2027
PRESENTERS
“Art is the chalice…”
“…into which we pour the wine of transcendence.” -Stanley Kunitz
steve thomason
“Drawing down the Spirit”
Steve Thomason started teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2016 before becoming a full-time faculty member in 2022. He is the Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship. His passion is to help equip students to become the kind of Christian Public Leaders who can first grow deeper in their own relationship with God and then be able to cultivate spaces in which others can grow deeper in the love of God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the world.
Thomason’s passion and calling is a fusion of art and theology. This is evident in his role at Luther. Half of his responsibilities dwell in the realm of traditional professorial work. Half of his responsibilities dwell in the creative realm of Faith+Lead Academy where he creates online courses utilizing his animation and illustration skills with teaching for the everyday disciple.
He is the author of A Cartoonist’s Guide to the Bible, which is an online resource for visual learners to explore, teach, and preach the scripture using creative visual illustration and animation. Explore the resource at cartoonistbible.com.
The fusion of art and theology is evident in Thomason’s history. He began his career as an Art major and a caricature artist for a large art business in Las Vegas, NV. His call to ministry began at an Evangelical Mega Church in Las Vegas where he was ordained and became the Director of Adult Ministries while earning his M.Div. from Bethel Seminary. In 2002 he stepped out of the mega and into the micro by experimenting with house church ministry for 5 years. He and his family moved to Minnesota in 2007, and in 2010 God led him into the ELCA where he transferred his ordination and enrolled in the PhD program in Congregational Mission and Leadership at Luther Seminary. He served as an associate pastor at two suburban ELCA congregations in the Twin Cities prior to joining the faculty at Luther. His art has infused his preaching, teaching, and spirituality at every step of the way.
jerry webber
Recommended Reading
Coming soon
“Writing down the Spirit”
Jerry Webber is a retreat leader, teacher, writer, and spiritual companion who explores the soul as part of his vocation in the world. He was the founder and lead pastor of The Center for Christian Spirituality at Chapelwood UMC in Houston for 18 years (2000-2018). He now lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife Paula, leading retreats, writing spiritual formation curriculum, offering spiritual direction, teaching/mentoring seminary students, and serving as faculty for the Academy for Spiritual Formation. He has two grown children and two grandchildren. He loves reading and writing poetry, exploring in the natural world, and tending the plot of land that is his home in the foothills of the Ozarks.
Interests reading, exploring outer and inner landscapes, travel, poetry (reading and writing), spiritual friendship
Favorite movies The Natural, Field of Dreams, Man from Snowy River, Babette's Feast, Hoosiers, The Hunt for Red October
Favorite music Checkfield, George Winston, Rippingtons, Acoustic Alchemy, Chicago, Tingstad and Rumbel, Peter Kater, John Michael Talbot, Cat Stevens, Peter Johns
Favorite books New Seeds of Contemplation (Merton), Everything Belongs and Things Hidden (Rohr), The Grand Option (Bruteau), 1 & 2 Samuel (Brueggemann), Spiritual Wisdom for Preachers and Teachers (Shea), Let Your Life Speak (Palmer)