Workshop Leaders
Eric Barreto
Assistant Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary
Good News?: Preaching and Politics in the Information Age
Eric Barreto is an ordained Baptist minister as well as the author of Ethnic Negotiations: The Function of Race and Ethnicity in Acts 16 (Mohr Siebeck, 2010). He is also a regular contributor to ONScripture.org, the Huffington Post, WorkingPreacher.org, and EntertheBible.org.
Jessicah Duckworth
Assistant Professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership, Luther Seminary
Preaching as Spiritual Formation
Jessicah Krey Duckworth joined the Luther Seminary community in 2011 as assistant professor of congregational and community care leadership. Her research and teaching experiences include cultivating communities of care, foundations of pastoral care, equipping congregational care givers, teaching and learning in Christian education, teaching the Bible, forming faithful adults in congregations, leading formation in congregations, history and practice of confirmation and pop culture and Christian formation. She has a B.A. in American Studies from George Washington University, a M.Div. from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and a Ph.D. in practical theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Tania haber
Senior Pastor, Westwood Lutheran Church, St. Louis Park, Minn.
The Power of Preaching: Your Sermon Can Change Your Culture!
Tania Haber has served 3 other congregations since 1985, all in the Mpls Area Synod. She has a M.Div. from Luther Seminary, 1985, and a B.A. from Gustavus, 1978.
Cameron B. R. Howard
Assistant Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary
The Bible as Model of Faithful Innovation
Cameron B. R. Howard has published essays in The New Interpreter's Bible One-Volume Commentary (Abingdon, 2010) and the twentieth-anniversary edition of the Women's Bible Commentary (Westminster John Knox, 2012). She is also a regular contributor to WorkingPreacher.org.
Jodie and Nate Houge
Pastor; musician and songwriter
Worship Out of the Ordinary: A Case Study
Jodi Houge pastors in coffeeshops, bars, parks, neighborhoods and Humble Walk Lutheran Church in St. Paul MN. You can find more about her at humblewalkchurch.org. Nate Houge writes songs and sings them with and at people all over the country and would be happy to sing with and/or at you. You can find more about him at natehouge.com.
Craig Koester
Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Professor of New Testament
Experiencing Scripture through the Narrative Lectionary
Craig Koester received a B.A. from Saint Olaf College, an M.Div. from Luther Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary in New York. He served as a parish pastor for several years in Princeton, Minnesota, and joined the faculty of Luther Seminary in 1986. He was appointed to the Asher O. and Carrie Nasby chair of New Testament Studies in 2012. His books include landmark commentaries on Hebrews (2001) and Revelation (2013 forthcoming) for the Anchor Yale Commentary series. In Johannine studies, he is known for his Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel (2nd edition, 2003), The Word of Life: A Theology of John’s Gospel (2008), and numerous articles. His book Revelation and the End of All Things (2001) is a popular resource among seminary and college students, and is widely used in congregations.
Karoline Lewis
Associate Professor of Biblical Preaching and the Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Homiletics, Luther Seminary
It's Not All About the Sermon: Preaching and Liturgical Context
Karoline M. Lewis joined the Luther Seminary faculty as assistant professor of biblical preaching in 2007. A graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Lewis received a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in 1994 and a Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament studies from Emory University in Atlanta in 2006. She has led conferences, workshops and retreats throughout the country and Canada, and was one of the featured preachers at the Festival of Homiletics in Minneapolis in 2011 and in Atlanta in 2012. Lewis is the author of "Rereading the 'Shepherd Discourse:' Restoring the Integrity of John 9:39-10:21 (Peter Lang Publishing, 2008); the introduction and study notes for the Gospel of John in the Lutheran Study Bible (Augsburg Fortress, 2009) and co-author of "New Proclamation: Year B, 2009, Easter through Christ the King" (Fortress Press, 2009). She has authored articles for The Christian Century, Feasting on the Word, Lutheran Forum and Word & World. She is a contributing writer to WorkingPreacher.org and co-host of the site's weekly podcast, Sermon Brainwave.
Tom Long
Bandy Professor of Preaching, Candler School of Theology; Coordinator of the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology
Behold I Tell You a Mystery: Preaching at Funerals
Dr. Long's research interests are contemporary homiletical theory,
biblical hermeneutics and preaching. His most recent book, What Shall
We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith, explores questions
of God and human suffering, and was named “2011 Book of the Year” by
the Academy of Parish Clergy. Long’s 1989 book The Witness of
Preaching—now in its second edition—is one of the most widely used
texts on preaching, appearing on class reading lists in seminaries
across the country and world. In 2010, Preaching magazine named The
Witness of Preaching one of the 25 most influential books in preaching
for the last 25 years. Long’s Preaching from Memory to Hope was named
as one of the “top ten books for parish ministry published in 2009” by
the Academy of Parish Clergy.
The author of 20 books to date, Long is a frequent contributor to The
Christian Century and the Journal for Preachers, and a popular
presenter at preaching conferences worldwide. He is an ordained
minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Lois Malcom
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary
Living and Preaching in the Power of the Spirit
Lois Malcom has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Her publications include Holy Spirit: Creative Power in Our Lives (Fortress), God (Westminster/John Knox), and a theological commentary on Second Corinthians (forthcoming with Westminster/John Knox).
Mary Pechauer
Executive Pastor, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
Sermon Series: An Evangelical Tool Not Just for Evangelicals
Mary Pechauer has served Bethlehem Lutheran Church since 2003, first as Pastor of Worship and Communications and now as Executive Pastor. Previously, she served Lutheran Church of the Transfiguration and Nokomis Heights Lutheran in the Minneapolis Area Synod. She received her Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in 1992 and a BA in Speech/Theater and American Studies from St. Olaf College in 1985. Her passions include raising 4 children with her husband Tom and working to remove barriers so that people might more fully experience the gift of God’s amazing grace.
Ben Cieslik
Pastor of New Communities, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
Sermon Series: An Evangelical Tool Not Just for Evangelicals
Ben grew up in Appleton, WI, where his parents still live. He moved in Minnesota in 1998 to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. He majored in History and Religion and studied abroad in Cuba and Russia. At St. OIaf he met his wife Beth; they were married shortly after she graduated and have been living in South Minneapolis since. He is a graduate from Luther Seminary.
Andrew Root
Olson Baalson Associate Professor of Youth and Family Ministry, Luther Seminary
The Changing Landscape of Pastoral Ministry
Andrew Root is the author of The Relational Pastor (IVP, 2013) as well as a four book series with Zondervan called A Theological Journey Through Youth Ministry (titles includeTaking Theology to Youth Ministry, Taking the Cross to Youth Ministry, Unpacking Scripture in Youth Ministry, and Unlocking Mission and Eschatology in Youth Ministry). He is also the author of the 2012 Christianity Today Book of Merit award for The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry (with Kenda Creasy Dean, IVP, 2011). His other books include The Children of Divorce: The Loss of Family as the Loss of Being (Baker Academic, 2010), The Promise of Despair (Abingdon, 2010), Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation (IVP, 2007) and Relationships Unfiltered (Zondervan/YS, 2009). Andy has worked in congregations, parachurch ministries, and social service programs. He lives in St. Paul with his wife Kara, two children, Owen and Maisy, and their two dogs Kirby and Kimmel. When not reading, writing, or teaching, Andy spends far too much time watching TV and movies.
Kathryn Schifferdecker
Associate Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary
Preaching at the Crossroads between the Local Parish and the Global Church
Kathryn M Schifferdecker came to Luther Seminary as an assistant professor of Old Testament in 2006, after serving the school as an adjunct instructor the previous year. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisc., before coming to Luther. A summa cum laude graduate of St. Olaf College, (1990), she received a Master of Divinity summa cum laude from Yale Divinity School (1996) and a Th.D. from Harvard Divinity School (2005). While there, she served as a teaching fellow (1998-2000) and on the editorial staff of the Harvard Theological Review (1997-2000). She is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature. Professor Schifferdecker recently published Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job published in 2008 by Harvard University Press.
matthew skinner
Associate Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary
Preaching with a Bible in One Hand and the Internet in the Other
Matthew Skinner's research and teaching focus especially on the Gospels and the book of Acts, the cultural realities at work in the New Testament, and the Bible’s continuing ability to shape our theological imagination. He is one of the voices in the Sermon Brainwave podcasts on WorkingPreacher.org, and he blogs occasionally for Huffington Post Religion. He has written and edited a handful of books and is just about finished with an exciting new one on the depiction of God in the book of Acts. He is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
