St John's Lutheran West Milwaukee
Staff & Leaders

Pres Hoffman

Meet the Pastor My name is Pres Hoffman. I am an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and completed preparation for Word and Sacrament Ministry at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. My social location is that I am a Caucasian male, the husband of Kathleen and the father of three boys and a girl. I have eight grandchildren and I love being at St Johns. My hobbies are spending time with my family, golf, reading, biking and ice biking! I happen to live in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and I commute daily to West Milwaukee. This is my first call and I have been here since 2007. This calling came to me later in my life’s journey. Earlier I was a Lay Minister in the church, a restaurant worker, manager, and owner. Just before seminary I worked as a sales manager and sales trainer for a wholesale food distributor in Southeast Wisconsin. The story of entering the church again, professionally, began at my church in Sheboygan. I was asked to be part of a team that would partner with another church in the heart of the city of Milwaukee (Cross Lutheran). The night we met with the folks from Cross is the night their church burned down. Since we had just committed to partnership the trajectory of that relationship moved into fast forward. Along with other folks I ended up attending Cross for the next twelve years and ultimately became an associate member there. Later Cross Church and First United Lutheran in Sheboygan sponsored me as a candidate for pastoral ministry They say that the place where one’s passion and worlds need meet is the place where God is calling a person to be. I love that my congregation has a passion for care to military folks and their families among other ministries like women’s groups, Sunday school, confirmation, etc. Our church sponsors both Narcotics and Cocaine Anonymous groups. We have a wonderful choir and a ministry to the homebound. The church is located in the shadow of the Clement Zablocki Medical Center- the VA. Their passion has led them and me to partnering with many organizations to meet the needs of those who have served in the military and their families. I love being pastor at St Johns and a disciple of Jesus. I hope to be here for many years! To me that means being a part of “Love in Action!” I agree with and like the way Brian McLaren expresses his affirmation of “Jesus Christ is Lord”: “I am a Christian because I have confidence in Jesus Christ - in all his dimensions (those I know, and those I don't). I trust Jesus. I think Jesus is right because I believe God was in Jesus in an unprecedented way. Through Jesus I have entered into a real, experiential relationship with God as Father, and I have received God's Spirit into my life. I have experienced the love of God through Jesus, and as the old hymn says, "love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my all." As I seek to follow Jesus as my leader, guide, and teacher, I believe I am experiencing life in its fullest dimensions - full of joy and love, and yes, full of struggle and challenge, too. For all these reasons and more, I love Jesus. I believe Jesus embraces me, and you, and the whole world in the love of God.” (Brian D. McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, Zondervan, 2004, 80.) I agree with Verna Dozier too. In The Dream of God she writes: "The important question to ask is not, 'What do you believe?' but 'What difference does it make that you believe?' Does the world come nearer to the dream of God because of what you believe?" (p. 105)