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Since November 14, residents of Center City, Lindstrom, and Chisago City may have noticed a white sedan with orange Iowa plates that read, “REVD UP” cruising streets or parked in front of Chisago Lake Lutheran Church, prompting some to ask, “So, who’s the guy in town?”  

When asked to introduce himself, Brian King, the newest pastor of the 168-year-old Chisago Lake Lutheran congregation shared the following in his words:

I’m 52 years old, was born in Kokomo, Indiana, and raised in Mahomet, Illinois.  I graduated magna cum laude from Wartburg College where I was a History and Religion double major and Captain of the football team, and went on to earn my M.Div. at Wartburg Seminary in Iowa.

I have been an ordained Lutheran pastor for over 26 years.  In my first call I served three years as the Associate Pastor of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  I then served as the solo pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Iowa Falls, Iowa for 11 years followed by nearly 13 years as the Senior Pastor of the 4000-member Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  

I was the first National Lutheran Youth Organization President for the ELCA, currently serve as the Chair of the Board for Lutheran Services in Iowa, and have served on the Board of Regents for Wartburg College, as well as the Board of Augsburg Fortress Publishing. In the early days of the ELCA I served on the Boards for Church and Society and Congregational Life, and as an ELCA representative to the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches in the USA from 1998-2005.

I enjoy biking, weightlifting, history, the outdoors, watching movies, watching college football and wrestling, music of all genres, service/mission trips, Mt. Dew, and ice cream.  I don’t own jeans and when I’m not in a suit or dress pants, I’m in shorts.  I don’t like hot weather or mosquitoes and I’m not too fond of beets either!  

I met my wife, Jen, as a sophomore at Wartburg College, and we were married in Waverly, Iowa over 30 years ago.  Jen was born and raised in Iowa, majored in Business Administration at Wartburg, served as the Marketing Director and Foundation Director at Ellsworth Hospital in Iowa Falls, worked in Public Relations for the University of Northern Iowa, and for the past nine years has served as a licensed funeral director in Iowa, where she will continue to live until our two youngest children graduate from college.  

She has a great sense of humor (including marrying me) loves caring for people amid grief, studies genealogy, and can fix just about anything (me, not so much!).   

We have four adult children, including twin sons, Taylor and Justin (26), Nathan (21), and Grace (19).  

After serving in a larger setting for the past 13 years, I am truly excited to begin a new chapter of life and ministry in this beautiful and historic community and congregation. I truly look forward to getting connected here, meeting and serving my neighbors, and building relationships in the larger Chisago Lakes area.  You can already find me working out most mornings at the Chisago Lakes Wildcat Community Center, having early morning coffee/Mt. Dew at the Swedish Inn or Lindstrom Bakery, or out and about making visits in the local care centers, hospitals, and homes of our members.  

Thanks for the warm welcome into the community and for those looking for a church home, we invite you to check us out in person at Chisago Lake Lutheran Church at 1 Summit Avenue, in Center City, or online at chisagolakelutheran.org.  

Our weekly Sunday services (in person or livestreamed) are at 9 am every Sunday and avilable online or through our Facebook channel at any time.   

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