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What
is TEEM?
Wartburg and Pacific
Lutheran Seminaries state in their brochures that:
Theological Education
for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) is a program of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America to prepare candidates for ordained
ministry in the areas of ethnic ministry, rural ministry, multicultural
ministry, inner city ministry or deaf community ministry. It
is a certificate program, which means that candidates who go
through this program do not receive the traditional Master of
Divinity degree that students who attend a seminary receive.
The TEEM program helps committed lay people become ordained
pastors. They are Christians who are already functioning as
leaders in their spiritual communities and who are already leading
God's people. They have jobs and families and cannot leave their
communities; and for one reason or another cannot commit to
pursuing a Master of Divinity degree. Yet they are called by
God to become pastors! Students study at home with local pastors
or mentors. This program is designed to meet the missional needs
of the church in emerging ministry contexts.
Candidates must be
nominated by their Synod and approved by the ELCA. They are
normally age 40 or older. They must go through the regular Candidacy
process: They must apply, receive endorsement from their synodical
candidacy committee and receive a recommendation from the Synod
bishop. Each candidate also has a Theological Review Panel (TRP)
made up of a member from the ELCA Churchwide staff, a faculty
member of a Seminary and a member of the Synod’s Candidacy
Committee. This TRP guides the Candidate through the process
of completing the program.
Candidates upon completion
of the certificate program are expected to have biblical knowledge
and understanding, basic understanding of theology and ethics,
a knowledge of Christianity in the United States, the ability
to understand and communicate the teachings of the Lutheran
Church, be proficient in evangelism, stewardship and worship,
have pastoral care skills and be knowledgeable of ELCA church
structure and the way the ELCA functions. Candidates must complete
16 courses plus they must complete and Internship in their home
synod and one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education.
TEEM is
currently offered at four ELCA seminaries: Luther Seminary,
Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest, Pacific Lutheran
Theological Seminary and Wartburg Theological Seminary.
TEEM Program Providing Opportunity for
Del Strecker to Accept God’s Call to Ministry
What is unique about
the TEEM program is that candidates must be serving at least
30 hours per week in a local congregation. It is truly on-the-job-training.
Class work has a reality to it because it is immediately applied.
The student is actually applying the knowledge learned in the
classroom and it is not just theory.
I had been doing
pulpit supply for the Peace Lutheran Parish, a four-point parish
in North Central Kansas, consisting of Ada Lutheran, rural Courtland,
Kan.; Amana Lutheran Church, Scandia, Kan.; American Lutheran
Church, Belleville, Kan. and Our Savior Lutheran Church, Norway,
Kan. After two years of working with an ordained Pastor who
conducted services at two of the churches each Sunday while
I conducted worship at the other two churches, the Peace Lutheran
Parish Council asked if there were some way that I could be
used in more of a full time capacity. They asked for a meeting
with Bishop Gerald Mansholt and at that meeting he suggested,
that I join the TEEM program. I spent time looking into the
TEEM program and decided that this program fit the direction
and the calling I was headed in my life. At my age I felt that
I could not leave everything behind and attend seminary and
I felt that this program could also be beneficial for the Peace
Lutheran Parish. Once I decided that I wanted to pursue the
TEEM track to ordination, the Peace Lutheran Parish supported
my decision by providing financial support, setting up a schedule
whereby I could have days exclusively dedicated to class work,
and providing constant prayers and encouragement.
I wish to relate
a story about my application process. One of the members of
Our Savior’s in Norway told me on several occasions that
she was not going to quit praying for me and working on me until
I became ordained. This was long before I was even considering
the TEEM program. When the Bishop set up my initial interview
for entrance into the TEEM program, he included a member of
the candidacy committee to also be present for my interview.
This candidacy committee member decided to visit Norway to see
if he could find out more about me. When he stopped by the church,
this very lady was there at the church doing some minor cleaning
and he interviewed her. Was it coincidence or the Holy Spirit
at work?
Since I was interested
in and felt a calling to Word and Sacrament Ministry in a rural
setting, I decided to apply for the TEEM program at Wartburg
Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Pacific Lutheran Seminary
also offers the TEEM program but their emphasis is more on ethnic,
multicultural and inner city ministry. Distance also played
a factor, since Wartburg was closer to our area.
I had been a high
school Debate, Forensics and Speech instructor for 34 years,
but during those 34 years I had also been doing pulpit supply
for not only Lutheran but also Methodist, Christian and Presbyterian
churches in the area. I decided to retire from teaching to commit
myself entirely to serving the Peace Lutheran Parish and to
do the class work necessary to complete the TEEM program. I
entered the TEEM program in July, 2006 and am on track to graduate
May, 2009.
I was the first person
form the Central States Synod to enter the TEEM program. Since
then David Rosales who is serving in the Seeds of Faith Parish
(Garfield Lutheran, Garfield; Hope Lutheran, Rush Center, Peace
Lutheran, Albert, First Lutheran, LaCrosse and Emanuel Lutheran,
Hoisington - these are all in Kansas), Amy Truhe who is serving
at Scherer Memorial in Chapman, Kan. and Bill Peterson who is
serving at St. Paul Lutheran, Herington, Kan. have also felt
the calling and have joined the TEEM program. Amy and Bill were
certified Parish Ministry Associates (PMAs), before their entrance
into TEEM. When I started at Wartburg two and one half years
ago, there were six of us. I am currently attending classes
at the seminary this week and the program has expanded to 57
persons enrolled in the Wartburg program. The Holy Spirit is
truly at work, providing Word and Sacrament pastoral care for
the ELCA, through this church. The mission of the church is
being expanded by those of us who are second career persons
and who are following the call of our Lord in a time when there
is need for ordained pastors, especially in the rural areas.
One of my learning
goals for my internship with the TEEM program was to develop
Missional Purpose Statements for the four congregations of the
Peace Parish as well as for the Peace Parish. I feel that as
they worked at developing these missional statements that they
have revitalized some programs that had been dormant and that
I have seen a renewed interest in the local mission outreach
of these congregations.
I thank the Central
States Synod, ELCA, for assisting and supporting me in my seminary
studies through prayers, guidance, and providing financial support
through the Central States Synod Mission Endowment Fund.
Del Strecker
Peace Lutheran Parish
North-Central Kansas
June 3, 2008
“My
Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become
my disciples.” John 15:8 (NRSV)
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