Candidate Application Detail Listing

Ordained Minister

willing to be placed on the ballot for the Office/Board(s) for which I have been recommended

Sole Pastor - Grace Lutheran Church, Western Springs, IL, May 2014 - Present
Assistant Pastor - St. Paul Lutheran Church, Oak Lawn, IL, August 2011 - May 2014
Vicar - Messiah Lutheran Church, Seattle, WA, August 2008 - July 2009
Field Worker - St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN and Advent Lutheran Church, Zionsville, IN, September 2006 - May 2008
Elder - Advent Lutheran Church, August 2005-July 2006

District Pastor Representative - Concordia University Board of Regents, Chicago, IL, March 2022 - Present
Circuit Visitor, Circuit 13, Northern Illinois District, Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, May 2017 - March 2022
Chairman, Northern Illinois District Pastor’s Conference. 2019-2022
Secretary, Northern Illinois District, East Region Pastor’s Conference. 2017-2021
Floor Committee Member, Northern Illinois District Convention, 2015
Programming Committee Member, Northern Illinois District, East Region Pastor’s Conference. 2011-2017, 2022 - Present

Doctrinal Reviewer - Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, 2015 - Present
Contributor, Reformation Blog, 2016 - 2017

Board Member, Grace Christian Academy, Little Village, Chicago, IL, 2015 - 2022

As Christ our Lord has brought the Kingdom of God to this broken and fallen world, He does so, freeing us from the bondage of Sin, Death, and the Devil. The freedom won for us in His Life, Death, and Resurrection He carries to us in the ministry of His Church through the proclamation of this blessed eternal Gospel. The Gospel creates faith by that Word and through the promise of that Word as it is attached to Baptism and His Holy Supper. This faith receives that forgiveness and justification of Christ for us. The congregation is that location where Christ brings this work to His people through the ministry of the Church bestowed upon the pastor to exercise publicly. This is the mission of the LC--MS and the NID in the place of Northern Illinois. The mission is exercised most visibly in the Divine Service, but Christ extends this work to the world through His priesthood of the baptized who carry His light to the world around us, loving and serving as He has loved and served us.

The challenge of the culture around us is obvious. The interest of our society in the Christian faith is shrinking. This does not mean that there is not opportunity. In fact, the opportunity is great because of the great need for the Gospel in the world. As I seek to continue serving Concordia University, it is clear that this affects the work of the Church there as well. In the university context, the challenge is compounded also by the demographic cliff and the concerns connected with the value of higher education. As CUC has been affected by these challenges, there is great hope in seeing the direction the university is moving in terms of improving both Lutheran identity and academic quality. By the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, a strong confession and dedication to this goal will serve as a light to those grasping for it in the darkness of our world. I hope to continue serving toward this goal carrying this Truth, Beauty, and Goodness to the students at Concordia.