More Routes, More Problems: Why Alternative Routes Aren’t the Solution

Lessons from the LCMC: How loose ordination standards fracture confessional unity—and why the LCMS’s seminary system remains vital.

There are those in the LCMS currently advocating for more alternative routes to ordination. Having served in another Lutheran body prior to entering the LCMS, I believe such a move would be a mistake. My own experience there shows the dangers of loosening pastoral standards, and the idea of adding non-LCMS online options for pastoral training underscores why the LCMS’s traditional seminary system is a treasure to be preserved, not bypassed.

For eight years, I served congregations in the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). Many of these congregations had left the ELCA after its decisions regarding ordaining LGBTQ+ pastors. But the LCMC established itself with very loose pastoral standards.

It maintains two categories of pastors: “certified” and “non-certified.” Certification requires an M.Div. or equivalent degree from any seminary or theological school with some instruction in the Lutheran Confessions, but it is not required for service. This meant pastors with widely different training—and sometimes with moral disqualifications—were entrusted with the pastoral office.

In my first call, I served one of the more “Lutheran” congregations in the LCMC. We used hymns from the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW), kept some liturgy, wore vestments, and celebrated weekly Communion. Yet nearby, another congregation called a man who had been removed from the Assemblies of God for misconduct. Because the LCMC had no meaningful oversight, and the congregation was desperate—being in a very rural town with little compensation to offer—he was installed. The result was predictable: division and false teaching, including a denial of infant baptism.

Even among well-meaning pastors, unity was absent. Since pastors trained at such a wide variety of institutions—Luther Seminary, Bethel, Fuller, Dallas Theological, Emory, and online programs like ILT or the Master’s Institute—there was no shared foundation. Pastor gatherings were not theological conversations but marketing strategy sessions. Without common training, there was no common confession.

Because of the loose standards of the LCMC pastoral roster, you could encounter men and women from wildly diverse backgrounds—former UCC ministers, a laicized Roman Catholic priest, and many others. The result was that finding pulpit supply or working together across congregations became nearly impossible if you believed doctrine mattered. Unity was sacrificed on the altar of expediency, and the cost was heavy.

By contrast, the LCMS is blessed with two seminaries that faithfully form Lutheran pastors. Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis are staffed by professors whom the Holy Spirit has raised up to prepare pastors who are biblical, pastoral, confessional, and liturgical. They train shepherds who love Christ, His Word, His people, and the Lutheran Confessions.

I entered the LCMS by way of the colloquy program, an existing alternative route. Having already completed my M.Div. at Luther Seminary, my wife and I carried significant debt, which we were able to pay off through an inheritance my mother-in-law left us after her passing. This allowed us to be debt-free in case further education at an LCMS seminary was required to complete the colloquy process. The process itself required papers, district interviews, and probing questions about doctrine and life. By God’s grace, I was accepted onto the roster without returning for additional coursework—though at times I wish I had been sent back to seminary.

Before colloquy, I visited both Fort Wayne and St. Louis for symposiums and continuing education. The difference from Luther Seminary was striking. At both of our LCMS seminaries, I encountered theologians who were also pastors at heart—men devoted to Scripture, the Confessions, and liturgy. Over the past five years, I’ve continued to benefit from their teaching at conferences and events. Frankly, I regret the tuition I spent at Luther Seminary instead of receiving the stronger formation provided by an LCMS seminary.

President Matthew Harrison said at the Minnesota North District Convention that we have a strong clergy roster. I agree. Our two seminaries are central to this strength, providing pastors with a shared confession and formation. Even clergy within our Synod who argue for more options to ordination—though wrong in their conclusion—are themselves a testament to the quality of our seminaries. Their sincere love for the gospel and their passion for reaching the lost flow out of the faithful formation they received in LCMS seminary training.

Expanding alternative routes risks repeating the mistakes of the LCMC. The strength of the LCMS is not only its confession but its consistency of pastoral formation. To “contract out” training to institutions or professors who do not share our confession is to open the door to further disunity, doctrinal confusion, and even false teaching.

We should not entrust the formation of our pastors to those with whom we would not commune at the altar. To do so would undermine the very unity of doctrine and practice we have pledged to preserve.

Yes, seminary requires sacrifice—time, finances, relocation. But that sacrifice is worth it. The pastoral office is not a career to be streamlined but a sacred calling demanding careful formation. Our confession of faith is worth defending, and the best defense is faithful shepherds, united in doctrine and practice.

Instead of expanding alternative routes, we should focus on recruiting qualified, faithful men—men who love Christ, His Word, and His Church—and supporting them in the traditional seminary route. Congregations should identify and encourage future pastors. Districts, congregations, and individuals should help seminarians financially, so debt does not deter them.

We believe that it is the Holy Spirit who creates faith and sustains the Church. The Lord Himself provides pastors for His flock according to His wisdom and timing. Suppose He leads His Church into a season where She is smaller, with fewer congregations. In that case, we should not respond by lowering standards but by ensuring that our pastoral training remains excellent and faithful. Whether the Synod is larger or smaller, the bold and clear confession of the Gospel must remain unchanged.

The LCMS faces its own set of challenges, despite having only two seminaries. But those institutions remain among our greatest strengths. To dilute or bypass them would weaken our unity and confession. My time in the LCMC stands as a warning: loose ordination standards do not strengthen mission; they breed confusion.

The LCMS seminaries continue to form pastors who are faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. Let us hold fast to them, trusting that the Lord of the Church will continue to raise up faithful men to serve His flock through His Word and Sacraments.

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Pastor Hollingsead is married to Amber, and they have four children. He is the pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Aitkin, MN.