Rev. Timothy Stout – St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Devils Lake, and Grace Lutheran Church, Lakota.

• Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a nerd. I’m a theological nerd, and one of my favorite things to do is to relax with a good cup of tea and an ancient book of theology. And if you tell me that some modern theologian is a dangerous heretic, I’ll probably go find every book of his I can find to discover what is wrong or not wrong with him. I’m also a science nerd, and I love to learn about the latest in scientific discoveries, but I’m frustrated at the extent to which modern science is directed according to political motives and the religion of scientism. And when I am not studying theology or science, I am reading a good science fiction/fantasy novel, watching the same kinds of movies or TV shows, and I think that the latest run of Marvel and DC comic book movies is the best thing to happen to movie cameras since BBC invented Doctor Who.

• What areas of theology have you been studying this past year?

In the last year I have been reading C. F. W. Walther’s works. I finished the new translations of Law and Gospel and Church and Ministry and am starting to work on his sermons. From him I am learning more deeply the things I was taught at seminary, how to preach, and the importance of the office I hold. I have also been reading Gerhard Forde, because I heard he was a dangerous heretic. What I have learned is that he was not as much a heretic as I was led to believe, and the most dangerous thing about him is the tendency people have of taking pithy quotes from him and using them out of context. As this is the most annoying tendency in his own writings, as he often did the same thing with the works of Luther, it seems a bit of ironic justice. From him I have learned to preach the Gospel so that it doesn’t sound like Jesus made it possible to get God’s blessings by “being good enough to earn them” for us.

• How would you define “the Gospel?”

The simple answer is that the Gospel is the forgiveness of sins and eternal life purchased and won for us by the precious suffering and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and made securely ours by His resurrection from the grave. In this Jesus takes all that is ours, our sin, our death, our darkness, and makes it His and then suffers the consequences in our place, and gives us all that is His, righteousness, holiness, and eternal life as an heir of the kingdom of heaven. This is important because we were made to be in an eternal loving relationship with our Creator, but because of the fall into sin, that has become impossible. If we die in our sin we will be eternally separated from the loving mercy and kindness of our God, and that is an unimaginable torment that none of us has ever known, and were never meant to know. But in His conception, birth, life, suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus has reconciled us to the Father and restored to us our place in His eternal kingdom. There is nothing more important than that this message of salvation be preached to all of God’s created people.

• Do you have a personal mission statement, or maybe a Bible passage that is the foundation of your faith and life?

“Sir, we would see Jesus”.” (John 12:21) “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2)

Rev. Dr. Matthew R. Richard, Zion Lutheran Church, Gwinner

• How long have you been in the ministry?

I have served in the church for 17 years; 10 of those as an ordained pastor.

• How long have you been called to serve in the North Dakota District?

I have been in the North Dakota District for a little over 2 years.

• Tell us something interesting about you that you feel comfortable sharing with the people of the North Dakota District. This could be about you and/or your family, a hobby you enjoy, favorite sport/team, favorite movie, etc.

I have been married to Serenity for 16 years. We have three children. I enjoy fishing, pheasant hunting, watching movies with my family, writing, and a good book with a warm latte.

• What areas of theology have you been studying this past year? What did you learn?

I have spent a lot of time studying in the area of philosophy over the last year – from a Christian perspective. What I have learned is that philosophy is the art of asking big questions about who we are; philosophy is all about understanding the wonder of life and the wonder of the great cosmos. With that said though, there are two types of philosophy. The first way of philosophy goes the way of mankind, whereas, the other type of philosophy goes the way of Christ. In other words, we all seek answers and wisdom, but do so according to either the traditions of mankind or the wisdom Christ. The philosophy that we need most in our day and age is that which goes the way of the wisdom of Christ.

• How would you define “the Gospel?” Why is the Gospel so important?

The Gospel is the good news that God justifies the ungodly through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The Gospel is a message of forgiveness, life, and salvation for sinners; it is for sinners only – which includes me.

• Who are your favorite authors and books?

I enjoy reading books and sermons by John Kleinig, Robert Kolb, Norman Nagel, and Martin Luther.

• What do you see as some of the greatest concerns in the Church in the North America?

We are in a time where we need robust catechesis. As the church we need to know what we believe and why; we need to know our theology and to be rooted deeply in the scriptures. The challenge for the North American Church is that she needs to plunge deeply into the Scriptures, our Lutheran Confessions, and our historic liturgy in order to remain steadfast in a culture that blows around like a reed in the wind.

• Do you have a personal mission statement, or maybe a Bible passage that is the foundation of your faith and life? Would you elaborate?

I have always been drawn to 2 Timothy chapter 4 where Paul calls young Timothy as a pastor to “preach the word; be read in season and out of season.” This reminds me that the office of pastor is a preaching office and that a faithful pastor preaches consistently regardless if it is received (i.e., in season) or rejected (i.e., out of season). I am also drawn to Paul’s epistle of Galatians, for it provides such a clear message of Justification – apart from works of the Law.

• What are your personal disciplines for spending time in the Word and in prayer? Why do you think this is so important?

My family and I typically read from the Treasury of Daily Prayer in the mornings and each evening we have been singing the Psalms. It gives me such joy to hear my children’s voices singing the Word. As a family we have found that we need this gift of the Word in the morning and evening to ‘frame’ in our days.

Rev. Mark Drews, Messiah Lutheran Church, Mandan

• How long have you been in the ministry?

I spent eleven years as a Lutheran School Teacher (1 year in Sheboygan, WI; 7 years in Orange, CA; and 3 years in Ocala, FL) before I attended seminary in St. Louis.
I have been in the Pastoral Ministry for nearly thirteen years (2 & 1/2 years in Hilbert, WI; 4 years in Mt. Pulaski, IL; and 6+ years in Mandan, ND) for a total of 24 years in the ministry.

• How long have you been called to serve in the North Dakota District?

As I mentioned above, I have been serving in the North Dakota District for more than six years now.

• Tell us something interesting about you that you feel comfortable sharing with the people of the North Dakota District. This could be about you and/or your family, a hobby you enjoy, favorite sport/team, favorite movie, etc.

I have been married for 15 years to my wife Melanie.  God has blessed us with three daughters: Grace (10 years old), Hope (7 years old) and Joy (5 years old).  We are all avid Green Bay Packer fans.  We are also strongly committed to Lutheran Education.  My wife teaches Kindergarten at Martin Luther School in Bismarck and I serve on the School Board for MLS (I also teach and direct the band at MLS and currently have 14 band members).  Our daughters attend 5th grade, 1st grade and preschool at MLS and hope that they continue in Lutheran Schools as long as possible.

• What do you see as some of the greatest concerns in the Church in the North America?

The church is under attack from within and without in North America (especially the United States).  Christian business owners are being coerced under the guide of “health care” to provide all sorts of birth control including abortions and abortificants.  Christian photographers, bakeries and other businesses are being punished and fined heavily for refusing to serve at same sex “weddings” and other things that go against our Christian conscience and religious liberties that, until recently, were guaranteed by the Constitution.  Christians are forced through taxation to subsidize Planned Parenthood which has performed thousands of abortions a day.

In Christ,
Pastor Mark R. Drews
Messiah Lutheran, Mandan, ND