A little over a month ago, Lucy, Eleanor and I arrived in St Louis. After a lifetime (27 years) in Adelaide, to say it was a shock would be an understatement. Yet in all the new experiences and unfamiliarity - changes in local shops, driving on the wrong side of the road and being in an alien culture, just to name a few - we couldn’t have felt more welcome and in some ways felt like we were coming home.
After the jet lag wore off and we started to venture out into the seminary community we started to discover the true differences between Adelaide and St Louis. Though both the “homes” of their respective church bodies, they couldn’t be more different.
The first thing apparent here is that this is not merely some theological institution, or “place for higher education”, this is a seminary. A place where the LCMS trains and equips men for the pastoral office. Of course they offer theological education to anyone who would come, and they have a budding deaconess program too, but they know first and foremost their task is to train men to serve in the office.
The second thing I noted was an abundance of pastoral students; obviously it is not a fair comparison, a synod of 2 million compared to around 30 thousand (we don’t generally get reports of this, because it is declining dramatically each year). However, I think we should compare figures of congregations, current pastors and pastors in training. This is a key indicator of current and future health of a church body, because Christ’s Church needs pastors. The LCMS has 6000 congregations and 9000 pastors, give or take. The LCA has 600 congregations, and 500 pastors give or take. By this, we should expect to have one tenth of the seminarians that the LCMS has at ALC. Yet here, there are 55 in my year, and there is a second seminary with around 40, and there are many more in alternate forms of training, and this is growing each year in recent times. If the LCA had a healthy comparable rate we would have nine or ten men in each year level.
This brings me to the third noticeable difference in St Louis. People believe in and love the Scriptures. The love for the study of God’s Word and the reception of His gifts through the sacraments is palpable. Not only amongst the “fringe” or the “undesirable” but systemically there is a love of God and His Word that extends throughout all aspects of the seminary and its wider community. Concordia Seminary President Rev. Dr Thomas Egger has cemented a faithful attendance to the Word of God, and the historic liturgy of the Church, and the response of the LCMS has been consecutive record enrolments for the M.Div./pastoral program here at St Louis, let alone the sister seminary in Fort Wayne. To be here and a part of this year level, doesn’t feel like one last year before collapse and bankruptcy, it feels like we’re a part of the real deal and that the gates of hell truly won’t overcome the Church and God’s Word.
Finally I want to touch briefly on the Sunday divine service and bible study culture that they have here. Each Sunday after church or before church (if you attend the second service at my congregation) they have an hour-long Bible study led by the pastor. This seems to be a very common practice amongst the congregations here. At Village Ladue, my congregation, we split into age groups and have age-appropriate catechesis, whether it is bible stories for the young, the catechism for the middle group or verse-by-verse study which we have for the adults. This culture of not rushing in and out of divine service, but staying to read, mark and learn the Scriptures as a congregation is excellent, and leads into the devotional life for the members of the congregation throughout the week. This is something I hope to retain and use for the duration of my ministry.
In closing, my first impressions of America and the LCMS are that obviously it is not some fantasy land where everyone believes the same thing and gets along in every way. Yet they have a bond that comes from a common confession of the Scriptures, the ecumenical creeds and the Book of Concord. It is a lived experience, not something that is given lip service before being ignored year-round and at every synodical convention.
I hope that as time goes on, I learn to confess the faith boldly, and from a positive sense, not always in contention or criticism of where I come from, but from the source, from the Scriptures and by passing on what the bride of Christ, the church, has received.
I thank God that I have been given this opportunity to study here, and I thank Him for the support that has been given to me, not just by those who receive me here, but by those who have sent me, and continue to provide for me and my family. There has not been a day yet that I have not thought about those in Australia who have made this a possibility for me. I pray that I do not squander this opportunity and that, after my time training here, I might, by the grace of God, serve faithfully in His Church for the remainder of my days.
I think, for obvious reasons, it is fitting to finish with Paul’s farewell to Titus: All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
Yours in Christ,
Karl Jacobson.