I Never Dreamed of it Happening

Pastor Kurt serving overseas in Malawi.

I Was Never Really a Science Guy

During my high school years, I was thinking well maybe I should be an optometrist, so I looked up what optometry school involved. It was a lot of science, and I stopped and thought, “Hmm...now which classes do I really enjoy in high school?" Physics and that kind of stuff just wasn't, I mean I took it, but I was never really a science guy.

I Would've Had Weekends Free

When I went off to college, I knew by that time that a business track was for me, so I was a business major. Early on within my college years, there was an opportunity to specialize within the field of business, so my major was actually business with a specialization in hospital administration. That's what I graduated with and a degree in communications tacked on there. I was going to be a hospital administrator back in those days.

I would've had weekends free.

And Christmas.

And Easter.

That was my degree, and I really enjoyed my degree. I loved the classes and all, and part of the major included an internship for a summer, and they assigned me to a little Catholic hospital in South St. Paul. I started the summer after my junior year at that hospital, and part of the requirement was to rotate through all the different departments of the hospital, which was fascinating! I mean, I watched surgery, I watched a baby be born, I went to physical therapy, and materials management, the fiscal stuff, and it was really interesting. But because it was a Catholic hospital, there were nuns that operated and owned the hospital... and the nuns really took me under their wing. Here I am, a nice young college boy, right?

They were so nice to me, and somewhere during that summer, I thought, "Hmm... I wonder about being a pastor". Where'd that come from? One of the departments of the hospital was chaplaincy, so I followed the nuns, and they had a Lutheran pastor who was chaplain of that hospital too. I spent some time with them to see what they did, and that particularly didn't interest me so much, but something struck in there, and for us as Christians I go, "I'll be dodging work," but I'm not sure I really thought that back then.

That's where it started. There's another interesting twist to it. Then I started thinking, "Who should I be talking to about this?" I think it's good no matter if you want to be a teacher or a business owner... go and talk to somebody who's in the field. I went back home, and I went to one of the pastors at the church where I had grown up and talked to him about it, and he said to me, "Do everything you can to avoid this". I was like, "Woah, really?" Here you're a college student, and you hope people encourage you, "Yeah, if you're interested in that, go after it!",  and he goes, "Do everything you can to avoid it". Huh. It really stopped me in my tracks.

God Came For Me Again

I finished my last year in college, finished my degree, and I was happy with that. It was like, "Okay, well maybe that was the answer I needed". Or, "Well maybe this whole idea of being a pastor just wasn't for me". I was really interested in business, so I graduated, and I had a job offer. I just knew it wasn't the right one, so I said no to it.Then, I had a couple other interviews, and I got another job offer. That one was in like western North Dakota. I mean, the road ended in this little town, and I thought "Oh, this isn't for me either". Then it was like, "Well hell". I mean, I was told to avoid being a pastor, and now I really wanted to be a hospital administrator. The job offers were coming, but the two that I turned down just weren't right. Then people were telling me, "Well, you need to go get a master degree first, and after you get your master's degree, then come back and talk to us." And I was like, "Hold it here". I checked on masters programs, and they said you should really have some job experience, and I was like, "Okay, hold it here. I have to get a job experience before I get a master's degree, but I have to get a master's degree before I get a job. How does this work out?"

I had been a bank teller during college, so I went back home because I couldn't afford to live anywhere else. The bank took me back and gave me a full-time job as a bank teller, and it was basic minimum wage in the business field. That took me two years, and somewhere towards the end of that two years, I was kind of like, "You know, I think this pastor thing is for me". Then, I went and talked to a different pastor who was very encouraging to me, and he was excited that I was thinking about it.

I thought, "Hmm?" Okay. Well, there God came for me again, and I thought, "Aww man". I checked out seminary, and it's another four years. I was like, "Aye aye aye, my master's degree is two years, and now I have to go back for four years of school". I kind of made a deal with God at that point saying, "Okay, if I'm going to do this, I'm only going to go for a year, and if it's not right for me, if I know this is not the thing, then I get to quit. I'll just stop here somehow". I went off to Luther Seminary over in St. Paul, and within the first week, I loved it. After that I just knew it was right. There was never once I looked back saying, "Ohh, I'm not doing the right thing".

Pastor Kurt(right) with parents on his 

first Sunday at Trinity Lutheran Church.

"I Always Knew You Were Going to Be a Pastor"

A number of people just assumed that I was going to be a pastor. And they were people that had known me since I was a kid, and they were like, "You're going to be a pastor". I was like, "No. No". They were always encouraging, they were always affirming of me and what I was doing. Funny thing, after I finished college and had this two year period and then decided to go to seminary. Then I had to go tell some of my friends because I had kept this quiet. I hadn't told very many people what I was thinking about doing, or I still hadn't really figured out my calling. 

After it was all a done deal, I contacted some of my friends from college days, and a guy that I roomed with for three years in college, he wasn't surprised. I said, "Scott, aren't you surprised?" And he goes, "No, I always knew you were going to be a pastor." We had never ever talked about it. I was like, "Really?" [Scott Said,] "Yeah, Kurt. I just knew." Wow! So, it was interesting. Other people knew what my calling should be before I did.

What Gives Me Energy?

When it comes to the sense of calling, you have to say, where do I find myself feeling excited, or what can I envision doing on a daily basis that every day I'm saying, "I'm looking forward to doing this today". That whole sense of passion. For me, it's always been a pastor. Some people like the same. I have a friend who's a CPA. Those guys do pretty much the same kind of thing every day. That's who they are, and that‘s good for them. I'm a person who likes variety. For me, it's that sense of passion, knowing that the things that give me energy are variety, working with a variety of people, that situations are always new, something is different on a regular basis. Those kind of things give me energy. I think as people look at their callings, they have to ask those types of questions. What gives me energy? What makes me tick? What do I not want to do, you know? Those kind of questions. There has to be something that draws you forward. You're always looking next. That's that passion you have to connect with whatever it is that you do for a living. It's amazing. 

All I Did Was Show Up

It's pretty simple. At least for me, it's pretty simple. My profession, you don't have to be all that smart. You have to be hardworking, you have to have some basic skills that people trust you and know that you care about them, that you're interested in them.

Because of my job, I end up listening to people, I have to pay attention to what they're saying or what's going on in their life. It's just the simple fact that I listen to them, or I pay attention. For them, it's so important, however it helps them. I guess I can't define that, but then they come back, or they say to me, "You helped me," or, "When you did that, that was the best thing I could've had at that point." And I'm like, "Really? All I did was listen to you."

One was Ryan Johnson*. He was in 7th grade in March of that year when his mom called me at 7:00 am that Monday morning and said, "Ryan's dead, can you come?". I went out to their house, and spent quite a bit of time with them. My being there that day and all, I was just this non-anxious presence who was there to provide some sense of comfort, whether it was direction or somebody just to sit by them, maybe a presence. I came in there, and that's a tough one to go into when someone kills themselves. Just to be this non-anxious, caring, present person, in the midst of that. Bob* and Missy*, Ryan's parents, I'm key in their life, and all I did was show up.

I do believe this is my calling.

No question about it. 

I never dreamed of it happening.

......

*Name has been changed to ensure privacy.

Story facilitators： Andrew Emberson, Amanda Schmid, and Katherine Xue