Karl L. Barth (November 7, 1924 – February 16, 2020) was the eighth president of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1982 to 1992.[1]
Barth was born in Wisconsin on November 7, 1924.[2] His father, G. Christian Barth, was a president of Concordia College in Wisconsin and his brother, W.L. Barth, also became a Lutheran minister.[3] [4] [5]
He graduated from Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1943 and earned a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1947.[6] He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by Concordia Theological Seminary in 1975.
He served as a pastor in Louisiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.[7] He was president of the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) from 1970 to 1982.
He became president of Concordia Seminary in 1981.[8] He oversaw celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the seminary. In 1986, he predicted that a pastor shortage would become a problem for LCMS churches.[9]
Barth was married and had five children. He died on February 16, 2020, and was buried in Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin.