Welcome to St. Lorenz Lutheran Church & School! It’s a big place, and many life stories have been written and shared here. As I serve here, my desire is to get to know your story more and help you see God’s work in your story, whether you come from a long line of German Lutherans or you have never had any interest in or introduction to the Christian faith at all. No matter how broken, abnormal, or “perfect” your life has been, I would welcome the opportunity to hear it and learn from you. In the meantime, here’s a little bit of my story.
I was born into this world in Illinois and born into the family of God not long thereafter. My life has taken me from Illinois to Indiana to Michigan to Nebraska to Missouri back to Michigan back to Missouri and back to Michigan again. Along the way, God called me into ministry a few days before I turned 19, and I was finally ordained at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Livonia, Michigan at the age of 38 after attending five different universities in Michigan and Nebraska as well as Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. During those years, I also met and married Erica, a woman filled with the Spirit of God and much more athletic than me. Together we have been working on raising seven children: Nicole (now married to Elliott), Noah, Natalie, Naomi, Nathaniel, Nolan, & Noelle. Erica and I love encouraging youth and parents in the faith God has given us and eagerly await the resurrection of the dead when we will be united with many precious family members and friends who now rest in the presence of Yahweh. Even though we fail miserably at times in our roles as parents, friends, and workers in God’s kingdom, our hope, joy, peace, and comfort are deeply rooted in the gracious love, forgiveness, mercy, and providence of Jesus Christ, the king of creation, God the Father, the giver of all good things, and the Holy Spirit, who works constantly to point us and all people to the cross of Jesus Christ. Before St. Lorenz, I served with and was shaped by the wonderful people at Christ Our Savior in Livonia, Michigan for eight years and was privileged to serve my vicarage here at St. Lorenz during the 2012-2013 school year.
God has been more than merciful to me throughout my years and despite my unworthiness, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share that story here at St. Lorenz and be part of the story of God’s work of salvation in this place.