Title: ELCA Advance Theological Education Network ELCA NEWS SERVICE February 26, 1997 ELCA ADVANCES THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION NETWORK 97-06-016-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A committee overseeing the coordination and planning for a system of theological education in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is preparing for the next step forward -- downsizing itself. When the ELCA's Theological Education Coordinating Committee met here Feb. 7-8 it had 15 members, including the presidents of eight seminaries. The ELCA inherited eight seminaries when it merged three church bodies in 1988. A six-year study of theological education developed a plan for "a system of theological education" using the seminaries as focal points for three "clusters" of the church's resources for theological education, which includes continuing education centers, colleges and other agencies of the church on the territory. "Cooperation and collaboration are now the rule instead of the exception," said the Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director of the ELCA Division for Ministry. "Competition is not of the same sort as in the past -- eight different institutions competing against each other. They're now competing for solutions and working together toward solutions to common problems." According to its design, when the committee meets again in September, "one representative will be named from each seminary cluster rather than from each individual seminary." The Rev. Robert L. Vogel, president of Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, said the seminaries have been well represented in the planning process. He suggested that reducing the size of the committee will emphasize the rest of the network and that the committee could eventually work itself out of business once the network is fully operational. The Rev. Roger W. Fjeld, president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, said he was less anxious about that transition now than he was two years ago when the church approved it. He said he trusts the goals of the committee and "the vehicles to get there" -- the clusters. The Rev. David L. Tiede, president of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., said the transition will work as long as the committee continues to "stay the course" and not try to "create the course." The committee will still have an important role in the process toward a network of theological education. "This group helps manage tension, and that's a very valuable function," said Tiede. "Each time we meet, I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact we can tackle emerging questions and emerging issues which might be sensitive and potentially very difficult," said Wagner. "We have built enough trust and a track record of addressing those issues creatively that those are the results that happen almost every time we meet." Wagner included using the Internet and satellite technology for "distance learning" among the seminaries' cooperative efforts. "The seminaries are developing nitty-gritty things like common accounting procedures to work together in building economies. They are all developing processes and plans for common governance structures in the clusters. They are thinking about how to distribute the funds that come to the clusters," he said. "These meetings are a way for us to bring those different approaches together and learn from each other. It's a very exciting, very promising experience," said Wagner. "Where we are in history requires new forms of partnerships and new forms of funding," said the Rev. Phyllis B. Anderson, ELCA director for theological education. One of the top remaining issues of the committee is to recommend methods of funding theological education. "We've got a long way to go before we start thinking as a system," said Anderson. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html