The Pastoral leadership Institute

Biblical and Lutheran Confessional Standards
This permeates its understanding and approach to its ministry. An Overarching Rationale for PLI, including its Theological Foundation, The Pastoral Leadership Institute is founded for the purpose of teaching leadership knowledge, attitudes, and skills to pastors in the framework of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Immediately this sets the parameters. In all matters theological, the truths of the Scriptures, as understood and confessed by the Lutheran Confessions, form, and norm our teachings. In this, we will affirm the purpose and mission of the church as it proclaims the Gospel in a relevant manner to the culture in which the church is located.

The proclamation of the Gospel is foremost, and the making of disciples of all nations is the vision for its mission. PLI affirms that it is the means of grace which God, the Holy Spirit, uses as He “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith” (Small Catechism, Third Article of Creed).

To this end, PLI will teach leadership matters as tools to assist pastors as they serve “as the leaders of the community of God” (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article X, 10). This is done so that all can “be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

PLI uses a graphic image that depicts a world globe with the word “Ministry” superimposed on it, a Bible beneath the globe, a hand with the word “Training” superimposed on it, two chess pieces and a compass with the word “Leadership” written over them, while the entire graphic is under the cross symbol, the shadow of it being the logo of the LCMS. The meaning of the graphic declares our understanding of our mission.

The Lord has mandated His Church to “Go and make disciples of all nations. . . .” (Matthew 28). Since the words Panta Ta Ethne literally mean, “to all the ethnics,” it is the belief of PLI that God desires pastors of the LCMS, as they move into the next millennium, to be global thinkers, given to the effort of leading their congregations into ministry that is serious about world missions, and reaches out with the Gospel to all ethnic groupings within their own immediate communities.

On the graphic, the Bible image symbolizes that we are a confessional church that holds the Scriptures to be the only source and norm for Christian doctrine. Furthermore, it is the Holy Spirit who, through the Word of Law and Gospel, both convicts the sinner and brings the Good News of salvation in and through the life of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. This message of hope is used by the Holy Spirit to work faith in the heart. The Word is that two-edged sword of Law and Gospel that cuts to the marrow of the human spirit and confronts the individual with the truth about his sin, but also that which brings the message of salvation to the terrified soul.

The word “Training” on the graphic is superimposed over the helping hand. God uses humans to convey the Word and bring it both to those who believe and to those who do not. In learning how to lead congregations more effectively in the work of the Gospel, an experienced hand can often assist the novice; the younger can be guided by the older, even as St. Paul assisted and guided Titus and Timothy. This is a vital part of the training of pastors in PLI.

As for the symbol of the chess piece: in larger churches today there is a need for strategic thinking. Congregations are complex organizations where considerable leadership, management, and organizational skills help them to fulfill the mission of God in that place. It has been contended that the larger the church the less stable and the more fragile it is and, therefore, careful thought and long-range thinking about the effect one ministry might have on another, and how one directional move will effect another, is vital.

At the same time, pastors must keep “true North” as symbolized by the compass. “True North” means keeping the proper focus, namely, the work of connecting people to Jesus. It is easy for people in large churches to get so caught up in a multiplicity of programs that they forget what God’s mission is for them. The church is not primarily a social ministry agency nor a therapeutic center. The church is “the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the Holy Sacraments are administered according to the Gospel” (Augsburg Confession, VII, 1). It functions to connect people to Jesus in order to bring His salvation message through the Means of Grace. The church does this through reaching out to those who are hurting, introducing them to the proclamation of Jesus, the Gospel, so that by the power of His Spirit they can be brought into saving faith and connected to Him through Baptism; and through corporate worship they may continue to hear the word of Christ, receive the Sacrament of the Altar, and respond to it with praise, thanksgiving, and works of service. This is the “true North” of leadership in large congregations.

The cross overlaying the entire graphic, with the LCMS logo as the shadow, accentuates the uniqueness of PLI being a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod ministry. We are a confessional church body that holds the atoning work of Jesus on the cross as the radiant nexus of our belief system. We espouse the “theology of the cross,” not the “theology of glory.” Being saved does not mean a guarantee of external blessings from God, such as wealth, success, happiness, or good health. Being saved means a restoration of a relationship with God that is alien to us, a righteousness that is given to us by God apart from our meriting it. We believe that we are justified by the work of Jesus on the cross, and that we are attached to that work through faith in Him. In fact, the proper theology is that the human is guilty of sin and lost, and it is only God who justifies and is the Savior of sinful human beings. We believe the entire salvation act to be one of His grace, and not one of our doing or merit. And, when we are attached to Him we are forgiven people, but we are still simul justus et peccator, justified but at the same time sinners. As a result, even after conversion, we daily sin much and are in need of daily contrition and repentance, something that is going to be reflected in our lives and worship practices. This theology of the cross affects leadership as it puts pastor and people on the same level, namely sinners in need of redemption, yet without erasing the distinction between the priesthood of all believers and the office of the pastor. It affects leadership because it makes the pastor a servant leader, not a lord. It permeates worship as it calls for regular confession and absolution, and the regular giving of forgiveness through the proclamation of the Word, and the administration of the Sacraments.

Having said all this, it is necessary to state that PLI is not primarily giving itself to teaching theology. That is the work of the seminaries. It is, however, the contention of PLI that good theology influences, shapes, drives, and informs the way one leads and the way a congregation functions, including the way it worships, evangelizes, and teaches. PLI is primarily concerned about teaching matters of the first Article of the Apostles’ Creed, and in most cases, matters which in the Lutheran Confessions would be listed as temporal powers and authorities. These temporal powers and authorities, along with spiritual powers and authorities, are stated in the Augsburg Confession XXVIII, (4), as “the two highest gifts of God on earth.” And, although one could say about many of the principles of administration and organization what Augsburg goes on to say, namely, such powers, “have nothing at all to do with the office of the Gospel” (19), how the principles are applied do (for example, in an attitude of servanthood and of Christian stewardship). They also have much to do with good order, as the same article also states, namely that pastors are given (as are bishops) the right to make regulations so that “everything in the churches is done in good order” (53) as they work with the church in the exercise of its “right, authority, and power to change, to reduce, or to increase ceremonies according to its circumstances” (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, X, 9). Insofar as leadership principles, knowledge, attitudes, and skills can be taught, PLI will teach them as servants to the Gospel, so that the administration of the church can be smooth and not take from its purpose of getting the Gospel proclaimed, but rather make it easier to do so. To the degree the work of PLI is successful in this, it will be helpful to the Church of our Lord, and thus, God pleasing.

Presuppositions for the Institute Definition: Presuppositions are those matters taken for granted by the organization due to its fundamental commitment, e.g. a Christian Church is centered in Christ. They are stated as a testimony to its fundamental stance.

1) Theological integrity to the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions.

PLI affirms the theological truths of the Scriptures as understood and confessed in the Lutheran Confessions as norm for our teachings. We affirm the purpose and mission of the church as it proclaims the Gospel in a relevant manner to the culture in which the church is located. The proclamation of the Gospel is foremost, and the making of disciples of all nations the vision for its mission. PLI affirms that it is the Means of Grace which God the Holy Spirit uses to “call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify the whole Christian church on earth and keep it in the one true faith.”

2) Assisting churches to fulfill the Great Commission.

Believing that the fundamental mission of the church is to connect people to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, and convinced the pastor of a congregation is critical to the degree to which a congregation will engage in outreach ministry to the lost, PLI provides those aspects of leadership training that it especially believes will be helpful for pastors and congregations committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. This is expressed by the initial keynote at the entry conference having the theme, “Connecting People to Jesus.”

3) Excellence in training.

PLI is committed to offering continuing education in leadership areas from experts in the field of executive leadership training who are committed to designs that PLI believes promote excellence in learning theory and maximize participant involvement. Most often these experts are obtained from the business sector of society who have either engaged in training those in the not-for-profit sector or focused sharply on this sector. These experts are selected when they have demonstrated knowledge of the LCMS and can assure PLI that they will not use materials nor teach content that would be in opposition to what the LCMS holds to be true.