WEBVTT 1 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.700 Hello and welcome to Word and Work an Intersection. 2 00:00:26.700 --> 00:00:28.400 I'm your host Dale Meyer. 3 00:00:28.400 --> 00:00:32.800 This hour will visit with Reverend Micah Glenn Concordia 4 00:00:32.800 --> 00:00:36.100 Seminary's director of recruitment. Micah 5 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:39.200 I am so glad you're here for all sorts of reasons. 6 00:00:40.300 --> 00:00:45.100 But we had you on Word and Work several years ago and you were in 7 00:00:45.100 --> 00:00:47.600 Ferguson. We know Ferguson. 8 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:53.400 Talk about what you were doing there and and how your life's journey 9 00:00:53.400 --> 00:00:58.300 has been since and in coming now to Concordia Seminary. Sure. 10 00:00:58.300 --> 00:01:03.000 So in Ferguson, it was a a multi-layer job. 11 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:07.800 I would say I was a domestic missionary employed through the office of 12 00:01:07.800 --> 00:01:14.300 International Office of National Mission at the IC. Okay so the the Office of 13 00:01:14.300 --> 00:01:22.200 National Missions was your boss. That I would say one of my bosses. Many cooks 14 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:26.400 in the kitchen. And the office of national commission is part of the 15 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.200 Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. 16 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.200 That's exactly right they're housed in the International Center down 17 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:38.700 1333 Kirkwood Road. There you are just so we all know that terminology. And they have a mission 18 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:41.000 program for America called Mission field USA. 19 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:45.300 So I was a part of that piloting of the program and I was called to 20 00:01:45.300 --> 00:01:48.200 Grace Chapel and Bellefontaine Neighbors in North St. 21 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:48.400 Louis 22 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:55.400 for my call as an associate pastor there and I worked at the community 23 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:59.100 Empowerment Center of Ferguson owned by the Urban League and I had an 24 00:01:59.100 --> 00:02:02.000 office in there than that was the Lutheran Hope Center. And that was the 25 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.600 building right which I visited and and where the new mayor 26 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:12.700 Ella Jones, Ella Jones a black woman the first time in Ferguson's history. 27 00:02:12.700 --> 00:02:19.500 She was installed in that in that building. Just the other day, it was amazing an incredible sight. 28 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:21.600 Yes. And that's why I thought of you when I saw that on the news. 29 00:02:21.600 --> 00:02:26.800 I actually not that long ago the guys at the Urban League that I work 30 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:30.600 with they've been distributing food from where Jamestown Mall used to 31 00:02:30.600 --> 00:02:30.800 be. 32 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:35.800 For the last one was for the entire pandemic and they serve a few thousand 33 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.300 people and it's always on Saturday mornings and it's a 34 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:42.000 beautiful blessing to see because that's around the time we're taking 35 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.600 our kids out of the house for a Saturday that for a walk around the 36 00:02:44.600 --> 00:02:48.300 park. There out there Distributing food food and it backs traffic up 37 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:51.200 but for the most incredible reason honorable and they were 38 00:02:51.200 --> 00:02:56.400 collecting AC units, window units, for people for the summer because 39 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:57.100 that's a huge problem. 40 00:02:57.100 --> 00:02:58.500 If you've never been to St. 41 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:04.500 Louis in June or July it gets hot. And some people their utilities 42 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.500 are busted or the AC unit is busted so they were 43 00:03:06.600 --> 00:03:11.400 collecting window units and I happen to have one from last summer. 44 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:15.200 Our air compressor went out and me being the 45 00:03:16.200 --> 00:03:20.000 you know the man of the house like it's August will just sweat out the 46 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.600 rest of the fall and it stays hot for so long last year. 47 00:03:22.600 --> 00:03:25.000 It was a mistake my wife 48 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:26.300 let me know it every single day. 49 00:03:26.300 --> 00:03:27.200 She's still your wife. 50 00:03:27.200 --> 00:03:33.100 She is a long and very patient woman with me she's been one of the 51 00:03:33.100 --> 00:03:34.200 best blessings in my life. 52 00:03:34.200 --> 00:03:40.100 So we we got a window unit, it kept it around like 80 53 00:03:40.100 --> 00:03:43.200 degrees which is better than 88 degrees. None the less 54 00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:44.100 I had a window unit 55 00:03:44.100 --> 00:03:47.300 I took it up there and it was just good to see you guys that while 56 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:48.300 they were doing their thing 57 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:52.000 we were doing our thing together serving the community and our 58 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:55.800 work together overlapped of where they were there were more of a 59 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.800 physical resource to the community and I ended up being a personnel 60 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:00.900 resource to the community. 61 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:04.800 A lot of my work was pastoral counseling people who are really 62 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:05.900 struggling with life. 63 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:15.400 They just needed a willing and open ear. Now everything that has happened since the George Floyd murder has a 64 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:15.900 lot of these 65 00:04:16.200 --> 00:04:19.700 It's on our minds and some of us 66 00:04:19.700 --> 00:04:23.500 who really haven't thought about it or or live it the way you have. So 67 00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:24.100 tell us about 68 00:04:25.900 --> 00:04:27.900 you're not in Ferguson anymore 69 00:04:27.900 --> 00:04:33.700 you're here at Concordia Seminary and that would seem to be a retreat 70 00:04:33.700 --> 00:04:35.700 from this Hands-On 71 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:42.600 doing Ministry where people are at and now I have assuming your answer 72 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:47.100 is going to be actually it seems that way but it's not intended to be 73 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:50.700 that. So, I would say that's what it could be. 74 00:04:50.700 --> 00:04:57.300 I could easily isolate myself to the Seminary community and 100% devote 75 00:04:57.300 --> 00:04:59.900 myself to Recruitment and 76 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:03.600 Ben & Doug, 77 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:09.800 I do work towards recruiting just so it's on the record. Ben Haupt is our 78 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:14.600 associate Provost who especially focused on the area of recruiting 79 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:21.000 which includes multi-ethnic recruiting and and Doug is Doug Rutt our 80 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.800 Provost who sits over the whole academic operation. That's right. 81 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:31.500 This is this is why I love our church so much is that they recognized 82 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:36.400 it a) I would say I was doing Ministry before coming here locally. 83 00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:40.800 So not far from where we're physically sitting right now, but also that 84 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:44.000 you know the people who are Pastors in a lot of Administrators at the 85 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.900 Seminary were pastors. And people recognize that and no matter how much 86 00:05:48.900 --> 00:05:52.500 I think at least in my experience cuz it was the same and Lutheran 87 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:55.500 Hour people from my time in Ferguson's they still call me. 88 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:57.100 They still ask for advice. 89 00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:59.100 They still ask me to advocate for them. 90 00:05:59.700 --> 00:06:03.600 Just because I happen to be the guy that was there for it at the time. 91 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.200 And so some of that work has continued is not have a big flock of 92 00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:09.300 people doing that 93 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:11.100 but just a handful. Isn't it 94 00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:15.800 Isn't it a burden on your heart to recruit students will do the same 95 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:17.000 things that you were doing. 96 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.600 In other words, you're a multiplier is not just Ferguson anymore. 97 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:26.700 You want to recruit students who will do that in communities. 98 00:06:26.700 --> 00:06:32.400 Urban centers tough neighborhoods where you could only be one place you 99 00:06:32.400 --> 00:06:36.100 want to multiply that Ministry. Yeah. I'm putting words in your mouth 100 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:37.200 but is that true? 101 00:06:37.200 --> 00:06:41.700 That's very true because it's it is it is very difficult work and I 102 00:06:41.700 --> 00:06:45.300 are used to say this in the most generous way possible that the people 103 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:46.100 that I serve 104 00:06:46.100 --> 00:06:49.600 we're incredibly needy. There. 105 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:54.300 If if I would be willing to sit down and talk with the same person 106 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:56.300 for 8 hours a day 5 days a week. 107 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:57.900 I could have done that. 108 00:06:57.900 --> 00:06:59.600 That's how much some people needed. 109 00:06:59.700 --> 00:07:05.100 Somebody to walk alongside them and I got good, you know timer goes 110 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:08.800 off then our I know we didn't get through everything but let's schedule 111 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:10.800 again for like another week or another two weeks 112 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:16.000 as we we can see the move. But the need is is so so deep in places where 113 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.700 people live I'm sure they need is it's it's interesting. 114 00:07:19.700 --> 00:07:20.700 You know, what I would go out to 115 00:07:20.700 --> 00:07:24.100 I had a chance to go out to Nebraska a couple times. When I would talk 116 00:07:24.100 --> 00:07:27.600 about my working Ferguson and the problems that people have a lot of 117 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.900 times in rural areas we have the same exact thing. 118 00:07:30.900 --> 00:07:33.300 They have people who are addicted to drugs. 119 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:35.000 They have people who are struggling financially. 120 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.600 They have people who have a run-in with the law and guess what there's 121 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:41.700 sinners everywhere in the world. 122 00:07:41.700 --> 00:07:44.500 And every one of them needs the Gospel. Last week 123 00:07:44.500 --> 00:07:49.200 we had the Rev. John Schmidtke on this program and you know, John 124 00:07:49.200 --> 00:07:54.400 and and he's just written a new book hasn't come out yet and he makes 125 00:07:54.400 --> 00:07:55.500 a point in that book. 126 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:59.200 He said what would have surfaced in 127 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:00.500 George Floyd 128 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:07.000 is all over the country in Nebraska, for example, except that a lot of 129 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:13.300 people have the money to hide the dysfunction. Yeah. And a lot of people have 130 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:15.800 the money to hide from the dysfunction. 131 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:22.500 If you don't have to if you don't have to be in a place where we'll 132 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:25.700 let's just say Ferguson where you know, these things have been brewing 133 00:08:25.700 --> 00:08:29.400 for quite sometime George Floyd, Michael Brown if we continue down the 134 00:08:29.400 --> 00:08:32.200 list these scenarios don't happen overnight and they're not isolated 135 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:32.290 events. 136 00:08:32.290 --> 00:08:33.900 And so 137 00:08:34.790 --> 00:08:41.400 right and we just now we just keep seeing a boil over and over and 138 00:08:41.400 --> 00:08:44.200 over. But that's in my mind again 139 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:47.200 isn't that where the church needs to be? 140 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.800 We see so much pain and we know we confess, 141 00:08:49.800 --> 00:08:51.300 we know we have a thing 142 00:08:51.300 --> 00:08:55.300 it's not going to cure the world, but they can ease the heart of some 143 00:08:55.300 --> 00:08:58.400 people if you want to see the Gospel that we holding a heart the way 144 00:08:58.400 --> 00:09:02.700 that we appreciate if you want to see it change somebody's life going 145 00:09:02.700 --> 00:09:05.300 to a broken neighborhood and tell them about grace alone with it. 146 00:09:05.300 --> 00:09:10.200 There's salvation isn't dependent upon their terrible living 147 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:13.900 situation, but upon what Jesus has already done for them. 148 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:20.800 How do people receive that when you've been had the opportunity to 149 00:09:20.800 --> 00:09:26.800 share that? I've had a couple of really harden men shed tears in my 150 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:32.000 office from hearing that. It was it was always such an interesting 151 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.700 thing that people who on the exterior cuz they have to be tough just 152 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.100 because listen North St. 153 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:40.100 Louis is a place that will chew you up and spit you out 154 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:43.500 If you're not ready to be in it just because of it. 155 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:45.900 Just because, it's not I'm not talking about drugs and gangs. 156 00:09:45.900 --> 00:09:50.300 I'm just talkin about the way life is as scarce as desolate resources 157 00:09:50.300 --> 00:09:53.900 are hard to come by. Ones that we take for granted. 158 00:09:55.500 --> 00:10:00.600 And so they're they're expecting to be treated that way because it's 159 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.600 it's a constant thing like this this neighborhood would chew you up 160 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:04.100 and spit you out. 161 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:06.800 So you got to be tough but in my office and Ferguson, you didn't have 162 00:10:06.800 --> 00:10:07.900 to be tough. 163 00:10:07.900 --> 00:10:08.700 That's great. 164 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:11.400 We're to take a short break, but when we come back here is what I want 165 00:10:11.400 --> 00:10:12.300 to get 166 00:10:12.300 --> 00:10:17.800 your opinion on. Is is the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is is a white 167 00:10:17.800 --> 00:10:21.700 largely white declining denomination. 168 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:27.100 Where do we get our pastors mostly from suburban small town 169 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:29.400 rural congregations, you already mentioned Nebraska. 170 00:10:29.400 --> 00:10:36.000 Okay, they come here as seminarians and a and they assume they're 171 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.500 going to go back to that kind of culture and a lot of times they do 172 00:10:39.500 --> 00:10:42.000 because we're not present in the city. 173 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.800 So I want to hear when we come back about Recruitment and how you 174 00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:49.700 hope to address that. This is going to be fascinating stay with us. 175 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:50.600 We'll be right back. 176 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.100 Concordia Seminary St. 177 00:10:53.100 --> 00:10:57.900 Louis provides continuing education resources for pastors and lay 178 00:10:57.900 --> 00:11:03.000 people to discover all the Concordia Seminary has for you visit us on 179 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.500 the web at CSL. 180 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:06.300 EDU. 181 00:11:08.400 --> 00:11:11.900 Welcome back to Word at Work an Intersection. 182 00:11:11.900 --> 00:11:14.800 I'm your host Dale Meyer. Joining us 183 00:11:14.800 --> 00:11:16.300 today is Reverend Micah Glenn. 184 00:11:16.300 --> 00:11:20.300 He serves Concordia Seminary as the Director of Recruitment. 185 00:11:20.300 --> 00:11:21.700 Thank you 186 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:25.700 again Pastor Glenn for being here and before we took our break 187 00:11:25.700 --> 00:11:29.300 I set this up the Missouri Synod is white declining 188 00:11:30.400 --> 00:11:35.000 suburban, small town, rural denomination. 189 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.600 We pretty much left the cities. Yeah. Where we used to be present. 190 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:44.400 We get our seminarians come from where our congregations are. 191 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:52.400 They tend not to be thinking about Urban Ministry, but about just 192 00:11:52.400 --> 00:11:54.300 going back to the culture that they know. 193 00:11:56.200 --> 00:11:59.800 My own opinion is for the sake of of Gospel Outreach 194 00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:03.300 we've got to get graduates into the city. 195 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:07.700 Definitely. Among other places. Of course. You're the recruitment guy 196 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:10.400 how are you going to turn this around overnight? 197 00:12:10.400 --> 00:12:12.400 Right? 198 00:12:12.400 --> 00:12:14.700 Well, here are the three steps that I've got laid out. 199 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:16.000 No, I don't have that quite yet. Here's the thing. 200 00:12:18.700 --> 00:12:24.200 You know, if if I believe that it was a hundred percent up to me to 201 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:25.000 right this ship 202 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:28.900 I don't think I would even waste my time. But we have so many people 203 00:12:28.900 --> 00:12:34.000 the conversations that I see going on around Synod and our current 204 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:34.600 context. 205 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:36.200 Excuse me. 206 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:40.600 I think people are beginning to wake up to this that leaving the 207 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:47.900 cities whenever we did was a bad idea because again our theology I 208 00:12:47.900 --> 00:12:51.000 currently believe and I think I will always believe it's about as 209 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:56.600 close to his good and perfect as you can get. Now that said St. 210 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:00.900 Louis offers an incredible opportunity through fieldwork to see a 211 00:13:00.900 --> 00:13:03.700 variety of different Urban context live in person. 212 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:09.500 We have great pastors and great ministries going around this the 213 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:12.900 Seminary we're even guys can just take a week or two. 214 00:13:12.900 --> 00:13:15.700 They don't have to do their whole field work there, but just to see it. 215 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:18.600 And we very intentionally exposed 216 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:19.900 students to that. That's right. 217 00:13:19.900 --> 00:13:24.500 And yeah, we have former students that are around my age and some 218 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:28.000 of these different places that are doing incredible Ministry and it's 219 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.100 this Word and Sacrament on Sunday morning they have 220 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:37.100 traditional liturgical Lutheran worship. 221 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:41.200 A variety of different styles, but also they have incredible 222 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.800 Ministries around their congregation that their congregation is taking 223 00:13:44.800 --> 00:13:48.300 part in. In the community. In the community. 224 00:13:48.300 --> 00:13:53.000 You are called to church in the community and they're listening to the 225 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.000 communities and they're asking what do you need and they're coming up 226 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.200 with Incredible and creative ways to serve those needs and it's 227 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.300 beginning to bring people closer to the church. 228 00:14:02.300 --> 00:14:05.700 I think some people are getting more people in the church than others, 229 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:08.000 but at least it's bringing people into proximity. 230 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.000 So then you can when they ask you questions cuz inevitably they're 231 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.600 going to be curious about your faith. 232 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.700 They're going to be curious about the church and they're going to ask 233 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:19.400 those questions, but because they're close and because you have that 234 00:14:19.400 --> 00:14:22.500 relationship of trust now you're going to be able to really 235 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:28.100 feed them some meat and potatoes our theology is incredible. 236 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:34.600 So what what are you doing as Director of Recruitment? 237 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:35.400 Okay, then 238 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:38.400 that's the mindset that we wanted still in all of our students. 239 00:14:38.400 --> 00:14:41.900 But you have some checklist that you have to that's right follow. 240 00:14:41.900 --> 00:14:46.400 So one of the things we're doing is we were evaluating the different 241 00:14:46.400 --> 00:14:46.900 programs. 242 00:14:46.900 --> 00:14:52.700 So MDiv the traditional route to pass that's the one we're focusing 243 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:58.000 the most on, but also bringing attention to SMP to the CHS the 244 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.400 Center for Hispanic Studies, EIIT, and I think that's Ethnic and 245 00:15:01.400 --> 00:15:05.900 Immigrant Institute of Theology. And we are creating this ambassador 246 00:15:05.900 --> 00:15:09.700 program where we're finding guys that are out in some of these places 247 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:10.400 where we think 248 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:14.600 students aren't currently coming from but there probably are some 249 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:15.100 students 250 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:19.300 that could be coming from there and we're walking alongside those guys 251 00:15:19.300 --> 00:15:24.200 and asking them to pass names of guys that have the potential to be a 252 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:24.600 pastor. 253 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.300 And then once we get more games, if you don't know who people are in 254 00:15:28.300 --> 00:15:29.300 again, I'm one recruiter. 255 00:15:29.300 --> 00:15:32.000 I could spend everyday traveling around the country and still miss 256 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 people but if we have our congregations is well taken apart of is an 257 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:36.400 a. 258 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:38.900 Let me just take a step back. 259 00:15:38.900 --> 00:15:41.800 We're we're creating a document that we hope to send out the churches 260 00:15:41.800 --> 00:15:46.000 this kind of a Theology of recruitment looking at what Jesus did 261 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:49.900 when he was recruiting the disciples looking at what they did in the 262 00:15:49.900 --> 00:15:55.000 early church and then also bringing our own theology in. Walther wrote 263 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.600 this incredible little title called "The Congregation's Right to Choose 264 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.400 its Own Pastor." 265 00:15:58.400 --> 00:16:02.600 And if you're a congregation and you see a young man in your church, 266 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:03.600 you don't have to be the pastor 267 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:05.100 you can be Grandma Schmidt, 268 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:09.000 you can be Uncle Paul and you see this young man or this young woman 269 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:09.900 who could be a Deaconess. 270 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.700 And you think man one day I would want them to be my pastor, 271 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:17.500 you should tell them. A couple reactions form me. 272 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:25.500 First of all, this Advocate Program is going to be deployed in major 273 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:30.000 markets Chicago, Twin Cities, Detroit. Houston. Houston 274 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.900 Okay. And this is not something we're going to we hope to do where doing it. 275 00:16:34.900 --> 00:16:36.000 Oh, yeah. 276 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:36.500 I'm in the process 277 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:36.900 now. We're doing it. 278 00:16:36.900 --> 00:16:41.600 I have a couple guys who have already signed on agreed to participate 279 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:47.900 in that even even we're hoping to get a couple guys from other ethnic 280 00:16:47.900 --> 00:16:52.400 areas just because again, you're right. The white church is 281 00:16:52.400 --> 00:16:53.200 declining and it's 282 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:55.800 It's something that we could 283 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:03.400 lament about forever. We will. But the fact of the matter is no matter what we 284 00:17:03.400 --> 00:17:06.590 do America is becoming more and more diverse. 285 00:17:06.590 --> 00:17:11.300 So so is it and here's something that is not known and I do share it often in 286 00:17:11.300 --> 00:17:11.700 conversation. 287 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:17.800 Let's say we've got somebody in Chicago in the Twin Cities, Houston, 288 00:17:17.800 --> 00:17:22.500 wherever. That that a congregation says, this guy is going to make a 289 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:25.300 could make a good pastor. We have in the past 290 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:31.600 taken that student as a residential student with the understanding 291 00:17:31.600 --> 00:17:39.600 that he will be sent back to that town to that congregation if, things can 292 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:40.500 change. Of course. 293 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:41.800 Yeah, maybe the congregation says 294 00:17:43.100 --> 00:17:46.500 we don't want to do it maybe the student but you things can change but 295 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:47.800 we have had students. 296 00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:57.000 I was one of those students. Historically a guy comes from Nebraska and gets sent to New York. 297 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:05.200 But the Seminary is flexible as evidenced by a SMP, EIIT, and CHS that 298 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:08.500 we will also take a residential student and all things staying equal 299 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:13.200 send them back. And see that's interesting to me that we're finally there 300 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:16.900 because if we look at International missions, the long-term idea 301 00:18:16.900 --> 00:18:18.500 always has let's go there 302 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:21.300 let's establish a seminary so they can raise up leaders because that's 303 00:18:21.300 --> 00:18:25.900 what they did in Acts chapter 6. When the when the church was having a 304 00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:30.000 problem between the Hebrews and the Greeks the disciples and say okay 305 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.300 we got these 12 Hebrew guys 306 00:18:31.300 --> 00:18:32.300 they're going to take care of you. 307 00:18:32.300 --> 00:18:35.000 They looked at the Greek people and said okay choose your elders and they're 308 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:36.800 going to raise up your own leaders. 309 00:18:36.800 --> 00:18:41.000 There's nothing wrong with that the Holy Spirit. 310 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.600 There are guys that never get encouraged to come to Seminary and they 311 00:18:43.600 --> 00:18:44.900 end up at Seminary that's good. 312 00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:49.100 But but a lot of guys if you just asked me so, you know, what and you 313 00:18:49.100 --> 00:18:51.000 can in this is a beautiful thing as well. 314 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:54.000 The route to hear is also changed. 315 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.100 I wasn't a pre-Seminary Student have a degree in chemistry and I got 316 00:18:58.100 --> 00:18:58.300 here 317 00:18:58.400 --> 00:18:58.900 I learned Greek, 318 00:18:58.900 --> 00:18:59.600 I learned Hebrew. It's like chemistry with all those symbols. 319 00:18:59.600 --> 00:19:11.700 It really is. I tutored a guy named Joel Wacimeier he's a pastor now he graduated. Oh, yeah, from Oklahoma. And he was struggling with Greek. 320 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:15.600 And I said, you know, it's really a mathematical formula first and if 321 00:19:15.600 --> 00:19:20.200 you learn stems connecting vowels endings, you can figure vocabulary 322 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.700 out you can study that. But if you learn how language works it just comes 323 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:22.900 together. 324 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:27.100 Let me ask me ask you this because when we interviewed John Schmidtke 325 00:19:27.100 --> 00:19:30.100 last week, he brought this up and it was kind of an eye opener for me. 326 00:19:30.100 --> 00:19:36.400 He said it's not about recruiting the diverse faces as much as, Schmidtke's 327 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:40.900 a white guy serving a black congregation for 30 years. 328 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:45.300 He said the main thing is about recruiting somebody that has a heart 329 00:19:45.300 --> 00:19:49.600 for in this case Urban Ministry and it's going to figure out a way to 330 00:19:49.600 --> 00:19:50.200 get it done. 331 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:53.500 And that would that I would find that a helpful nuance. 332 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:57.700 Yes, we want some diversity of course, but but the but the driver is 333 00:19:57.700 --> 00:19:58.300 Ministry 334 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:02.400 these people like you described in Ferguson. And if you look at our 335 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.500 church body is not going to become diverse because I'm here overnight. 336 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:09.000 It can be something that we focus on and work towards in the future. 337 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.600 But that that's one of those things that takes time. 338 00:20:12.600 --> 00:20:18.900 Right now our main pool of potential students is still white. 339 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:23.900 And God bless them. And that's okay because like you said John Schmidtke has been in North St. 340 00:20:23.900 --> 00:20:27.200 Louis and if people don't know the context, I love my city. 341 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:29.700 North St. 342 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:32.200 Louis is the rougher side of the city. 343 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:37.200 In every way that you can imagine and John Schmidtke a white guy. 344 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:38.800 I don't know exactly where John grew up. 345 00:20:38.800 --> 00:20:42.300 Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Look at that 30 years and he stayed 346 00:20:42.300 --> 00:20:46.300 there and committed the time and he reached out to the community in 347 00:20:46.300 --> 00:20:46.900 different ways. 348 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:50.200 One of the things he did was their basketball program Bethlehem's 349 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:51.400 Church basketball program. 350 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:53.800 I didn't play basketball there and guess they've destroyed us most of 351 00:20:53.800 --> 00:20:58.300 the times we played against are very good. But that ministry again, it 352 00:20:58.300 --> 00:21:01.600 brought kids into the into the church for a safe space and some of 353 00:21:01.600 --> 00:21:04.900 those guys that play basketball have stuck around you just you never 354 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:05.200 know. 355 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:10.200 This is a great as I think we all know I'm in my waning days as the 356 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:10.800 president. 357 00:21:10.800 --> 00:21:11.200 Okay. 358 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:18.500 So as of June 30th, nobody has to listen to me, but right now let's 359 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:21.900 have you back on the program because we had a lot of things we didn't 360 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:23.600 we didn't talk about deal. Deal. 361 00:21:23.600 --> 00:21:29.000 All right, and I want I want to thank you for joining us. 362 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.900 This has been because of George Floyd. 363 00:21:32.600 --> 00:21:36.000 Because of a Michael Brown because of all that's going on. 364 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.100 This is a great time to be the church and Reverend 365 00:21:39.100 --> 00:21:42.700 Micah has given us a lot to think about so blessings to you Reverend 366 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:46.500 Glenn on on all that you are doing for the Seminary and especially for 367 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:50.200 the kingdom of God and thanks to you our audience for joining us. May 368 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:54.400 the intersection of Word and Work be busy on your corner.