Contributors

Rebecca Guengerich headshot

Rebecca Guengerich

Rebecca Guengerich is the Director of Spirituality and Wellness at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas. She provides spiritual formation programs and caring ministry for the congregation. Rebecca is an educator and works as a teacher, as a community educator for the March of Dimes, and as a Spiritual Director in…

Keith Zeh

Keith Zeh

From Pastor Keith Zeh’s baptism at the age of 12 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Holy Spirit has been stirring in his life. He has been in many different roles over the course of his ministry career. Zeh started as an Associate Pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church in Bemidji, Minnesota, and…

Michele Bryant Powell

Michele Bryant Powell

Michele is no stranger to grief after losing both of her parents and most recently her husband to terminal illnesses. With more than 25 years of experience in the areas of pastoral care counseling, support group facilitation, leadership training, and development and rehabilitation counseling, Michele values supporting others as they journey through the unique challenges…

Dr. Michael Chan

Michael Chan

Dr. Michael Chan joined the Concordia College community in June 2022. Before that, he was an associate professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. He joined Luther Seminary after completing his Ph.D. at Emory University and a year of research and teaching at the University of Helsinki. As the executive director…

Michael Binder

Michael Binder

Michael Binder is an assistant professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. His teaching focuses on starting new congregations, leading change, and practicing Christian witness and evangelism amidst secular cultures. Binder is a founding pastor of Mill City Church in northeast Minneapolis and continues to serve there. He has…

Melissa Cooper Headshot

Melissa Cooper

The Rev. Melissa Cooper is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. Prior to serving at St. Luke’s, Melissa served as Program Coordinator for the Life Enrichment Center and Warren Willis Camp. Before receiving her MTS in 2009, Melissa earned a B.A. in English from Middle Tennessee State University. She is originally from Tennessee,…

Dr. Mark Tranvik

Mark Tranvik

Mark Tranvik is a parish pastor at heart. He spent almost ten years (1984-93) as a pastor at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It was a rich experience, full of struggle and joy. While teaching about the Reformation or a theological topic, he pays attention to what is happening in the…

Headshot of Leah Challberg, LICSW

Leah Challberg

Leah Challberg, LICSW, owns and operates Rootwise Mental Wellness as a mental health therapist. She was the co-lead pastor at Northeast United Methodist in Minneapolis from 2018-2022. Her therapy work has led to an expertise in trauma, aging, chronic illness, spirituality, and grief and loss. Leah obtained her MDiv from the University of Chicago Divinity…

Faith+Lead Headshot of Dr. Alicia Granholm, Senior Director of Faith+Lead.

Alicia Granholm

Dr. Alicia Granholm is senior director of Faith+Lead and a leadership and church consultant based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She helps pastors and leaders engage culture to make a lasting impact. For nearly two decades, she has trained, equipped, and empowered followers of Jesus to engage their local communities by contextualizing the Gospel and its…

Katie Langston

Katie Langston

Katie Langston is a doubter by nature and a believer by grace. She grew up Mormon in Cache Valley, Utah, and converted to orthodox (little “o”) Christianity after a profound experience of God’s grace over a decade ago. Now she works as the director of digital strategy for Faith+Lead and as pastor of mission and…

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker came to Luther Seminary as an assistant professor of Old Testament in 2006. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisc., before coming to Luther. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to workingpreacher.org and Word & World and…

Joy Moore

Joy Moore

Dr. Joy Jittaun Moore, an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and Professor of Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, serves as a Visiting Professor of Religion and Chapman-Benson Lecturer at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. Before coming to Luther Seminary, she established the William E. Pannell Center for African American…

Pastor Joy McDonald Coltvet Headshot

Joy McDonald Coltvet

The Rev. Joy McDonald Coltvet has served as pastor of faith formation at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview, Minnesota, since December 2024. She was ordained in 2001 and has served in several congregations, a campus ministry and a seminary of the ELCA. She served for 10 years at Christ on Capitol Hill (St. Paul, Minnesota)…

Faith+Lead Headshot of Jon Anderson, Director of Rural Ministry.

Jon Anderson

Pastor Jon Anderson serves as Director of Rural Ministry at Luther Seminary. He recently completed eighteen years of service as bishop in the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA.