomb that will continue to shred the denomination, a good thing, since it was a cancer that needed surgery.
Short summary - seminary used to be almost free, which helped make up for extra years of education suited only for servile denominational ministers. Once the Boomers abandoned support for their own schools, students had to figure out if it was worth it.
The Shrinkers will take care of any feared clergy shortage, by reducing the number of members and congregations. They are "transforming lives," the stated goal of ELCA and WELS' The CORE.
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Bruce Church, OP, Tracks the Seminaries - Includin...":
Dr. Jackson wrote: "Once the Boomers abandoned support for their own schools, students had to figure out if it was worth it."
That's true, and most of them have voted and said the expensive accredited route isn't worth it. At Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, there are 130 students in the 2010-11 class, but only 62 are M. Div and 20 are graduate students, a few are deaconesses, and the rest are alternative route. Ft. Wayne doesn't release their numbers, it seems.
Each year a greater proportion of the student body takes non-accredited routes that are less expensive and don't qualify for federal student loans. Hence, there's little to no debt after seminary. Even if there were debt, the seminary might find it impossible to collect from the poorer students, and they could even declare bankruptcy and get rid of it for good, unlike federal student loans. With federal student loans, the feds will subtract student loan payments out of social security or disability checks if you're drawing either or both.
Of course, the seminary presidents will declare that their enrollment is going up or is steady, but not mention that more and more students are going the non-accredited DELTA or Specific Ministry route (LCMS) or the "Theological Education for Emerging Ministries" route (ELCA).
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Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Bruce Church, OP, Tracks the Seminaries - Includin...":
As I recall, the LCMS budgeted $150K for each sem for the 2010 fiscal year. Twenty-some Fort candidates did nor receive calls this Spring vs. much less (I think about four) for STL, although I believe most have been placed now. The rumor of closing Fort Wayne has been going on for some time, and IMO the SMP will make this a more likely reality. Funny how we have been hearing for years that there is a "clergy shortage." The part we are not told is that there are many parishes not seeking a full-time pastor. Many parishes use vicars (yep, their DP's let them administer the Sacrament), candidates awaiting calls, or emeritus pastors.
Other possible plans I have heard discussed are educating pastors at the Concordia U. level, which would be wonderful since the Concordias largely love evolution, CW, and homosexual "tolerance." After the CU education, then distance ed or a brief period at the sem could complete the training.
Having considered LCMS sem, I could not see paying $20K+ per year to then be in debt up to my eyeballs and not able to receive a call due to my refusal to practice open Communion, cave in to CW, and promote CG. I know a couple guys that got railroaded due to not keeping their mouths shut.
The guys running the distance ed discouraged the SMP, so that should tell us something. Although some of it may be job security, I believe the sub-par education is also a large factor. There is no Hebrew required, and there is much education missed. I have never heard a pastor say that he received too much education and preparation to administer Word and Sacrament. Of course, if the pastor is a CEO, who cares about theological training. Then there's always the LCMS's third seminary, Fuller.
