Supporting Second Career Seminarians

Our work is the encouragement and support of Second Career Lutheran Seminarians. We seek to strengthen and grow the Lutheran church in the Southeastern USA (the region roughly south of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi River) by supporting men and women preparing for full time service in Christ's Church. These are folks feeling the call to come out of successful secular careers  in order to become experienced leaders in Lutheran church settings. They are preparing for Ordained ministry, or any one of several types of lay church vocations. Their families are an important part of their commitment to ministry and preparation for that specific ministry. In that sense, we are a family oriented ministry.

The Rod And Staff Foundation seeks to be fully involved in a ministry of support for these folks while not being affiliated with any particular Lutheran denomination entity. The church is facing a growing clergy shortage in light of the retirement of the "boomer" generation among other things.  The needs won't be met by those in the traditional pipleine progression of college and seminary. Much of the church is agonizing over issues of opening rosters to folks in various alternative situations. It seems the church is possibly overlooking a rich resource of experienced and committed leaders ready to come out of secular careers in response to God's Call to specific ministry. These are almost always candidates for ministry with families and they present the need for a different level of support for themselves, their families, and for necessary economic resources, as well as issues of child care, relocation, housing, and other aspects of daily life. That is the basic thrust of the work of the Rod And Staff Foundation. We boldly state our concern for their educational, spiritual and family growth along a path leading to full time Lutheran church ministry.

(We are grateful for a generous grant from the Cross of Life Endowment Fund of the Lutheran Community Foundation for the development, support and maintenance of this website.)