The goal of Luther Seminary’s Master of Divinity program is that our graduates will be prepared to serve as missional pastors in the church, leading Christians in lives of witness and service. In addition to being persons of faith and good character who are grounded firmly in the message of the Bible and the insights of Christian history, theology and ethics, we want our graduates to be known for excellence as preachers of the biblical message, leaders in worship and servant leaders.
We want them to be able to provide effective leadership in congregations by equipping members to serve God’s mission of spreading the gospel and caring for the world. The world’s needs for witness and service have never been greater. We believe God is calling and sending the church of Jesus Christ into mission in a new era of Christian history, one in which the church can no longer depend on support from the surrounding culture.
Our vision is to prepare a new generation of pastors who can strengthen the life of individual Christians and congregations even as they lead them to engage in mission in their context. We believe this requires learning both theology and leadership not only in the classroom and library but also in the contexts of congregations and their communities and in relation to Christians of other communions and members of other religions. This commitment to be both confessional and missional—and never one without the other—draws together the various courses, practices and contextual experiences of Luther Seminary’s Master of Divinity program for educating students for pastoral ministry. This commitment is expressed in seven learning outcomes for graduates of our program:
Biblical Hermeneutics: Graduates, together with others in community, will read the Scriptures faithfully, critically, and imaginatively.
Systematic Theology: Graduates will articulate and confess the character, identity, and work of the Triune God in the world from diverse biblical, historical, and theological perspectives.
History of Christianity: Graduates will demonstrate the ability to understand the origins and spread of Christianity and the ways this history continues to shape persons and communities.
Cultural Context: Graduates will demonstrate the ability to understand and competently engage culture in its diversity in theological reflection, social relations, and ministerial practice.
Formation: Graduates will demonstrate growth and maturity in their character, relational, and faith formation.
Leadership for Mission: Graduates will demonstrate the development of their own gifts for leadership in their ministry context(s) and within a critical understanding of leadership.
Christian Ministry Praxis: Graduates will demonstrate the ability to form and lead within Christian community gathered around Word and Sacrament for bold participation in God’s mission.