WEBVTT 1 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:28.200 Hello and Welcome to Word and Work an Intersection. 2 00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:30.000 I'm your host Dale Meyer. 3 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.300 This hour we'll talk with Doctor Ben Haupt. Doctor Haupt is Concordia 4 00:00:35.300 --> 00:00:40.500 Seminary's associate Provost and he is also an associate professor of 5 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:41.400 Practical theology. 6 00:00:41.400 --> 00:00:44.700 Welcome Ben, glad you're here. 7 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:46.700 Did you ever have me as a professor? 8 00:00:46.700 --> 00:00:52.500 I did for Hom 2 and Hom 4. Oh my how did that turn out? 9 00:00:52.500 --> 00:00:58.600 I'm still preaching. Preacher creature. There you go. It's gratifying 10 00:00:59.900 --> 00:01:03.700 to have had you as a student and to see you doing this important work now of 11 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:07.900 recruitment and admissions. Tell us about those two? 12 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:12.800 What's the difference between the two? Speak about those two different 13 00:01:12.800 --> 00:01:17.700 facets of your job. Yeah you know recruitment and admissions used to all be one 14 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:21.600 department and the same team worked on all of it. 15 00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:22.200 When I came in. 16 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:26.200 I thought we kind of need to split these out a little bit and be 17 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:26.900 intentional. 18 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:31.500 So this is how I think about it recruitment is the the process that 19 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:32.300 starts. 20 00:01:32.300 --> 00:01:36.500 This is where we first learn about somebody who's maybe thinking about 21 00:01:36.500 --> 00:01:39.400 pastoral Ministry in that kind of discernment phase. 22 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:44.200 It's important that those moments to let them know what our programs 23 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:48.000 are and to really help them in their kind of spiritual discernment. 24 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:49.700 It's a big thing to say 25 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:52.400 I want to study for the Pastoral Ministry. 26 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:56.900 So recruitment is the beginning of that phase once they make a decision 27 00:01:56.900 --> 00:01:58.000 to say yes. 28 00:01:58.000 --> 00:01:59.800 I'm ready to sign 29 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:01.900 up to study at Concordia Seminary. 30 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:04.400 Then there's a whole nother phase that happens, 31 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.600 that's the application and it's a complicated thing. 32 00:02:07.600 --> 00:02:13.000 I liken our application process to getting into a military academy. 33 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:17.100 This is serious stuff that church takes very seriously who studies 34 00:02:17.100 --> 00:02:22.400 for pastoral Ministry. And so just like getting into West Point or the 35 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:23.300 Air Force Academy. 36 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:26.800 There's a lot more that you have to do then just turn in your 37 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:27.400 transcript. 38 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:32.000 You have to have an interview with your District president to have to 39 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.600 have all these recommendations. 40 00:02:33.600 --> 00:02:37.500 So so we have a whole team that walks people through that process. 41 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:43.300 I'm smiling because you compared us to the military academies in in 42 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:48.800 some ways, but decades ago our schools in Lutheran Church, Missouri, 43 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:53.100 Synod including the seminaries were run with some little military precision. 44 00:02:53.100 --> 00:02:58.800 It's a little looser now than then we don't have to salute and sit up 45 00:02:58.800 --> 00:02:59.800 straight all the 46 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:05.800 time. So you distinguish recruitment from admissions with a good 47 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:08.100 illustration of that be a funnel? 48 00:03:08.100 --> 00:03:14.700 So we will use this this funnel and end at the top. 49 00:03:14.700 --> 00:03:15.300 Of course. 50 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:20.500 It is very wide there a lots of people that might have some thought 51 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:24.500 about maybe studying for Concordia Seminary and we know that there 52 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:28.800 even these groups of people out there say all the kids that go to the 53 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:33.400 National Youth gathering in some ways that their prospective students 54 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:37.100 at Concordia Seminary either as pastors or deaconesses for our future 55 00:03:37.100 --> 00:03:38.000 missionaries. 56 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.200 So we look at them. 57 00:03:40.200 --> 00:03:42.900 As you know, the Youth of the Missouri Synod. 58 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:47.800 It's a very large pool but down to the the people that actually apply 59 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:54.700 that number I continually draws down until we get to those that start 60 00:03:54.700 --> 00:03:59.400 in the in the fall and so that's a great illustration in and I didn't 61 00:03:59.400 --> 00:03:59.700 come up. 62 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:04.200 You all talk about it as a as a funnel neck, and I found that very 63 00:04:04.200 --> 00:04:04.900 very helpful. 64 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:07.300 How are the numbers looking for this year? 65 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:09.200 Very good. 66 00:04:09.200 --> 00:04:17.000 We're really excited because last year fall 19 the incoming masters of 67 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:22.400 divinity enrollment and again masters of divinity of for some of our 68 00:04:22.400 --> 00:04:29.200 viewers is our kind of crime program for developing pastors the 69 00:04:29.200 --> 00:04:35.000 numbers for last year fall 19 were 40 incoming m.div students this 70 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:36.900 year fall 2020. 71 00:04:36.900 --> 00:04:40.300 Our numbers are 65 in the MD program. 72 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:43.300 We're really excited about that at that's great. 73 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:47.100 And there's a number of wonderful things about that one is that we 74 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.000 have a pressing shortage of Pastors in Lutheran Church, Missouri 75 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.100 Synod, and we looked at both of our seminaries to feel that that need. 76 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:56.900 What was it about? 77 00:04:57.700 --> 00:05:03.400 Concordia Seminary that made the numbers decline, you know, I got a 78 00:05:03.400 --> 00:05:07.300 Wonder wild ale Mayer was President the numbers went down and now that 79 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:09.400 he's retired and gone off to the farm. 80 00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:10.600 They're picking up. 81 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:18.800 What was the decline from hardly from your presidency as as that your 82 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:24.300 viewers know our our entire culture is experiencing a decline in 83 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:30.200 Christianity the demographics of the Missouri Synod the demographics 84 00:05:30.200 --> 00:05:35.400 of all Mainline denominations in America have a significantly Trend it 85 00:05:35.400 --> 00:05:39.700 down and we we feel that because that's those are our family members 86 00:05:39.700 --> 00:05:43.500 somewhat that have walked away from the church of those are people 87 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:47.200 that are our neighbors that we're good us. 88 00:05:47.200 --> 00:05:52.400 Well standing members of the Missouri Senate that have going on 89 00:05:52.400 --> 00:05:56.200 sometimes tend to not have any spiritual home at all. 90 00:05:56.200 --> 00:05:57.200 And so 91 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:01.800 As the numbers in the Synod have declined of course. 92 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:07.400 So have have our numbers also experienced some of that decline the the 93 00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:12.500 schools in the 80s the accreditation of the American theological 94 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:13.400 schools. 95 00:06:13.400 --> 00:06:18.200 They they they accredit all these theological schools across the 96 00:06:18.200 --> 00:06:24.400 country as you well know and the declines are similar in all 97 00:06:24.400 --> 00:06:34.200 theological seminaries across denominations, across the spectrum. That's important to know. The ATS has about 270 98 00:06:34.200 --> 00:06:39.200 accredited members and if there's anybody in the world who actually 99 00:06:39.200 --> 00:06:42.600 knows what's going on with trends and theological education North 100 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:48.300 America is the ATS more so then we in the Missouri Synod. And that's 101 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:51.300 why we lean on them. I know you lean on their information heavily, 102 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:55.800 but all those all those the theological schools have been in decline. 103 00:06:56.900 --> 00:07:00.900 So we're part of our broader culture. 104 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:08.200 Yeah, and and we see that we see that in our our numbers from 2004 105 00:07:08.200 --> 00:07:15.800 through 2019 our MDiv enrollment declined 60%. But the great news is 106 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:21.400 God listens to the prayers of his people people have been praying for 107 00:07:21.400 --> 00:07:27.300 this institution for a long time. And this past year we saw over 50% increase. 108 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:32.100 That that's that's amazing and it gratifies me and I know it 109 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:36.500 gratifies our audience too. Let me stay on the decline just a little bit 110 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:39.200 longer when I became president 2005. 111 00:07:39.200 --> 00:07:47.600 We were around 170 students in a class and but part of the factor 112 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:52.700 there was the Seminary was giving free tuition free, somebody has to 113 00:07:52.700 --> 00:07:56.600 pay for it, but we are doing that. And when I became president our 114 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.300 financial team said we can't sustain this and so we had to cut back. 115 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:08.100 And then along comes the Great Recession 2008 and 2009 and all this in 116 00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:14.800 context of anti Church or at least who cares about church. So that there 117 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:18.600 are very demonstrable reasons for that decline. 118 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:21.300 And and now it's turning around. 119 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:26.100 So yeah, it happened but I think we appreciate what Jesus a says about 120 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:29.300 pray the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest more 121 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:36.100 more than we ever ever have before. So that puts us in the nationwide 122 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:40.700 context of decline in theological school numbers. 123 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:46.300 What do attribute our increase to? We wondered this as well 124 00:08:46.300 --> 00:08:47.700 why are the numbers going up? 125 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:48.900 The Regents wanted to know 126 00:08:48.900 --> 00:08:50.100 why are the numbers going up? 127 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:53.000 My first initial answer was I don't know. 128 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:59.000 Let me find out. So we did some straw a straw poll over the summer of 129 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:00.000 this incoming class. 130 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:01.900 I sent just a real brief survey 131 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:07.100 I looked through the the profiles of the last 10 or 15 years of 132 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:11.700 reasons why students said here's why I came to Concordia Seminary. 133 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:15.500 And so I laid these out there's about twelve different options that 134 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:18.900 they could choose from and I said, I want you to pick your top reason 135 00:09:18.900 --> 00:09:22.100 for coming to Concordia Seminary this fall and I want you to pick your 136 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:22.700 second reason. 137 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:28.800 Well, the number one reason that people gave for why they were 138 00:09:28.800 --> 00:09:33.700 enrolling for the fall of 2020 at Concordia Seminary.The number one 139 00:09:33.700 --> 00:09:37.100 reason was because of our Christ-centered concessionally Lutheran 140 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:37.900 reputation. 141 00:09:37.900 --> 00:09:41.800 Really, I mean, I shouldn't I shouldn't be shocked but 142 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.300 I guess I'm surprised and I'm glad I'm glad to give talk about that 143 00:09:48.300 --> 00:09:48.500 some more. 144 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:54.700 I told both of the faculty and the Board of Regents this this fall 145 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:59.000 after those results came in from that study that that really is the 146 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:03.700 work of art of our faculty and administration and are board in keeping 147 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:10.400 us more to our our theological foundations. We're not just because 148 00:10:10.400 --> 00:10:15.300 we want more students going out and changing our theology so that we 149 00:10:15.300 --> 00:10:17.700 are more appealing to the rest of the world. 150 00:10:17.700 --> 00:10:23.300 And in fact, we're staying solid in our theological roots in the 151 00:10:23.300 --> 00:10:25.100 scriptures and Lutheran confessions. 152 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:30.600 I'm smiling because years ago, I was in a car with Dean Wenthy 153 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:34.600 who at the time was president of Concordia Theological School in Fort 154 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:39.400 Wayne seminary in Fort Wayne. And they're they're Christ and confession 155 00:10:39.400 --> 00:10:41.000 centered the same as the same as we are. 156 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:48.700 And he told about being in a car with some presidents of other 157 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:53.700 seminaries, ATS seminaries, and Dean asked them will what what theological 158 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:56.400 topics are being discussed in in your school. 159 00:10:56.400 --> 00:11:01.800 It was something like the resurrection of Christ. 160 00:11:01.800 --> 00:11:06.000 Did it really happen or eat or even something more liberal than that. 161 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.300 You know when when we have heated discussions 162 00:11:09.300 --> 00:11:13.100 it's about something within the the boundaries of the Bible and 163 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:13.900 the confessions. 164 00:11:13.900 --> 00:11:19.700 So what you said about reasons for coming to Concordia Seminary, that would be true for Fort 165 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:24.300 Wayne also, that's really gratifying to hear. Not all seminaries have 166 00:11:24.300 --> 00:11:31.100 the the firm position on scripture and confessions that we have. So I'm 167 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:32.200 I'm glad to hear that Ben. 168 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:37.900 And so the the second reason that these these incoming students gave 169 00:11:37.900 --> 00:11:42.000 was guaranteed tuition. As you know, 170 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:46.600 and this is a testament to your leadership as President. 171 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:52.100 We underwent the Generations Campaign 2020 which was a significant 172 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:59.800 effort to lead us out of the position that we were in post-2008 and 173 00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:05.000 the financial crisis and trying to get us back to this place where we 174 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:07.500 could guarantee tuition. 175 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:08.800 We don't call it free tuition anymore. 176 00:12:08.800 --> 00:12:13.700 Somebody's got. Somebody got to pay, yea. But our donors our donors 177 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:22.400 have gave so sacrificially and as you know historically to 178 00:12:22.400 --> 00:12:27.800 this institution so that we can prepare pastors, deaconesses, leaders 179 00:12:27.800 --> 00:12:30.100 for the Lutheran church-missouri Synod for the future. 180 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:33.800 So these students said guaranteed tuition was the second most 181 00:12:33.800 --> 00:12:41.000 important reason so that is that's an unkind of an undisputable fact. 182 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:46.100 That money does matter these people want to study for the ministry, 183 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:48.000 but can they make it work financially? 184 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:55.000 Let me give some some context to that in Father forgive me if I 185 00:12:55.000 --> 00:13:01.100 shouldn't but during my fifteen years we raised about 320 million 186 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:01.800 dollars. 187 00:13:03.300 --> 00:13:04.200 Daniel Elshire 188 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:09.000 was the executive director of the ATS and to his knowledge 189 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.700 he said no seminary in those 270 schools has raised that much money. 190 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:19.000 Well why is that? I think one one reason is that the people of the 191 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.700 Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod love their seminaries. And it shows up 192 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:27.200 when we look at our endowments. Our endowments last I heard we're now 193 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.000 over a hundred and sixty million. 194 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.500 They have been 40 something when I started. 195 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:40.900 Endowments audience, for us means a pool of about 600 individual 196 00:13:40.900 --> 00:13:41.600 endowments 197 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:45.900 that people have given. I venture to say that people have given 198 00:13:45.900 --> 00:13:52.800 90- 95% of of that endowment pool is for scholarship. The people 199 00:13:52.800 --> 00:13:56.700 instinctively know that they need their seminaries and they're looking 200 00:13:56.700 --> 00:14:05.400 ahead generations to having pastors. So this trip that we've 201 00:14:05.400 --> 00:14:09.800 been on toward a guaranteed tuition is amazing. 202 00:14:09.800 --> 00:14:15.600 It's amazing and until that again, what does guaranteed tuition mean 203 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:19.500 and does it cover any living expenses? 204 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:20.800 Just just play this out again. 205 00:14:20.800 --> 00:14:24.300 And the reason I'm asking you do that Ben is because we want our 206 00:14:24.300 --> 00:14:29.200 here's to know the story and take the story into your congregation. 207 00:14:30.300 --> 00:14:36.200 To interest young people in getting into that funnel. Yeah, so guaranteed 208 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:42.200 tuition is a way for us to take the the donations that come in from 209 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:45.000 donors and apply them specifically to tuition. 210 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:57.100 So. Which is about what? 25.000 a year. 25 it maybe 26, 27 or something like that just just was updated 211 00:14:57.100 --> 00:14:59.100 here at our most recent meeting. 212 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:04.300 But but yeah that was a significant chunk of money in addition to 213 00:15:04.300 --> 00:15:10.700 paying for living expenses room and board, books and and fees tuition 214 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:15.000 was a huge expense for students before guaranteed tuition came along. 215 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:21.000 So so now that guaranteed tuition is available for every student in 216 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:26.500 the Masters of Divinity program and in our residential programs, they 217 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:29.500 don't have to worry about tuition at all and then any other 218 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:30.300 scholarships 219 00:15:30.300 --> 00:15:34.200 that they get things that they get above and beyond their scholarship 220 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:40.400 can go toward room and board and and some of these kinds of things. So it's at 221 00:15:40.400 --> 00:15:45.700 least 100% of tuition and then there may be some spill over into 222 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:50.900 living expenses that's amazing. And that that enormous amount of money 223 00:15:50.900 --> 00:15:52.700 that that it cost to cover 224 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:58.300 all those tuition dollars came from Generations 20/20. 225 00:15:58.300 --> 00:16:03.900 I remember Craig Olsen the the the chair of the the campaign on a 226 00:16:03.900 --> 00:16:04.300 video. 227 00:16:04.300 --> 00:16:09.400 He talked about his granddaughters and the future of the church 228 00:16:09.400 --> 00:16:15.300 depended on Generations 20/20 would his granddaughters have a pastor. 229 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:23.700 God's good people see that as tremendously important and and wanted 230 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:25.400 that and and stepped up to the plate. 231 00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:30.300 And now we're seeing the the the wonderful fruit that's being born 232 00:16:30.300 --> 00:16:31.000 from that tree. 233 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:37.300 Yeah, one of the things that you know, is that our annual revenues are 234 00:16:37.300 --> 00:16:39.800 over 90% from donations. 235 00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:42.400 They might be direct donations that 236 00:16:42.400 --> 00:16:43.500 just come in the mail. 237 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:47.200 They might be processed through endowments, but we're donor 238 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:50.300 dependent and the donors thank God for them. 239 00:16:50.300 --> 00:16:55.800 And thank you donors are at one with us in this mission for 240 00:16:55.800 --> 00:16:56.500 the Lord Jesus. 241 00:16:56.500 --> 00:17:02.100 Let me ask you if covid has impacted Recruitment and admissions this 242 00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:09.900 year? Yeah, good question we know that COVID has impacted everybody's life and we've we've stayed very closely 243 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:11.400 connected with our students. 244 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.400 We communicated a lot with them over the summer about what was going 245 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.400 on with COVID.. 246 00:17:17.300 --> 00:17:23.000 But thankfully we didn't have anybody drop out of the application 247 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:28.200 process because of covid-19. The students that wanted to come to 248 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:33.100 Concordia Seminary many of them sold their houses in extraordinary 249 00:17:33.100 --> 00:17:37.800 circumstances, but I think this is a great testament to the faith and to 250 00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:39.900 the determination of our our students. 251 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:46.900 So thanks be to God. No we dealt with Covid on campus. 252 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:50.800 We haven't had any large outbreaks or anything like that students are 253 00:17:50.800 --> 00:17:56.600 are being very cautious taking the correct caution. 254 00:17:56.600 --> 00:18:01.400 So things are going well, even in the midst of the pandemic. We are 255 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:02.100 being very cautious. 256 00:18:02.100 --> 00:18:07.100 I'm teaching a class there still using me and I don't like 257 00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:08.500 teaching with a mask on, 258 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:11.300 it just gets in the way, but we're obeying 259 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:16.100 the guidelines. You're an example. 260 00:18:16.100 --> 00:18:19.100 We have added personnel over the years to Recruitment and Admissions 261 00:18:19.100 --> 00:18:26.100 and because of that I'm assuming that we are in more frequent contact 262 00:18:26.100 --> 00:18:34.700 with potential students. Yeah, we really freed up Pastor Bill Wrede, Pastor Scott Holder and 263 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:39.700 Diane Parker really to just be focused on bringing people through the 264 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:40.700 application process. 265 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:43.900 Then we have Micah Glenn, Pastor Micah Glenn, who's working on 266 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:47.800 Recruitment and some some other personnel that 267 00:18:47.800 --> 00:18:52.600 I'll talk about a little bit later maybe in in the interview. So we 268 00:18:52.600 --> 00:18:58.500 have freed them up to be very laser focused on bringing people through 269 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:02.500 the application process, which is I think helped somewhat. So when they 270 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:02.900 come through 271 00:19:03.800 --> 00:19:08.200 down the funnel and and they're admitted to Concordia Seminary. 272 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:11.000 Where do they come from? 273 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:16.300 What do they like are they all 50 years old give us a little profile 274 00:19:16.300 --> 00:19:18.300 on the incoming class. 275 00:19:18.300 --> 00:19:24.400 I used to tell people after or before I did this little study. 276 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:29.100 I used to tell people that generally were about 50-50 of 50% of our 277 00:19:29.100 --> 00:19:34.200 students come from an undergraduate straight through college and there 278 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:39.300 22, 23 years old and that about half of our students come from 279 00:19:39.300 --> 00:19:43.600 second career of some sort. Well, that's that's actually not true 280 00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:48.900 anymore in the last four or five years things have begun to trend up 281 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:51.000 in our first career students. 282 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:57.100 So students coming straight through college about 65% actually of this 283 00:19:57.100 --> 00:20:01.000 year's incoming class came straight through straight through college. 284 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:05.600 Which is is exciting because these people will have in our second 285 00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:08.800 career students are wonderful, but some of them will have shorter 286 00:20:08.800 --> 00:20:10.000 careers in Pastoral 287 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:13.500 Ministry because they're they're coming from another career. These 288 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:17.300 65% of these students are straight thru college 289 00:20:17.300 --> 00:20:23.400 so 22, 23 years old we sending them out for 40-50 years of pastoral 290 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:29.400 experience, perfectly. Let's add a footnote. If this is correct, 291 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:35.200 so you can set me straight if it's not, that a good number of our 292 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:41.200 second career students actually worked 3, 5, 7 years at something so 293 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:46.000 they're still young people. That is true too. There are a lot of 294 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.500 our second career students are second career, but have only been out 295 00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:53.500 of college for for a few years and and that's that's great 296 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:54.100 experience. 297 00:20:54.100 --> 00:20:59.000 They bring then that experience working as a financial analyst or an 298 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:03.400 architect or or or working grounds someplace. 299 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:08.700 They bring all of that experience and and real life service in a local 300 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:09.400 congregation 301 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.600 bring it to bear on the theological pastor, being a pastor. 302 00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:17.300 Where do they come from in the United States? 303 00:21:17.300 --> 00:21:22.000 We been watching that the top districts that we get students from. Districts 304 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.300 meaning? Districts of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. 305 00:21:25.300 --> 00:21:28.100 There's 35 of them. Roughly 306 00:21:28.100 --> 00:21:31.600 they break down to the States, especially in the Midwest. 307 00:21:31.600 --> 00:21:36.600 Some states are broken into like Wisconsin and Minnesota, but then 308 00:21:36.600 --> 00:21:39.800 there are other regions on the coast where we have less Lutheran's of 309 00:21:39.800 --> 00:21:45.000 course, we're regions will be compromised of several 310 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.300 different states. 311 00:21:47.300 --> 00:21:52.300 So we know that most of our students come from the Midwest, of course, 312 00:21:52.300 --> 00:22:00.600 we're most Lutherans are so South Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota 313 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:08.300 South we get a lot of students from Texas, Nebraska, but we also get 314 00:22:08.300 --> 00:22:09.800 students from the coast. And 315 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:14.700 we have some really neat students that have come thinking of one guy 316 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:19.900 in particular from Seattle and he he didn't grow up in midwestern 317 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:27.000 Lutheranism, but he is going to be able to reach a people for Jesus on 318 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:30.600 those Coast coming here learning confessional Lutheran theology 319 00:22:30.600 --> 00:22:35.500 learning the scriptures we may as well send him back out to a place 320 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:41.500 like Seattle. Which has far fewer a Lutheran talk to your Christian. 321 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.700 So that's something we can pick up on in the next segment. 322 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:49.500 We're going to take a break now and just keep this in mind as Mr. 323 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:54.600 Olson said those of us who are grandparents want our grandchildren and 324 00:22:54.600 --> 00:22:56.600 their families to have 325 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:02.000 faithful pastors who bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. 326 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.000 That's why what we're doing now at Concordia Seminary and the efforts 327 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:06.200 of Dr. 328 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:11.100 Haupt is leading are so eternally important. Stay with us. 329 00:23:13.100 --> 00:23:14.700 Concordia Seminary St. 330 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:19.500 Louis provides continuing education resources for pastors and lay 331 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:24.600 people to discover all the Concordia Seminary has for you visit us on 332 00:23:24.600 --> 00:23:27.100 the web at CSL. 333 00:23:27.100 --> 00:23:27.900 EDU. 334 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:33.600 Welcome back to Word and Work an Intersection. 335 00:23:33.600 --> 00:23:37.200 I'm your host Dale Meyer. Today, my guest is Dr. 336 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:42.700 Ben Haput. Ben is Concordia Seminary's associate Provost and he is also 337 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.890 an associate professor Practical theology. 338 00:23:44.890 --> 00:23:50.500 We're talking about Recruitment and admissions. Before the break 339 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:55.000 you mentioned a student who comes from Seattle wasn't raised 340 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:55.600 Lutheran. 341 00:23:55.600 --> 00:23:58.600 Now, that's a huge change over the years. 342 00:23:58.600 --> 00:24:02.800 Could you talk about this and and what that means for us formation 343 00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:08.800 wise and what that means for strength and attitude toward Ministry? 344 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:14.100 Yeah, so, you know, I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana went to Lutheran 345 00:24:14.100 --> 00:24:18.600 Schools all the way through I'm grateful for my experience through 346 00:24:18.600 --> 00:24:18.800 that. 347 00:24:18.800 --> 00:24:23.500 I was formed from little on in other small catechism and scriptures. 348 00:24:24.100 --> 00:24:28.000 But yeah, we get students from all around the world and all parts of 349 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.000 America and especially some that don't come through the the Lutheran 350 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.900 system at all, anymore. 351 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:38.700 So we have some things that we make sure that students know some 352 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:40.900 basics before they start in the program. 353 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:45.800 They have to fulfill some time requirement before they come to the 354 00:24:45.800 --> 00:24:49.400 Seminary. It's not like hey I became a Lutheran yesterday, and I'm I'm here. 355 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:54.700 Right and we have some very specific test on Christian doctrine, Old 356 00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:58.400 Testament and New Testament that they have to pass just to get into 357 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:02.400 the masters of divinity program because this is a master's degree 358 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:04.900 this isn't intro stuff. 359 00:25:04.900 --> 00:25:09.000 This is this is we want our students to be at a certain capacity when 360 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:09.100 they 361 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:14.100 when they start into the curriculum. But then they get their everybody 362 00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:18.600 gets the same curriculum who are being formed to be a pastor in the 363 00:25:18.600 --> 00:25:19.800 Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. 364 00:25:19.800 --> 00:25:23.800 So they may come from a non Lutheran background. 365 00:25:23.800 --> 00:25:25.600 They may come from a non Lutheran college. 366 00:25:25.600 --> 00:25:30.800 But we we push them off into the deep end pretty quick and they they 367 00:25:30.800 --> 00:25:34.700 quickly get formed in the reading the scriptures in the original 368 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:38.300 languages diving deep into the Lutheran confessions. 369 00:25:38.300 --> 00:25:42.800 So they'll know our theology when we send them out again to all parts 370 00:25:42.800 --> 00:25:47.800 of the world. One demonstration of this is is we have incoming students 371 00:25:47.800 --> 00:25:50.900 who have never worshiped with a hymnal. 372 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:57.900 We have incoming students who have only worshipped with a hymnal and 373 00:25:57.900 --> 00:26:03.300 so that's just one example of how we we we strive to form them into a 374 00:26:03.300 --> 00:26:03.900 like-minded 375 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:11.800 Biblical confessional we're out to bring Jesus and care for his souls. 376 00:26:11.800 --> 00:26:15.700 Yeah and we do that in Chapel. 377 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:21.500 You you see that where we want all of our students to be comfortable 378 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:26.900 using the Lutheran Service Book and and knowing how a Lutheran 379 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:31.400 theology has as informed our our worship. But we also want those 380 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:35.700 people that that grew up only using a hymnal to know that there are 381 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:39.200 Lutheran Churches out there that are doing better. 382 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:43.900 They are using a guitar or something but using appropriate 383 00:26:43.900 --> 00:26:52.100 theologically chosen hymns and songs and we're forming these students to 384 00:26:52.100 --> 00:26:55.900 go out into all parts of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and to 385 00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:56.200 serve 386 00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:01.500 well. Worship is one example another example from your life 387 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:05.200 and from mine is is is growing up Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod you 388 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:08.900 watch a pastor, you know how Pastor acts, I mean, it's just a little 389 00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:11.900 things that that we absorbed as kids going on. 390 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:15.200 So part of formation now is letting students 391 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:15.400 know 392 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:19.500 this is how a pastor would handle that situation because maybe 393 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:21.600 growing up he didn't have that model. 394 00:27:21.600 --> 00:27:24.000 So it is a challenging time. 395 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.400 But as we always say, it's a great time to be at Concordia Seminary. 396 00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:30.200 It's a great time to be the church. Now, I've got to tell you 397 00:27:31.300 --> 00:27:33.700 I enjoyed talking to Doctor Haupt. 398 00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:36.800 I mean, I'm I'm proud of him. 399 00:27:36.800 --> 00:27:41.400 Got a lot of hopes in his leadership now and for the future, but I've got 400 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:42.400 a question here. 401 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:47.700 That really as a 73 year-old interest me. 402 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:55.200 It's something about SRA supplemental retirement accounts. 403 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.900 Are you involved in that? 404 00:27:56.900 --> 00:27:58.900 What is an SRA? 405 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.500 It's not a supplemental retirement account where we're not into those 406 00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:05.100 just yet. 407 00:28:05.100 --> 00:28:09.700 At least I'm not but I know we'll will I'm paying attention to that 408 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:15.500 kind of stuff but an SRA in the world of recruitment of is a Student 409 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:17.000 Recruitment Ambassador. 410 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.400 So here's the thing. 411 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:22.700 We we recognized over the years that we have primarily we've been 412 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:26.700 talking about the the Lutheran system of Education. Lutheran grade 413 00:28:26.700 --> 00:28:30.800 school, Lutheran high school, Lutheran College, Concordia Seminary that was 414 00:28:30.800 --> 00:28:35.700 a system that you and I both went through but we recognize now that we 415 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:38.800 have other Lutheran's who haven't grown up in that system. 416 00:28:38.800 --> 00:28:41.700 So, how do we get in contact with them? 417 00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:45.500 How do we learn about them. Top of the funnel. Top of the funnel 418 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:49.800 our recruiters have typically gone to the Concordias and 419 00:28:49.800 --> 00:28:52.000 bring those students into the funnel. 420 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:54.800 But what about the student that goes to the University of Washington? 421 00:28:54.800 --> 00:28:58.200 How do we even get to know him? 422 00:28:58.200 --> 00:28:59.700 Well, we've 423 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:03.700 designed the Student Recruitment Ambassadors, which are full-time 424 00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:08.000 called workers already serving out in the field out in the Synod 425 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:10.700 somewhere maybe even in Seattle. 426 00:29:10.700 --> 00:29:17.700 We we have a worked to find a way to employ them 427 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:19.000 very part-time. 428 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:23.900 They continue to serve in their full-time role as a pastor but say 5 429 00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:24.700 hours a month. 430 00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:30.000 They will also do a little bit of work for Concordia Seminary to find 431 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.200 students in their region that might be prospective student. 432 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:38.100 So that big funnel there at the top looking out for all these 433 00:29:38.100 --> 00:29:40.000 different kinds of potential students. 434 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.500 And so we have Regional Representatives. 435 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:46.200 We have one on each of the coast are we have Representatives that 436 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:47.500 represent different people groups. 437 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:50.400 So the chairman of the black clergy caucus the chairman of the 438 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:55.200 Hispanic National Convention, we have a Deaconess recruitment 439 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:59.400 Ambassador who's specifically helping us to recruit a future 440 00:29:59.400 --> 00:29:59.900 Deaconess. 441 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:06.400 So this this is a way for us to extend our recruitment reach out into 442 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:10.000 all parts of the church and really to have kind of boots on the ground 443 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.400 of where the people are at in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. 444 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:16.500 And this is a new program. 445 00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:22.500 It's just started a few months ago under the leadership of of Pastor 446 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:23.100 Micah Glenn. 447 00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:25.200 It's been in the Strategic plan for a couple of years. 448 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:30.400 This is something that I really is is was developed in this the last 449 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:34.500 strategic plan that was formed while you are president and we're 450 00:30:34.500 --> 00:30:39.200 finally getting around to the carrying it out now, so it's really 451 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:40.600 really good results so far. 452 00:30:40.600 --> 00:30:42.900 We're already getting new names. 453 00:30:42.900 --> 00:30:46.400 In addition to our recruiters are still going to the Concordias. 454 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:49.900 Is that still a very important pipeline but now we're getting these 455 00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:52.400 are we calling them tributaries. 456 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:55.600 There's a big river flowing into Concordia Seminary from the 457 00:30:55.600 --> 00:30:59.800 Concordia universities but there also these tributary these streams and 458 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:04.100 want to make sure that all of those have a way to flow into the 459 00:31:04.100 --> 00:31:05.100 Seminary enrollment. 460 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.000 So getting students into the tributaries, plural. 461 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:15.200 Is going to involve the SRAs. 462 00:31:17.300 --> 00:31:23.300 But doesn't the local Pastor still have a critical role and and 463 00:31:23.300 --> 00:31:28.800 there's been a decline in the parish Pastor promoting Ministry. 464 00:31:30.500 --> 00:31:31.400 Talk about that. 465 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:37.500 Yeah, we we we asked students every year how influential was your 466 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:42.000 Parish Pastor in you coming to the Seminary? Every every incoming 467 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:46.200 student had a parish pastor for their member of a congregation, but the 468 00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:52.200 question is how influential was that Pastor? In the last couple of 469 00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:56.200 years that was beginning to trend down and we were worried about that. 470 00:31:56.200 --> 00:32:01.000 We were worried about the possibility that pastors are getting maybe 471 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:01.800 they're burned out. 472 00:32:01.800 --> 00:32:05.700 There's a lot of studies have been done of of pastors and how 473 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:09.500 difficult it is to be a pastor covid-19 is in only made it more 474 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:11.400 difficult to be a pastor. 475 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:14.500 We're hearing this from I'm hearing this from friends and classmates. 476 00:32:14.500 --> 00:32:17.000 And when you're burning out, 477 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:21.000 whether you recognize it or not, you're sending off bad vibes. 478 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.700 What kid would want to do that? 479 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:27.000 Yeah, you're you're you're you're coming home and and complaining so 480 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:33.000 so maybe kids who are listening to dad talk about his work as a 481 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:39.000 pastor is one thing. How the pastor interacts with youth is is another. 482 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:43.700 So anyways that your viewers can encourage their pastor, 483 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:48.700 this is we are in October recording this at least this is Pastor 484 00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:54.000 appreciation month, and perfect time to encourage your pastor. But 485 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.300 especially encourage your pastor because we want our pastors to talk 486 00:32:58.300 --> 00:33:02.500 well about their work that they do so that the next generation sees 487 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:08.400 that and says wow, my pastor is a is great and I want to be like him 488 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:08.800 someday. 489 00:33:08.800 --> 00:33:10.800 So how does this work? 490 00:33:10.800 --> 00:33:12.800 Let's say we have Pastor Meyer. 491 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:20.000 And he has a young man in high school in his congregation named 492 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:21.200 Christian 493 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:23.500 or Connor. 494 00:33:24.900 --> 00:33:31.700 Does pastor Meyer then contact the SRA or the Seminary and say listen, 495 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:36.100 I'm I'm going to try and bring this student along but how does how 496 00:33:36.100 --> 00:33:37.700 does it's just practically work? 497 00:33:37.700 --> 00:33:43.500 What does pastor Meyer do? Yeah so we have a couple of things. First thing 498 00:33:43.500 --> 00:33:45.700 our recruitment director 499 00:33:45.700 --> 00:33:49.500 Micah Glenn who's again working at the top of that funnel 500 00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:53.900 he's writing a resource specifically for parish pastors that will walk 501 00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:57.400 them through exactly this. So you have somebody in mind that you think 502 00:33:57.400 --> 00:34:01.800 might be a great Pastor someday hear some ways to think theologically 503 00:34:01.800 --> 00:34:03.000 about that. 504 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:08.700 It's a study of Matthew and Jesus calling the disciples and thinking 505 00:34:08.700 --> 00:34:14.000 about how that might impact how we call people into the Pastoral 506 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:15.800 Ministry today. 507 00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:20.500 So that's one thing that resource will be coming here in the in the 508 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:21.200 next couple of months. 509 00:34:21.200 --> 00:34:24.900 A next thing is these student recruitment ambassadors 510 00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:27.500 we want them to be going to pastors conferences. 511 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:30.500 We want them to be getting up onstage for just a few minutes and 512 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:32.700 saying hey, don't forget about Concordia Seminary. 513 00:34:32.700 --> 00:34:38.000 I know very well as a former parish pastor that there a lots of things on 514 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:43.000 pastor's desk and trying to keep it all straight is is a work in and 515 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:43.100 of itself. 516 00:34:43.100 --> 00:34:48.600 So it's easy for it to kind of slip off the back burner.We want 517 00:34:48.600 --> 00:34:52.100 pastors to continually be thinking how are you raising up the next 518 00:34:52.100 --> 00:34:55.300 generation of church workers and pastors and deaconesses. 519 00:34:55.300 --> 00:34:59.500 So hopefully the student recruitment Ambassador at a Pastors 520 00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:03.300 conference will say hey Pastor, don't forget we have a 521 00:35:03.300 --> 00:35:03.800 next-generation. 522 00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:05.300 We need a next-generation. 523 00:35:05.300 --> 00:35:07.800 Who are you raising up? 524 00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:11.500 So our student recruitment ambassadors are helping us to do that at 525 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:13.500 all these conferences around the country. 526 00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:15.000 That's great. 527 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:18.800 I mean this this just gratifies me like like the increase in 528 00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:19.000 enrollment. 529 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.500 The SRAs is gratify me as well. 530 00:35:23.600 --> 00:35:24.800 Moving along, 531 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:32.000 I understand that you have or are be getting a podcast? 532 00:35:33.200 --> 00:35:35.700 Now, I remember 1953 533 00:35:35.700 --> 00:35:40.300 we got our first television and we had four black and white channels this was 534 00:35:40.300 --> 00:35:41.200 Chicagoland. 535 00:35:41.200 --> 00:35:49.200 So four was a big number. What's a podcast? A podcast is essentially 536 00:35:49.200 --> 00:35:56.300 taking a radio show or even like like this show and broadcasting it 537 00:35:56.300 --> 00:36:03.700 not using the airwaves of broadcasting television or radio like 538 00:36:03.700 --> 00:36:07.500 it they did back in the day but using the internet and there's 539 00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:12.100 something called an RSS feed which broadcast these of these episodes 540 00:36:12.100 --> 00:36:17.700 to people who subscribe to the podcast. So you can subscribe to 541 00:36:17.700 --> 00:36:23.300 podcasts if you have an Apple phone, apple as a podcasting setup or 542 00:36:23.300 --> 00:36:27.400 Spotify there or you can just go on to the internet and if you look 543 00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:32.600 for a podcast on pastoral Ministry, you'd find a whole bunch of a 544 00:36:32.600 --> 00:36:33.200 podcast 545 00:36:33.200 --> 00:36:37.200 that you could then begin to subscribe to. So I understand you're 546 00:36:37.200 --> 00:36:39.000 getting into the entertainment business yourself? 547 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:42.500 We are following your following your lead, sir. 548 00:36:42.500 --> 00:36:44.100 You've done a lot of this. 549 00:36:44.100 --> 00:36:49.800 You know exploring new media and I hear that you're also starting 550 00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:55.500 a podcast. So ours and I should say Micah Glenn and I are our 551 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:56.100 recruitment director, 552 00:36:56.100 --> 00:36:59.000 He and I are going to co-host this podcast. 553 00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:05.100 It's going to be called under the Fig Tree thinking about Jesus in 554 00:37:05.100 --> 00:37:09.400 John chapter one where he sees of these disciple sitting under the Fig 555 00:37:09.400 --> 00:37:12.200 Tree and a long before they come to him. 556 00:37:12.200 --> 00:37:16.700 He says I saw you sitting under the Fig Tree. Nathanael. 557 00:37:16.700 --> 00:37:22.200 Exactly were thinking of these people who are out there praying God 558 00:37:22.200 --> 00:37:26.200 what do you want me to do with my life. Jesus already sees those people 559 00:37:26.200 --> 00:37:31.300 we want to connect with them and begin to talk about Concordia 560 00:37:31.300 --> 00:37:33.000 Seminary in our programs and the 561 00:37:33.200 --> 00:37:36.900 great joy, it is to be a parish Pastor or Deaconess in the Lutheran 562 00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:40.900 Church-Missouri Synod. November, December, January one when might we look 563 00:37:40.900 --> 00:37:41.200 for this? 564 00:37:41.200 --> 00:37:47.400 In fact, I'm going to do some free recording of the first episode this 565 00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:48.100 afternoon. 566 00:37:48.100 --> 00:37:52.600 So yeah, I think November, December will will see you first episode 567 00:37:52.600 --> 00:37:53.200 released. 568 00:37:53.200 --> 00:37:54.700 That's great. You know 569 00:37:56.500 --> 00:37:59.300 media is so segmented 570 00:37:59.300 --> 00:38:06.800 now. That when we had four channels the big three and then WGN the 571 00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:11.200 whole world just watched that all Chicagoland watch that but now it's 572 00:38:11.200 --> 00:38:11.800 segmented. 573 00:38:11.800 --> 00:38:12.900 It's all over the place. 574 00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:19.200 So you have to try all sorts of media podcast this this broadcast 575 00:38:19.200 --> 00:38:25.100 everything to try and and and reach people for Jesus and for the 576 00:38:25.100 --> 00:38:25.600 ministry. 577 00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:33.400 When I was president, and and I'll never forget Diane ask me a 578 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:34.500 question a few months ago. 579 00:38:34.500 --> 00:38:38.800 She said when you were president of the Seminary, that's sobering. 580 00:38:40.600 --> 00:38:41.800 When I was president 581 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:44.000 I used to love 582 00:38:45.200 --> 00:38:53.000 coming to new student new prospective student events in greeting them. 583 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:54.700 Would you talk about 584 00:38:56.600 --> 00:39:04.100 how we welcome new students to campus because I mean this is this a 585 00:39:04.100 --> 00:39:05.900 big transition in their lives. 586 00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:09.800 And and we've got somebody who is going to do this far more 587 00:39:09.800 --> 00:39:13.600 effectively than I could ever come and say hi when you talk about her. 588 00:39:13.600 --> 00:39:14.600 Yeah. 589 00:39:14.600 --> 00:39:22.900 So we we have a new member of our staff and her name is Sarah Seying 590 00:39:22.900 --> 00:39:30.600 and she is her job as the admissions coordinator is really to help 591 00:39:30.600 --> 00:39:38.100 welcome prospective students to campus or to the application 592 00:39:38.100 --> 00:39:43.800 process. Sarah Seying something special about her besides her many 593 00:39:43.800 --> 00:39:50.300 wonderful talents and abilities of she's she's got lots of a great 594 00:39:50.300 --> 00:39:50.800 experience, 595 00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:52.100 I'll talk about that in a moment. 596 00:39:52.100 --> 00:39:55.600 But something really neat about her is that she is the daughter of our late 597 00:39:56.500 --> 00:40:03.400 and dearly-loved Professor, colleague Kou Seying who passed away not 598 00:40:03.400 --> 00:40:10.100 even a year ago in in November and we we still grieve and mourn his 599 00:40:10.100 --> 00:40:14.700 his passing Associate Dean of of Multicultural Studies. 600 00:40:14.700 --> 00:40:22.500 What a huge loss and Lord only knows but but terrible cancer. 601 00:40:22.500 --> 00:40:28.300 He was a tremendous theological mind as a systematic Theologian and he 602 00:40:28.300 --> 00:40:35.100 was what made him really special was his love for letting other people 603 00:40:35.100 --> 00:40:40.400 besides Germans come into the Missouri Synod and find a home. 604 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:45.300 So he was Hmong and he he organized our Multiethnic Symposium which 605 00:40:45.300 --> 00:40:48.900 made a place at the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod table for all these 606 00:40:48.900 --> 00:40:54.400 different people groups. And Sarah his daughter of bring some 607 00:40:54.400 --> 00:40:56.300 particular experience in 608 00:40:56.500 --> 00:41:00.600 just that a legacy that her father left us. 609 00:41:00.600 --> 00:41:05.400 So she's working with the National Youth Gathering which is a every 610 00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:09.500 3-year event to gather Youth of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 611 00:41:09.500 --> 00:41:12.700 together sometimes 20.000 youth will come to this. 612 00:41:12.700 --> 00:41:20.300 She's been tasked to bring 1000 minority or non-anglo multi-ethnic 613 00:41:20.300 --> 00:41:24.100 people's youth to the National Youth Gathering a thousand. 614 00:41:24.100 --> 00:41:26.800 So there's a funnel right? 615 00:41:26.800 --> 00:41:31.300 We want to we want to connect with these thousand kids that are going 616 00:41:31.300 --> 00:41:34.300 to come to the National Youth Gathering and say we want you to 617 00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:38.400 consider Concordia Seminary as a future place of study and Sarah 618 00:41:38.400 --> 00:41:39.900 connects us to all these people. 619 00:41:39.900 --> 00:41:43.300 So we're really excited about her joining our staff. 620 00:41:43.300 --> 00:41:49.200 It's really a neat thing that she can bring her father's legacy to to 621 00:41:49.200 --> 00:41:53.500 Concordia Seminary in to see it at live on where we're very grateful 622 00:41:53.500 --> 00:41:56.400 that her mother, Kou's wife 623 00:41:56.500 --> 00:41:59.400 Mai Kou has been very supportive of this. 624 00:41:59.400 --> 00:42:04.500 She was in the other day with with some of their kids and as just an 625 00:42:04.500 --> 00:42:06.700 exciting time. This touches our hearts. 626 00:42:06.700 --> 00:42:11.100 It really really does. Now as you brought that up one of the things that I 627 00:42:11.100 --> 00:42:15.300 talked a lot about during my time and it's yet to be really 628 00:42:15.300 --> 00:42:22.900 accomplished is diversity in our residential student body. Being the 629 00:42:22.900 --> 00:42:29.700 Missouri Synod in older and largely white denomination our residential 630 00:42:29.700 --> 00:42:30.700 students are 631 00:42:31.700 --> 00:42:35.000 white largely not not totally but largely. 632 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.600 So we do first of all talk about the diversity 633 00:42:39.600 --> 00:42:43.000 we have across all our programs EIIT, CHS... 634 00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:48.500 But then what efforts are we beginning to make like you mentioned 635 00:42:48.500 --> 00:42:48.800 Sarah? 636 00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:56.000 To bring in those who look a little bit different than I do you do who 637 00:42:56.000 --> 00:43:01.000 are going to reach people groups that we can't necessarily reach. 638 00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:02.000 Yes. 639 00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:06.700 So so we do have some distance programs that EIIT stands for 640 00:43:06.700 --> 00:43:11.200 Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology this is a program 641 00:43:11.200 --> 00:43:17.000 specifically for new Americans for immigrants to come into a a program. 642 00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:17.800 A lot of these people 643 00:43:17.800 --> 00:43:23.300 I was recently reading through the application of this one student who 644 00:43:23.300 --> 00:43:30.400 was born in Bhutan and grew up in a refugee camp had no opportunities 645 00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:35.100 to even go to High School much less College of but while he was in 646 00:43:35.100 --> 00:43:40.600 Bhutan in this refugee camp became a Christian. Moves to America gets 647 00:43:40.600 --> 00:43:42.000 connected with the Lutheran Church-Missouri 648 00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:45.100 Synod wants to become a pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. 649 00:43:45.100 --> 00:43:47.800 Do we have a place for somebody like that? 650 00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:49.600 Yeah, we do the Ethnic 651 00:43:49.900 --> 00:43:55.200 Immigrant Institute of Theology meets that man right where he is 652 00:43:55.200 --> 00:43:58.400 brings theology to to his level. 653 00:43:58.400 --> 00:44:00.700 So it's a certificate program. 654 00:44:00.700 --> 00:44:06.000 This is not a master's-level program, but it forms him in the the the 655 00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:10.500 Theology of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to be an effective 656 00:44:10.500 --> 00:44:15.800 Pastor, especially to a people group that he's that he's currently 657 00:44:15.800 --> 00:44:16.000 serving. 658 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:22.300 We have a hundred and eighty students this year in in five programs 659 00:44:22.300 --> 00:44:27.100 including EIIT, CHS a Center for Hispanic Studies and three 660 00:44:27.100 --> 00:44:29.900 other programs now these are specialized. 661 00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:36.000 What about diversifying the MDiv residential population? 662 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:43.600 How does that play in with these specialized ethnic programs? Yeah, so EIIT and CHS, the 663 00:44:43.600 --> 00:44:48.100 Center for Hispanic Studies are really good at reaching the first 664 00:44:48.100 --> 00:44:54.200 generation immigrants. Those first people to to America as new Americans. 665 00:44:54.200 --> 00:44:59.300 And we only have maybe about a dozen each year that come in through 666 00:44:59.300 --> 00:45:02.400 those two programs into to study theology. 667 00:45:02.400 --> 00:45:08.500 What we're really excited about is the second generation their kids 668 00:45:08.500 --> 00:45:13.200 because their kids are being born in America and coming up through the 669 00:45:13.200 --> 00:45:16.600 the educational institutions of America. 670 00:45:16.600 --> 00:45:20.600 They're getting a a good high school and college education and they're 671 00:45:20.600 --> 00:45:25.200 ready for theological study at the Masters of Dvinity level. 672 00:45:25.200 --> 00:45:30.700 So I'm thinking of one new student his parents are from 673 00:45:30.800 --> 00:45:36.400 India and he is now in our MDiv program went to our Concordia system 674 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:41.100 a tremendous theologian and we're really excited about and his 675 00:45:41.100 --> 00:45:45.300 Pastor his father's a pastor, but he's coming up through that the MDiv 676 00:45:45.300 --> 00:45:50.600 program as this second generation that really has an opportunity to 677 00:45:50.600 --> 00:45:53.900 reach his own people and beyond. He's a student worker in Our IT 678 00:45:53.900 --> 00:45:56.700 department. Yeah, yeah, yeah I've met him. 679 00:45:56.700 --> 00:46:03.600 This is this is really really wonderful and and and I I have no doubt 680 00:46:03.600 --> 00:46:09.000 that you understand why it is so important that we get students into 681 00:46:09.000 --> 00:46:12.200 Concordia Seminary and also CTS in Fort Wayne. 682 00:46:13.300 --> 00:46:15.100 Because it's generation-to-generation. 683 00:46:15.100 --> 00:46:18.300 I'll tell you my experience as a pastor. 684 00:46:19.800 --> 00:46:23.800 That you got a percentage of your church members who come rain or shine. 685 00:46:23.800 --> 00:46:27.000 You've got another percentage that aren't going to come rain or shine 686 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:33.100 sadly enough. But it's a people in the middle and if a church doesn't have a 687 00:46:33.100 --> 00:46:38.000 pastor to be the shepherd to go out and seek those people who are in 688 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:40.900 the middle, they'll wander away from the congregation. 689 00:46:42.800 --> 00:46:48.300 And some of them will wander away from Jesus to their Eternal harm. 690 00:46:49.300 --> 00:46:50.600 You know what I'm saying. 691 00:46:50.600 --> 00:46:54.000 So I want to thank you for every encouragement 692 00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:59.100 you can give to a young person to consider Church work and also 693 00:46:59.100 --> 00:47:00.600 pastors. 694 00:47:00.600 --> 00:47:04.900 Let's raise up this wonderful wonderful profession 695 00:47:04.900 --> 00:47:09.100 if you want to call it that of of letting people know about Jesus. 696 00:47:09.100 --> 00:47:10.600 Thanks to you Doctor Haupt. 697 00:47:10.600 --> 00:47:12.000 I always enjoy talking to you. 698 00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:16.100 Thanks again to do our audience for joining us. May the intersection of 699 00:47:16.100 --> 00:47:18.900 Word and Work be busy on your corner.