Lutherans for Racial Justice I May 10, 2023

Those were the words of Concordia University Texas president Donald Christian on April 21, 2023, as he announced the Board's vote to remove the school from The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod's (LCMS) control while pledging a continuing commitment to its LCMS Lutheran identity and theology.

LRJ has previously reported on contentious events regarding responses to racial and ethnic diversity in the Concordia University System (CUS), a network of six higher ed institutions that operate under the governance of The LCMS.

It has been a difficult decade for Concordias. While Concordia Ann Arbor was saved from closure by merging with Concordia Wisconsin, the institutions in Selma, New York, and Portland have closed, the latter of which has led to a legal battle. While The LCMS continues to maintain the largest protestant education system in the country, LCMS membership has declined from nearly 2.8 million at its peak to its current membership of 1.8 million with 485,130 in attendance. As a result, the historically homogenous church body has increasingly relied on the enrollment of non-LCMS students, now from the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in U.S. history.

At the same time, the synod has sought to expand its control over Concordia universities, efforts that culminated in the formation of the 7-03 Committee, approved at the 2019 LCMS Convention. The committee was formed to collaborate with the synod and CUS institutions to propose a new governance model with the goal of strengthening the schools' "connection to the Synod" as well as their "confessional Lutheran identity."

We'll do our best to summarize how we got from the formation of the 7-03 Committee in 2019

It is within this context, that on June 6, 2022, Concordia University Texas' Board of Regents announced that it has been exploring a change in governance with The LCMS:

A brief overview of how CTX reached that decision (rough outline):

2019: LCMS convention proposal for changing Concordia governance, tightening the reins.

2021: Brief summary of 7-03 Proposals. Concerns from CTX. No response.

January XX 2022: CTX explores self-governance with The LCMS Board of Directors and the Concordia University System. 

April XX 2022: In April, President Harrison led a visit to CTX to review their Lutheran identity and theology, saying that The LCMS would follow up with an official report of the visit.

November XX 2022: After failing to receive the report and delays in conversations regarding governance, CTX's Board decides to be the sole-governing body of the institution.

QUOTE FROM MEMO.

January XX 2023: In January, The LCMS submitted the report, leading to a meeting between The LCMS, CUS, and CTX. 

March XX 2023: CTX's Board resolves to maintain self-governance. 

“We want to emphasize that we have never received clear guidance from the LCMS or the CUS (Concordia University System) on how they would expect our colleges to serve people from diverse racial backgrounds or sexual identities. Despite this lack of direction, we have remained true to our Lutheran identity while serving our Central Texas community.”

April XX 2023: The LCMS responded.

QUOTE FROM LCMS RESPONSE.

April XX 2023: The Texas District of the LCMS informed CTX faculty that they would be losing their rostered status with The LCMS in the coming months, which has caused widespread confusion and concern.

INSERT THE FOLLOWING:

APPLICATION TO LUTHERAN SCHOOLS AT LARGE.

IRVINE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSALS FOR ALL LUTHERAN SCHOOLS.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?