Who am I?
I am Pastor Jason Gudim. I am a husband to Esther and a father of five incredible (and incredibly active!) children. I serve as pastor of Faith Free Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis, MN. In addition to my duties as pastor, I have served as adjunct faculty at the Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary (FLBC and FLS). I am also currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
I am a confessional Lutheran. I subscribe quia to the whole Book of Concord. This means that I believe the documents of the Book of Concord are faithful expositions and summaries of the teaching of Scripture. This does not mean that I believe the Lutheran confessions replace or stand over the Bible.
I am a baseball addict, and I despairingly root for the Minnesota Twins (and less despairingly root for the St. Louis Cardinals) as well as the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Wild (and most other Minnesota teams – except Gophers hockey [Go Sioux, ur, Fighting Hawks!]).
What is Being Lutheran?
I’m glad you asked. Being Lutheran is a Sunday School curriculum I started writing and teaching in the fall of 2013. Several of the members of my congregation asked me to teach a class or preach a sermon series on why we were Lutheran. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I decided the best thing to do was to go to the source material. The Book of Concord is the result of the very first Lutherans explaining to the world who they are and what they believe. Being Lutheran systematically walks through the Book of Concord and the biblical principles it is built on.
I’m seeking to answer the question, “Why do Lutherans believe what they say they believe?” In answering that question, we’ll be uncovering the biblical support for several Lutheran doctrinal and theological positions.
Being Lutheran is the primary home of the “Being Lutheran Podcast”. In that, Pastor Brett Boe, Pastor Brian Ricke, and I re-package the classroom material in short, twenty minute episodes that are easily accessible for people who can’t attend the actual class.
Pastor Brett Boe
Brett is married to Theresa, and father to five wonderful kids. He currently serves Solid Rock Free Lutheran Church in Anoka, MN. Before that, Brett has served as pastor at King of Glory Lutheran in Shakopee, MN and as Associate Pastor at the Dalton Free Lutheran Parish in Dalton, MN. He grew up in Newark, IL, and is Chicago sports fan. Go [REDACTED]!Pastor Brian Ricke
Pastor Brian Ricke has served as a co-host of the Being Lutheran podcast, but has stepped back behind the scenes and remains our producer.
Brian currently serves two NALC parishes in eastern South Dakota, and before that he has served Hope Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN, Living Hope Church in St. Michael, MN, and Calvary Free Lutheran Church in Arlington, SD. Brian has a passion for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and equipping all ages with the tools needed to live a life dedicated to the Father empowered by the Holy Spirit. He serves as a shepherd to feed, nurture, care for, and “grow” God’s flock.
Brian and his wife, Connie have been married for over 20 years and have four sons, Zachariah, Samuel, Eliah and Andrew. Brian enjoys spending time with his family, reading and equipping believers for the work of the ministry.
(And yes…Jason totally just stole that right off Brian’s bio on his church’s website.)