Lutheran Identity

Over the first six months of 2024, legal representatives for both the LCMS and CTX filed a series of motions regarding CTX’s pleadings requesting the dismissal of the case filed by the LCMS against CTX in September of 2023. We are currently waiting on a ruling of that request from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Austin Division.

Concordia has invested significant resources over the last 15 years to understand and reinvigorate its identity as a Lutheran university and is more intentional about its Lutheran identity than ever before.

The history of higher education in America, specifically church-related higher education, is complex and should not be reduced to a simple phrase or single trajectory. Christian institutions across America have very different relationships with their church bodies, and many are thriving in their vocations as Christian colleges and universities. Hillsdale College, which many (even in our Synod) point to as the gold standard of Christian higher education, has no formal relationship with a church body and is purely self-governing, yet is seen by many as unwavering in its Christian liberal arts missions. Similarly, Luther Classical College, currently being developed in the Wyoming District of the LCMS, will have no formal governance affiliation with the LCMS.

Concordia remains committed to doing the same, continuing what we have done since our founding in 1926 – providing Christ-centered higher education that is faithful to our Lutheran history, theology, and practice

The CTX Board has developed a set of guiding principles known “Demonstrations of Lutheran Identity,” This set of principles provides accountability towards Lutheran doctrine and practice and will be reported on annually to the Board of Regents, after which that report will be shared with the President of the Texas District and other interested parties and remain available to the public. In addition, the Board will initiate an external review of the University’s Lutheran Identity every three years. These Demonstrations of Lutheran Identity transparently share how Concordia interprets and lives out its identity as a Lutheran institution of higher education.

CTX is no longer able to certify church work students for a call under the LCMS system. However, we continue to run strong, faithful academic programs that prepare students to be effective workers for the Kingdom in Lutheran churches, schools and ministry. We remain committed to a religious education (DCE) program, to education programs focused on Lutheran and Christian school preparation, to preparing students who want to lead music in church settings, and programs which equip those who are considering seminary.

CTX is partnering with LCMS ministries that will work with our graduates, allowing to start their ministry careers while working towards their first call via the LCMS colloquy process.

The governance relationship between the LCMS and its institutions of higher education goes back for decades (for more than 98 years, specifically for Concordia Texas) and has evolved many times over that time as the needs of both the institution and the Synod have changed. This has been seen in various entities like the Board of Higher Education, the Board for University Services, and the current Concordia University System.

The evolution of this relationship to meet the current needs of both the Synod and the institution has been a regular part of the history of the Concordias. At its triennial convention in 2023, the LCMS approved a new set of bylaws that are dramatically different from those under which the schools had been governed in the past. In reviewing the various iterations of those bylaws as they were being developed prior to the 2023 convention, the CTX Board of Regents came to believe that those bylaws were not the right governance model for either CTX or LCMS in the current context. Therefore, the CTX Board voted in November of 2022 to be the sole governing body of the institution. This governance model allows for local control while ensuring that the University continues to align itself with the mission and ministry of the LCMS.

We believe that the best system of governance is one that is held by those closest to the institution while also being aligned theologically with the Church, as is the case for the governance of LCMS congregations. More specific benefits to this change include:

• Matching authority with responsibility in the proper governing entity. The former system of shared governance created ambiguity, creating risk for both the school and the church.
• Providing the CTX Board with the capacity to articulate the mission and vision appropriate to the university's specific context.
• Empowering the CTX Board to shape itself and its membership in a way that is appropriate to the university's specific context.
• Placing the authority to select the president in the proper entity.
• Relieving the LCMS of responsibility for any possible legal liability, which can potentially occur with numerous potential incidents.
• Relieving the university of the effects of the ambiguities and vacillations in policy by changes at the LCMS conventions.

Participation by CTX in any of the LCMS support agencies is determined by LCMS Policy and the boards of each entity. While CTX was recently withdrawn from participation in the Concordia Retirement Plans and Insurance, it continues to have a banking relationship with Lutheran Church Extension Fund, and both the LCMS Foundation and Legacy Deo currently holds several of the school’s endowments.

We want and value a relationship with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The decision to change the form of governance simply reframes the nature of that relationship so that governance will be solely directed by the CTX Board of Regents rather than shared with the Synod.

This is not about theology or doctrine; nor is our relationship with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod broken. Concordia University Texas is not cutting ties or seeking to become an independent or secular institution of higher education.

This is about governance. It will allow the university to have the appropriate local control while planning for our future.

We are deeply thankful for our Lutheran theology, history, and practice, and we will continue to live out the mission of the church by remaining faithful to scripture and the confessions; engaging with the broader culture and being a light to the world; continuing to train workers for the church; sharing the gospel with students; and, partnering with LCMS entities to help them live out their mission.

Concordia University Texas will:

• Remain Christ-centered and committed to sharing the Gospel with students;
• Continue to serve churches, schools and other ministries, including preparing students to enter into church work vocations;
• Continue to be faithful to the centrality and authority of the scriptures;
• Be faithful to the Lutheran Confessions.
• Ensure that key administrative positions and Board members are active members of LCMS churches;
• Create a set of governing documents that ensure the institution will remain aligned with the LCMS long into the future.

The CTX Board of Regents has developed a series of governing documents that will ensure that Concordia remains aligned with the theology and doctrine of the LCMS. These documents consider and address issues such as:

• Ensuring the membership of the Board and critical administrative and faculty positions are filled by members of the LCMS
• Establishing a system of theological review every three years, done by a team of external reviewers who report back to the Board
• Establishing a system of Demonstrations of Lutheran Identity, which will be measured and reported to the Board annually
• Ensuring that the mission, website, and all handbooks identify CTX as a Lutheran institution, aligned with the confession of the LCMS, and ascribing to Article 2 of the LCMS Constitution
• Forming and continuing partnerships with the ministries of the Texas District and beyond to ensure our partnership in ministry declares the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world
• Ensuring that the Board and the faculty/staff receive regular training in Lutheran identity and support in living out their callings at a Lutheran/Christian institution
• Ensuring that we continue to address cultural questions - such as our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - in a manner that is reflective of Lutheran theology and practice

Because of the Board’s decision to be the sole governing body of the institution, Concordia University Texas is no longer an institution that is eligible to hold calls through the LCMS. Effective April 5, 2023, all called workers at Concordia were notified that they would need to move to inactive status (either candidacy or emeritus) or resign from the roster, as per LCMS bylaws. Each called worker is currently working through this under the direction of District President Mike Newman.

All of our current rostered workers remain faithful to their vows as ordained and commissioned ministers of the LCMS, deeply committed to the theology of the church and to expanding the Kingdom by sharing the Gospel. Each of these individuals will continue in their ministry roles, faithfully living into the vocations in which God has called them. They continue to be faithful ministers of the Gospel, teaching in our classrooms, leading our church work and campus ministry programs, and other areas of vocation in a way that serves our LCMS partners and the church at large.