When a former student newspaper editor of Concordia University, St. Paul from the 1970s was interviewed in the March 2022 issue of that same newspaper, he stated that it looked to him as if Concordia had been transformed into a secular university.
This, of course, would not be unusual. After all, historically most colleges and universities that started as religious schools have ended up becoming entirely secular, with the school’s original “motto” being one of the few clues of its past. Today as well, observers are left with the impression that many Christian universities want to appeal to both the world’s secular interests and what remains of their conservative religious tradition—in order to not rock the boat and alienate prospective students, donors, and congregations.
On the one hand, these schools might signal the idea that real Christians will believe Jesus was an immigrant (without acknowledging the origin of civil legality—Rom. 13), will vigorously pursue a false gospel of racial justice, and will always take at face value the so-called claims of systematic oppression and prejudice. Still, given some of the great unrest and immense challenges of the past several years, one might think that perhaps some careless “slippage” in these areas is to be expected. On the other hand, what about the more obvious, traditional issues? Have they, for example, communicated the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the world’s Lord and Savior and upheld sexual ethics vs the relentless LGBTQ+ onslaught? Christ who stands as Lord over all truth, also rules over academic truth. But Christian schools, especially the Concordias of the LC–MS are finding it increasing difficult to maintain such a contradictory tension.
Even if one hopes for the best, perhaps believing all the PR statements, doubts arise. And yet, even if one suspects that one of these universities is gradually getting more liberal or “woke”, definitively demonstrating that such schools are abandoning their Christian calling is another matter. Given that these universities are well aware of opportunities for plausible deniability and are very careful about cultivating and maintaining their public image, showing such slippage is quite difficult. To be sure, they keep the most controversial decisions, happenings, and ideas that would alienate conservative donors and supporters as hidden as possible.
Concordia, Saint Paul is the recipient of millions of dollars, particularly from conservative Lutheran Christians. Currently they are running a campaign that has already accrued 41 million of their 55 million dollar goal. Furthermore, students continue to go to this Concordia for pastoral and Christian ministry studies, and the recent creation of institutes like Reed Lessing’s Center for Biblical Studies, in addition to very generous scholarships for church workers, has made it more attractive in recent years.
That is why a document that Christian News has obtained regarding the inner workings of Concordia University St Paul, a university of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, is so revealing. The redacted document was originally sent from an email account of one of the school’s former Associate Vice Presidents, who is no longer employed by the school.
The 2017 document was read to a now former adjunct faculty and staff member at the beginning of a disciplinary meeting with a supervisor and HR director. The document, which has been slightly redacted according to the former employee’s wishes, certainly did the job that it was intended to do, as this former Concordia teacher was sufficiently intimidated into keeping his religious views closer to himself in his non-professorial work environment.
In brief, after congratulating the employee on his convictions to integrate his faith into the life of the university—in line with both Concordia, St. Paul’s and the LCMS’s stated wishes—the document goes on to say that some of the employee’s actions had been perceived to have been judgmental of his fellow staff, that he had been insufficiently supportive of a program “to promote greater understanding of the Muslim community”, and that it had been “extremely difficult” for the employee “to support the gay/lesbian community,” noting the “discrimination” a student had suffered [see the 2015 article “Not enough questions asked about bisexual student’s ouster from Lutheran worship team” from getreligion.org in this issue of CN].
In addition, looking at matters more broadly, it was noted that the employee did not understand that Concordia was a liberal arts college and not a Bible College, with the result that he did not appreciate that there were supposed specific spaces in the school that were to be an “open, neutral, safe space” where various anti-Christian belief systems were to be honored and respected, and that he was not to wear his [theological] faculty hat in other realms when that role demanded a different hat. In short, he had to “begin practicing more actively” the tight-rope act necessary for “straddling” the simultaneously religious and secular “worlds” of Concordia because “all are welcome”. All this read as an imperative to be less Christian in words and confession.
The 2017 document makes it clear that “on more than one occasion” such actions calling for faithfulness were “not appreciated.” This was one of the reasons that the employee’s supervisor (now no longer with CSP) and HR director were meeting with the employee: the document indicates that the administration was unhappy with the employee voicing his concern.
Concordia, St. Paul, because of its ongoing desire and drive to appeal to very disparate (and doctrinally incompatible groups), was a very difficult place for the former disciplined employee to navigate. The disciplinary actions taken against the former employee, while in service at CSP, appear retaliatory and punitive. This speaks to the lack of role for Christ’s doctrine at a church school in view of the secular fear of any and all perceived “judgment.”
What kind of discipline, if any, did those behind the document receive? One of those behind the document rose to the position of Associate Vice President in the University’s administration. What should confessional Lutherans who support the University think about the current administration’s attitudes? Are the University’s own values, in concrete practice, incompatible with those of the LC–MS? Are other staff at this Concordia, or other Concordias, with biblically faithful stances still urged or influenced to keep their beliefs to themselves? It would be hard to answer negatively—due to this documented proof from 2017, which was admittedly before more radical factions of this world became more bold in the intervening years.
Why should aspiring, young Lutherans who desire to get a Christian education, or even work in an academic setting, choose a place like this Concordia instead of a secular school? It is a question that must be asked of all Concordias, because what is presented publicly is not the full picture. People do not typically advertise deceit and unfaithfulness to Christ’s inspired Word. “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Instead of being content to grow or even shrink slowly—as the cost of being faithful to Christ—while re-emphasizing its Lutheran doctrinal heritage, Concordia, St. Paul’s main goal seems to be parallel to that which Pastor Gregory Schultz exposed boldly at Concordia, Wisconsin. The inevitable outcome of muzzling Christ’s truth must result when worldly peace and economic success are the foremost values. This attitude is summarized by a Feb. 2019 email—also provided by the former employee—that contained the line “we are only interested in positive ideas and reactions to our DEI plan.” This religious absolutism is contrary to Christ and His Word.
This undercurrent of underlying ambivalence, and even hostility, toward the confessional Lutheran spirit evidenced in the administration at CSP does not match its own public statements. The current President of CSP recently stated that the leadership team prior to his arrival had done a great job setting up Concordia for future success.
It is certainly understandable that Concordia wants to have a growth mindset that is sensitive to market demand. Nevertheless, will they show in their actions that they intend to be a faithful Lutheran school without apology to those who hate God’s holy truth? Or will they show that in their actual practice they intend to be a completely secular university after the fashion of other colleges that were also founded to pass on the faith but have decidedly left that behind? —ed.
Correction: This statement, originally published, is inaccurate: “The employee had repeatedly spoken to higher-ups regarding concerns he had with a department search committee selectively targeting unbelievers and then hiring a non-Christian.” The former employees’ concerns were regarding the makeup of the search committee, not all candidates, though an unbeliever was eventually hired for the position in question.
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