Summer is here! I hope that it will afford you time for rest, recreation and re-creation. You work hard; now comes the summer experience of grace.

If convenient, I invite you to attend a continuing education event offered by our seminaries. Also many resources are available at concordiatheology.org. And of course, summer is a good time for self-directed reading.

At Commencement on the 18th, about 100 academic degrees were awarded — Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and graduate degrees. A week before graduation, all faculty members received Light from Above: A Festschrift in Honor of the Faculty of Concordia Seminary. Written and produced by the 2018 M.Div. class, it has touched every one of our hearts.

In the forward, Class President Andrew Belt wrote, “All the members of the class of 2018 have memories, stories, and lessons that we have received from you, the Faculty of Concordia Seminary. We pray that these essays honor you, make you laugh, and realize the influence you have had on us. God has used you to shape and form us for the service of Christ’s Church.”

Then, after an essay for each of our professors, comes the conclusion. In part: “We have been called to real churches with real people and real problems. And the temptation will be to try to save the congregations and the people with whom we come in contact. But that would be a mistake.

“One of the most important lessons our professors impressed upon us during our time at this Seminary is that we are not the Savior of the Church. The people of God do not need our programs, our stories, or our intellect. The people of God need Jesus, who is the only One who can save them from their sins. This seminary and its faculty have prepared us to bring the Lord Jesus Christ to the saints around this country (and in some cases, around the world). For that, the Church should be eternally grateful for these men and their work in this place.”

I don’t share this to elicit praise for the faculty but rather to share with you the spirit of our graduates as they enter the field of ministry and their calls to serve the Lord Jesus. Please welcome and get to know them. Lord of the church, we thank You for raising up these servants for coming generations and pray we’ll be helpful as they transition to the real world of ministry!

“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Blessed summer!

Dale

Dr. Dale A. Meyer, President
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis