The North American Lutheran Seminary Presidential Search

[mj4]

No one from NALC posted this, so I thought I would. Who would you like to see as president of The North American Lutheran Seminary?

The North American Lutheran Seminary Presidential Search
The Board of Regents of the North American Lutheran Seminary and the Presidential Search Committee invite applications for the position of president of the North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS) in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. The NALS presidency offers the exciting opportunity to lead an ambitious theological school well-positioned to achieve its next level of success through a continued commitment to academic rigor, student-centered success, the Great Commission and strong articulation of the Core Values of the North American Lutheran Church. The NALS is the sole seminary of the North American Lutheran Church and is yoked with Trinity School for Ministry. Applications are entirely confidential, reviewed by the Presidential Search Committee only, and should be submitted no later than March 29, 2019.  The next president will assume office on or around July 1, 2019. Refer questions about the position to Dr. Roy Schwarz, Chair NALS Board of Regents, at 540-678-8748.

https://thenalc.org/blog/projects/north-american-lutheran-seminary-seeks-new-president/

[Keith Falk]

Between this and the Bishop's election in Indianapolis this summer, the NALC is facing a pivotal moment.  Is the current direction one in which we want to proceed?  Why or why not?  (Sidenote:  I appreciate Peter Speckhard's eye toward presidential/bishop change - unless something is going to be significantly/drastically better, it's probably best to maintain the status quo)

Is it better to have someone who has primarily been a parish pastor, or someone who has primarily been in the academy?  Better to have a lay person or a pastor?  Etc etc..

[Harvey_Mozolak]

and what is a description of the status quo?  I ask seriously. 

[Coach-Rev]

I would offer in part that it is still in it's infancy; a fledgling institution, seeking to understand it's larger role in theological education (to a degree, at least).  Does it maintain itself primarily to train and equip NALC future pastors, or does it look to expand that role to a much larger sphere?

I cannot answer if that is what Pastor Falk had in mind, but that would be how I might understand it.

[Harvey_Mozolak]

Oh, sorry if I misunderstood ... I was asking what the NALC status quo was not the Seminary and I thought that was the original reference.  And are the two, the same or how are they related, one could add.

[Coach-Rev]

re-reading it, I guess I looked at it from just the OP perspective.  Pastor Falk also did bring up the the election of Bishop, that does pose another unique set of challenges.  I'm not sure I'm qualified currently to engage on that topic, but it would be fair and safe to say that this challenge exists in every denomination when a new "leader" is elected.

[James_Gale]

re-reading it, I guess I looked at it from just the OP perspective.  Pastor Falk also did bring up the the election of Bishop, that does pose another unique set of challenges.  I'm not sure I'm qualified currently to engage on that topic, but it would be fair and safe to say that this challenge exists in every denomination when a new "leader" is elected.

A bit of background for those who don't follow the NALC closely.


Bishop John Bradosky will retire later this year.  Bp. Bradosky succeeded Bp. Paull Spring, who had agreed to accept a call to that position for just one year, the NALC's first.  During that year, Bp. Bradosky served as General Secretary (a chief administrative officer of sorts).  John has been in leadership from the NALC's founding and has been bishop for all but the first year.  The Convocation this summer in Indianapolis will call a successor.  That inevitably means change, intended and otherwise. 


The NALS operates from the Trinity School of Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, which describes itself as an "evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition."  Its own faculty and staff are quite small.  Moreover, I do not believe that it is accredited to grant degrees on its own.  Rather, it operates in partnership with Trinity and other schools that do grant degrees.  The seminary president's job therefore is different from that at Luther Seminary or in St. Louis. 


Others should and will correct me if any of this is wrong.

[John_Hannah]

re-reading it, I guess I looked at it from just the OP perspective.  Pastor Falk also did bring up the the election of Bishop, that does pose another unique set of challenges.  I'm not sure I'm qualified currently to engage on that topic, but it would be fair and safe to say that this challenge exists in every denomination when a new "leader" is elected.

A bit of background for those who don't follow the NALC closely.


Bishop John Bradosky will retire later this year.  Bp. Bradosky succeeded Bp. Paull Spring, who had agreed to accept a call to that position for just one year, the NALC's first.  During that year, Bp. Bradosky served as General Secretary (a chief administrative officer of sorts).  John has been in leadership from the NALC's founding and has been bishop for all but the first year.  The Convocation this summer in Indianapolis will call a successor.  That inevitably means change, intended and otherwise. 


The NALS operates from the Trinity School of Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, which describes itself as an "evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition."  Its own faculty and staff are quite small.  Moreover, I do not believe that it is accredited to grant degrees on its own.  Rather, it operates in partnership with Trinity and other schools that do grant degrees.  The seminary president's job therefore is different from that at Luther Seminary or in St. Louis. 


Others should and will correct me if any of this is wrong.

That is correct. Dr. Amy Schiffrin, current President,  is a friend and you describe the real situation. She is, by the way, going to remain as a professor (with the administrative burden removed).

Peace, JOHN

[James_Gale]

re-reading it, I guess I looked at it from just the OP perspective.  Pastor Falk also did bring up the the election of Bishop, that does pose another unique set of challenges.  I'm not sure I'm qualified currently to engage on that topic, but it would be fair and safe to say that this challenge exists in every denomination when a new "leader" is elected.

A bit of background for those who don't follow the NALC closely.


Bishop John Bradosky will retire later this year.  Bp. Bradosky succeeded Bp. Paull Spring, who had agreed to accept a call to that position for just one year, the NALC's first.  During that year, Bp. Bradosky served as General Secretary (a chief administrative officer of sorts).  John has been in leadership from the NALC's founding and has been bishop for all but the first year.  The Convocation this summer in Indianapolis will call a successor.  That inevitably means change, intended and otherwise. 


The NALS operates from the Trinity School of Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, which describes itself as an "evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition."  Its own faculty and staff are quite small.  Moreover, I do not believe that it is accredited to grant degrees on its own.  Rather, it operates in partnership with Trinity and other schools that do grant degrees.  The seminary president's job therefore is different from that at Luther Seminary or in St. Louis. 


Others should and will correct me if any of this is wrong.

That is correct. Dr. Amy Schiffrin, current President,  is a friend and you describe the real situation. She is, by the way, going to remain as a professor (with the administrative burden removed).

Peace, JOHN

She strikes me as a wonderful teacher and mentor. 

[John_Hannah]

re-reading it, I guess I looked at it from just the OP perspective.  Pastor Falk also did bring up the the election of Bishop, that does pose another unique set of challenges.  I'm not sure I'm qualified currently to engage on that topic, but it would be fair and safe to say that this challenge exists in every denomination when a new "leader" is elected.

A bit of background for those who don't follow the NALC closely.


Bishop John Bradosky will retire later this year.  Bp. Bradosky succeeded Bp. Paull Spring, who had agreed to accept a call to that position for just one year, the NALC's first.  During that year, Bp. Bradosky served as General Secretary (a chief administrative officer of sorts).  John has been in leadership from the NALC's founding and has been bishop for all but the first year.  The Convocation this summer in Indianapolis will call a successor.  That inevitably means change, intended and otherwise. 


The NALS operates from the Trinity School of Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, which describes itself as an "evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition."  Its own faculty and staff are quite small.  Moreover, I do not believe that it is accredited to grant degrees on its own.  Rather, it operates in partnership with Trinity and other schools that do grant degrees.  The seminary president's job therefore is different from that at Luther Seminary or in St. Louis. 


Others should and will correct me if any of this is wrong.

That is correct. Dr. Amy Schiffrin, current President,  is a friend and you describe the real situation. She is, by the way, going to remain as a professor (with the administrative burden removed).

Peace, JOHN

She strikes me as a wonderful teacher and mentor.

A great preacher and a great theologian, a combination you don't find very often.

Peace, JOHN

[Keith Falk]

and what is a description of the status quo?  I ask seriously.

Not a question I am willing to answer in these parts.

[Gary Hatcher]

I am not qualified to suggest who might become president of the Seminary. As to the office of bishop of the NALC, Pr. Marshall Hahn is the obvious choice. Of course, the church headquarters will have to move to St. Olaf, Iowa, but that is a small sacrifice for such a capable bishop. 

[Marshall_Hahn]

I am not qualified to suggest who might become president of the Seminary. As to the office of bishop of the NALC, Pr. Marshall Hahn is the obvious choice. Of course, the church headquarters will have to move to St. Olaf, Iowa, but that is a small sacrifice for such a capable bishop. 

It appears obvious that neither are you qualified to suggest who might become bishop of the NALC!   

Marshall Hahn

[mj4]

Ambridge, Pennsylvania: The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) Executive Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, to call the Rev. Dr. Eric Riesen to serve as the next president of the North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS). The NALS is housed at Trinity School for Ministry, an Anglican seminary headquartered in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, where Riesen formerly served on the Board of Visitors.

Riesen will follow the Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin, STS, who led the seminary as its first president. “I am so thankful for having been called to serve as the president of the NALS during these six years. When the NALC began, we did not have a seminary. Now not only do we have a seminary that is orthodox, confessional, and evangelical, we are flourishing in an ecumenical environment, and we have relationships with a variety of undergraduate schools that will create a ‘pipeline’ of students who will one day serve our NALC churches and mission outposts,” said Schifrin. “All of us at the NALS are excited about the upcoming arrival of our new president, Eric Riesen. I’ve known Pastor Riesen as a respected colleague and friend, and I believe he will be able to lead the NALS into a new season of growth.”

Riesen is a graduate of Indiana University, Fort Wayne (B.S.), Fuller Theological Seminary (M.A.), Luther Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (D.Min.), where his work focused on the dialogue between theology and science. His dissertation, “When Worldviews Collide: The Christian Faith and the New Genetics,” explores moral and theological questions raised by new genetic technologies. In 2016, the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau published his book, The Christian Faith: A Catechism for the Curious, and he has also written for the online edition of First Things.

http://alpb.org/books/the-christian-faith-a-catechism-for-the-curious/

https://thenalc.org/projects/north-american-lutheran-church-calls-new-seminary-president/