James Nieman elected president of LSTC On May 14, the LSTC Board of Directors elected the Rev. James Nieman, Ph.D., as the school’s seventh president. Sarah Stegemoeller, chairman of the board, introduced him and his spouse, the Rev. JoAnn Post, to the community gathered in the LSTC refectory. Dr. Nieman received a standing ovation as he entered the room and made his way to the lectern. “I am humbled and thankful for the confidence of the search committee and now the board of directors in selecting me as the next president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. This is the best call in the Lutheran church, because I get to lead this fine school during these promising days amidst your outstanding company,” Dr. Nieman said. Read all of his remarks on www.lstc.edu. He will begin his service at LSTC on August 1, 2012.
cited LSTC’s historic core strengths in the vision he outlined for innovative, faithful forms of theological education befitting the church in this time. “While our seminaries must form leaders of an ever more diverse variety,” Nieman said, “the real purpose of leaders is that they encourage and support bold, creative witness by every disciple in the many places those leaders may never go. The future of theological education relies on shifting our weight onto just such a witness to the gospel, with leadership formation in service to that. LSTC impresses me as having just the right blend of character, setting, resources, and purpose to model new ways of doing this in the years to come.”
Pastor, professor, dean, spouse, father, and congregation member Dr. Nieman comes to LSTC from Hartford Seminary, where he has been professor of practical theology since 2005 and academic dean since 2011. From 1992 –2004, he was professor of homiletics at Wartburg Theological Seminary. Nieman served as pastor of the Iñupiaq Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska, and as the licensed minister of Zion Lutheran Church in Clayton Center, Iowa. He served as consultant and facilitator for the “Living into the Future Together: Renewing the Ecology of the ELCA” Conference of Bishops Task Force on Synods, 2011-2012. James Nieman is married to the Rev. JoAnn Post, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Manchester, Conn., where he has been an active volunteer. They are the parents of Clara, 24, an opera singer who regularly performs with opera compa-
Bread for the World President David Beckmann and John Kiltinen, a member of LSTC's board of directors, greet President-elect James Nieman
An installation service will be held at Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago on Sunday, October 28, 2012.
Encouraging creative witness by every disciple “Dr. Nieman brings a compelling vision for theological education as well as a depth and breadth of experience to lead LSTC into the future,” said Board Chairman Sarah Stegemoeller. “His extensive work in the areas of context and change within the church will help LSTC form visionary leaders prepared to be even more effective in sharing the gospel within the communities they serve.” In his presentations to the community during the search process, Dr. Nieman stated that he sees LSTC as distinctly situated in the ELCA to meet the challenges facing denominational seminaries. He
James Nieman and JoAnn Post
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