Seminex is the widely used abbreviation for Concordia Seminary in Exile (later Christ Seminary-Seminex), which existed from 1974 to 1987 after a schism in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS).

Seminex existed as an institution until its last graduating class of 1983 and was formally dissolved and merged with Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1987.

Reacting against the rise of theologians such as Albrecht Ritschl and Friedrich Schleiermacher, Walther emphasized the inspiration and authority of the Bible as well as a strict adherence to the Lutheran Confessions.

No congregation could be compelled to accept any resolution from a synodical convention or presidential decree that was contrary to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions.

Historical accounts in the Bible such as the Hittite Empire and the United Monarchy were assumed to be unreliable, and figures such as Abraham, Moses, and Noah were held to be entirely fictional.

In contexts where we should normally make a statement on this point, we should instead affirm positively that the Sacred Scriptures have the Holy Spirit as their principal Author, that they are the Word of God, and that they are true and dependable.

Despite Pieper's popularity and resolutions by several synodical conventions endorsing the Brief Statement, theological modernism slowly made inroads in the LCMS.

[6] Concordia Seminary was affected, as were many institutions of higher education in the United States, by the rise of student activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s relating to the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement.

One of the main issues was the definition of "full-time" enrollment, which determined whether a student was eligible for deferment from the military draft for the war.

[7] Under the presidency of Alfred Fuerbringer from 1953 to 1969, Concordia Seminary had developed a reputation as a more liberal institution within the LCMS due to its teaching of historical-critical methods of biblical interpretation.

[9] Beginning in 1959 and continuing through 1973, the laity in the LCMS reacted to the growing modernism at Concordia Seminary by passing a series of seventeen resolutions either affirming full biblical inerrancy or condemning the spread of "antiscriptural teaching" in the synod.

Preus's supporters wanted to see the LCMS, and especially its colleges and seminaries, adopt more uniform orthodox and confessional theological stances.

[15] Within a year of assuming office, Preus established a Fact Finding Committee to examine the teachings of the seminary's faculty.

The main bulk of the report consisted of a large number of quotations from the transcripts of the interviews with the seminary faculty members, whose anonymity was protected.

The suspension was initially delayed and then "vacated" while various groups in the LCMS attempted to find a route toward reconciliation, but Tietjen was again suspended on January 20 of the following year.

A large majority of the seminary's students voted on the morning of February 19, 1974, to continue their education under the targeted faculty at an off-campus site.

Immediately after the students passed their resolution, they and the majority of the faculty staged a dramatic walkout, inviting the local press for the event.

[19][20] Singing "The Church's One Foundation", they processed out of the seminary grounds, where students had planted white crosses bearing their names.

[21] No longer acknowledging the legitimacy of Concordia Seminary and its new administration led by Martin Scharlemann, Seminex faculty and students referred to that institution simply as "801", after its address at 801 DeMun Avenue.

The conference's 800 delegates promised moral and financial support for church members who faced pressure due to their opposition to the actions of the LCMS convention.

They also formed a new organization, Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM), to serve as a network and rallying point for the liberal wing of the LCMS.

[22] In an attempt to drum up support for their cause, Seminex students barnstormed the nation as part of "Operation Outreach", meeting with LCMS congregations to explain their perspective of what happening in the rapidly evolving situation in St. Louis.

[28] To ministers and parishioners who remained with the LCMS, this and other moves by the fledgling AELC validated earlier concerns about the faculty majority at Concordia Seminary.

In consequence, the break-away organization could not provide nearly enough pastoral positions for all the graduates of Seminex, whose enrollment began to sharply decline.

[30] In 1975, the LCMS convention voted to close Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which had allegedly served as a pipeline for students into Seminex.

Due primarily to its difficulties placing graduates in ministerial positions, Seminex enrollment sharply declined over the next decade.

[31] By the end of the 1970s, any hope that a large number of LCMS congregations would leave had been extinguished, forcing Tietjen, who was now president of Christ Seminary-Seminex, to begin laying off faculty who had walked out.

[38] Thus the Lutheran Book of Worship was published in 1978 without the participation of the very denomination that had initiated its production, angering leaders in the other church bodies.

[41] The stress and turmoil generated by the controversy wrought an enormous toll on all participants, Martin Scharlemann, who had been appointed to replace Tietjen, resigned from the presidency of Concordia Seminary a mere three months into his term due to mental and physical exhaustion.

Schaeffer commended the synod for its faithful stance and noted that this was the first time in history that a church body had resisted the influx of modernism and retained its confessional heritage.