Ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1971, I have pursued a special interest in baptism almost since the beginning of my ministry. In 1978, I wrote a Master of Theology thesis on Bonhoeffer and baptism. Dietrich Bonhoeffer had been executed just days before the end of World War II for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, but Bonhoeffer was first of all a baptized Christian determined to live out his faith. Bonhoeffer, I found, was quite a contrast to folks who understood baptism as just a lovely little ceremony, and I simply had to learn more.

In my ministry, I have developed tools to help parents prepare for the baptism of their children. One of these learning tools was published and quite widely used by pastors in the seventies and eighties. Occasionally, I’d publish another baptismal piece or two, mostly for pastors. One of the more recent was Word & World’s inclusion of my article on Luther's morning and evening prayers as baptismal spirituality. 

For a long time I’ve been thinking of writing about the impact of baptism on our everyday lives as Christians. After all, Martin Luther said that we get enough in this event to spend our whole lifetime trying to take it in. When The Louisville Institute provided me a grant, then later a summer stipend, this was just what I needed to put together the book that’s featured on this site.

Baptism is one of the great treasures of the Christian life and the church. My book is the opportunity I have had to write about how that works in our lives. I hope parents wanting baptism for their children will read it and be deepened in faith. I hope Christians who have thought baptism just a cute little rite will take another look. I hope you, the reader of this, will be curious enough about how God works that you will read Water for Your Soul soon.

I’ve been a pastor for more than 30 years in Iowa (Decorah) and Wisconsin (South Wayne & Browntown, Elroy, Mauston, and Holmen). After all those years – and baptisms too – I still am amazed at how God works in simple things like water and the word. Water for Your Soul is part of the story.

NOTE: if you are interested in a baptismal spirituality presentation for your church or other group, please contact me at the e-mail address on the homepage of this site.