Under the Fig Tree: Campus Updates with President Dr. Thomas Egger

Under the Fig Tree

In this episode, Rev. Tom Schlund and Kati Gaschler sit down with President Dr. Thomas J. Egger who gives some updates about things around Concordia Seminary. They discuss with Egger the excitement and joy of starting a new school year, looking back on Orientation and looking forward to the year ahead. They reflect on the impact of having these new students on campus, each with their own story and journey to the Seminary. Egger shares, "It's always inspiring when you see the new students coming in. You just remember the Lord is at work in his church. And here are a whole bunch of people who He has placed His gospel in their hearts in such a way that they want to offer themselves to serve the church in the name of Christ with that word of hope."

Other updates include changes to faculty and staff on campus, with an emphasis on the experience of visitors to our campus. We see this particularly in the Admissions and Recruitment departments and the process of calling two new admissions officers, as well as with Campus Events and Hospitality. Schlund shares some of his experience in taking his call to the Seminary as a recruitment officer. He says, "It didn't take very long for me to realize... that God is a God of physical means. He's always using people and things to accomplish his tasks. And so, I discovered that the role we play is one of encourager and director along the way... It's not just collecting applications after the Holy Spirit has done his secret work. There is real, useful and important work to be done."

Egger also shares some comments on this year being the 100th anniversary of the Clayton campus, which brings with it a variety of physical maintenance and improvements that must be done. He also gives an overview of the large-scale Campus Plan. Schlund remarks, "Generation after generation, there's always been this investment ensuring there is a place to train and form pastors to go out and serve."

The episode ends with advice from Egger for future students and those considering attending, "Read your Bibles ... Don't wait to start that process of filling yourself with God's Word. Read the Scriptures ... Trust that through his Word, God gives wisdom."

In the recurring segment "Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree," find out everyone's opinions on a couple classic (or not so classic) movies and star athletes of Major League Baseball and the Women's National Basketball Association.

Interested in vocational ministry? Start a conversation with our admissions team at https://ask.csl.edu/register/Request-Information. Learn more about Concordia Seminary at http://www.csl.edu or by contacting the admissions team at [e-mail] or 800-822-9545.

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added throughout the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.