Welcome to Luther Seminary’s ABIDE site. This work is vital to our mission to educate leaders for Christian community sent by the Holy Spirit to witness to salvation through Jesus Christ and to serve in God’s world and our vision, “The Holy Spirit calls Luther Seminary to lead faithful innovation for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a rapidly changing world.”
A Call to ABIDE
“Abide with me”: the old hymn of faith invites us to find our sense of belonging in Christ. Jesus invites us repeatedly to “Abide in me” (in the old King James language of John 15).
Luther Seminary extends this invitation to “abide together in the love of God”, to foster community in distinctively liberative and loving ways, trusting that our communal life, our pursuit of mission, and our practices can bear witness to the transformative gospel of Jesus Christ.
The five pieces of the ABIDE acronym lend themselves well to many kinds of organizations. As a community that discovers its identity and shared purpose through the lived testimony, cross, resurrection, and glorification of Jesus Christ, the Seminary recognizes that our Christian practices influence our perceptions of this work. The things that Christians affirm and do, whether in worship services or in the course of daily life, teach us and give us power and perspective to abide. We rely on those practices to orient us, correct us, and compel us to persevere. For God’s abiding love manifests itself in truth and action and not merely in word or speech.
What does ABIDE stand for?
A: Accountability – our efforts to abide must be demonstrated, effective, and expected
B: Belonging – each individual in this community is welcome and has a share in the Seminary
I: Inclusion – everyone has particular contributions to make here
D: Diversity – we discover God in a community that celebrates differences
E: Equity – the adoption, performance, and preservation of just policies, systems, governance, and practices
Luther Seminary’s Strategic Plan includes an objective for inclusion and belonging: “By 2024 Luther Seminary will develop and implement concrete and measurable plans to promote inclusion and belonging across its organizational structure and programs, in keeping with its gospel-centered mission, vision and values and the aspirations of the Welcome Statement.”
Helpful Links
- Q&A with Leon Rodrigues – “Building a sense of belonging”
- Luther Seminary’s Welcome Statement and Mission, Values, and Vision
- ABIDE Statement, Approved May 2023
For more information on ABIDE, please contact abide@luthersem.edu.