Objective

To present continuing education opportunities in the area of an anthropology of grace for the life and ministry of the church -- that utilize both my broad pastoral experience of twenty years in parish ministry and my expertise relating to the vital work of René Girard.

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (ELCA)
M.Div., 1984
Clinical Pastoral Education, Deaconess Hospital, Spokane, WA, June - August 1982; internship at Trinity Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor, MI, September 1982 - August 1983; concentration of courses in systematic theology.

Michigan State University
Ph.D. program in Philosophy, 1978 - 1980
Graduate Assistantship; finished the course work for Ph.D. program but decided to move on to the seminary before completing exams and thesis.

Valparaiso University
B.A., Philosophy, 1978
Second major in Mathematics; Christ College Scholar in Humanities; "With Honors" in Philosophy (defended a thesis); four years in university choirs.

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Portage, MI
Senior Pastor, August 2006 - present

Greater Milwaukee Synod, ELCA
Interim Pastor, October 2000 - July 2006
Served in SE Wisconsin at: Zion, Racine; Redemption, Wauwatosa; Our Savior's, Racine;
     Grace, Kenosha; Atonement, Muskego; St. Paul's, Milwaukee

Greater Milwaukee Synod, ELCA
Instructor, Spring 2001, 2003, 2005
Synod class for lay professionals on "Lutheran Theology"

Carthage College, Kenosha, WI
Part-Time Lecturer in Religion, Spring 2000

Emmaus Lutheran Church, Racine, WI
Pastor, January 1994 - June 2001
Co-pastorate with Rev. Mary L. Janz

Grace Lutheran Church, Howell, MI
Assistant Pastor, June 1988 - December 1993

All Saints Lutheran Church, Traverse City, MI
Pastor, October 1985 - June 1988

Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
October 6, 1985

• Edit and write the "Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary" website (http://girardianlectionary.net/) since April 2000. Previously, the weekly reflections were distributed by email, October 1996-April 2000. Site nominated for a Webby Award in 2003 in the Spirituality category; averages over 500 visitors daily; recently excerpted in Homiletics (Sept.-Oct. 2005 / Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 55-56).
• Active member of the Colloquium On Violence & Religion ("COV&R") since 1992; elected to, and serving on, the COV&R Board since June 2002. Inspired by the work of René Girard, COV&R's stated object is: "To explore, criticize, and develop the mimetic model of the relationship between violence and religion in the genesis and maintenance of culture."
• Moderate a "Girard Discussion List" on Ecunet since August 1997.
• Presented on "Christian Theology and Holy Relationships" at First Congregational Church, Wilmette, Illinois (and The Raven Foundation), May 3, 2007; at Holy Relationships Midwest Regional Conference, Iowa City, IA, October 20, 2006; and on “The God of Peace in an Inter-Religious World,” for a meeting of the Iowa City Consultation on Religious Communities, October 18, 2006.
• Moderator of sessions at annual COV&R Conferences: a session on "Mimetic Theory and the Bible" at COV&R 2005, Vallendar, Germany; the "Pastoral Ministry Conversation" at COV&R 2004, Ghost Ranch, NM; "Reading Scripture II" at COV&R 2002, Purdue, IN.
• Presentation published entitled "Christianity and Violence: A Response to Robert Daly" in Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture (Spring 2002, Vol. 9, pp. 34-38).
• Taught classes on Lutheran Theology, sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Spring 2001, 2003, & 2005, using Girard's Gospel anthropology as a supplemental perspective to Lutheran theology.
• Offered a response to Anthony Bartlett's book Cross Purposes: The Violent Grammar of Christian Atonement at the COV&R meeting of the 2001 AAR/SBL Annual Convention, Denver (Nov. 17, 2001).
• Presented a paper "'To Guide Our Feet into the Way of Peace': The Historical Evidence for God's Chosen People" at the annual COV&R meeting, Boston College, June 1-3, 2000.
• Essay published entitled "The Work of René Girard as a New Key to Biblical Hermeneutics." Currents in Theology and Mission, June 1999, pages 196-209.
• Led a study group for pastors in Racine on Gil Bailie's "Famished Craving," January - May 1999.
• Led a small group session entitled "The Cruciform Anthropology of René Girard: An Evangelical Understanding of Culture," at the Institute of Liturgical Studies, Valparaiso University, April 13-15, 1999.
• Led a study group for pastors in Racine on Gil Bailie's Violence Unveiled, January - February 1997.
• Essay published entitled "Holy Communion: Altar Sacrament for Making a Sacrificial Sin Offering, or Table Sacrament for Nourishing a Life of Service?" in Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture (Spring 1996, Vol. 3, pp. 201-221).
• Small group presentation on Girardian spirituality, October 28, 1995, at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Parish Leadership Conference.
• Presented a paper on "Sacrifice, Sacrament, Communion" at the annual COV&R meeting, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, June 1-3, 1995.
• Essay published entitled "Holy Communion as the Means of Grace to Serve" in Currents in Theology and Mission (October 1994, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 356-364).

Last updated: May 15, 2008