Candidate Application Detail Listing

Layperson

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

Congregation: Elder: May 2013 to present. Responsible, along with fellow board brethren, for spiritual welfare of congregation, including worship services, oversight of pastoral offices, member consultations, and adherence to Bible and Lutheran confessions. Lay Reader: 2010 to present Adult Choir: 2010 to 2013, plus occasional cameos for festival services 2013- to present Previous congregation: Board of Governance 2003-2006. Hybrid position of spiritual and business management aspects of leading congregation. Confirmation instructor: 2003-2010

Lay member, Board of Directors, 2018 to present. Lay representative to triennial convention for Immanuel Lutheran-Crystal Lake 2003 Lay representative to triennial convention for Zion-McHenry 2012, 2015.

N/A

Neighborhood Association president 2001-2002, 2023-present. Member: Illinois State Bar Association, Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association. Mentor, Illinois Supreme Court Mentoring Program for new attorneys. Volunteer, The Clinic, outreach program to provide professional services and goods to underprivileged individuals, sponsored by Immanuel Lutheran-Crystal Lake.

I believe the primary function of the Synod is to preserve for the individual congregations that make up its membership the correct and uniform doctrine of the Christian Church in accordance with the Holy Bible and its summary documents: the creeds, and the writings in the Book of Concord. To that end, the Synod is necessary for maintaining the seminaries and colleges to train pastors, church and school workers in the one true faith. In addition, the Synod has the opportunity to pool the resources of the congregations for larger-scale mission work across the United States and around the world. The Northern District (and indeed each district) is tasked with the more direct functions of providing resources for the congregations to locate and call workers, maintain viable, coherent and uniform organizations, and coordinate more localized charity and service work. Ultimately, the district is there to assist congregations in shepherding their flock, while helping to reach out to both new me

The Board of Directors will face the significant challenge of fulfilling its mission with an annually shrinking budget. The two obvious solutions are to either increase offerings or decrease spending, both of which will require prayerful consideration and planning. I believe the Gospel message of Christ crucified is not reaching the majority of the residents of our district, and we face stiff competition from more glitzy and less-Scriptural forms of "Christianity" that not only emphasize form over substance, but ultimately fail to deliver the life-saving message. Even some of our own congregations struggle with idea of keeping the true Gospel message at the forefront of all activities. The Board may not have the power to change that overnight, but it should be our primary goal, through all the means available (pulpits, schools, outreach, youth programs) to keep this message in the hearts and souls of all our members and to spread it to non-members.