The ACELC exists "to give a united voice against errors that are officially adopted in convention, tolerated, and/or promoted in the LCMS.”

The Best Lutheran Theological Conference of 2025

Did the title catch your eye? I hope so. Is it an overstatement or an exaggeration? Not if you let me finish the sentence. I promise that THE BEST LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE OF 2025 in Carlisle, Iowa, will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, July 15-16 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Of course, this will also be the only Lutheran Theological Conference held in Carlisle, Iowa, in 2025.

The conference is titled: A Noble Task: Pastoral Formation in the LCMS. It is being organized by the Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations (ACELC).

As you may or may not be aware, significant changes have been made in how the LCMS prepares men to be qualified to serve as pastors. In addition to the traditional, residential Seminary training which served the Synod’s congregations for more than 100 years, there are now several alternate routes which involve varying degrees of online, residential, and localized training. Additionally, a significant new model, described by some as “contextualized” preparation, is also being proposed. This new method of preparation may make our Seminaries obsolete at best or even unnecessary at worst.

Undoubtedly the topic of Pastoral Formation will be a significant topic at the Synodical Convention in 2026. Do you want to start getting prepared? Do you want to be ready to engage in careful, thoughtful discussions, guided by the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, on a topic which may shape the Synod’s history for the next 100 years?

This topic won’t just affect the Synod. It will affect your congregation too. Maybe not next year or the year after that, but eventually it will. Sometime in the future, your congregation will have a pastoral vacancy. When it comes time to fill that vacancy, how do you want your next pastor to have been taught, shaped, and formed? You should want your pastor to have been trained to the highest standards with a deep, rich unwavering commitment to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.

Pastoral Formation is essential to the strong, Biblical and confessional identity of the Synod. Do you remember? What happened to the Synod more than 50 years ago when Pastoral Formation at the St. Louis Seminary was affected by a methodology of Higher Criticism which undermined the authority and truthfulness of Scripture? It eroded our Synod’s faithfulness to God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions. It also caused a historic shift in our Synodical unity. The congregations and pastors of the Synod must not let this happen again.

Presenters and their topics for this year’s conference include:

• Pastoral Formation: Seminary Perspectives – Rev. Dr. Jon Bruss, President, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
• History of Pastoral Formation – Rev. Willie Grills, Zion Lutheran Church, Avilla, AR
• Challenges to the Church Today – Rev. Adam Moline, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Lincoln, NE
• Solutions for the Future – Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Oakmont, PA
• Reflecting on a Career in the Pastoral Office – Rev. Rolf Preus, Banquet Speaker

Follow this link for the 2025 ACELC Conference to find more information about the conference, hotel accommodations, the speakers, and to register. We look forward to seeing you July 15-16 for THE BEST LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE OF 2025 in Carlisle, Iowa.