Professors for October-January

Ryan grew up in Denver, Colorado and met his wife while working with Youth With A Mission, Denver. They traveled to a number of different countries on short-term missions trips and led a variety of different schools. After having two sons, they left Colorado for Minnesota so Ryan could work on an undergraduate degree at Bethel University. After adding two daughters to their family, he decided to keep going to school and attended Bethel Seminary. Ryan joined the staff at Central Lutheran Church in 2006 and work in various roles including: Student Ministries Director and Director of House Churches and Small Groups. He was ordained in 2015 and became Associate Pastor at Central. In the summer of 2019, Ryan was called to be the new Lead Pastor at Central. His wife’s name is Katie and kids’ names are Logan, Gavin, Addison, and Scarlett. He enjoys odd but healthy foods, talking about Laird Hamilton, coaching his kids’ sports teams, and drinking espresso. He can be found at his second office most days of the week- Caribou Coffee. 

About Theology and the Process of Preaching:

This course is required for first year students and is intended to give students an entry into the task of preaching, from sermon writing to delivery and reflection on the sermon as an important mode of communication in the context of ministry. This is a course in the art, theology, and practice of preaching, designed to help students explore the process of creating a sermon from beginning to end.

Kirsten B. King grew up in the Twin Cities and graduated from the University of Northwestern-Saint Paul. She holds a Masters of Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Il. She lives with her husband Kenny in Saint Paul. She is part of the pastoral team serving at Capital City Church. Kirsten is an active Bible teacher and speaker for various conferences, camps, churches, and events. She has a passion for God’s Word and the way it can transform lives and bring God glory. She is also the author and host of the Good Story podcast. In her spare time, Kirsten is an avid sports fan, and enjoys spending time with her family, going out for lunch or coffee, reading, running and shoes.

About Preaching Practicum:

Preaching Practicum builds off of 1st year Theology and Process of Preaching Seminar and helps students focus on the development and delivery of a sermon. Students will engage through practice, critical analysis, and reflection on their own sermons and those of others. This course will not only aid the student in preparing and delivering a sermon, it will also address strategies for overcoming common obstacles to effective preaching. This course will reflect on the importance of preparing and delivering a sermon that is faithful to the text and brings the hearer to a point of application as appropriate and necessary.

Ordained 38 years, Tom has been a mission pastor, associate pastor, and senior leader in large churches in almost every role in ministry in the church setting. His background includes earning a BA in Business at Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ), M.Div. at Graduate Theological Union in (Berkeley, CA)., HR Cert. at University California (Irvine, CA), trained facilitator for "God Dreams" with Auxano, Succession Planning with Wil Heath, Strategy and Human Interaction Certificate from National Training Labs (Bethel, Maine), and continuing education at NonProfit Think Tank, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA). He currently is President of Cascade Consulting, which works with pastors and churches in getting results.

About Ministry Management:

Let's face it; most seminary students have an excellent theological education. The experience they're having in school and applying it in their ministry area is fantastic. They're excited about what God has in store for them in a church, parachurch organization, or mission activity. That is until they come to grips with the fact that ministry must be led, supported, and managed by someone. When that someone is you, it's time to think about taking this course, especially when you consider you'll be working with volunteers.

Leadership and management must go hand in hand, and while they are not the same thing, they are linked and complementary. The management of ministry is planning, organizing, and coordinating. The leader's job is to inspire and motivate. 

Our purpose is to help you know where to start, what to do, and what models can be reviewed to assist you as you enter into a new system that needs leadership and management with Jesus as the lead. It's a spiritual exercise, not a business proposition. This course will examine vision, planning,  and leadership issues linking them to management in ministry today.

Mike Bradley serves as Director for Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). He brings 40 plus years of leadership experience in Christian vocational ministry, having served in Lutheran congregations as youth pastor, worship leader, associate pastor, and senior pastor. Mike also served as the President for The Master’s Institute Seminary and as Director for the Alliance of Renewal Churches network (ARC).

Mike received his B.A. in Youth and Family Ministry from Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and his Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. He is passionate about helping leaders and congregations create an atmosphere that is a safe place for developing healthy leaders and disciples in the church, and equipping God’s people for lives of effective witness and ministry in the world. He is the author of the book, Being a Safe Place for the Dangerous Kind. 

Mike enjoys sports of all kinds, having served as a high school basketball and baseball coach while serving Trinity Lutheran Church in Rapid City, South Dakota. He and his wife of forty-five years, Debi enjoy reading, hiking, and swimming, and Mike enjoys the occasional golf outing. They have five adult children – Andrew Michael, Joseph Ross, Rachel Christine, Stephen Daniel, and Benjamin John, three grandsons – Michael, Isaac, and Lucas and three granddaughters – Violet Christine, Ferrah Francis, and Olivia Jo. Mike and Debi live in Gilbert, Arizona with their six-year old white Labrador, Maggie Mae.

About Safe Place:

The thesis of this class is that becoming a Safe Place for the Dangerous Kind is essential for developing healthy disciples and leaders in the church and living lives of effective witness in the world. As we live in a post-modern culture in the West, we face the reality that it is possible for Christians to be no real threat to the dominion of darkness. We can be lulled into living complacent lives in the face of religious status quo, which itself is no real threat to the kingdom of darkness. Thus, there is a need to exhort one another to live life dangerous for and to; dangerous for the Kingdom of God and dangerous to the dominion of the enemy. However, to be transformed into followers of Christ who are living as the dangerous kind, we need a safe place. This dialectical tension in being at the same time a safe place and the dangerous kind will be the focus of this course.