WHO WE ARE
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WELCOME TO ILT!
ILT is a growing college, seminary and graduate school. There are many new initiatives and programs. Learn more below about ILT and how the school can help you achieve your educational goals.
OUR MISSION
ILT, as an institution of higher education, shall preserve, promote and propagate the classical Christian tradition from a Lutheran perspective.
OUR VISION
Centered in the Word of God and the Cross of Christ, ILT students will be grounded in the Bible, rooted in the classical Christian tradition, understand the contemporary cultural horizon, and think critically in the proclamation and advancement of the Gospel.
OUR VALUES
BOLD
We are bold in asserting the truth of the gospel. ILT confesses with ultimate urgency the gospel of Jesus Christ once delivered to the saints, as it is proclaimed in the Holy Scripture and confessed in the Lutheran Symbolic Books, without compromise or abridgment.
Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. . .”
BOUND
We are bound in our submission to the cross of Jesus. ILT does not glory in possessing truths about Jesus Christ, but is captured by the truth of Jesus Christ, and him crucified and risen.
1 Corinthians 2:2: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
OPEN
We are open in listening to all who may contribute to the theological task. ILT is committed to freedom of inquiry and expression in service to understanding and proclaiming the truth of the gospel.
2 Corinthians 10:5: “We take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
CRITICAL
We are critical in our examination of all truth claims. ILT fosters the right use of reason and demands intellectual honesty from all members of its community.
Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
INDEPENDENT
We are independent in carrying out our mission. ILT is not captive to any external restrictions but is free to serve the whole church and the world at large with integrity and faithfulness.
1 Corinthians 9:22b: “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.”
HOSPITABLE
We are hospitable in serving our students. ILT seeks to make an excellent theological education available to students regardless of their location or circumstances.
2 Corinthians 6:3: “We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry.”
Institutional Learning Outcomes
ILT graduates will be equipped with theology that is consistent with Scripture as understood through the classical Christian tradition from a Lutheran perspective.
ILT graduates will be equipped with theology that engages the contemporary horizon.
ILT graduates will be equipped with skills appropriate to their discipline and calling.
ILT graduates will be equipped with knowledge appropriate to their discipline and calling.
THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
Because ILT is established as a theological endeavor holding to the reality of God and the scandal of the cross, the authority of Scripture, the truth of Lutheran affirmations, and the notion that the church is hidden yet revealed, the Institute of Lutheran Theology says certain things about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, humanity, the church, and the end times.
GOD
Is the God who hides and the God who reveals himself.
God hides behind the mask of his attributes in order to reveal himself in his Word.
CHRIST
Is the finite human who contains the infinite divinity.
Jesus Christ—true God from eternity & true man born of the Virgin Mary—is the Word of God, the Savior of the world, and our Lord; he was crucified for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Is the Spirit who creates out of nothing.
Working through the Word and Sacraments alone—apart from reason and free will, the Holy Spirit creates faith in Christ where there had only been the nothingness of unbelief.
BELIEVERS
Are simultaneously and totally saint and sinner.
During the days of their Baptism, believers are totally justified and sanctified, possessing already their eternal life, yet they are at one and the same time totally sinful and waiting upon their mortal end.
THE CHURCH
Is always in need of reform.
Whenever the church seeks to be known outside of its concrete signs (Word, Baptism, Supper, Absolution, Ministry, Prayer, and Cross), it needs reformation; that is—the repentance delivered through the preached Word of God.
THE END TIME
Is in Jesus Christ, who is the new creation.
The kingdom has come and already comes in the person of Jesus Christ. It comes through the gift of faith now and will come in visible glory on the last day.
PHILOSOPHICAL PRESUPPOSITIONS
In addition to our commitment to Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, five foundational principles shape our curriculum and thinking:
THEOLOGICAL REALISM
God is real and exists beyond human awareness, conception, and language.
Accordingly, when we pray, we do not pray to ourselves, but to a God whose existence does not depend upon us.
SEMANTIC REALISM
God’s gift of language enables us to make truth claims about God.
Human emotion, thought, and language do not ultimately determine what is true or false about God, but rather our language reflects the determinate contour of the divine.
THEOPHYSICAL CAUSALITY
God can and does act in the world.
Divine action must not be construed only metaphorically.
A LUTHERAN THEOLOGY OF NATURE
God expresses Himself in the natural order.
Conversation with science and technology furthers our recognition that God expresses Himself in the natural order in ways that inform our understanding of the divine.
THE INTERNAL CLARITY OF SCRIPTURE
God’s Word is clear, not obscure.
God’s revelation is expressed clearly in Holy Scripture, whose words can be understood by the reader as the Holy Spirit interprets their meaning.
OUR PARTNERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Rev. Kip Tyler, Chair
Senior Pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Master | Omaha, NE
Rev. Charles Stevenson, Vice Chair
Pastor at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church | Peabody, MA
Adjunct Professor of Engineering, Technology, and Aviation at Southern New Hampshire University | Hookset, NH
Fred Schickedanz, Treasurer
Real Estate Developer | Calgary, AB, Canada
Rev. Becky Hand, Secretary
Pastor at Life in Grace Ministries | Odessa, TX
G. Barry Anderson
Associate Justice Minnesota Supreme Court | Saint Paul, MN
Dr. Douglas Bahr
Physician | New Braunfels, TX
Rev. Fran Hill
Pastor | Marshall, MN
Curtis Lund
Retired | Whitefish, MT
Dorothy McNaught
Retired RN | Afton, IA
Sen. Kyle Schoenfish
South Dakota State Legislator
CPA at Schoenfish & Company Inc. | Scotland, SD
Rev. Dr. Donald Simmons
Author, Retired University Dean & VPAA
Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church | Cullman, AL
Director of Pastoral Care & Chair, Medical Ethics | Tupelo, MS
Rev. Ed Skutshek
Pastor at Grace Lutheran | Kelowna, BC, Canada
John Stiegelmeier
Retired Head Football Coach of South Dakota State University | Brookings, SD