LIVING OUR FAITH ON THE JOURNEY
ABOUT ME
I am Roger Black. I am an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I am also someone who is an occasional teacher of theology, especially Christian ethics. I am a 1974 graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, with a major in history. I completed my M.Div. at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN in 1978, including completing an internship in Seattle, Washington and C.P.E. in St. Paul. I completed a Ph.D. in historical theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1996. I served regular pastorates iin Milwaukee and Stoughton, Wisconsin from 1978 to 1994 and in Antioch, IL from 2000 to 2006. From mid-1994 to mid-2000 I served four interim parishes in Wisconsin and since the summer of 2006 I have served seven more interims. I taught in the lay school in Madison, WI for over ten years and diakonia (a lay school enrichment program) in three synods over several years. I am currently waiting for my next interim "call."
I am happily married to Pam, who is a special education consultant in trauma ("Trauma Sensitive Education.)" Pam recently retired from public school education after thirty-three years of teaching and administration in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
My special interests revolve around this topic of "living the Christian life." My ethics teaching has led me to understand that it is a common concern for lay people and clergy alike. In recent years I have discovered it to be more challenging, especially in light of the greater anxiety created by the presence of terrorism in our world, particularly after 9/11/2001. During the past six years I have also been involved in learning about Bowen Family Systems Therapy (BFST), as created by Dr. Murray Bowen. Family systems thinking has helped me to integrate my faith with the realities of living in the world today. It is very important for me to help others integrate faith and life. I believe that our faith can address the anxious concerns of today. When we take seriously Jesus' call to "lay our burdens on him" we can be freed up to support and lift up the burdens of one another. "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
