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2026 Convention Workbook 236

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS —COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

/four.lnum A Theology and Philosophy of Lutheran Education

PREFACE

The 2023 Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod convention passed Resolution 5-10, which tasked the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) with articulating a “theology and philosophy of Lutheran education.” 1 The convention specifically asked the CTCR to “develop principles of Lutheran education rooted in Lutheran doctrine,” including doctrines such as “justification, biblical creation, first article gifts, right and left kingdom perspectives, and Lutheran anthropology.” The process was to include consultation with representatives of the Concordia University System universities and Synod education executives, among others, with the goal of producing a “clear, concise, and readable” pamphlet that would be accessible to “workers, lay leaders, and families” and applicable to all levels of education, from preschool through secondary education.

The CTCR’s primary task is to provide guidance to the Synod in explaining and defending what it believes, teaches, and confesses, in accord with Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. Its charge from the constitution and bylaws of the Synod is to “conserve and promote the unity of the true faith,” “provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism . . . , and heresy,” and “aid congregations by providing a variety of resources and opportunities for recognizing, promoting, expressing, conserving, and defending their confessional unity in the true faith.” 2 This report aims to fulfill that charge and the Synod’s resolution, but it is not comprehensive, nor does it provide actionable directions for pedagogy. It provides an overarching principle that drives all of Lutheran education and a theological analysis of select doctrinal themes that pertain most directly to the current intellectual, pedagogical, and social concerns facing classrooms at every level and which were named in the resolution.

Ultimately, this is a theological report. It focuses more on explaining the relevance of these doctrines for Lutheran education than on educational method or practice.

Many other themes and topics could have been considered (for instance, explaining the sacraments to students and families from nonsacramental churches, the 1 2023 Resolution 5-10, 2023 Convention Proceedings, 155. The resolution is provided in full at the end of this booklet.

2 LCMS Constitution, Article III, 1 and 6; cf. Bylaw 3.9.5.

/five.lnum The Lutheran Church/emdash.lnumMissouri Synod use and role of classical or biblical languages, curriculum and methodology, among other perennial concerns). However, the Commission does not envision this document as the end of the discussion. Rather, it intends that other, more educationally specific entities of the Synod (such as the Concordia University System and its universities, Synod education executives, and others not named in the resolution, like school administrators and educators) might take up these ideas and augment them, expand on them, apply them, or otherwise use them in their context as they see fit.

In the process of drafting this report, the Commission engaged specialists in Lutheran education—including Concordia University System presidents and administrators and Lutheran school administrators and teachers—in the hopes of addressing concerns that are most relevant to them. Yet it concluded that those educational professionals are more apt to evaluate competing educational theories and prescribe more specific applications than the Commission itself. This report is submitted for the purpose of clearly and faithfully articulating how these Lutheran doctrines could and should govern education within Lutheran institutions.

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THE OVERARCHING

PRINCIPLE

What guides Lutheran education?

The truth of Holy Scripture—God’s Word—is the guiding principle in Lutheran churches, in the schools of those churches, and in the education those schools provide. Lutheran Christians affirm that Scripture is the ultimate authority for our faith and life together.

3 The books of the Old Testament and New Testament are the inerrant Word of God—inspired by the Holy Spirit, trustworthy and true in all that they teach (John 10:35; Rom. 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:16–21).

4 We also believe that the Lutheran Book of Concord, which contains theological statements from sixteenth-century Lutheran reformers, is a correct interpretation of that Word of God, and we require that all pastors and rostered teachers in our churches and schools affirm those teachings without reservation or alteration. The teachings of Holy Scripture govern what we believe (our doctrine) and what we do (our practice). Wherever that Word of God speaks, we must abide by it and conform our minds to it. That extends to matters of science, creation, and history, or any other subject, in addition to the teaching of the church’s faith. Where and to what extent it does not speak on a matter, we are free to exercise the God-given reason that all humans have, yet always bearing in mind that human reason is fallible and subservient to what God has clearly said in His Word.

We believe that the center of this Word of God and of these Lutheran Confessions is Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and Second Person of the Holy Trinity, who is true God and true man. He is the Word of God made flesh (John 1). With all Christians of every time and in every place, we believe in the saving death and res- 3 See FC SD Comprehensive Summary, 9.

4 See also Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod (Adopted 1932), sections 1–3, available at http://www.lcms.org/doctrine/doctrinalposition, and A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles, available at http://www.lcms.org/doctrine/scripturalprinciples#IV.

/seven.lnum The Lutheran Church/emdash.lnumMissouri Synod urrection of Jesus Christ, and we proclaim the forgiveness of sins through faith in this Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16; 2 Cor. 5:11–21; 1 Peter 1:23–25). While that may not necessarily provide concrete direction for all practical matters related to education, it must be said that Jesus, the forgiveness of sins He offers through His Gospel, and the mission and ministry carried out in His name and at His command (Matt.

28:16–20) are the reason for the work Lutherans do in their congregations and in their schools and give focus to our proclamation, worship, and education.

5 How does this Lutheran understanding of the Word of God as the overarching principle of Lutheran education (and Christ as the incarnation and center of that Word), then, impact the work of our schools on a practical level? We may divide matters such as these into three different spheres or domains, corresponding to the three articles of the ancient Christian creeds: one dealing primarily with our daily, bodily lives, or the gifts of creation; one dealing with salvation, or redemption from sin; one dealing with the Christian life, or sanctification.

5 See also LC II, 54–55.