Reformation Lutheran Church

Membership: 300

Pastor: Pastor Kevin Schultz

Age: 48

Born: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Formation: Northwestern College, Watertown, Wis. and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis.

Years Ordained: 23

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Pastor Kevin Schultz: I do a little every day. In fact, I start right away on Monday after Sunday services and by the end of the week, I would guess I’ve worked about 25 hours.

SDR: What have you learned through experience that makes your sermons effective?

PS: Well, you certainly don’t want to cut corners. What makes a pastor a good preacher is that he understands God’s Word in its original languages and shares that Word with his people in such a way that it’s meaningful to them and has take-home value. There are no shortcuts allowed.

SDR: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that flopped?

PS: More often than I care to admit. God’s Word works all by itself. I just try to make sure I don’t do anything that would get in the way of the power of that Word. I can’t make God’s Word better, I can’t make it touch people’s hearts better. But I can get in the way of God’s Word doing its work. So, I try to preach in such a way that I let God’s Word speak for itself.

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PS: The most important concern I have is getting people interested in God’s Word. We have become a society that has become so busy in our lives today, and clergy are no different. We struggle with that, too. People are working so much. The stress level in society is increasing year after year, you just have to wonder how much more can we go on like this without snapping as a society. Also, children are growing up these days without learning about Jesus. That’s one of the reasons we have a Christian elementary and preschool here at Reformation. The future of society rests with our children, and we want to help parents teach their children about Jesus.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

PS: A friend challenged me one day by asking me, ‘Kevin, what are you going to do with your life that’s going to make a difference?’ … I thought I could make a difference in people’s lives here on Earth, but it would be really something to make a difference in people’s lives for eternity. So I took up the challenge and I love it — I haven’t looked back since.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PS: The main mission of Reformation is two-pronged: to reach out with God’s Word to people who don’t know Jesus as their Savior, and to nurture or build up the believers in our congregation.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PS: Jesus tells us in the Bible that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. People who believe in Jesus as the one who died on the cross and paid for their sins will be in Heaven…and whoever does not believe will be condemned. There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. They are real places and real people go there.