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Concordia Seminary Newsroom
Rast declines call to serve as Concordia Seminary president
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By letter today to the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Board of Regents, President of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. (CTSFW) Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. declined the call to serve as Concordia Seminary’s 11th president and will continue to serve as president at CTSFW.
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Photo: Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Seminary extended the call May 16 and Rast’s decision was made within the 15-day window allowing for deliberation of the call.
In accordance with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Bylaws, the Seminary’s regents now shall promptly call a meeting of the electors and, as prescribed in the Bylaws, determine whether to reissue the call, elect another person from the remaining five finalists or issue a new call for candidates.
Board of Regents Chairman Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn is currently scheduling the meeting.
The Seminary’s next president will succeed Dr. Dale A. Meyer, who retires June 30.
“Christ is Lord of the Church. He knows what and who we need at Concordia Seminary, and it will happen in His time and way. Dr. Meyer has built up a wonderful team of people at Concordia Seminary, and we will continue to be in good hands,” said Peperkorn. “We thank God for Dr. Rast. I know this was an extremely difficult decision for him, but Christ continues to be Lord of the Church, and it will all be well in His time and way.”
Updates related to the presidential election are available at csl.edu/president-search.
About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit csl.edu.