I was born in Minneapolis back in the year 1958. I was the youngest of three children. My dad was a pilot for Northwest Airlines and my mom was a stay at home mom. Our family attended church at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, which is where I was baptized and confirmed. To me it felt like whenever the doors were open for worship we were there.
One of the defining events that happened when I was nine years old is that my sister, Rinda, was killed in a car accident. She was 20 at the time and a nurse in training at Fairview Southdale Hospital. She worked all night and fell asleep driving home, went off the Crosstown Hwy. and hit the abutment of a bridge. It was through that experience that my mom came to know Christ's love in a personal way and that subsequently had an impact on our entire family.
I attended Pilgrim Lutheran School in Minneapolis for grades 1-3. In third grade my family moved to Edina, Minnesota, where I attended St. Peters Lutheran School for 4-6 grade and half of 8th. In 7th grade my parents wanted me to experience what public school was like so I attended Edina Jr. High. Half way through my 8th grade year I saw some friends from St. Peters and begged my parents to return. They agreed but insisted that if I did I could not play basketball for St. Peters. I think they just wanted to test my motives because our basketball season went pretty well the way I remember it.
Another defining event for me was when a group came to our church called, "Ongoing Ambassadors For Christ." I was in 8th grade at the time. They showed us how to go door-to-door witnessing and off we went. Our final question that we asked people was, "Why do you expect to go to heaven?" It was a great question, and very few people said anything about Christ dying on the cross so that we might have the forgiveness of sin. That Sunday morning, the director, Pastor Fred Darkow, invited us to invite Jesus not to just be the Savior of our lives but the Lord of our lives as well. I did and look back on that as an important stepping-stone in my faith development.
My high school years were spent at Minneapolis Lutheran High School. It was there that I met a man by the name of Pastor Paul Marshall. We called him "PM" for short and absolutely loved him. He challenged me and others in my class to become "people persons," people who thought about the needs of others rather than exclusively about self. It changed me and it changed my class. Prior to our senior year he announced his resignation and move to WI, but I think the work God had called him to do for our group of "31" was complete.
As I neared graduation I was planning to follow in my dad's and brother's footsteps and attend North Dakota State School of Science, but at the “11th hour” plans got changed and I headed for Valparaiso University in NW Indiana. It was there that I prepared for my ambition to become a youth director and it was there that I ran into the girl who would become the love of my life - Cathy Arnold. You'll have to wait for a long trip or a campfire to hear the story of how Cathy and I met, but for now, suffice it to say, it was providential and a meeting for which I will be eternally grateful.
I served a church 25 minutes up the road from Valpo called Bethlehem Lutheran (Chesterton, IN) in the area of youth ministry while I went to school. Three years were part-time and a year and a half were full time. Cathy and I were married in 1979 just prior to my senior year of college. (She was done, but don't tell anyone.) I had a blast with the kids of that church. Our youth group name was "The Faithful Dreamers," and we bought a used school bus, traveled to CO and produced a record called, "Seeking the Kingdom." (You do remember records, don't you?)
On February 1, 1981 Cathy and I moved to Hastings, MN where I had been asked to serve as the Director of Youth Ministries at Our Saviour's Ev. Lutheran Church. I served there 9 years 11 months (I was trying to single handedly raise the average length of stay for a youth director!) and left in order to follow God's Call to the seminary. While in Hastings we had prayer breakfasts, Bible studies, retreats, trips and a mission trip called Mission Mexico that we did every other year with several churches, that by God's grace is still happening today. While in Hastings our four older children were born (Sarah, Caleb, Anna and Daniel). Cathy and I agreed to take a "time out" on child bearing for seminary and agreed that it would be brought back up for discussion after graduation.
In the spring of '91, having completed one year of seminary at Luther Seminary and Bethel Seminary in the Twin Cities (part while I was working in youth ministry plus one full-time semester), we packed up our four children and headed for Pasadena, CA. I attended Fuller Theological Seminary and worked as a truck driver for Davis Lumber Co. Dr. Fred Hall served as my supervisor and I did my internship (concurrent with seminary) at Fellowship Lutheran Church in San Gabriel, CA. While we thought our time in CA would be a desert experience it turned out to be an oasis.
Following graduation I received the Call to serve as Assistant Pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church in Waterloo. We arrived in July of '93 anxious to see what God had in store for us. Wow, did He have a lot in store for us! We have been blessed beyond description by our relationship to the Ascension family (Waterloo) and the community. They have walked with us through the birth of our youngest two children (Nathan - or Nate, and Michaela), through the near loss of our son, Caleb, to bacterial meningitis. They rejoiced with us at graduations and weddings. Events, projects, trips and special events dot the landscape of the last 15 and a half years. Much has been learned from Dr. Lindberg and from this congregation.
In 2009, God in His sovereignty and perfect timing called us to serve here at Ascension, Ames. Our time in Ames has been filled with many blessings and a challenge here and there to keep us on our knees. As we have continued to teach and preach the inerrant, infallible Word of God, the congregation has grown significantly. It was a thrill to be part of the relocation from downtown Ames to North Ames. The giving that made that possible was inspiring. We have watched our mission giving increase dramatically and our participation in mission trips explode as well. God is at work in the lives of many people and for that we give Him thanks and praise.
What a joy it is to know that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that we would dare to ask or imagine through the power at work within us (Eph. 3:20). Together, may God do great and mighty things through us His people to the glory of His holy name and to the furthering of His Kingdom.
