A little about Kyle Fever, Director of Academics and Contextual Formation

I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. I grew up around normal evangelical Christianity, Christian music, Bible studies, etc. Took forever to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Nothing seemed to really capture me. I loved reading about the Bible, philosophy, theology. I was captivated with the idea of knowing God and living a life that was connected to something bigger than life. I also loved Christian community and on-the-ground ministry that was captivating, engaging, fun, and life changing (recall Lutheran Youth Encounter days…). Eventually (because of a couple really great Bible professors) I really gravitated toward learning Greek and reading and interpreting Scripture and making sense of its stories. I went to Luther Seminary for an MA in Biblical Studies because I wanted to spend my life as a teacher in a college setting and smoke a pipe. Colleges and Universities were different then. I wanted to really get into the New Testament and study it in its historical contexts to understand it better. And to teach you need a PhD, so I did that. I went to Loyola University in Chicago and did the PhD thing (in New Testament and Early Christian Origins). I loved it! I loved the camaraderie, the learning -- all of it. I did quite well, actually. But I was less than impressed with the whole academic world of know-it-alls who think much more highly of their smarts than they should. I just wanted to teach and live a life of influencing college students with the love of God. So I loved the study and teaching and communicating, but not the world that came with it. And I wasn't exactly a big fan of "church" all of the time. Too often, church was too much of a Sunday and programming machine, which I get, but often wonder if things could be different. So, I didn't want to be involved with that. I still struggle. I'm still on the journey. And I'm not sure there ever is a point of finally "arriving." Not if it's the Lord Jesus Christ that we're following. This is the journey my wife, Laura, and our kids and I seek to walk in a joyful struggle. We need to embrace the life of the community of imperfect saints to make sense of it and wake up each morning to keep on.

So here I am. I'm not in this game to be just a teacher or the smart academic in the room. I'm not interested in being some pompous know-it-all expert in theology or even Scripture and early Christianity. And I'm not in it to be a typical "pastor" or church “leader” (whatever “leadership” means these days). I do what I do because I've found that I'm more and more "compelled" as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians. I can't NOT be a worker for the gospel in the ways I believe God has gifted and wired me (which I'm still learning about!). But there’s more. I believe in the core of my being that there is a depth and richness to living that we as Christians and humans seldom open ourselves to, and this depth and richness is only realized when our lives are taken over by Jesus Christ. So, I want to understand what the Biblical writers wrote and why they wrote it. I want to enrich my own understanding of not just the Bible, but of who God is and what Jesus is all about and why in the world it should matter. I want to mine the depths, to be as someone who participates in the same Spirit that walked with and dwelt among the first Christians. I have found that the depths are deeper than I imagined. I have found that the real "knowing" and "wisdom" is in the transformation of the mind and of our lives, so that Christ in us is the only thing left. And I want to mine the depths with others to be transformed in community, learning with and from those living and dead (yea early church fathers!). I want every human face I see to get connected to this reality of knowing Christ, not merely connected to a church or ministry or program -- but on board with the journey to the heart of God and freeing life of true humanity that comes in dying with Christ. That's why I'm  in this "pastor" position; that's why I teach; it's what I want for my family and my neighbors, for you, and most of all, for myself.

I suppose that's sort of a "bio" thing. Not exactly a traditional bio, but there you have it....But you should know that the most important stuff, aside from Jesus Christ, are the people I call my family who God has gifted to this unworthy soul: my wife Laura, and our children, Jaya, Tate, Jude, and Stella, and the life we share together. I’d easily trade in everything else. 

Kyle