I grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota, as the youngest of four children. After joining the Covenant Players, a Christian drama company, and serving as a counselor at a Lutheran Bible camp, I felt called to be a Lutheran pastor. I graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and then went on to Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA. Once I finished my studies for my Master of Divinity, I went straight to Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, for my PhD in Biblical Studies. My first call was in the ALC at a three-point parish in Roseau, MN. My second call was to the staff at Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead, MN. In 1990, I took a call to the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg where I had many hats including Professor of New Testament, Director of Internship, Candidacy Coordinator, and Director of Theological Studies. I served in that call for 27 years.
I have three children, two live in Virginia and the other in Oregon. I enjoy playing Fantasy Football in our church league and a league in Las Cruces, NM. I love international travel, especially to the Middle East, Italy and Greece. My wife, Michelle, and I were married in a historical home with 13 people present on the Gettysburg Seminary campus in June of 2004.
