Pastor Profile: Bernt Hillesland, St. Luke Lutheran Church

 Pastor Bernt Hillesland in his office.

In his short time at St. Luke Lutheran, Pastor Bernt Hillesland is not sure the word "contemporary" fits into the congregation's worship template:

"When they set that up, it was more based on a Vineyard-model, which ended up being what contemporary meant for a lot of churches. But it ain't contemporary any more--so then what does it mean? I don't even know if I like the word contemporary."

So he refers to the non-liturgical service by a term not commonly found in the same sentence with church. "It's more informal than it is contemporary; it's like a 'come as you are' sort of thing. And there's also a family feel to it. So there's a real strong community aspect. We really believe that worship should be about hearing God's word and thinking about what it means and receiving the Sacrament--that's essential stuff. There's a little bit of a bare bones thing going on there." 

 Pastor Bernt (pronounced "Bear-nt," one syllable) has been senior pastor of the 120-member congregation at St. Luke Lutheran for over two years. He was an associate pastor at a larger Lutheran congregation in Washington State for six years, and expounded on the differences: "Coming from a larger church, we were more broken into different groups. But at that size, we're all part of an extended family.

"I've liked, actually, moving into this size of a congregation. In a larger one, if you have staff, multiple staff members, of course, then you can do things that you can't do in a smaller congregation. But there's something about really knowing one another, because when you get bigger than that, it's really something that you can't do."

St. Luke is a congregation of growing diversity, that holds two worship services for the liturgical and the informal. Pastor Bernt fits the stereotype of the gentle giant. If I met him on the street, I would assume he could lay anyone out in five seconds flat--and perhaps he can. But in talking with him about his vision and work with the West San Fernando Valley congregation, he is soft-spoken and low key; the demeanor and pattern of an intellectual and a thinker.

Part of the Pastor Bernt’s ministry style involves using innovation and creativity, and St. Luke’s mission statement points to this.

St Luke is experiencing a time of revitalization, asking big questions, discerning our direction, trying things out, getting creative.

I asked him what, exactly did this look like.

"The congregation came up with a new mission statement and now we are asking, if we understand ourselves this way, then what do we want to do now, and to be really intentional about that.  For example, there's a move to be focused on spiritual growth for folks, and the different levels that people come at it. Some people come here who are Lutheran in background--very rare; and some folks come not really having a clue what they want, and what they believe in. We want to be there for them too, and where they are at in their journey."

One of the ministries that has been birthed from this fresh focus is helping people who have been affected by the economic downturn, and also encompasses the church's desire to live their mission statement.  "We are really wanting to focus on how we can engage with our neighbors and help out, and be involved in society. It's the whole thing of loving God and our neighbor."

St. Luke started sponsoring free one-on-one meetings in April of 2009, and continues to do this. Congregants and the community are offered assistance on mortgage and foreclosure issues, financial matters, legal issues, and job assistance from trained professionals in these arenas.

"This just came out of the congregation saying, ‘we want to help folks.’ There was nothing in place that did this that we knew of, so we just started with something--which was really exciting for a church this size. We don't have that many people to do that kind of work, but the people who could stepped up to it. I heard from another Pastor that somebody in his congregation came over and was told real straightforwardly what to do about their foreclosure situation. And it ended up being a really great thing."

Photograph courtesy of St. Luke Lutheran Church 

Pastor Bernt is not sure whether this type of assistance will continue to be an on-going thing, or if it will change into something greater. "We don't know what's going to happen with it, we don't know if we'll keep doing this forever, or if we'll change it. But that we're trying—we're stepping out there and seeing that folks are helped. So that's the innovative side of things."

Pastor Bernt did not feel the tug toward ministry until his last year of college, but appreciated the spiritual anchor provided through his upbringing. "I definitely felt like I had to go to church a lot. I don't think I would have chosen to go to church much. But then, at the same time, there were times I remember, like the hardship of being a kid, especially an adolescent, that I knew that it was a very important support for me to have people around me who were caring for me. There were no fights at church--unlike at school, where they were every day when I was in Junior High.

"When I got to college I didn't see myself getting back into it. It's almost like I had to see a more intense version of Christianity to be able to feel myself drawn back to it."

He took a course called "The Ethics of Vocation," which began to transform his thinking about what he was to do with his life. "It was a great idea for a college class because the whole point was 'How do you think about what you want to do with your life?' We were all doing that in college, but how often do we get together and actually talk about it? Where it's not just about what do I want to do, what will fulfill me, but what is good for my neighbor."

With the encouragement and support of his home congregation, he participated in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, where attendees are taught to live in community, work for social justice and practice spirituality with other recent graduates, most of them of the Catholic faith. It was through this experience that the epiphany of ministry cemented into a life vocation.

"I worked at a Drop-In Center for homeless people that was actually started by a Jesuit Priest, so they had Sunday Mass. There were a lot of addictions down there in Tacoma (Washington). We'd have a guy who'd come in who was always barefoot, very paranoid schizophrenic, who would just say all types of random stuff, but he would show up, he would want to have the Sacrament. Then we would actually preach on Sunday, right there in the Hall where everybody's hanging out.

"It was a really good experience of thinking about how these old words in the Bible--this old message--how it can connect to this down-to-earth reality of what people are truly living. These real struggles that people face. And it was powerful that I found out that it did connect in a way that I was not prepared for. And that  we are connected. These are real folks who are looking for hope. So from there, I went to Divinity School the next year."

He continued his education at Yale Divinity School, where he obtained his Masters of Divinity. He felt the experience of studying with people of different faiths helped to strengthen his. "Even for meals I would sit with many different traditions; we would all be gathered around the table, making various comments on classes and stuff."

Photograph courtesy of  St. Luke Lutheran Church 

From there he attended Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. "I went into Divinity School thinking that I probably was going to stay Lutheran, because I was Lutheran all growing up; even though I was kind of drawn to some parts of Catholicism. But the more I learned about it, the more I realized that it fit; I really liked it. It's rooted in tradition but it's also really focused on Grace, you know, and Freedom, and Love, and there's a raw power in that Lutheran approach to things."

He also met his wife, Katherine Marshall, at seminary. She is ordained and pastors the Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church in Chatsworth, California. Along with juggling two congregations, they raise their twin six-year-old boys, a four-year-old boy, and an eight-month old girl. "[Katherine]'s part-time and we both--our congregations are very good to us and the calling is very good in some ways in that we're able to be very flexible. We can commiserate and support one another in whatever we're facing, and we both definitely face struggles in pastoring congregations. So it's been helpful. A lot of clergy couples will work in the same church, and we haven't really tried that yet. But it's good because we can talk about it, we have that in common, but we also have our own things going on too."

The freshness and innovation that Pastor Bernt facilitates is starting to be reflected in the membership. "We are getting a lot more folks in their 20's and 30's now, which has been really fun. We have a baptism this Sunday for a little girl. We have more babies. So it's been a good mix. And I think that I really like that too, and the people like it, being around different types of folks."

Pastor Bernt said the desire of the congregation is that they not follow the tracks of whatever churches are "supposed to do. So there is a real spirit here to want to be really creative and do interesting things." A key creative method is in their approach to introducing visitors to the church.

"We do something that I call Sanctuary.  We come in it and I write down any random questions that people think of, like, 'What is Hell?' 'Do we Believe in Hell?' 'Do we believe the Bible is literally true?' 'Does God control what happens to us, or do we have a choice?' I find that a lot of people live with these questions.

"It's not a matter of my saying, 'Let me tell you the answer to this.' But I think the power of that often is that the participants will share these questions, and share their experiences in living with them, and that ends up being what you need to hear. And recognizing that many of these things are very difficult. I think my understanding of Christianity is not of this clear set of doctrines that I'm to impart to people. But that it is open to really hard questions; it's a way of addressing real struggles. I think that the heart of what we believe is not an answer, but more of a gift. Faith is just hearing that and receiving it, without always fully understanding everything about it. But just believing and trusting those words for you."

For more info:  For more information about St. Luke Lutheran Church, visit their website.
To contact Pastor Bernt Hillesland call (818) 346-4070 or email him.