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Gerard Bolling

Rev. Gerard Bolling was born and raised in the heart of Brooklyn, NY. From an early age, he always desired to serve God’s people in a greater capacity. One visit to Concordia Seminary and he was “sold out” on serving Jesus! Gerard attended Concordia Chicago from 2008 to 2012, earning a BA in theatre with a minor in languages. Gerard graduated from Concordia Seminary in 2016 with a master of divinity (MDiv) and received a call to serve at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the inner city of St. Louis. He had lead the Deaf Ministry at Bethlehem two years prior to receiving the call. He currently serves as pastor and co-executive director of the Lutheran Hope Center. In this role, he leads the Deaf Ministry team at Bethlehem while reaching out to youth and families in the Ferguson, MO, area in the aftermath of the Mike Brown incident. He also co-leads the dynamic weekly Bethlehem Church ministries (preaching, teaching, and leading outreach programs and community engagement) with the amazingly talented Pastor John R. Schmidtke. Their ministry is an innovation to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and a blessing to those whom they serve, who are often overlooked because of socioeconomic situations. Gerard is also an educator. He currently serves as an online adjunct leadership professor at Concordia University Texas; an online adjunct theology professor at Concordia University Texas and Concordia University St. Paul; and an online adjunct professor in the Nonprofit/Business department at Concordia University Wisconsin. He has spoken at numerous conferences, events, and venues within the LCMS, reflecting the love of Christ and promoting deeper conversations about deaf, urban, and cross-cultural inclusive ministry. In addition to serving as a full-time pastor and part-time professor, he is also a doctoral candidate in his research stage at Concordia University Wisconsin in the Leadership, Innovation, and Continuous Improvement (LICI) program. His research topic is Human Resource Development in Urban Ministry Structures of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as it Relates to Mentorship. He is set to complete his research by September 2020 and become Dr. Bolling officially. Gerard has been married to his beautiful wife, Lorenda, for six years. Lorenda serves as a preschool teacher at Word of Life Lutheran School. Together they have a four-year-old son named Lincoln and a two-year-old daughter named Monroe. Both kids were born on October 5 (in different years, of course). They currently reside on the south side of St. Louis, MO.

Recent Posts by Gerard Bolling

Just for Decoration

Gerard Bolling
September 21, 2020

Special thanks to the ministries of St. Lucas Lutheran Early Childhood Center and Word of Life Lutheran School in St. Louis, Missouri, for taking the time to educate my children and many others on the promises of God.

In my household, I get the pleasure of dropping both of my children off at school each day. My wife is a full-time Lutheran school teacher, so she arrives at school quite early and is not able to drop the kids off on a consistent basis. As I load my two- and four-year-olds into our purple Ford Flex, they fill my car with songs from school—songs about Jesus. They kick their legs with excitement as they belt “Jesus Loves Me” with a remix of “Jesus, Remember Me” with a feature by the “ABC” song. I open our sunroof to get some fresh air and therapeutic sun into the car as the kids scarf down their breakfast, bellowing lyrics as we drive along.

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Asymptomatic Symptoms

Gerard Bolling
August 31, 2020

Earlier this summer, I received a phone call that caused me to drop my glass cup on the floor right before heading into a Bible study. My doctor had called to tell me that the “routine” COVID-19 test I had taken was not so routine and that I had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease. The next few seconds were a blur, and I quickly popped into the Zoom Bible study feeling as if I had been hit with a ton of bricks.

I had COVID-19. What was going to happen to me?

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Wade in the Water

Gerard Bolling
July 20, 2020

It was Easter Sunday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, NY. The tiny urban neighborhood church was crowded with saints singing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” at the top of their lungs, their song rising to the roof as incense. New LCMS Lutheran converts Janine Bolling and Gerard Bolling, brother and sister by blood, with their entire Brooklyn family watching, were to become brother and sister in Christ, with the entire family of God both gazing down from heaven and gazing forward from the hot wooden pews in the not-yet-air-conditioned sanctuary.

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Kneeling for Justice

Gerard Bolling
June 29, 2020

In my office, I have a kneeler that I got off of Craigslist from a Lutheran church that had closed many years ago. It was the first piece of furniture I dropped down into my empty, stuffy, non-air-conditioned office that I was presented with at the beginning of my vicarage at Bethlehem Lutheran Church—a church I now serve as pastor. I lovingly refer to this office as my “penthouse suite.” See, the 171-year-old urban school building that Bethlehem now worships in was built to have five different levels. Thirty steps for each landing. Of course, where was my office?

The very top.

The Penthouse.

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