FORT WAYNE, April 16, 2024—The following four individuals have been named to the final slate of candidates to be considered for the upcoming election of the seventeenth president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW).
Rev. Dr. Jon S. Bruss Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Rev. Dr. Charles A. Gieschen Professor of Exegetical Theology
Provost
Associate Editor of Concordia Theological Quarterly
Rev. Dr. Gifford A. Grobien Professor of Systematic Theology
Director of DMin Program
Assistant Provost
Rev. Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions
Director of Vicarage and Internship
Director of Residential Pastoral Formation Programs
These candidates were selected from the list of nineteen nominees who allowed their names to stand for consideration. The final slate was established by the electors: the CTSFW Board of Regents (each voting individually), Rev. Dr. Roger Paavola (the district president representing the LCMS Council of Presidents on the CTSFW Board), Mr. Christian Preus (chairman of the LCMS Board of Directors), and Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison (president of the Synod).
"I would like to thank the CTSFW Presidential Search Committee for their work," commented CTSFW Board Chairman Rev. Dr. Scott R. Murray. "I ask you to keep the candidates, the electors, and your seminary in prayer as we complete the final steps in the presidential search process."
Anyone wishing to offer comments about any of the candidates (according to Synod Bylaw 3.10.5.6.2 [c]) is asked to contact Board Secretary Rev. William Cwirla at presidentialsearch@ctsfw.edu by May 10, 2024.
The election of the president, which requires three of the four elector votes (with the Board of Regents voting as a group), is scheduled for May 18, 2024. A public announcement of the election results and the issuance of a call will be made promptly following the election.
The new president will succeed Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., who will retire from the presidency at the end of the 2023–2024 academic year and return full-time to his role as CTSFW professor of historical theology.
Founded in 1846, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, forms servants of Jesus Christ in a vibrant, Christ-centered theological community that engages and resources the church and the world, domestically and internationally, with distinctively Lutheran teaching, practice, and worship. To learn more, visit ctsfw.edu.
