2021 Speakers and Facilitators

Monday, February 8, 2021

Rev. Dr. Richard Bliese
Associate Pastor, Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Executive Director of Pastoral Formation, Emmanuel Academies

Richard Bliese brings to us experience, expertise and wisdom from 30+ years teaching, preaching and serving! After completing his PH.D. on the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he went on to teach theology and mission at our ELCA seminary in Chicago (LSTC) while leading a small congregation at night (St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Glenwood, IL).  He was called to lead Luther Seminary in 2003, first as Academic Dean, then as President. Rick has authored and edited numerous books, papers and articles on numerous theological subjects, including missiology, evangelism, leadership and vocation.

After ten years at Luther Seminary, Pastor Rick worked for two foundations, the Lilly Foundation as a consultant for theological seminaries in the United States and Canada (In Trust Seminary for Theological Education in Wilmington, DE) and the Kern Family Foundation (WI) within the area of “Faith, Work and Economics.”  It is within this work for the Kern Family Foundation that Pastor Rick re-engaged with the vision and work of Emmanuel Lutheran Church here in Naples.

Monday, February 15, 2021

Rev. Wayne Miller
Retired (2019) Bishop Emeritus, Metropolitan Chicago Synod – ELCA

Bishop Miller served the Metro Chicago Synod as bishop for 12 years, after serving as Pastor in three congregations in the suburbs of Chicago over 23 years. As noted in an article in the Chicago Tribune, “Just as the Old Testament prophet Jonah discovered once he was inside the whale, Rev. Wayne Miller has learned one cannot escape a calling. Lord knows, he has tried.”  Prior to following his vocational call, Bishop Miller had a successful career as a mechanical engineer. He has applied his analytical mind to pastoral and community work through his work.

Bishop Miller’s personal experiences, Lutheran training, and insights have benefited the ELCA, his synod, congregations and the church. As a pastor and Bishop he sought solutions to issues that were “both faithful and reasonable”. He has been quoted as stating: “This is a cherished thing in our identity that we can do this kind of moral deliberation publicly because we believe that in itself is faithful.” https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-relig_bishop_03aug03-story.html

He currently serves as a trustee at Carthage College, Kenosha, and as a board member for the WeRaise Foundation. He also is a member of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, where he also served as President 2016-2018.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Chris R. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Program Fellow for Faith, Work, and Economics – Kern Family Foundation

Chris R. Armstrong, Ph.D. is an author, educator, academic entrepreneur, and church historian (Duke Ph.D., Gordon-Conwell M.A.). Chris has served as Program Fellow at the Kern Family Foundation since March 2019. He taught from 2004 to 2013 at Bethel Seminary, St Paul, MN, where he founded and directed an initiative on faith, work, and economics “Work with Purpose”. From 2014 to 2018 he served as faculty member and founding director of “Opus: The Art of Work” at Wheaton College (IL).

Chris took up church history to learn how Christians have lived out their understandings of God, humanity, and the world; the same impulse drives his current research on faith, vocation, and human flourishing. His recent book Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians: Finding Authentic Faith in a Forgotten Age with C S Lewis (Brazos, 2016) turns to medieval faith for guidance on living well today in our natural, social, and cultural worlds. Chris blogs at www.gratefultothedead.com. Chris serves as Senior Editor of Christian History Magazine: www.christianhistorymagazine.org.

Monday, March 1, 2021

Tracy Matthews
Executive Director, The Call to Work

Tracy Matthews and The Call to Work have developed a workshop-based experience teaching participants models and tools by which to integrate their faith into their daily work and life situations. The Course catalyzes spiritual growth and transformation as participants leverage the truth of Scripture to help them respond well to the current challenges that keep them up at night.

Prior to The Call to Work, Tracy Mathews spent eight years leading strategy and business development for an early-stage industrial biotech company. She has also held positions at McKinsey & Company and Kimberly-Clark Corporation. She holds a BS in Paper Science and Engineering from the University of Washington and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Tracy has been leading the development of The Call to Work since March of 2016 and says of her experience: Through the tools and principles I’m learning through The Call to Work, I am experiencing more of God’s presence and more fullness of life than I ever thought possible in this life.

Monday, March 8, 2021

Rev. Dr. Steven Paulson
Chair of Lutheran Theology, The Luther House of Study

Professor Steven Paulson has been teaching and preaching for over thirty years and is chair of Lutheran Theology at LHOS. He holds degrees in theology from St. Olaf College, the Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary and the Theological Doctorate from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.  His dissertation was: “Analogy and Proclamation: the struggle over God’s hiddenness in the theology of Martin Luther and Eberhard Jüngel.”

He has taught at Concordia College, Moorhead, and Luther Seminary, St. Paul, before coming to Sioux Falls. He is the author of many books and articles, including “Luther’s Outlaw God, Volume 1 and 2”, “ Luther for Armchair Theologians” and many more. Always complex and provocative, Rev. Dr. Paulson is creative in his explanations and teaching.

Rev. Dr. Paulson’s vocational pathway did not lead him directly to ministry. His pathway included vocational work as a carpenter, electrician and plumber, then as a mental health counselor, and then a research librarian, before entering deeply into teaching and researching Lutheran theology.

Monday, March 15, 2021

Professor Sarah Stenson
Co-Director, The Luther House of Study,
Kairos Affiliate Professor, Sioux Falls Seminary

What do corporate law, family and proclaiming the gospel have in common? Ask Sarah Stenson, and she will tell you each of these things is something for which she has a deep passion.

After graduating from Luther College, Sarah attended the University of Minnesota Law School and graduated with a J.D. in 1992. She worked as a corporate attorney at Honeywell Inc. and Kmart Corp. headquarters practicing corporate law and participating in mergers and acquisitions, before becoming the stay-at-home mother of two children.

Sarah was called from Sundays at church to seriously studying Lutheran theology at Sioux Falls Seminary under Rev. Dr. Chris Croghan and then joined the Luther House of Study as it was formed to teach others in classrooms, congregations, and working to nurture faith and prepare pastors.