2025 Church Workers Conference: And Also For You

Location: General Session, Peacock Ballroom C&B

Description: Sermons do not take place in a vacuum. They are part of a larger ongoing conversation that precedes and follows each preaching occasion. In practical terms, however, we don’t usually think of it this way. This session will explore how preaching can build community by reimagining the sermon and its place in the broader ministry of the Word among God’s people.

About the Speaker: Peter Nafzger teaches homiletics and systematic theology at Concordia Seminary. He spends more time than he would like to admit grading sermons and helping students find joy in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Location: Princess Anne

Description: In these breakout sessions (Monday, 1 pm & Tuesday, 11 am), we will explore ways to meditate on the Psalms so that we can find comfort and strength in them for our daily lives. I will begin by giving some simple guidance on ways to bridge the gap between these ancient poems and our modern lives. We will then spend time carefully reading specific psalms and discussing what each one gives us. My goal is to give participants an experience that they may not have previously had when reading a psalm. I also hope that participants will come away from our sessions eager to continue to read and meditate on these great texts with each other.

About the speaker: Rev. Dr. Tim Saleska is the Gustav and Sophie Butterbach Professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary. He also serves as the Dean of Ministerial Formation and is the assistant basketball coach for the Concordia Preachers.

Tim has been a member of the faculty since 1997 and was named Dean of Ministerial Formation in 2011. Previously, he served as acting placement counselor (2004-07), editor of Concordia Theology Online (2006-08) and Director of the Master of Divinity and residential certificate programs (2008-11). Before joining the Seminary, Tim served as the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, Cincinnati (1982-95) and St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon, Ohio (1995-97).

Tim received his Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in 1982. He also holds an associate degree from St. John’s College, Winfield, Kan. (1976); a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich. (1978); and a Master of Philosophy and Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati (1991, 1999).

In addition to many articles and publications, Tim is the author of Psalms 1-50 for the Concordia Commentary Series.

Tim and his wife, Diane, who teaches nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), have three children, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, seven grandchildren.

Tim also has many interests. These include (but are not limited to): reading and talking about books, hiking, fishing, biking, basketball, baseball, working out, the St. Louis Cardinals, swimming, watching movies, fine coffee (he is a big coffee snob-shamelessly so), full bodied red wine (especially Malbecs and Petite-Syrahs), and whole Greek yogurt.

Location: Courtney Terrace

Description:  Anxiety is increasing in all of us. You are not immune at any age to struggling with thoughts of “what if?” Or spiraling down trains of “I am never going to…..” How are the words we say to others encouraging anxious narratives? What can we do assist those struggling with anxiety? Do we even know who they are or what they look like? In this session we are going to take a look at anxiety in children, adolescents and adults, focusing in on the narratives that we say out loud and that we think in our own brains.

About the speaker:  Megan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and currently serves as the Executive Director at Lutheran Counseling Services in Winter Park, FL. Megan began working with children and youth as a DCE in the Lutheran Church. She received her MSW from University of Central Florida and her DCE from Concordia St. Paul. Megan works with children and families and focuses on play therapy, depression, Anxiety, Crisis Intervention, School Counseling and Marriage Therapy. Megan seeks to encourage self-awareness, through authenticity, so that all feel equipped to use their God-given gifts and talents.

Location: Spotswood Arms

Description:  Paul enjoins believers to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” This exhortation is not merely about shaping our minds but the whole of who we are. This session explores the ways we are shaped in thought, word, and deed through the worship of the church to receive for ourselves and to share with one another the whole life of Christ.

About the speaker:  Matthew Borrasso lives in southern Maryland with his wife and four children while he serves as a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, MD, as adjunct faculty at various institutions, and as the associate editor of the Forum Letter. He holds a PhD in Theology and Religion from the University of Birmingham (UK) and graduate degrees from Northern Seminary, Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, and United Lutheran Seminary. His academic work has been published in various journals and his major publications include The Art of Exegesis: An Analysis of the Life and Work of Martin Hans Franzmann (Wipf & Stock, 2019) and These Words We Speak: Law and Gospel in Contemporary Conversation (Fortress Press, Spring 2026).

Location: Albemarle Hall

Description:  We will reflect upon the role of the Lord’s Supper in the well-being of the worker. Discussion points will include the significance of the physical nature of the sacrament; its connection to Sabbath rest; the “protection” it provides for the worker; and not just what it does, but WHO it is. We will also touch on the subject of frequency and share thoughts around the implementation of weekly communion. Overall, we will see in the sacrament the service rendered by the Lord upon those called to serve others.

About the speaker: Rev. Martin Schultheis presently serves on the Southeastern District staff as the Chief Ministry Officer. He volunteers as a part-time vacancy pastor at Resurrection Lutheran, Richmond. Previously, he pastored Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School in Baltimore, MD, for 19 years. He is working on his Doctor of Ministry degree through the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore with a focus on the third use of the Law and how the Ten Commandments can be shared as a “source of JOY” for the believer. He and his wife Kathy have five children and reside in Richmond, Virginia.