Podcast Episode: Luther Seminary and the Future of Mainline Protestantism

A Conversation with Lutheran Pastor Rob Myallis

I’m a graduate of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating in 2001 with my Master of Divinity. My years there were interesting, being a Disciples of Christ seminarian at a Lutheran seminary in the middle of the Lutheran Mecca, but I really enjoyed my time there and got to meet a ton of people that I am proud to call friends.

In June, Luther made public plans to sell its remaining property by 2027 and find a new place somewhere in the Twin Cities. In some cases, this is not surprising. The seminary was in terrible financial shape in the early teens and has slowly sold parts of its property since that time. It is not unusual to hear of a seminary moving or even closing because of declining enrollment. Across town, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities sold its property nearly a decade ago and moved to St. Paul.

While what is happening to Luther is not uncommon, for alumni, this is the end of an era. People familiar with the St. Paul campus must now say goodbye to the beautiful grounds as the seminary moves to a new location in the metro area.

What’s happening at Luther is also an allegory of what is going on within Mainline Protestantism as a whole, as churches struggle to make their way in a new and uncertain era. Last August, an ELCA pastor wrote a provocative blog post called “Where Will Our Next Pastor Come From?” In that article, the author writes about the difficulties of trying to find pastors for mainline congregations. It was a fascinating and honest article, and I talked to the author of that blog post, Rob Myallis. Rob is the pastor of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lititz, Pennsylvania. He writes a blog called Lectionary Greek, which is a great resource for pastors, especially those who forgot some of their seminary Greek. He’s also a fellow grad of Luther Seminary. It’s an enlightening conversation that might surprise you, but it is a necessary talk about where the church is headed. You can listen to this episode here or wherever you listen to podcasts.