LBC Echo Fall 2022 - 33

Amanda Zuschmidt
Dr. Esther Zimmerman
Dr. Dan Spanjer
Dr. Geoffrey Reiter
Dr. Ryan Reed
Austin Hess
Dr. Stephen Grusendorf
Dr. Stephen Grusendorf ('16), Adjunct Professor in the Church & Ministry
Leadership Department, co-authored an article with Dr. Yamil Acevedo titled
" Investigating the Nature of Thriving Hispanic Congregations within a U.S.
Evangelical Denomination. " The article published in the Journal of Sociology
and Christianity was based on research conducted with monies awarded
from the " Thriving Congregations Initiative " from the Lilly Endowment Inc.
Austin Hess ('19), Adjunct Professor in the Bible & Theology Department,
graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Mo., in
May 2022 with his Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies. He
completed his thesis on John Calvin's doctor of the church, titled " Is There a
Doctor in the House? The Doctor of the Church in John Calvin's Theology
for Presbyterian Churches in the United States of America. " Drs. Timothy
LeCroy and Robbie Griggs served as his first and second readers.
Dr. Ryan Reed, Adjunct Professor in the Arts & Sciences Department,
published an article, titled " To Tend Directly Toward God: John Calvin on
Humanity's Telos, " in the Journal of Reformed Theology.
Dr. Geoffrey Reiter, Associate Professor in the Arts & Sciences Department
and Coordinator of Literature, presented on the topic of " Why We (and Our
Students) Should Care about Academic Writing " at Brewton-Parker College
in May. His story " Kalessia's Dance " and his poem " The Mermaids Keep Their
Own Counsel " were published in the 2022 volume of The Mythic Circle.
And his poems, " The Lady in the Wood " and " Knowing the Dragon, " were
published in the Summer 2022 volume of Spectral Realms.
Dr. Dan Spanjer, former Chair of the Arts & Sciences Department and
current Adjunct Professor, published a new work with Square Halo Books
titled, " Advent is the Story: Seeing the Nativity Throughout Scripture, " a
collection of 25 devotional readings for the Advent season that span Genesis
to the birth of Christ. Along with helpful commentaries, " Advent is the Story "
encourages readers to see the Bible as the story about Christ. Additionally,
four themes central to the story of Christ's coming are developed, and six
additional readings extend the celebration of Christmas through the end of
December by pointing from Christ's birth to the restoration of the universe
under his reign.
Dr. Esther Zimmerman ('19), Chair of the Church & Ministry Leadership
Department and Director of the Children & Family Ministry Program, taught
a week of residency on the faith formation of children as part of the Global
Children's Forum Leadership Experience in Africa, held in Nairobi, Kenya,
in March. Participants came from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Togo,
Rwanda and Brazil.
Amanda Zuschmidt ('03), Assistant Professor in the Health & Physical
Education Department, conducted an external review in April for the
undergraduate and graduate sport management programs at Minnesota
State University.
ECHO 33
LBC Echo Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LBC Echo Fall 2022
