News

Posts tagged:

International Lutheran Council Accreditation Agency

ILC welcomes Latvians into membership

WORLD – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) has welcomed the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (Latvijas evaņģēliski luteriskā Baznīca – LELB) into membership.

“We are honoured to welcome the Latvian church into membership in the International Lutheran Council,” said ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt. “I have known Archbishop Jānis Vanags for many years, and I look forward to working more closely with him and the Latvian church in the ILC. May God bless the work of confessional Lutherans worldwide, as together we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, united in our commitment to the Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions.”

LELB Archbishop Jānis Vanags speaks during a January 2022 reception hosted by the International Lutheran Council at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

During its 28th Synod in August 2021, the LELB voted to seek membership in the ILC, with 210 votes in favour, 1 against, and 8 abstentions. After reviewing the church’s application, the ILC’s Board of Directors accepted the LELB as an Observer Member during its meeting on January 28, 2022. The LELB’s request for Full Membership in the ILC will be taken up in  Kenya in September 2022 at the ILC’s next World Conference, as decisions on Full Membership must be voted on by the World Conference.

“We thank our God for the partnership in the Gospel which we share as we preach and teach His Infallible Word and administer His sacraments,” said LELB Archbishop Jānis Vanags. “As we make our way together on our journey of faith, we commit ourselves to the love and care of our Heavenly Father.”

As early as the 1520s, the church in Riga, Latvia had begun to sympathize with the teachings of the Reformation. The Livonian Confederation would become the first region outside modern-day Germany to formally adopt Lutheranism. Some parts of Latvia reverted to Roman Catholicism during the Counter-Reformation but the rest remained Lutheran.

Christians in Latvia faced significant hardships during World War II and under Soviet rule. While the Lutheran church counted 200,000 members in 1948, that number dropped to 25,000 by 1991. Since then, the church has experienced a significant period of renewal and reformation. With approximately 700,000 people in Latvia identify as Lutheran, the LELB is the nation’s largest Protestant church body. The church has an official parish membership of 42,000 members and 289 congregations.

Rev. Dr. Andris Kraulins (LELB International Affairs), ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill, and LELB Archbishop Jānis Vanags during meetings in Fort Wayne, Indiana in January 2022.

The LELB has a strong relationship with several other members of the International Lutheran Council, including Germany’s Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church as well as The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), with which it has enjoyed altar and pulpit fellowship since 2001.

The ILC hosted a reception with Archbishop Vanags on January 18, 2022 at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The event coincided with the seminary’s popular Symposia event, and featured numerous international guests. During his talk, Archbishop Vanags shared the history of his church and the events that led them to seek partnership with the ILC.

The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

———————

ILC Chief Accreditation Officer Installed

Participants in the installation. Back row, l-r: Rev. Thomas Zimmerman, Rev. Douglas Punke (Pastor, Zion Lutheran Church), Rev. Richard Lammert, Rev. George Lange, Rev. James Kollie (Libera, Africa) , and Rev. Dr. James Voelz. Front row, l-r: Rev. Art Litke, Rev. Dr. David Scaer, Rev. Peter Brock (4th V.P. of Indiana District – Installer), Rev. Dr. Steven Schumacher, Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill (ILC General Secretary – Preacher), Rev. Gema Ballah (Liberia, Africa), Rev. Dr. John Pless, and Rev. Dr. Roland Ziegler (ILC Seminary Committee).

USA – Rev. Dr. Steven R. Schumacher was installed as Chief Accreditation Officer (CAO) of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) during a service at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana on February 13, 2022.

In this role, Dr. Schumacher will lead the International Lutheran Council Accreditation Agency (ILCAA). This new agency was created in response to increasing requests from Lutheran church bodies worldwide for assistance in pastoral training and theological education. The ILCAA will provide a basis for an internationally recognized confessional Lutheran theological education, while ensuring institutional excellence in such areas as faculty, spiritual formation, student evaluation, library resources, long-term planning, administration, financial stability, and accountability. As CAO, Dr. Schumacher is responsible for the development, coordination, evaluation, and ongoing oversight of the ILCAA.

“Dr. Schumacher brings a depth of knowledge and experience from both the parish and seminary,” noted Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill, General Secretary of the ILC. In particular, Dr. Quill highlighted Dr. Schumacher’s previous work on accreditation in an African context as an asset to his new work as Chief Accreditation Officer. Dr. Schumacher’s doctoral thesis was entitled “Positioning an International Partner Lutheran Church Seminary for Accreditation,” and focused on the accreditation process undertaken by the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG).

Dr. Schumacher and Dr. Quill

“Dr. Schumacher understands that Lutheran seminaries are built on Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions—which is to say, on the doctrine of justification by grace though faith alone in Jesus Christ,” Dr. Quill continued. “The presence of Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament is the heart and centre of theological education. This requires serious academic discipline—but, as it is often said, ‘Some things can only be understood by praying them.’ Dr. Schumacher  recognizes that the chapel and daily liturgical life is essential to pastoral formation, and that its place in the curriculum and seminary life is an indispensable part of assessment and accreditation.”

Dr. Schumacher and his wife Cynthia previously served as missionaries for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in Ghana, West Africa, where he taught courses in Lutheran theology and served as dean of academics and student activities at the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary Ghana in Accra. He also assisted the ELCG with their deaf ministry efforts.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri, and earned both his M.Div. and doctorate from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He previously served as pastor to five different congregations in the LCMS, as well as serving as the North Wisconsin District’s missionary to the deaf, Director of Deaf Ministry for Lutheran Friends of the Deaf, and as an adjunct professor teaching Deaf Ministry at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne.

The ILC officially announced the formation of International Lutheran Council Accreditation in April 2021. Additional information on the program, including the application process, will be made available at a later date.

You can support confessional Lutheran theological education and the work of the International Lutheran Council Accreditation Agency through online giving (select “International Seminary Accreditation Program”). You may also send a cheque by mail to:

International Lutheran Council
PO Box 10149
Fort Wayne, IN  46850

———————

ILC announces new program to support Lutheran theological education worldwide

WORLD – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is pleased to announce a new program dedicated to supporting Lutheran theological education worldwide: the International Lutheran Council Accreditation Agency (ILCAA).

“Lutherans from around the world—both within and outside the International Lutheran Council—have told us that they are in need of assistance in the development of pastoral training and theological education,” explains the ILC’s General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill. “This new program will help equip Lutheran seminaries and colleges worldwide to offer rigorous academic theological training, grounded in the authority of Scripture and in the Lutheran Confessions.”

The ILCAA is not intended to replace existing regional governmental accreditation, but instead to complement it, providing a basis for internationally recognized confessional Lutheran theological education. A key component of this is the development of a recommended core curriculum. Accreditation standards will also address such areas as faculty, spiritual formation, student evaluation, library resources, long-term planning, administration, financial stability, and accountability.

The rollout of an internationally recognized accreditation program will also ensure that students who wish to go on to pursue higher education at another institution have transcripts from accredited institutions.

Rev. Dr. Steven Schumacher.

Spearheading the new program will be Rev. Dr. Steven Schumacher, who has accepted a call to serve as the ILCAA’s Chief Accreditation Officer. In addition to serving as a missionary with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and as Academic Dean at the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana, Dr. Schumacher has served as an adjunct professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana since 2011. His doctoral thesis focused specifically on the question of Lutheran theological accreditation in the African context.

“It’s a joy to be joining the ILC to help strengthen the work of Lutheran seminaries and theological institutes across the world,” said Dr. Schumacher. “The ILCAA will play a major role in the renewal of global Lutheran theological education, equipping churches to train leaders and church workers faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions and dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

The International Lutheran Council Accreditation Agency comes in response to a resolution of the ILC’s 2019 World Seminaries Conference in the Philippines, which called for the development of a common theological curriculum for confessional Lutherans across the globe. A committee was subsequently struck to consider the question in greater detail. Members of the committee included Rev. Dr. Daniel Gard (North America); Dr. Steven Schumacher (North America; Africa); Rev. Dr. Werner Klän (Europe); and Rev. Dr. Alexey Strelstov (Eurasia). Additional advisory members included President John Donkoh of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (Africa); The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Director of Theological Education, Rev. Dr. Arthur Just (North America); Brazil’s Rev. Dr. Gerson Linden (Latin America); President Antonio Reyes of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (Asia); the United States of America’s Dr. James Wagner (North America); and Rev. Dr. Roland Ziegler (Chairman of the ILC Seminary Relations Committee). ILC General Secretary Quill also participated as an ex-officio member.

Following the committee’s work and recommendations, the ILC’s Board of Directors approved the creation of the ILCAA in April 2021.

Additional information on the program, including the application process, will be made available at a later date.

You can support confessional Lutheran theological education and the work of the International Lutheran Council Accreditation Agency through online giving (select “International Seminary Accreditation Program”). You may also send a cheque by mail to:

International Lutheran Council
PO Box 10149
Fort Wayne, IN  46850

———————

 

Signup for ILC Updates