Trinity Lutheran Church: why we love

Trinity Lutheran Church

• Contact: 7210 Lisbon St., San Diego 619-262-1089 www.tlcsd.org
• Membership: 100
• Pastor: Richard Stark
• Age: 57
• Born: National City
• Formation: San Diego Police Academy; Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO
• Years Ordained: 10 (deacon); 3 (pastor)

San Diego Reader: Why did you become a minister?

Pastor Richard Stark: I come from a family that has a strong background in ministry. I have a brother who is a pastor of a non-denominational church in Milwaukee, and another brother who is a deacon in the Lutheran Church. When I came to the end of my law enforcement career (first a police officer for National City and then an investigator with the district attorney’s office), I wanted to continue serving people. A pastor once said to me in a conversation that according to scripture, we love because God first loved us. When you read the Bible and get to that part where about women submitting to their husbands and husbands loving their wives like Christ loves the church, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what marriage is about—Christ loving us. It was that moment which made me realize why I love my wife. From that moment on, I wanted to share that message with others through ministry. We love because that’s the way he loved us. We’re here strictly by the mercy and grace of Christ, and that’s what our salvation rests in. You have to show that love to other people.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PS: Our primary mission is to take the message of Jesus and show his love to the world. We do this through serving our community and our neighbors. We have a food pantry open every Tuesday and Thursday, 9 am to 2 pm. We work with Feeding San Diego and hand out food to our neighbors through that organization. Trinity is one of the oldest Lutheran churches and the oldest Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregation in San Diego. We celebrate 125 years this year. Once a year, Trinity has a rally day, and we will have one weekend we celebrate our anniversary.

SDR: Where is the strangest place you found God?

PS: In dealing with suspects, I’ve dealt with people who committed heinous crimes—everything from armed robbery and homicide to child pornography on the internet—and as these people were talking to me, on their own, not knowing I was a Lutheran or anything else, started talking about God and acknowledged that where they were and what they’ve done was the result of a lack of God in their lives.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PS: The Bible clearly tells us that those who believe in Christ as their savior will be brought to paradise with him, and on the last day when this world comes to an end, we will spend the rest of that time in paradise with him. Those who don’t believe and refuse to believe will be tormented in a lake of fire. It’s something we don’t like to think about, but if you believe the word of God is true, that’s what the Bible tells us. Now, it’s not a lake of fire they’ll be thrown into, but there is eternal paradise and eternal torment. As to who goes where, that is up to God and his final judgment. We can be reassured that those who believe in Jesus Christ as their savior will be saved.