Concordia University System

System Overview

The Concordia University System (CUS) is comprised of nine colleges and universities of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Located across the United States, the colleges and universities offer over 160 undergraduate and 50 graduate programs. While each institution is unique, all ten campuses approach learning from a Lutheran context. The common goal is to develop Christian leaders for the church, community and world.

Recently a supporter of Lutheran higher education commented, “The Concordia University System is one of the most powerful and far-reaching tools the Lord of the Church has given The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to take the Good News of life in Jesus Christ to a world desperately in need of hearing and believing in Him, through professional church workers and those trained for other service in our communities.”

PURPOSE AND MISSION

Higher Education: Statement of Purpose (1986 Convention)

The colleges, universities and seminaries of The Lutheran  Church—Missouri Synod exist to supply the higher education services  needed to accomplish the mission of the church.

Strongly committed to the Lutheran concept of vocation, synodical  colleges and universities are liberal arts institutions which provide a  Christ-centered spiritual and value-oriented environment for men and  women who will be Christians in the church and in secular occupations.

The objectives of the Synod include the recruitment and education of  professional church workers. Therefore, central to the system of  synodical higher education is the preparation of those who are called to  serve through preaching, teaching and related vocations. Professional  preparation for the pastoral ministry is the special assignment of the  Synod’s seminaries.

Concordia University System: Mission and Purpose (1992)

Concordia University System builds national identity, enables  cooperative endeavors and enhances the strength of the colleges and  universities of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as they engage  students of diverse ages and cultures in quality, Christ-centered,  value-oriented, Lutheran higher education for lives of service to church  and community.

Goals:

  • To transmit Lutheran values more effectively.
  • To provide enhanced quality education to college students.
  • To attain efficiencies in operation of the campuses.
  • To capitalize the schools and System.

We must have and maintain Christian Schools
—Martin Luther

Lutheran Identity Standards for CUS Institutions (2014)

As educational institutions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the colleges and universities of the Concordia University System confess the faith of the Church. The Concordias uphold the teachings of sacred Scripture and its articulation in the Lutheran Confessions. This includes the biblical teaching that Jesus Christ — true God and true man — is the sole way to God’s mercy and grace; that at the beginning of time the Triune God created all things; that life is sacred from conception to natural death; and that marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred gift of God’s creative hand — over against the reductionistic assumptions of many in our culture who view men and women as only transitory and material beings.

As educational institutions of the LCMS, the Concordias are committed to providing an excellent, robust curriculum in the liberal arts and professional studies, which together equip students for various vocations of service to church and society. As C.F.W. Walther wrote, “As long as and wherever the Christian church flourished, it always and everywhere proved itself to be a friend and cultivator of all good arts and sciences, gave its future servants a scholarly preparatory training, and did not disdain to permit its gifted youth at its schools of higher learning to be trained by the standard products of even pagan art and science.” [i]

Accordingly, the colleges and universities of the Concordia University System affirm and promise to uphold these identity standards:

  1. Identity statements

The institution’s mission statement (and/or vision statement) clearly identifies it as a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) institution, as do the institution’s primary print and electronic publications.

  1. Governing board

All of the institution’s regents are active members in good standing of LCMS congregations (Bylaw 3.10.5.2 – 4).[ii]

  1. Senior leadership

The president and the senior leaders over academics, student life, admissions and athletics are active members in good standing of LCMS congregations, and all faithfully participate in worship and religious activities on campus and in their local congregations.

  1. Faculty

Each tenure track or continuing-level faculty search is given optimal exposure among members of congregations of the LCMS to identify faculty who are qualified in their respective academic disciplines and are members of LCMS congregations.

Ideally, all faculty members are active members of LCMS congregations. When academically qualified LCMS members are not available, faculty members will be Christians who affirm, at minimum, the content of the Ecumenical Creeds and are members of Christian congregations. All faculty members promise to perform their duties in harmony with the truths of Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the doctrinal statements of the LCMS (cf. Bylaw 3.10.5.6.2).

The majority of the full-time faculty are members of LCMS congregations. In cases where this standard is not met, the institution will develop a plan to reach this minimum standard and submit it to the CUS.

The institution has an ongoing faculty and staff development program required of all faculty, senior administrators and senior staff members that clearly explains the tenets of LCMS higher education and what it means to be a faculty, administrator or staff member at a CUS institution. Adjunct or part-time faculty members engage in a similar faculty development program that likewise explains the fundamental tenets of LCMS higher education and what it means to be a part-time faculty member at an LCMS institution.

  1. Theology faculty

All theology faculty (full-time and part-time) are active members in good standing of LCMS congregations and fully affirm the theological confession of the LCMS. As the LCMS Bylaws indicate, all full-time theology faculty receive prior approval from the CUS Board of Directors before being appointed or called (Bylaw 3.6.6.1).

  1. Academic freedom and responsibility

All full-time faculty acknowledge their acceptance of the CUS statement of Academic Freedom and Responsibilities. All faculty, both full- and part-time, pledge to perform their duties in harmony with Scripture, the Confessions and the Synod’s doctrinal statements (Bylaw 3.10.5.6.2).

  1. Faith and learning

In accordance with the doctrine of the two kingdoms, all faculty strive to faithfully bring Lutheran theology into interaction with their various academic disciplines while respecting the integrity of those disciplines. Likewise, in other campus arenas, faculty, staff and administrators will seek to apply Lutheran theology within their campus vocations.

  1. Required theology courses

The institution requires two to three theology courses for an undergraduate degree, typically in Old Testament, New Testament and Christian doctrine. Because these courses are directly related to the theological identity of CUS institutions and to the identity formation of graduates, these theology courses will normally be taken at a CUS institution. Exceptions to this will be approved by the institution’s called theological faculty.

  1. Preparation of church workers

The institution provides resources to recruit, form, nurture and place students preparing for professional church work in the LCMS (e.g., pre-seminary, pre-deaconess, deaconess, Lutheran teachers, DCEs, DCOs, DPMs, etc.). Specific programs vary by campus.

  1. Campus ministry

The institution offers regular opportunities for worship that reflect the confession of the church. Faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to participate in these services. The institution calls a campus pastor or chaplain, who is a Minister of Religion—Ordained of the LCMS, who oversees the worship life of the community, organizes opportunities for Christian service and witness, and provides pastoral care for students.

Assessment of institutional commitment to Lutheran identity

Each institution will submit an annual written report to the CUS Board of Directors describing, with evidence, how the institution meets the 10 Lutheran Identity Standards. The report will be endorsed by each respective Board of Regents and will be shared with the campus community.

October 18, 2014

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[i] Walther, C.F.W., “Forward to the 1875 Volume: Are We Guilty of Despising Scholarship,” in Selected Writings of C.F.W. Walther: Editorials from “Lehre und Wehre,” trans. August R. Suelflow (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1981), Pages 124-125.

[ii] For purposes of clarity, this document is using “member” inclusively to include both laypersons whose membership is in a local congregation and called ministers of the Gospel who are themselves members of Synod.