At the end of 1968, Fuerbringer announced his retirement as president of Concordia Seminary, triggering the selection process for his replacement. Presidents of the LCMS seminaries were elected by a vote of the following four entities, with each entity getting one vote: the president of the LCMS, the president of the district in which the institution is located (in this case, the Missouri District), the seminary Board of Control, and the LCMS Board of Higher Education. At the time, these positions were all under the control of either supporters of the ecumenical movement or theological modernists.