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We spoke with Pastor David Fleming, Executive Director for Spiritual Care at DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel, at the inaugural LM-A Pastors’ Conference recently.

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod home in the middle of America. Dad was an Elder. Mom volunteered at our Lutheran school. They were joyful and dedicated Christians. I started considering being a pastor when I and our church’s fellow High School youth did a door-to-door survey in my neighbourhood. Only one neighbour knew the saving work of Jesus. The rest all thought they were pretty good people. It made me think there’s a challenge that perhaps the Lord could use me for.

I’ve been an LCMS pastor for 38 years; 32 at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan and six years at a congregation near Chicago, Illinois. For the last five years, I also serve as Executive Director for Spiritual Care at DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel. My wife of 39 years, Jo Marie Fleming, is Preschool Director at our parish school. We have three grown children all of whom are married. Our two daughters married LCMS pastors (which they had said they’d never do). We have several grandchildren - 4 granddaughters in Grand Rapids so we see them often.

What does Doxology do?

Our main work is helping pastors to be the best pastors they can be. We do this work through our Classic Program which includes three parts. Part one is a four-day retreat for pastors at which every day is surrounded by prayer offices and preaching and includes in-depth study on the pastoral art of the Care of Souls. We also look at depression, “compassion fatigue”, emotional intelligence, and examine the various dangers pastors are prone to encounter.