About | Schedule | Presenters

All Pastors who attend St. Louis and St. Charles Winkels are invited to attend the 4^th Annual St. Louis Area Winkel on Wednesday, August 28 at Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, Clayton, MO  63105.Registration is online only.  We will not be able to take registrations over the phone or by email.

There is no cost to attend the Winkel, but you must register online as space is limited.  Lunch will be provided.  The registration deadline is August 20^th (or when space is filled).

The Winkel provides a great opportunity for pastors from all over the city and across circuit boundaries to come together for the mutual consolation and conversation of the brethren.

Schedule

8:30
Refreshments (Koburg Hall)

9:15
Welcome (Koburg Hall)

9:30
Chapel (Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus)

10:30
Text Study (Koburg Hall) – Dr. Thomas Egger, Assistant Professor of Exegetical Theology
at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

11:15
Confessions Study (Koburg Hall) – Dr. Joel D. Biermann, Professor of Systematic
Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

12:00
Lunch (Koburg Hall)

12:45
Announcements

1:00
Plenary Presentation (Koburg Hall) – “The Divine Institution of Marriage and Preparing
Couples for Marriage” part 1
Rev. Jeff Meyers, Christ Lutheran Church, Overland Park, KS

1:45
Break

2:00
Plenary Presentation (Koburg Hall) – “The Divine Institution of Marriage and Preparing
Couples for Marriage” part 2

2:45
Closing

Presenters

Rev. Jeff Meyers, MDiv, MA, SpA, NCC, LPC

My name is Rev. Jeff Meyers. I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I also attended Concordia University and received my BA in 1982.  I attended Concordia Seminary and received my MDiv in 1989.  After my vicarage I attended Eastern Michigan University where I received a Graduate Assistantship in the Counseling department.  I earned my MA and SpA (Specialist in Arts) degrees in Counseling from Eastern Michigan University.  While there I worked as a substance abuse counselor at Beyer Hospital.  I am a National Board Certified Counselor through the American Counseling Association and a Licensed Professional Counselor.

During my last year at Concordia Seminary I was a Counselor for Lutheran Child and Family Services in Southern Illinois.  Upon graduation I was called as the Pastor to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Illinois.  I also served as a Counselor/Clinical Supervisor for Lutheran Child and Family Services in Southern Illinois.  I served in these positions until 1995.  I then was called to Christ Lutheran Church in Overland Park, Kansas as director of Family and Care Ministry.  This is where I currently serve as Executive Pastor.  While serving at Christ Lutheran I’ve been a part founder of the Zoe marriage and marriage prep inventory, written a marriage mentoring program, lead an outstanding care ministry (outstanding because of the remarkable people that serve with me), and support a team of 60 staff members at Christ.

Presentation: The Divine Institution of Marriage and Preparing Couples for Marriage

The first institution after creation is marriage, “hold fast his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  The last act of Revelation is a marriage, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’”.  The divine institution of marriage is God’s idea and not ours.  God has ordained marriage as a foundational institution for safety, respect, trust, and joy in our lives together on planet earth.  The family is God’s plan for the most important small group ministry.  Marriage begins by building a strong and lasting foundation through solid preparation.   Together we look to God’s Word and how to strengthen this Divine gift.

Dr. Thomas Egger                          

Dr. Thomas Egger is assistant professor of Exegetical Theology and serves as an academic adviser to first-year students at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

Egger has been a faculty member at Concordia Seminary since 2005. He earned his Master of Divinity at Concordia Seminary (1997), and received his bachelor’s degree in English and German from Central College in Pella, Iowa (1993). He completed his Ph.D. at Concordia Seminary in 2019. His dissertation focused on the phrase “visiting iniquity of fathers upon sons” from the book of Exodus.

His areas of interest and expertise include biblical Hebrew, the book of Exodus, Old Testament theology, Old Testament Christ-typology, divine justice, narrative and rhetorical analysis, the nature and authority of Scripture, and “objectionable” texts in the Bible (those often raising criticisms of divine violence and accusations of divine immorality).

He has made contributions in the area of American Lutheran history, especially the history of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and its first president, Dr. C.F.W. Walther. He is interested in the theology of Luther’s catechisms and the intersection of the catechism and the Bible in Lutheran teaching and piety.

His writings include “The OT Sabbath: Creaturely, Catechetical, and Christological Reflections,” presented at the Concordia Seminary Theological Symposium in 2014; “Jesus: The Restorer of Rest” in the summer/fall 2014 issue of Concordia Seminary magazine; “Jesus: The Second and Greater Adam” in The Restoration of Creation in Christ: Essays in Honor of Dean O. Wenthe (Concordia Publishing House, 2014); “Jesus: The Second and Greater Adam” in Modern Reformation 22:6 (2013): 40–45; and “Waltherana Research Guide” in C.F.W. Walther: Churchman and Theologian (Concordia Publishing House, 2011).

He served as pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa (2000-05). He previously served as a guest instructor at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (1999).

In addition to his Seminary duties, Egger serves on the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations and on the Catechism Revision Committee, which prepared a revision of the Synod’s explanation of Luther’s Small Catechism. He serves Concordia Historical Institute on its Awards Committee and on its Walther Roundtable Committee. He also has served on the Board of Directors of Providence Classical Christian Academy, a K-12 school in St. Louis, since 2008.

His favorite pastimes are running, Cardinals baseball, bird watching, hiking, golf, reading stories and poetry to his children, and singing hymns with his family. He and his wife, Victoria, have been blessed with six children.

Dr. Joel Biermann                                         

Dr. Joel D. Biermann is the Waldemar A. and June Schuette Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

A faculty member since 2002, Biermann teaches doctrinal theology with a special interest and emphasis centered on ethics and the correct role of the Law in the life of the believer. He also is the faculty marshal.

A pastor’s son, Biermann was raised in parishes in Nebraska and Michigan. Graduating from Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1983, he enrolled at Concordia Seminary and finished his Master of Divinity in 1987.

At Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, Minn., and then St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Holt, Mich., he served as a parish pastor for 11 years.

Biermann returned to Concordia Seminary in 1998 as a graduate student. He completed his Ph.D. in 2002 with a dissertation entitled, “Virtue Ethics and the Place of Character Formation in Lutheran Theology.”

Outside of his Seminary responsibilities, Biermann serves local congregations as invited and has helped produce material for congregational small group Bible studies (Help for the Hurried Life, Questions About). He also has worked on similar study material through Lutheran Hour Ministries (Who Am I, What Am I Doing Here?, Fatherhood, We the People, A Man Named Martin) and provided discussion questions and answers for a series of men’s Bible study books through Concordia Publishing House (Blessed is the Man).

He has authored three books: Courageous Fathers of the Bible (Concordia Publishing House, 2011); A Case for Character (Fortress, 2014); and Wholly Citizens (Fortress, 2017). He also has written a Lenten/Easter sermon and worship series, Restored in Christ, published by Creative Communications for The Parish in 2014.

Biermann is a frequent speaker at district and congregational gatherings and conferences, where he covers a variety of topics especially those relating to issues of discipleship, Christian formation, vocation, and church and state issues.

Biermann and his wife, Jeannalee, have three adult children; Jasmine and Justine, both Master of Arts graduates of Concordia Seminary, and Jess, a current Seminary student; and seven grandchildren.