All Pastors Conference 2022

Keynote Speaker

Raymond O. "Rod" Dreher

Raymond O. “Rod” Dreher is a writer, journalist, and author of three New York Times bestsellers, including The Benedict Option (2017) and Live Not By Lies (2020), both of which have been translated into over ten languages. He is a senior editor at The American Conservative magazine, and a fellow of the Danube Institute, a think tank in Budapest. Dreher is at work on a book about rediscovering the presence of God in a disenchanted world. He is an Eastern Orthodox Christian who divides his time between Louisiana and Hungary.

Keynote Speaker

Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann

Dr. Joel D. Biermann is the Waldemar A. and June Schuette Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. (CSL). He earned his B.A. from Concordia College, Ann Arbor in 1983 and an M.Div. from CSL in 1987. After serving as pastor in two congregations, Biermann returned to the Seminary in 1998 as a graduate student. He completed his Ph.D. in 2002 and joined the faculty at CSL.

Outside of his Seminary responsibilities, Biermann serves local congregations as invited and has helped produce material for congregational small group Bible studies. He also has worked on similar study material through Lutheran Hour Ministries and Concordia Publishing House, and has authored three books. He is a frequent speaker at LCMS District and congregational gatherings and conferences.

Biermann and his wife, Jeannalee, live in St. Louis. have three adult children and nine grandchildren.

Keynote Speaker

Rev. Dr. Chad D. Lakies

Rev. Dr. Chad D. 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 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.