About

ABOUT ME
Hi.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by my site.  I really do appreciate it.  My name is Joel Detlefsen.  I'll try to limit this biographical information so as not to bore you.  Anyway, here is some of the most basic information about me.  

Put simply, I'm a pastor in his mid 30's who has been married for more than a dozen years and is the father of two young children.  If that's all you're interested in knowing then you can stop reading now.  If you want some more details about my work and education, continue on.  

I am the Senior Pastor at Riverview Baptist Church in West St. Paul.  I was actually born and raised at Riverview and have been either attending or working there all my life.  Needless to say, pastoring at the church in which one grew up can present a unique set of challenges, but mostly my life with the people of Riverview has been an immense blessing of God, and in fact, is the primary way through which I believe he has worked in my life.  I praise God for my church, the people, and the opportunity to serve them.

My education includes a few chunks of schooling here and there over the past 13 years.  I started out right out of high school at Crown College for a year.  After a year of living in a dorm with a guy whose past times included kung fu and making his own chain mail armor, I realized that dorm life wasn't for me.  I ended up staying out of school for two years before going back to school at Northwestern College.  This turned out to be a much better environment for me, as I could learn pretty much independently.  I graduated from Northwestern with a B.S. in ministry in 2005.

My seminary education began at Sioux Falls Seminary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  I completed everything I could there (I had to leave due to the school's requirement for on-campus learning, which didn't work with me since I lived in St. Paul but went to school in Sioux Falls).  After two years at Sioux Falls I transferred to a more local school and started out at Bethel Seminary in the fall of 2010.  I recently graduated from Bethel Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree.  This was a long and arduous process, that I've talked about on occasion on this site.  But enough of that.  That's done (thankfully).

As of right now I'm enjoying my free time, being with my family, and watching my kids grow.  I love my job, my family, and my life.

ABOUT THIS BLOG
This blog began back in 2008.  Since that time I've been more or less committed to posting on it, although a quick perusal of the archives reveals seasons where I haven't touched it!  Be that as it may, I really like the idea of blogging.  Finding the time and energy for it is another thing, however.

The content you will find on this blog is basically a mish-mash of all kinds of things: stuff I've been thinking about, current events, stuff that interests me on the internet, shameless boasting in my children through videos, pictures and stories, and just a lot of random thoughts that go through my brain.  I try to post on a moderately frequent basis, sometimes more, sometimes less.  For whatever that's worth, you're welcome to read and engage as much as you can stomach.

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