On Monday, Oct. 18, the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Board of Regents elected three members and one alternate member to serve on the Seminary’s Presidential Search Committee. The Board members elected are James F. Ralls Jr., Richard L. Wenz and John D. Wittenmyer, and the alternate member is David V. Dissen.

These Board members join the three members and one alternate member elected to the Search Committee by the Concordia Seminary faculty in its Oct. 12 meeting. Dr. Charles P. Arand, Dr. Andrew H. Bartelt and Dr. James W. Voelz were elected by the faculty to serve as the initial three members on the Search Committee, and Dr. William W. Schumacher was elected to serve as the faculty’s alternate member. The alternate faculty and Board of Regents members participate in all committee meetings but are not permitted to vote.

The Bylaws of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) divide the work of the Search Committee into two distinct phases. During the first phase of activity, the Committee “shall make a written report of the needs of the institution, the requirements of the Synod, and the required and desired qualifications of the nominees” (Bylaw 6.11, e).

“This first phase of the committee’s activity is foundational for the entire call process,” commented Rev. Glen D. Thomas, the Seminary’s vice president for seminary relations. “The committee will analyze what Concordia Seminary needs in its next president at this particular point in its history. These determinations will help to define what characteristics candidates for the presidency should possess.”

In the second phase of the Search Committee’s activity, three additional faculty members are elected by the Seminary’s faculty to join the faculty and Board members of the original committee. The committee=s second phase of activity includes preparing reports on the credentials of nominees and submitting to the electors a report of evaluations and recommendations regarding the candidates.

The LCMS Bylaws also state that “Open forums shall be conducted with administrative staff, students, and other constituents as deemed essential by the Search Committee to gather extensive input to the process” (Bylaw 6.11, e).

Those able to nominate candidates for consideration as the 10th president of Concordia Seminary are congregations of the LCMS, the Synod’s Board for Pastoral Education, the Seminary’s Board of Regents and the Seminary=s faculty as stipulated in LCMS Bylaw 6.11, b.

“The process of calling a president will likely take six to nine months to complete, and the procedure for doing so is carefully delineated in our Synod’s Bylaws,” commented Thomas. “We invite the members of the Synod to join us in continued prayer for God=s guidance throughout this process.”

A chronological listing of news releases describing the process leading to the election of Concordia Seminary’s 10th president is available on the Seminary’s Web site (https://www.csl.edu/NewPresident.htm) and is updated as new information is available.

For more information, contact Seminary Relations, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; 314.726.0882; [email protected].