As I write this, it’s my second full day ‘on the job,’ so there’s not a lot to share of this leg of the journey. So, I’ll back up a bit.
I first heard the call to pastoral ministry in high school, but wanted no part of it. I was convinced God was tapping the wrong Steve Kottke. I set out to do what I thought I wanted to do. I traversed several significant career changes (public school teacher, middle/upper level management in a large silica sand mining company, rebuilt a business for a brother-in-law, and production manager for a very large picture frame manufacturing company, to name a few). I did well at each, but often noticed an emptiness I couldn’t put my finger on, and the call (push, nudge, tug) to ministry kept coming up.
In early ’95, following a church council meeting, my pastor, who was also a good friend, said, “Hey, Kottke, let’s go get a beer.” As we visited, he suddenly said, “So, I understand you’ve considered parish ministry in the past.” I had known him for 5 years and had been very careful NOT to bring it up. I said, “Who told you that?” He grinned and said it didn’t matter, but if it was so, we ought to talk about it.
So we did. Over the next three months or so he helped me see that there was a reason it kept coming up and encouraged me to ‘just take a class at the seminary this fall.’ I did and on the third day of class I knew I needed to be there.
My internship and first call were at Zion in Elgin, Illinois, from the fall of 1998 until accepting the call from Grace, in Dodgeville, in April 2002. Then, a few months ago, Bishop Mary called me and said she wanted me on her staff. That was completely not on my radar so we visited to make sure we both thought it was a good idea. And here we are.
Along this perhaps circuitous journey, the Spirit has constantly put people and situations in my path that have helped me grow and have led to each next new thing. I am delighted to be part of your synod staff and am eager to visit with you, hear how the Spirit is pushing, prodding and calling your faith community to participate in God’s mission, and explore how we might support you on your journey.
On The Road With Your Synod Staff 