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young artists’ program somewhere. All this seemsjust fine with her.Our younger daughter, Madelene, is 15—she’llbe 16 in December. As I’ve said, she’s a junior inhigh school. She is very interested in tying togetherthe study of history and film and other media. Theschool Madelene is in has a classical curriculum—she takes Latin, philosophy, and English literature.Madelene also plays several instruments includingpiano, saxophone, accordion and guitar. She is anavid canoeist, and has gone on canoeing trips withsmall groups on the Allagash River in Maine and onthe Riviére Coulonge in Quebec. She’s tough as nailsand totally hilarious.You’ve had an unusual first 90 days at LSTC. Howhas that affected you?These first 90 days have been colored by complicationswith JoAnn’s health. In September she neededto have surgery for a fast-growing tumor and therewere complications following the surgery.Everybody I talk with has faced similar complicationsin their own health or the health of someonethey love. At the same time JoAnn was in the hospital,several staff people at LSTC were also dealingwith urgent health issues for themselves or familymembers. So we’re not unusual. It just came at anodd time for us.Through this, I’ve met people on a differentlevel. We have been shown compassion and kindness.And I’ve shown a different side of myself thanI would have without these complications. Peoplehave seen where my priorities are. My primary vocationis with my spouse. This has been good for meto think about. It has also allowed me to give permissionto others to fulfill their primary vocations.I’ve realized in a way that I hadn’t fully expectedthat the role of president is symbolic. Of course Iknow that how I act reflects on the school, but thishas been another kind of symbolism of the limitsand frailties that I bear in my vocation, and thateach of us has in however we’re called by God.You’ve been a faculty member or administrator atthree schools. Could you tell us about their similaritiesand differences?Wartburg Theological Seminary, Hartford Seminary,and LSTC, on the surface, look very different, butI find a surprising continuity among them. Here’show: Each school knows its niche.I was surprised to find myself teaching atWartburg. I never thought I’d teach at the place Ifinished my M.Div. In any case, Wartburg’s nichewas well-suited to what I had been studying [ingraduate school.] Its attention to rural ministry andsmall-town and rural settings in the upper Midwest,its deep roots in liturgics and social ministry madeit a good place for me to be. I care very much aboutsmall, resource-poor congregations. Many peopledon’t realize that Wartburg also has a global senseabout how it approaches ministry. It was foundedas a Missionseminar. For Wartburg, to be part of thechurch is to be part of the global church.Hartford Seminary, with a quite differentniche, provided me with a research opportunitythrough its Hartford Institute for ReligiousResearch. I was able to do congregational researchand to deepen and refine what I was workingon. Hartford’s niche is that its programs are orientedtoward leadership. It has also been focusedon Christian-Muslim relations going back to the19th Century. There are students at Hartford fromIndonesia, Singapore, Turkey, and elsewhere whoare observant Muslims or Christians. It gave theschool a very global perspective. It was fascinatingto have colleagues and students who were observantMuslims. I had to rethink my approach towhat I was teaching.LSTC has still another niche: urban and multiculturalwhile also being intentionally confessional—Lutheran,preparing ministers and teachers. It,too, has a global perspective on things. It is sendingout teachers, bishops, leaders of schools and seminariesaround the world. For LSTC to have an activeinvolvement in preparing these leaders is an importantrole in the global church.What do you see as LSTC’s strengths?I wrote this for the catalog and my greeting on thewebsite and I really believe it’s true: it’s the humanstrengths—the people.LSTC has remarkable students. As I read throughAdmissions reports on the students who have startedat LSTC this fall, I see a diversity of age, gender, geographicalorigin, international distribution. Havingmet our students, I find them intelligent, inquisitive,and committed to their call. As (Director ofAdmissions) Scott Chalmers has said, they havemade a choice to come to LSTC because they likewhat we’re about.LSTC has a great faculty—they’re smart andactive scholars in their fields. Even though they’restretched a little thin right now, I think they alsohave a lot of untapped creativity.7