Concordia Theological Seminary - Springfield Concrordian Yearbook (Springfield, IL)

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THE HIGHEST HONOR The greatest honor that can be bestowed on any man on earth is to call him a faithful minister of Christ. This honor the graduating class of Concordia Seminary, Springfield, Illi- nois. asks for each of its members. For in their motto the more than one hundred members of the class of 1962 are calling upon each individual member to involve himself in a ministry having the highest aim and purpose possible for men on earth, namely, iithat God in all things may he glorified through Jesus Christ? God is glorified through Jesus Christ when men believe, hope, and trust in Him as their Father in heaven, knowing that He has made them and still preserves them; that He has pro- cured salvation for them and has brought them to faith in the Savior; that He has promised them a place in heaven and will keep them faithful to the end that they may have this gift of life. A ministry that offers these gifts of God to men is rendering the highest possible service on earth. To be accounted faithful in such a ministry is an honor that only God is able to bestow. The class of 1962 seeks this honor for its members, not for the honoris sake, but for the bless- ings offered to men through the faithful minister. To this end it urges each member to per- form his ministry in reliance on the power which God supplies, encouraging him to look to God, the Giver of all good gifts, for ability wisely to use the gifts which have been showered uponihim, that through such service men may be saved and God may be glorified. That is also the end and aim of the whole program of study and preparation of the sem- inary: to enable the future minister of the Word to glorify God in his work, that as a pastor he may in turn lead his members so to believe and so to live that God may be glorified in them. May every member of the class of 1962 dedicate himself wholly and always to this work so that Godis blessed purpose may he achieved in and through him and God will he glorified. This is the prayer of one who considers it his highest honor to be Your servant in Christ,

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DEDICATION In honest recognition of his intelligent and spirit- ual efforts to develop us in preparation for a most important phase of our service in the Church of our Lord, we, the graduat- ing class of 1962, grateful- ly and proudly dedicate this Candidate t0 MARK J. STEEGE, Th.D. CLASS MOTTO: V f any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ? I Peter 4:11

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TO THE CLASS OF 1962 It is difficult to perform a task when one knows he will never do it again. This is the last message I shall write for the Year Book. My parting counsel to the graduates would be a reminder that they are beginning their min- istry in 66the last days?7 While the Gospel message is the same in any agHsin and grace, Christ and the crosseits presentation requires an intensity of proclamation today in word and deed as never before. As the Christians in the First Cen- tury, you are going out into a pagan world in which Christian- ity is a minority religion. In such an age and under such circum- stances, traditional middle-class congregational Christianity which characterizes our society cannot and will not be effective. Only the zeal and the methods prac- ticed by the saints in the first two hundred years of the Christian Era can again iiturn the world up-side-downY7 May God give you the zeal, the intelligence, and the spirit of sac- rifice required for the successful performance of that task. Past President $757.,f,