Pivot

#55: The Harvest is Plentiful but the Laborers Are Few

Discover the synergy in church leadership with Dr. Samuel Deressa as we delve into the rapid growth of churches in Ethiopia and the rise of new leaders.

“The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” Luke 10:2

In this episode of the Pivot podcast, co-hosts Terri Elton and Dwight Zscheile are joined by guest, Dr. Samuel Deressa.

Dr. Samuel Deressa began teaching part-time at Concordia University of St. Paul, MN in 2016 and joined the faculty full-time in 2018. Previously, he was a member of the Faculty of Theology (Gudina Tumsa Chair for Justice), 2008-2011, at the Mekane Yesus Seminary, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Deressa teaches courses on Global Christianity, Scripture and its Interpretation, Christian Vocation, and Christianity and the Media.

Show Notes:

Shift Ministry Models
Faithful Innovation

Featuring

Dr. Samuel Deressa - Pivot Podcast

Dr. Samuel Deressa

Dr. Samuel Deressa began teaching part-time at Concordia in 2016 and joined the faculty full-time in 2018. Previously, he was a member of the Faculty of Theology (Gudina Tumsa Chair for Justice), 2008-2011, at the Mekane Yesus Seminary, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Deressa teaches courses on Global Christianity, Scripture and its Interpretation, Christian Vocation, and Christianity and the Media.

Deressa’s recent published works include Forming Leaders for the Public Church: Vocation in 21st -Century Societies (London: Fortress Academic Press, 2023), which he co-edited with Mary Sue Dreier; Leadership Formation in the African Context: Missional Leadership Revisited (Eugene, Origen: Wipf and Stock, 2022); He has also written numerous articles for books and journals on Christianity in the Global South. He is a member of American Society of Missiology, International Association for Mission Studies, African Society of Evangelical Theology, and Lutheran Society of Missiology.

Deressa enjoys strong Ethiopian coffee, spending time with his three children, dabbling in video creation and traveling.

Academic Focus: Theology of Mission; World Christianity; Christian Leadership; Christian-Muslim relations; and development studies.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Terri Elton

    Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

    Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

    Before her work in the synod, she served at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn. for 16 years. While at Prince of Peace she worked in various roles within children, youth and family ministries, as well as served as the director of Changing Church Forum, an outreach ministry of Prince of Peace. She also authored To Know, To Live, To Grow, a confirmation curriculum, and co-authored What Really Matters, a book for congregational leaders, with the Rev. Mike Foss.

    Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

    Elton’s research and teaching interests include: congregational leadership, leading in the midst of change and conflict, helping ministry leaders craft a missional ecclesiology with an eye toward the First Third of Life, awakening a vibrant theology of baptism and vocation and reimagining faith and mission practices for children, youth, young adults and their families.

    Elton is a member of the Academy of Religious Leadership, the Association of Youth Ministry Educators, the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and the American Society of Missiology and is on the board for Real Resources. Elton spends much of her time working with congregations and congregational leaders and seeks out opportunities for enhancing ministry with those in the First Third of Life within the ELCA.

  • Dr. Dwight Zscheile

    Dr. Dwight Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary. His latest book is Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press, 2023).