Dave the Lutheran

Tonight in class a Lutheran pastor named Dave Peterson gave us a candid interview. Dave was born in southern California and into a Christian family. As the subject of his family came up Dave commented about his father had worked with Dave Wilkerson, and that even at the early age of four he remembered praying and laying hands on his friends in the school yard. Christianity appeared to grow in his life even more and at the age of ten he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit from a man named Jack Frost. He mentioned that the influence the Holy Spirit had on His life was contradictory to what his belief of being a Lutheran was. Dave at age fifteen felt called into the ministry. Eventually he did two years at a local college and then went Teal College and though that experience was a trial of his faith he graduated with a bachelors in religion. From there he went to Divinity Lutheran seminary. Looking back he spoke of great ministry coming out of a great relationship with Christ. Through difficult times Dave said that through introspection and solace God began putting humpty dumpty back together again as he put it and through this brokenness he found an avenue for ministry in nursing homes. He said that one of his biggest challenges was letting God work through him. When spoke of the hospice aspect of ministering in nursing homes he said that ministering to such people grew his compassion. When asked about incidents that stuck out to him he mentioned a retired pastor with Alzheimer’s have a moment of clarity during communion, and a former drug addict coming to Christ brought joy not only to the man but his two daughters also. From there Dave went on to be the pastor of two Lutheran churches. Dave had mentioned comically that to earn the congregations’ trust you had to bury at least three grandmas. He continued to speak fondly about his experience as pastor. I asked about his lows and he mentioned two times ,one bury a marine killed in battle and a murder suicide, he shared that were difficult and said that sometimes you don’t have to solve the problem with words you just have to be there. His high as a pastor there was a time when him and about 18 others went hiking and they came upon a small pond where the hiking turned into a baptismal service, not only in water but in the Holy Spirit. He said that it was a supernatural experience the whole pond came alive with fish exhibiting strange behavior as if they were praising God. By the end of him speaking I sensed this man’s humility and humbleness it was a pleasure to have met him.