Under the theme People of Hope … It’s Time, Rev. Dr. John Arthur Nunes and Rev. Dr. Chad Lakies have been chosen as convention essayists.
Rev. Dr. John Arthur Nunes is a Lutheran pastor and Senior Fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy. He has served as the President of Concordia College New York, President and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, and professor at Valparaiso University. Recent books Nunes has authored are Reimagining the Reformation from the Margins (2017, co-authored with Alberto Garcia) and Meant for More: In, With, and Under the Ordinary (2020). Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Nunes is a graduate of Concordia College, Ann Arbor (B.A.), Concordia Seminary, St. Catharines, ON, Canada (M.Div.), and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (Th.M. and Ph.D.).
John is married to Monique Nunes, M.A., Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Concordia University Irvine, Calif. They have six children and thirteen grandchildren.
Rev. Dr. Chad Lakies is the regional director for North America at Lutheran Hour Ministries and provides leadership and operational management for the North America region. He regularly speaks at national and international conferences for pastors and church professionals and has published in several journals on the topic of faith and culture. His former life as a non-believer provides exceedingly relevant experience for thinking about how to engage with our friends and neighbors outside the Kingdom of God.
Lakies most recently served as department chair and associate professor of religion at Concordia University, Portland, Ore. Before that, he was involved in church planting in St. Louis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology from the University of Michigan and an M.Div. and Ph.D. in systematic theology from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. Lakies and his wife Bethany have two daughters, Anabel and Daphne.
The 103rd Michigan District Convention will convene June 26–28, 2022, on the campus of Concordia University Ann Arbor. The worship services and convention business will be livestreamed. For more information or to register, visit michigandistrict.org/convention.
