欧文康考迪亚大学第三任校长

康科迪亚三号的总裁 牧师. Dr. J.A.O. Preus三世(如左图所示)，于2022年8月4日进入了他永恒的安息. 

虽然我从来没有在杰克教过的任何一间教室正式注册过, his friendship and mentorship shaped my theological mindset and my pastoral practice. 我是在20世纪90年代中期访问圣迭戈的康考迪亚神学院(Concordia Seminary)时认识他的. 路易斯作为客座演讲者. 当时, Jack was serving as chair of the department of Systematic Theology (1992-1994) and then as dean of the faculty (1994-1998). 杰克改变了我对路德教信条的看法, 因此, 我的职业轨迹.

串连点点滴滴

J.A.O., 雅各布·奥尔·奥特森——杰克的父亲, 同名的, 曾任路德教会密苏里主教会主席。. His grandfather, also 同名的, was a former governor of the state of Minnesota. Beyond his impressive family pedigree, Jack earned his own indisputable credentials. B.A., M.Div., S.T.M., Th.D. 是他名字后面的字母吗.

杰克, intellectual curiosity was not a mere amusement of the academically inclined, 这是他职业的一部分, 这是他职业的必要组成部分, so that the 神学 he loved might contribute meaningfully to the world God loved, 耶稣基督为此而死. 

和杰克结婚47年的妻子, 雪利酒, whom he met when they were students together at Lutheran High School South in St. 路易, 谦卑地这样说, almost as an understatement: “He paid serious attention to what was going on in the world.” 

Jack’s theological writings attest that the Confessions were meant to be confessed to be used in engaging all the daunting dilemmas of real life in this complex world. 

"There are huge global issues of which we remain ignorant and even unconcerned. We have barely paid attention to the challenges brought by a veritable paradigm shift in the philosophy of language, 后现代主义的主张, by the debate raging in the world about the uniqueness and universality of Christ, 在三位一体教义上所做的里程碑式的工作, by the shift to post-colonialist approaches to missions—and many more such challenges. 我们必须避免变得狭隘而无关紧要. We have too much to contribute to these debates to keep ourselves ghettoed off to the side, 只处理我们自己特有的问题."

It was not about either being an effective pastor or being an astute theologian. 两者都有! 杰克不仅坚持认为我们应该“把这些点联系起来”,“但对我和许多人来说, he showed where the theological dots were located and how confessional 神学 was meant to be a source and resource for preaching, 传福音, 社区参与, 在城市部设置在美国.S.A. 在世界各地.

雪莉回忆说，杰克“总是在外面的世界.他在沙漠风暴行动中作为海军预备役军人为国效力. 他还酷爱旅行, “提升路德教会在全球所做的事, 在欧洲, 东欧, 还有拉丁美洲, 亚洲各地, and Africa; Jack treasured the work they were doing in their countries.他到过许多这样的地方并在那里教书. This cosmopolitan confidence was driven by Jack’s conviction that the promises of God are meant to be revealed in Christian witness.

领导力的典范

It is no wonder Jack became the president of 欧文康考迪亚大学. His temperament and talent were suited for a place of faith and learning that holds this as a value: “Commissioned by Christ to make disciples of all nations, 我们过着爱和服务他人的生活.“在康考迪亚，上帝的话语不可避免地与世界相遇.

在他任职期间，康考迪亚大学建立了神学院(现 基督学院)，美国中心.S. 使命，商业和专业研究学院(现为 商学院 & 经济学), 护理项目, 以及一系列教育方面的研究生学习项目, 神学, 训练, 业务, 以及国际研究. He was instrumental in establishing Concordia's first endowed professorship, 哈利和卡洛琳·特伦巴斯忏悔神学教授. He also worked to establish missionary and student exchange opportunities in China, 日本, 香港, 韩国, 台湾, and Thailand; and served as a consultant and a speaker on the intersection of contemporary culture and faith.

作为前大学校长, I have a profound awareness of the winsomeness and courage it takes to lead faithfully while working at these “ragged edges” of academia. 大学 exist, as Martin Luther says, “for the sake of the church.“在这个多元化的世界里, Lutheran colleges and universities are at their best when they are unafraid to be at that tip of the spear, 基督与文化相交的地方. I believe the Holy Spirit desires to use Lutheran higher education to engage the world with outreach and 传福音 — especially among those who are not typically like us.

处理差异

Jack was committed to the arduous work of discerning the distinctions between our human, 部落真理和超越真理. 部落主义不仅导致我们排斥他人, but can also keep us from being fair-minded in dealing with different perspectives. 比这更危险, tribalism keeps us from seeing that truth that transcends our moment in history, 人类的局限性, 我们的关系范围, 或者我们的地理位置. 普锐斯提出了这样的警告:

如果我们表现得好像我们在真理的角落里, or as if we are the teachers to whom the rest of the world must simply listen, we will be acting in a way that is less than wise and less that respectful, and certainly out of sync with the example of the Formula [of Concord]."

真相, Preus认为, 不就是假的反面吗, but transcendent truth is that which is “clearly attested to by Scripture and the analogy of faith as expressed in the ecumenical creeds.“作为一个有远见的领导者，他很有创新精神, he was likewise vigorously dedicated to the Reformation’s return to the foundation, 彻底地, 与福音相符, 什么是罪的赦免呢. It wasn’t either innovation or tradition, it was both/and, each in their right place.

作为欧文康考迪亚大学的校长, 杰克博物馆1998-1999年的开幕主题是“捍卫我们的遗产”, 塑造未来.这句话对他11年的总统生涯来说是不言自明的. 很荣幸成为那一年的就职演讲嘉宾, I learned that Jack’s disavowal of sectarian tribalism went beyond religion to other categories that humans use to divide themselves. Jack urged me to stretch the thinking on campus regarding different cultures. “这对教会的未来有好处，”他经常说. 或者直接引用他的开创性著作《正规博彩网站排名亚洲体育博彩平台》中的一句话:

“我们有不同的性别, 比赛, 种族, 年龄, 大小, 能力, 家庭, 利益, 职业, 以及其他一百个标志着我们每个人都是独一无二的特征. 然而, 上帝创造的多样性是好的, 我们有, 通过我们的罪恶, 变成了分裂我们的东西. 而不是在上帝的多样性中欢欣鼓舞, 我们用怀疑的眼光看待与我们不同的人, 无知, 甚至是仇恨."

In these hyper-partisan 2020s, the church has an opportunity to be a force for good. 文化衰落、破碎、分裂. 它无法自愈. 没有基督，人们就不能宽恕，也不能平静. 我们需要和解者来克服分裂的罪恶, 不和, 和不信任, 以最深刻的方式将我们团结在一起.只有在基督里, 普鲁斯令人信服地提醒我们, 我们能自由地看到我们的分歧而不是分裂的根源吗, 而是按照上帝的旨意:快乐的源泉.”

生命战胜了死亡

Holding on to the hope of the resurrection are: his wife, 雪利酒; children Dr. J.A.O. 《博彩平台网址大全》(安娜)普瑞斯四世, Emily (Steven) Donoso and Rebecca (Joseph) McAllister; and eight grandchildren, 谁是他生命中的快乐. A simple set of adjectives are used by Jack’s family to describe his care towards them: “always affectionate, 主神朱庇特的, 和免费.” 

杰克既了解上帝的话语，也热爱这个世界. 但他也知道哪里可以找到生命:

At best, our lives in this present age are only a faint image of the life to come. ...“死亡啊，你的胜利在哪里?(哥林多前书15:55). 生命战胜了死亡. Therefore, death is no longer the doorway into the unknown, much less into nothing. 而, 死亡是我们进入生命的入口, life eternal with Christ in heavenly bliss and happiness in the presence of Him who is life.