The curriculum at Luther Seminary offers a wide variety of course options for all degree programs. All of these courses play a vital role in the interwoven flow and philosophy of the curriculum. Luther Seminary’s curricula are dedicated to educating leaders for Christian communities called and sent by the Holy Spirit to witness to salvation through Jesus Christ and to serve in God’s world.

In addition to the standard curriculum offerings, other opportunities for theological education while a student is at Luther Seminary include cross-registration through the Minnesota Consortium of Theological Schools and some courses at other ELCA seminaries, independent studies/guided readings under faculty supervision and off-campus study opportunities.

DIVISIONS

Bible

The Bible Division extends and deepens each student’s faithful and critical reading of Scripture through a series of core classes and a broad range of electives.

Our major goal is that the biblical witness be at the heart of our faith and ministry as we seek to discern the will and ways of God in a variety of cultures, in our own time and for the future.

History/Theology

The History/Theology Division assists students in becoming effective leaders of Christian communities in mission today. To do that, we know that students will not be able to simply reproduce the tried-and-true practices of past generations without reflecting on their suitability to change and a diversity of contexts. They will need access to the wisdom of Christians from around the world and over the centuries as they struggle to lead Christian communities in mission.

From a decidedly global perspective, the teachers of mission introduce students to diverse religions, cultures and methods of mission. The systematic theologians help students ground leadership neither in tradition nor novelty, but in the Triune God. And the historians invite students to explore the experience of millions of believers over thousands of years, with special emphasis on the Reformation traditions and mission in America.

Leadership for Mission

The Leadership Division helps educate leaders for Christian communities by placing the primary emphasis on leadership within the division’s courses. This emphasis is developed within an understanding of the church as being both a confessional and missional church, which draws faithfully on its rich biblical and theological heritage while it seeks to address a changing world with relevance and integrity.

The theological and theoretical foundations for leadership in Christian ministry are developed as a framework for engaging in the actual skills of ministry—vision casting, preaching, worship, disciplining, pastoral care, education, evangelism, youth work, family ministry, counseling in difficult situations and so on.

Varieties of teaching methods are utilized to provide students with the theological background, current research and hands-on experience to engage in the actual practice of ministry. Critical to this work is the integration of various ministry contexts into the students’ learning process through such programs as contextual learning, internship and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).