This past Sunday I was ordained into the American Bapist Church. For the ordination process I had to write a confessional paper. It has eight parts. Over the next few days I will post each section. Today is section one: A Biographical Sketch
1. A brief biographical sketch:
Born in Sioux Falls, SD on September 18th, 1983 to Keith and Mareda Bertelson, I grew up in a Christian home which occasionally frequented Sunday school and worship at Hope Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. We moved to Hartford, SD, where my father (unsuccessfully) tried his hand at farming, started attending Christ Lutheran Church in order that I might complete the Lutheran confirmation. I meandered through the process, as any good Lutheran youth is supposed to do, and was confirmed in the eight grade. Shortly thereafter I began associating with friends who found the pinnacle of social interaction in drinking, and I left the church for a couple years. However, in the Fall of my sophomore year I inquisitively darkened the door of Christ Lutheran Church to attend youth group. That particular evening the youth leader, Joe Hellvig, spoke about his past addiction to alcohol and how God helped him overcome it. I was moved, because a life of alcoholism sounded like where I was headed. I went home and knew that I needed to change my life, and by the prompting of the Holy Spirit I surrendered my life to Christ. It was the opening chapter of a very pleasant, yet uncertain book.
I became active in weekly youth group, Sunday school, and church board meetings. I fell under the mentorship of Joe Hellvig, and he helped me understand my newfound faith. He encouraged me to pursue further study in order to ground myself in good theology. His encouragement was an early affirmation of my call to ministry.
If chapter one, the church’s encouragement, laid the foundation for my call, chapter two built a theological framework for me to articulate it. By the end of high school I emerged as a distinctively evangelical Christian. I leaned toward the Free Church tradition, and I subsequently attended the University of Sioux Falls where I majored in theology and philosophy. At USF I developed a community of friends who were equally encouraging and intellectually stimulating. I learned what “life together” meant and how to embody the faith. I discovered the spiritual disciplines and a desire for preaching, and learned a good deal about Baptist life. My close friends, theology professors (Dr. John Hiigel and Dr. Kimlyn Bender), and campus pastor (Rev. Dennis Thum) stirred in me a passion and excitement for all things theological. The next logical step after graduation was to attend seminary to further develop my gifts and passion for the pastorate.
An interlude: chapter three, however, did not begin with seminary but marriage. On July 29th, 2006 I married my beautiful bride, Tami. We met at a Christian coffeehouse in Sioux Falls, dated for three years, and got engaged in Israel in January 2006. We participated in ministry together through small group leadership, co-pasturing a youth group, and worship leadership. When I told her of my desire to attend seminary she not only encouraged me but also decided to attend so we could prepare for the pastoral life together. Her strength and unyielding faith in my call has pulled me through many times of self-doubt and academic exhaustion.
Chapter four is “seminariness.” My wife and I decided to attend a multi-denominational seminary, because we wanted exposure to various theological perspectives and ethnic diversity. We decided upon Gordon Conwell Seminary, but after one year of study we sensed that we didn’t fit, so we moved to Pasadena, CA to attend Fuller Seminary. She wanted to attend, but due to the high cost of living in California she’s been selflessly working full-time to pay the bills. I’ve found a home at Fuller. It is a wonderful seminary on the cutting edge of all things theological and rich in theological, ethnic, and gender diversity. It’s a school marked by intellectual openness, an evangelical and Christocentric emphasis, and a missional flavor. At Fuller I’ve fallen in love with Jesus all over again, I’ve learned the necessity for serious biblical exegesis, and I’m reminded about the centrality of the local church for God’s mission in the world.
Chapter five is the present. Currently, I am serving at an American Baptist Church (First Baptist Church of Glendale) while finishing at Fuller. Through a series of “chance” encounters my wife and I were invited to attend First Baptist Church of Glendale. We were quickly invited into the community and soon joined the leadership team. FBC is in a restart phase and it’s been thrilling to be part of its rebirth. As pastoral intern I have had privilege to preach, teach, and lead small groups.
Although the book is unfinished it is apparent to my wife and I that God is calling me to the pastorate.
