REPLACE YOURSELF

Pray therefore the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

As a regional sales manager for Investors Diversified Services Company, Alfred Munderloh not only expected sales from the people he hired, he also expected them to find more people like themselves. In other words, he challenged them to replace themselves. This replacement principle resulted in a continual flow of new recruits who, along with the seasoned sales force, were able to service a growing number of clients.

That business practice proved quite successful and when Mr. Munderloh and his wife, Birdell, were considering the disposition of their estates, they decided to help people who wanted to go into the ministry. Mr. Munderloh had wanted to enter the ministry, but growing up in Nebraska during the depression, his family could not afford the costs and financial aid was not available.

Calling upon the expertise of three members of his church, St. James Lutheran Church, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., Mr. Munderloh established a foundation to provide scholarships to people studying for the parish ministry in the Lutheran church. Since its founding in 1959, the Munderloh Foundation has assisted hundreds of seminarians at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio; and the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod seminaries in Fort Wayne, Ind., and St. Louis, Mo.

Now deceased, Mr. Munderloh left his entire estate to the foundation that is managed by a board of 11 trustees. According to Foundation President Richard Moellering, "Because we value a personal relationship with the seminarians, each is assigned to one of the 11 trustees. That trustee is a liaison between the seminary and the student."

Based on need, the scholarship does not require repayment, but Mr. Munderloh incorporated a challenge into it. Each recipient is asked to find one more person like themselves to enter the ministry.

The challenge that worked so well in business also serves the church as clergy retire or leave the ministry and the number of "first call" parishes--ones that offer entry-level salaries--increases.

We thank the Munderloh Foundation for its support of theological education.