Panel Discussion - Proclaiming the Gospel

LCMC

Panel Discussion - Proclaiming the Gospel

October 5, 2021 • Julie Smith, Andrea Taphorn, Nathan Hoff

Our panel will share reflections on proclaiming the gospel in today’s world. They will also reflect on questions that are presented by participants.

JULIE SMITH - Julie has spent the past 23 years working mainly in small town and rural ministry settings. Since 2011 she has been Dean of Students at St. Paul Lutheran Seminary, while simultaneously serving as the pastor of St. Johns Lutheran Church in Springfield, MN. In the spring of 2021, Julie joined the staff of LCMC as Coordinator for Districts and Fellowships.

ANDREA TAPHORN - Andrea has worked in Children’s Ministry for 8 years and is a seminary student at The Luther House at Sioux Falls Seminary. She has a background in medical social work prior to being in full time ministry. She has spent countless hours of the pandemic with her husband Brodie, her three teenage kids, her dad and their sweet and lovable dog Louis. A good day involves good coffee with a good book in hand, writing down thoughts about life, ministry and theology, and laughing and connecting with a good friend.

NATHAN HOFF - Son of the Father, chosen and loved by Jesus, and filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Nathan is called to live into this identity with Joy and his four children. He has served as a pastor in San Pedro at Trinity Lutheran Church since 2005, and started a multiplicative ministry called Trinity Greenhouse in 2018, which includes an internship embedded in a young adult intentional community (The Theta Community). Nathan also serves on the faculty at Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute, The Awaken Project, and Mount Carmel Ministries.

2021 Service Coordinator's Report

October 4, 2021 • Mike Bradley

Mike Bradley is the service coordinator for LCMC. Mike brings 40 plus years of leadership and ministry experience, having served in Lutheran congregations in Nebraska (Christ Lutheran Church) and South Dakota (Trinity Lutheran Church) as a youth pastor, worship leader, associate pastor, and senior pastor. He also served as President for The Master’s Institute Seminary for ten years and most recently, as Director for the Alliance of Renewal Churches (ARC). Mike 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, in which he articulates the essential connection between solid theology and healthy practice in mission and ministry. 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-two 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 two granddaughters, Violet and Ferrah. Mike and Debi live in Gilbert, AZ with their three-year-old white Labrador, Maggie Mae. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Keynote Speaker #1

October 4, 2021 • Jeremey King

For the last three years, we as an association have been on a journey desiring to listen, see, and speak to all generations. As we move into this last year of our series, “Speak It, Live It, Share It” we must first pause and reflect upon how our listening and seeing must theologically ground us before we speak. Jeremey will unpack a practical theological approach for individuals and congregations to listen to God and the world around us and see with Kingdom lenses as we seek to speak to a world in need of the Gospel. Jeremey King serves as Pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. Growing up at the beach in sunny Southern California, Jeremey never imagined he would serve as lead pastor to a congregation located in a town known for snow and skiing in Afton, Minnesota. In fact, he never thought he would be a pastor. Jeremey’s journey of listening to God has taken him from hustlin’ billiards to a passion for discipleship. He has discovered along the way that the very things he never thought he would do were often the invitations to trust God’s vision, initiation, and faithfulness. His pastoral heart has been shaped by great mentors and authors that encourage him to deepen, to root, in hearing the shepherding voice of Jesus. One of his favorite places to hear from God is in the woods during hunting season. Jeremey holds an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, teaches for The Masters Institute, and serves on the Board of Trustees for LCMC. The best gifts of his life are his wife, Michelle, and two kids, Gabriel and Neriyah.

Keynote Speaker #2

October 4, 2021 • Nathan Hoff

We live out our Christian faith in the world, in our homes, our workplaces, our play places, and our communities, as well as in our places of worship. It is in these places that hundreds of millions of people are in great need of a proclamation and demonstration of the power of the gospel. In this session, Nathan will exhort us that it is in these places that followers of Christ can be empowered by God to speak, live, and share the power of the gospel so that people might be drawn by God to faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Nathan Hoff serves as Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. Son of the Father, chosen and loved by Jesus, and filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Nathan is called to live into this identity with Joy and his four children. He has served as a pastor in San Pedro at Trinity Lutheran Church since 2005, and started a multiplicative ministry called Trinity Greenhouse in 2018, which includes an internship embedded in a young adult intentional community (The Theta Community). Nathan also serves on the faculty at Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute, The Awaken Project, and Mount Carmel Ministries.