‘Holding fast to the Word’: Bruss installed as CTSFW president

The Rev. Dr. Jon S. Bruss delivers remarks following his installation as president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, on Sunday, Sept. 8. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By Sarah Reinsel

The Rev. Dr. Jon S. Bruss was installed as the 17th president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), during the seminary’s opening service of its 179th academic year at Kramer Chapel on Sept. 8. The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), preached for the Office of Vespers, and LCMS Indiana District President Rev. Dr. D. Richard Stuckwisch performed the rite of installation.

‘Everything we have’

Harrison preached on St. Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians to “put on the full armor of God,” calling on CTSFW faculty, staff and students to do the same and hold fast to the Word of God.

Harrison remarked, “How many times I’ve had this [Greek New Testament] open when somebody has been hurting or denied the faith or been messed up on what the Bible teaches on the Gospel of Baptism, the reality of conversion as God’s act, the blessed facticity of the Supper, Christ’s body and blood.”

He continued: “It’s the power against Satan, the very Word of God. It’s everything we have. It’s His. And it’s on your lips, and in your heart, and on your hands. And it scurries your feet along to love, to find, to seek, to bring the sheep home, to look after the little children, to care for the elderly, above all with the Gospel. All of which Satan hates. … When we talk, let it be the very words of God.”

‘Hand in glove’

After being installed by Stuckwisch at the end of the service, Bruss officially opened the academic year with prayers for God’s blessings on the work to be done, followed by a presidential address in which he offered a “small apologia” for including Concordia in the name of Concordia Theological Seminary: “Our seminary is called ‘Concordia Theological Seminary’ — that is, ‘Book of Concord Theological Seminary.’ …

“Faith and confession go hand in glove,” Bruss said. “Our confessions rest on what the Scriptures say and give us to confess: That through them, God has revealed Himself, His will and the salvation that He worked through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, in words that are so clear that they may be faithfully reproduced, so that with the heart, one may believe and be justified and with the mouth one may confess and be saved.”

Addressing CTSFW students and faculty, Bruss concluded: “So let us never, ever tire of our confessions, because the more we press into our Book of Concord, the more will we press into the Scriptures.”

Joshua Camp, a first-year seminarian, spoke for many students who share the same enthusiasm for and commitment to reading and studying the Word of God in community. Camp said that in college, “I got to see [my pastor’s] lifestyle and was really affected by the [church] services, reading the Word, and all the Bible studies and conversations, and in the end [I] decided that that’s kind of the life that I wanted to live.” At seminary this year, Camp is most looking forward to his classes and daily chapel.

In his address, Bruss also acknowledged the following guests in attendance at the service:

Rev. Dr. Scott R. Murray, chairman of the CTSFW Board of Regents

Dr. Erik P. Ankerberg, president of Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis.

Dr. Russell P. Dawn, president of Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill.

Dr. Michael A. Thomas, president of Concordia University Irvine, Irvine, Calif.

Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Winger, president of Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Egger, president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

“Dr. Bruss is a disciple of the Scriptures. … He’s wise, and he’s a churchman, and he’s a pastor,” said Egger. “He’s also a good friend, and I’m very excited about working alongside of him, communicating regularly with him and going about the exact kind of work that he talked about in his address today: preparing pastors for the church who are grounded in the Scriptures as the testimony of Jesus Christ and who confess Christ clearly before the world.”

‘Pure grace’

Bruss was called to the seminary faculty in 2022 as an associate professor of systematic theology. Before joining CTSFW, he served as pastor at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kan., from 2013 to 2022.

“President Bruss is a brilliant scholar who is deeply grounded in the text of the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions; he is also a faithful Lutheran pastor fresh from parish ministry just two years ago,” said the Rev. Dr. Charles Gieschen, CTSFW provost. “He cares deeply for our students, staff, faculty and beloved Synod. He will carry out his new duties with great compassion and high energy.”

Bruss earned a B.A. (1989) in classics at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.; an M.Div. (1994) at Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary (Evangelical Lutheran Synod) in Mankato, Minn.; and an M.A. (1996) and Ph.D. (2000) in classics at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He served on the faculties of Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato; St. Olaf College; the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.; and the University of Kansas, Lawrence, from 1991 through 2011. Bruss colloquized into the LCMS in 2006.

Bruss succeeds the Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., who recently retired as CTSFW president after 13 years of service. Rast has returned to the CTSFW staff as a full-time professor of historical theology.

“During the recent presidency of [Dr. Rast], CTSFW was blessed with an unwavering commitment to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, growth in financial resources to reduce student tuition and debt, and the expansion of this seminary’s global impact,” said Gieschen.

On his own retirement and Bruss’ installation, Rast commented, “It’s kind of like being a pastor. When you move on from that particular situation you pray that there will be a faithful, capable person to succeed you. And God has given us that.”

“[It’s unique] to see a successor installed who continues the vision of the last president and the previous president. There’s a wonderful continuity, and I think that’s a gift,” said the Rev. Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, CTSFW president emeritus and former Concordia University System president. “It’s pure grace and a gift from God [to] have such a wonderful candidate and to see him installed.”

Staying the course

“The blessings have been incredible,” said Rast, reflecting on his time as president. “We have a wonderfully gifted and faithful faculty. We have a staff that is second to none in terms of their commitment to Christ and His mission. The way the people of God have supported us in terms of their financial gifts and their prayerful care for our seminaries has been off the charts.”

As president, Bruss said he will continue “to build the community in this place and … to lean into our Lutheran identity. … We [also] need to raise some significant funds for the future. We’ve got a lot of building work that needs to be done, and all that is going to be good for the long-term thriving of the institution.”

What Bruss most looks forward to doing as president, however, is continuing the seminary’s most essential work: forming new pastors for the harvest and deaconesses for bringing works of mercy to those in need.

See more photos.

Watch a recording of the installation and opening service.

Posted Sept. 26, 2024