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2026 Convention Workbook 239

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS —COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

/one.lnum/six.lnum A Theology and Philosophy of Lutheran Education

THE THIRD ARTICLE

Lutheran Education and Sanctification (or the Christian Life)

What is the relation between Lutheran schools and the state (laws, educational regulation, etc.)?

Lutherans typically distinguish between God’s two ways of working in the world.

This is sometimes described as God’s right-hand and left-hand “kingdoms.” His right-hand, eternal, spiritual kingdom is where He works through the preaching of His Word, and His left-hand, temporal, earthly kingdom is where He works through the authorities He has instituted in the civil government. In the left-hand kingdom, God has established authorities in the form of governments, politicians, judges, militaries, and law enforcement to protect the lives and property of citizens (Rom. 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–14). This also includes state regulations concerning education. Our Lutheran schools seek to abide by all civil laws and regulations, including those that govern education. Our Lutheran schools also urge their families to be good citizens, pray for their leaders, and play an active role in our political system. Lutheran institutions serve this left-hand, civil realm by preparing law-abiding citizens to contribute to society in many practical ways, from the politician to the social worker, from the accountant to the elementary school teacher.

At the same time, our Lutheran schools are institutions of the church that also ultimately serve the right-hand realm: the ministry of God’s Word. These schools have many different missions to serve many different populations. Some seek to educate Lutherans or train them for church service, some seek to aid underserved populations by providing quality education, some see themselves as evangelistic outposts and alternatives to secular schools, and some provide higher education to a broader public. In all cases, however, they are institutions of the church, which is called to the right-hand work of proclaiming the Gospel and teaching the Scriptures in accordance with the Lutheran understanding of the faith. The government must not impede the confession and mission of our schools by overstepping its left-hand authority (e.g., when laws or regulations dictate or limit what our insti- /one.lnum/seven.lnum The Lutheran Church/emdash.lnumMissouri Synod tutions teach about the faith, who may teach in our schools, and what behaviors we must allow). If civil government trespasses into right-hand matters (faith, morality, and the like), our schools may appeal to their constitutional right to religious freedom in opposing those actions and will obey God, not man (Acts 5:29).

What is the Lutheran understanding of vocation?

Lutheran Christians believe God has called each of us to a variety of holy vocations where we might serve God and our neighbor in word and deed. Vocations are callings from God, who places all people into a number of different roles and responsibilities in the course of their lives. The primary vocation for every Christian is the call of the Gospel. We are called to be baptized children of God who lead lives of service to God and neighbor in the freedom God has given us through forgiveness and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Romans 8; Galatians 5).

There is no greater or holier calling than to be a baptized child of God. God has also called each of us to various places in life with specific responsibilities.

13 In the family or household, one may be a husband or wife, parent or child, breadwinner or homemaker (Eph. 5:21–6:9; 1 Peter 3:1–7). In the church, one may be a pastor or parishioner, church worker, church official, elder, deacon, teacher, or student. We believe whatever place we find ourselves in, there God has called us to act as His baptized children. We live according to God’s Word and serve Him as His children wherever He has placed us.

Lutheran schools seek to train students for specific vocations into which God will call them. Our schools must provide a well-rounded education that prepares students for work or further schooling in everything from the natural sciences to the humanities, from technical trades to church work. It also means that all students from a Lutheran school should understand what the Scriptures teach about the world and everything in it, about sin and the redemption we have in Christ, and about how we are to lead our lives in accordance with God’s design and Word. As students are formed in the theological and moral foundations of the Christian faith, and are trained to excel in their specialized vocations in the world, they will be prepared to serve not just the church, but also society as a whole. In Luther’s words, we should “especially urge magistrates and parents to rule well and to send their children to school” that they might be of service to “both God’s kingdom and that of the world.” 14 13 See SC, Table of Duties.

14 SC, Preface, emphasis added.

/one.lnum/eight.lnum A Theology and Philosophy of Lutheran Education What is the vocation of a Lutheran teacher?

In the first place, Lutheran educators function as extensions of parental authority in the lives of the children they teach. The responsibility for the instruction of children ultimately belongs to parents. The Large Catechism says that all authority— governmental, religious, even educational—“flows and is born from the authority of parents.” 15 Parents are charged with raising their children in the faith (Deut.

6:7), supporting and protecting their children in their lives and bodily needs, and providing for, overseeing, and involving themselves in their education. Parents are the primary teachers of their children. Lutheran educators work with and alongside parents in this task. Teachers do not replace or compete with parents, but rather act in place of them ( in loco parentis) in classroom instruction or in disciplinary matters. Parents delegate this care of their children to teachers in the subjects they teach and the supervision they provide.

In another sense, however, Lutheran educators also function as extensions of the ministry of the Word through their associated congregations. Since the schools are ministries of the church, our teachers are considered “ministers” of the church too. Lutherans believe that God has established the ministry of pastors (what we call the “Office of the Public Ministry”) to preach and teach the Word, administer the Sacraments, conduct the public services of the church, and oversee the doctrine and worship life of the congregation that has called them. As servants of the church’s school ministry, however, teachers assist in the church’s work of teaching the Word (what we call the “public ministry”), not in the form of public preaching or conducting public worship services, but rather through teaching the Word to the students under their care. That means everything the teacher does in the life of the school—whether the administrative work of the principal, the religious instruction of the theology teacher, or the discipline-specific instruction of the science or art teacher—brings the Word of God to bear upon the life of the school and ministers to the spiritual as well as the intellectual needs of the students. In Lutheran schools, teachers play an instrumental role in this ministry of the Word.

This is a high and noble calling, yet also one of Christlike service. At the same time, no one should take advantage of the dedication of our teachers. It is vital for the future of Lutheran schools that educators be honored, respected, and supported financially.

Lutheran teachers often receive a formal “call” from the school as a public recognition of their training and fitness for this service. Called teachers are usually installed into their positions in public worship services, as an indication of their 15 LC I 141.

/one.lnum/nine.lnum The Lutheran Church/emdash.lnumMissouri Synod service to the church. Teachers eligible for a “call” receive training, either in a university or seminary of the church, or through some other educational program, to instruct them in the basics of Lutheran theology. All teachers in Lutheran schools are obligated to uphold the teachings of the church in their instruction and personal conduct, to submit themselves to oversight of their instruction and personal conduct by appropriate representatives of the church, and to abide by the constitution and bylaws of the school’s congregation and larger church body. In schools which cannot be staffed solely by trained Lutheran faculty, teachers are still to understand that they are serving an institution of the Lutheran Church and shall teach in accordance with the faith of the Lutheran Church.