Seminex facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Christ Seminary-Seminex

The Seminex logo, circa 1974, depicting new life springing from a dead trunk. Design by Seminex faculty member Robert Werberig.
Former name	Concordia Seminary in Exile
Active	1974 (1974)–1987 (1987)
Religious affiliation	Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
President	John Tietjen

Seminex was a special seminary that existed from 1974 to 1987. Its full name was Concordia Seminary in Exile, and later Christ Seminary-Seminex. It was created after a big disagreement, called a schism, happened within the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS).

This disagreement was part of a larger debate in Protestant churches in the United States about how to understand the Bible. Some people believed the Bible was the exact Word of God without any mistakes (called Biblical inerrancy). Others used a new way of studying the Bible, called the historical-critical method, which looked at the Bible like any other historical book.

In the 1960s, many leaders in the LCMS worried about the teaching at their main seminary, Concordia Seminary, in St. Louis, Missouri. Professors there started using the historical-critical method instead of the traditional way of understanding the Bible as completely true.

When attempts to find a solution failed, the LCMS president, Jacob Preus, decided to suspend the seminary president, John Tietjen. This led to most of the teachers and students leaving Concordia Seminary and starting Seminex. Seminex continued until its last class graduated in 1983. It officially closed and joined with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1987. Concordia Seminary quickly recovered and became a large Lutheran seminary again.

The disagreement had big effects. Before the split, the LCMS had both modern and traditional groups. After Seminex, about 200 churches that supported the modern view left the LCMS. They formed a new group called the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). This made the LCMS more traditional. The AELC later joined with other Lutheran churches to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Why Seminex Started

The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod's Beginnings

In the 1830s, a group of Germans from Saxony came to the United States. They settled in St. Louis and Perry County, Missouri. They were leaving Germany because their churches were forced to unite by the king. These immigrants wanted to freely practice their faith.

They were led by C. F. W. Walther and eventually formed what became the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Walther strongly believed that the Bible was inspired by God and had full authority. He also wanted the church to follow the Lutheran Confessions very closely.

Walther also made sure the new church group was decentralized. This meant that individual churches had a lot of power. No church had to accept a decision from the main synod if it went against the Bible or the Lutheran Confessions. Pastors were trained at the synod's seminaries. The synodical president oversaw the seminaries but needed approval from the synod to act against any official. This structure was severely tested during the Seminex crisis.

New Ways of Thinking in Theology

Around the mid-1800s in Germany, some thinkers at universities like Erlangen and University of Tübingen started using a new way to study the Bible. They began to question supernatural parts of the Bible, like miracles or the Virgin Birth. They tried to explain these events using natural reasons.

They also doubted historical stories in the Bible, such as the Hittite Empire or the United Monarchy. Figures like Abraham, Moses, and Noah were sometimes seen as made-up characters. This new way of thinking, called theological liberalism, also changed how people understood the Lutheran Confessions.

Even though the term "inerrancy" wasn't in the Confessions, many believed the Bible was completely true. Early LCMS leaders like Franz Pieper strongly opposed these new ideas. His "Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod" (1932) was very popular. Most LCMS pastors in the 20th century agreed with Pieper. However, these new theological ideas slowly started to influence the LCMS.

Student Protests and Activism

Like many colleges in the U.S., Concordia Seminary saw a rise in student activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Students protested the Vietnam War and supported the civil rights movement. In 1969, about 250 students asked for a three-day break from classes to discuss their concerns. One big issue was how "full-time" enrollment was defined, which affected whether students could avoid the military draft.

After four students were killed at Kent State University in May 1970, Concordia students held a vigil. They put up four crosses and tolled the bells. The student newspaper, Spectrum, encouraged students to join boycotts and work for social justice. The student actions during the Seminex crisis, like putting up crosses, were inspired by these earlier protests.

Growing Problems

Concordia Seminary's Direction

From 1953 to 1969, under President Alfred Fuerbringer, Concordia Seminary became known as a more liberal school within the LCMS. This was because it taught historical-critical methods for understanding the Bible. Critics said that professors were using these methods and focusing too much on the Gospel (forgiveness through Christ) over the entire Christian Bible.

In 1972, LCMS President J. A. O. Preus stated that the main issue was "the relationship between the Scriptures and the Gospel." He asked if the Bible was the guide for all faith and life, or if only the Gospel was.

Because of these changes, two other conservative Lutheran church groups, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Wisconsin Synod, stopped their partnership with the LCMS in the 1950s and 1960s. They also left the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference.

From 1959 to 1973, many regular church members in the LCMS passed resolutions. These resolutions either supported full biblical inerrancy or spoke against "antiscriptural teaching" at the seminary. Fuerbringer often ignored these concerns. Many conservatives wondered if the seminary was serving the church or if the church was serving the seminary.

John Tietjen Becomes President

In late 1968, Alfred Fuerbringer announced he would retire as president of Concordia Seminary. This started the process to choose a new leader. The new president was chosen by four groups: the LCMS president, the president of the local LCMS district, the seminary's Board of Control, and the LCMS Board of Higher Education. At that time, these groups were mostly led by people who supported modern theological ideas.

There was concern that the current synodical president, Oliver Raymond Harms, might not be re-elected. Harms supported cooperation with other Lutheran groups. The modern group wanted to pick a new seminary president quickly before the synod convention could interfere. In May 1969, John Tietjen was chosen as the new president of Concordia Seminary. He had been a minister for 16 years and worked in public relations for a Lutheran organization. Tietjen was not well known in the wider church, but he was popular among the seminary faculty.

Jacob Preus Is Elected

Two months later, Jacob Preus was elected president of the synod. This was a surprise, as he defeated the current president, Harms. Preus was then president of the other LCMS seminary in Springfield, Illinois. Preus's supporters were conservatives who wanted the LCMS to stick to more traditional and strict theological views. They opposed Harms's efforts to partner with the American Lutheran Church (ALC), which did not believe the Bible was completely without error.

Within a year, Preus created a committee to look into the teachings of the seminary faculty. This committee gave its report, known as "The Blue Book," to Preus in June 1971. Preus then sent it to the seminary's Board of Control and President Tietjen. The Blue Book was later sent to all LCMS churches and pastors in September 1972. It contained many quotes from interviews with faculty members. The report had a big impact.

The seminary's Board of Control, however, had a 6-5 majority who supported Tietjen and the faculty. In February 1973, they voted 6-5 to say that each faculty member was faithful to the Bible and Lutheran confessions. But at the 1973 LCMS convention in New Orleans, the synod condemned the seminary faculty. They said the faculty was ignoring the idea that the Bible is the only source of all teachings (sola Scriptura).

A new, more conservative seminary board was elected at that convention. This new board quickly suspended Tietjen from his presidency in August 1973. His suspension was delayed for a while as groups tried to find a way to make peace. But Tietjen was suspended again on January 20, 1974.

The Church Splits

Seminex Is Formed

The day after Tietjen's second suspension, many students and faculty protested. On February 19, 1974, most students voted to continue their studies with the suspended faculty at a different location. Right after this vote, the students and most of the faculty walked out of the seminary. They invited the press and sang "The Church's One Foundation" as they left. Students had also placed white crosses with their names on the seminary grounds. This event got a lot of media attention.

The next day, classes for Concordia Seminary in Exile (Seminex) officially began. They used buildings provided by Eden Seminary and Saint Louis University. Seminex was not yet an officially recognized school. So, they made a deal with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC). This allowed the first Seminex graduates to receive their diplomas from LSTC. The first graduation was held at Washington University in St. Louis. John Tietjen, who was officially removed as Concordia Seminary's president in October 1974, was elected president of Seminex in February 1975.

Within a year and a half, Seminex got its own buildings. It also quickly received temporary accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools. Seminex faculty and students called Concordia Seminary "801" (after its address). To avoid legal issues, Seminex changed its official name from "Concordia Seminary in Exile" to "Christ Seminary-Seminex" in October 1977.

The Divide Grows Wider

After the conservative changes at the 1973 LCMS convention, opponents held a meeting in Chicago to plan their next steps. About 800 people attended and promised to support church members who opposed the convention's actions. They formed a new group called Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM). ELIM helped Seminex financially and with public relations through its newspaper, Missouri in Perspective.

Seminex students traveled across the country as part of "Operation Outreach." They met with LCMS churches to explain their side of the story. Tietjen and other Seminex faculty also contacted churches for support. Tietjen expected at least 1,200 churches to leave the LCMS.

To become a pastor in the LCMS, a person must be certified by an official seminary. In 1974, two schools in St. Louis claimed to be the official seminary. Seminex supporters hoped that if enough of their graduates became pastors, the synod would have to recognize Seminex. More than half of the LCMS district presidents privately supported Seminex. They said they would place Seminex graduates as pastors.

Starting in 1974, presidents of eight of the 35 LCMS districts began placing Seminex graduates as pastors. This went against LCMS rules. The next LCMS convention demanded that these districts stop. It also gave the synodical president the power to remove a district president who refused. Four districts stopped, but four defied the rules. By 1976, these four district presidents were removed from office and left the synod.

After these expulsions, many churches and church officials who disagreed with the synod decided to leave. Most of them were part of ELIM or had ordained a Seminex graduate. The largest number of churches left the LCMS's non-geographic English District. In the end, over 200 churches left the LCMS. This was much fewer than Tietjen had expected.

The AELC Forms

In December 1976, the churches that left formed a new independent church group, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The AELC was more socially and theologically liberal than the LCMS. Soon after it started, it began ordaining women as ministers, which the LCMS did not do. The new group also immediately declared full partnership with the ALC and the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). They also planned to join the National Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation. For those who stayed in the LCMS, these actions by the AELC confirmed their earlier worries about the Concordia Seminary faculty.

The AELC had about 100,000 members, which was less than 4 percent of the LCMS's 2.7 million members. Because of its smaller size, the AELC could not provide enough pastor jobs for all the Seminex graduates. As a result, Seminex's enrollment began to drop sharply.

The End of Seminex

Humboldt Building at 539 N Grand Blvd in 2012. Seminex moved to this building in 1982.

Starting in 1974, the LCMS made it clear that students could not become pastors in the synod unless they got their credits from official LCMS seminaries. The synod also stopped Seminex from recruiting students at Concordia University System schools. In 1975, the LCMS voted to close Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which was thought to be sending students to Seminex.

Seminex's enrollment dropped a lot over the next ten years. This was mainly because it was hard for graduates to find jobs as ministers. By the late 1970s, any hope that many LCMS churches would leave was gone. John Tietjen, now president of Christ Seminary-Seminex, had to start laying off faculty members who had walked out. The seminary also struggled to decide if it should only serve the AELC or become a "pan-Lutheran" seminary for many different Lutheran groups. By the early 1980s, it was clear that Christ Seminary-Seminex could not continue on its own.

Before the ELCA was formed, Seminex sent its faculty and students to several other Lutheran seminaries. These included the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), Wartburg Theological Seminary, and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. The last graduation in St. Louis was in May 1983. Seminex continued as an educational program on the LSTC campus in Chicago until the end of 1987. Some professorships at LSTC are still named after Christ Seminary-Seminex.

What Happened After

After they separated, the AELC helped create the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Many pastors and graduates of Seminex became important leaders in the ELCA. For example, in 2009, three out of eight seminary presidents were Seminex graduates. Some bishops also came from Seminex. Years later, some theologians said that so many modern professors moving to future ELCA seminaries changed those schools forever. They believed this led to the ELCA becoming more progressive.

Because Seminex and the AELC churches left, many liberal members were removed from the LCMS. This made the synod much more conservative by the mid-1970s. This allowed the LCMS to slowly rebuild its traditional heritage. In 1977, the synod voted to greatly limit its involvement in LCUSA, an organization it helped start in 1966. This meant the synod would not join any more merger talks. In 1981, the synod ended its partnership with the American Lutheran Church that began in 1969. However, the LCMS was still deeply divided after the crisis.

The 1977 LCMS convention also suddenly pulled out of a joint hymnal project with the LCA and ALC. So, the Lutheran Book of Worship was published in 1978 without the LCMS, which had started the project. This angered leaders in the other churches. LCMS churches had problems with the hymnal's use of the 1977 Book of Common Prayer and the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, among other things. The LCMS hymnal committee tried to fix these issues and published a revised hymnal in 1982, called Lutheran Worship. However, there was a lot of distrust between LCMS churches and their leaders, so the new hymnal was not well received. A 1999 study found that 36% of churches still used the older hymnal. The rest used a mix of both, with only a few using only the newer one. This meant the synod lacked unity even in its hymnal.

Concordia Seminary was thought to be finished in the spring of 1974. The stress from the disagreement greatly affected everyone involved. Martin Scharlemann, who replaced Tietjen, resigned as president of Concordia Seminary after only three months due to exhaustion. Supporters of Seminex even said the LCMS would have to close the school. However, under the leadership of Ralph Bohlmann, who became president after Scharlemann, enrollment quickly grew again.

At Concordia Seminary's fall meeting in 1974, Francis Schaeffer spoke to the students who had not walked out. Schaeffer praised the synod for its faithful stand. He noted that this was the first time a church group had successfully resisted the spread of modernism and kept its traditional beliefs. The success of the traditional group in the LCMS later inspired a similar movement in the Southern Baptist Convention. It provided a plan for the successful conservative resurgence there in the 1980s.

Images for kids

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  Humboldt Building at 539 N Grand Blvd in 2012. Seminex moved to this building in 1982.