Two sentences stand at the heart of a Lutheran understanding of mission work: “[The] Lutheran church can do only Lutheran mission, and Lutheran mission can be done only by a Lutheran church.” The second is this: “Lutheran mission must lead to [a] Lutheran church.”1 It’s possible to make similar statements about Lutheran education.
Lutheran education can only be done by Lutherans. A Lutheran education does not have at its heart primarily education in secular matters, but the deep and abiding inculcation of the faith. The beating heart of teaching our children to read is our desire that they would pick up God’s Word and read it. We teach our children the beauty of creation from the sciences so they might give glory to God for all His gifts. The Lutheran church cultivates vocational ability that our children might fulfill the vocations into which God will place them, their duties as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, singles, grandparents, church workers, church members and so on.
This truth naturally leads into the second: Lutheran education leads to the Lutheran church. A Lutheran school deeply rooted in its Lutheran identity will shepherd its students into the Divine Service, toward the gifts of Baptism, God’s Word and the Lord’s Supper. Lutheran education leads to Lutheran faith, to Lutheran confession, to deeper and deeper Lutheran identity.
Throughout this issue of The Lutheran Witness, you’re going to read about how Lutheran identity forms and directs Lutheran education in the LCMS. Robert Paul and Heather Smith provide an excellent introduction and overview of the history of LCMS educa-tion. Samuel Eatherton diagnoses the problem of bifurcating mission-minded education from Lutheran-identity-focused education. (Spoiler: They belong together.) Lutheran schools face a number of challenges these days; Sarah Reinsel dives deeply into interviews with LCMS education executives, teachers, administrators and others to learn about these challenges and how the Lutheran church can face them. Finally, Michael Schuermann explains how parents can help guide their children as they head off to college, “where the devil prowls.”
In parting, let me also offer this encouragement: Lutheran schools desperately need Lutheran teachers and administrators. The road to this vocation begins early. The LCMS has put significant resources behind helping you learn how to encourage a young person in your life to consider church work vocations. Visit the Set Apart to Serve webpage (lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve) to find these resources.
Always learning,
Roy S. Askins
Executive Editor, The Lutheran Witness
