MEET OUR PASTOR

Rev. Dr. Neal Anthony, Lead Pastor

Pastor Anthony was installed as Lead Pastor of United Lutheran in October of 2011. Before coming to United, he served as solo pastor to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Blue Hill, Nebraska (2000-2004) and as solo pastor to Salem Lutheran Church, Ponca, Nebraska (2006-2011). A graduate of Dana College (’95), Pastor Anthony received his M.Div. from Luther Seminary (’99), and his Th.M. (2006) and Ph.D. (2008) in systematic theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. (Pastor Anthony was also a small-college football player who received honors on “both sides of the ball”.) He is the author of Cross Narratives:  Martin Luther’s Christology and the Location of Redemption (Pickwick, 2010), in addition to many book reviews/articles. He is currently in the process of writing another book on Luther’s christology, a “christologia crucis,” as he calls it, or a christology written from the location of the cross, inscribed with faith’s existence. Stay tuned!

As United’s Lead Pastor, Pastor Anthony is passionate about connecting worship liturgy with the liturgy of our daily lives through which the Triune God is glorified by our indiscriminate service to those whom we daily encounter. (“The real liturgy is what occurs beyond the walls of the sanctuary!”) He advocates interpreting Scripture with hands and hearts, in addition to minds and intellects. He is committed to cultivating emotionally healthy church systems, or “atmospheres”. He also promotes vigilance for the most vulnera