Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler knows full well that sometimes the words of a song can speak volumes.
Words such as:
Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go Lord, if you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart
Pastor Zeigler can almost pinpoint the very day and hour he sensed the beckoning.
“I remember it well,” he said. “I was in the cadet choir at the Air Force Academy and we sang, ‘Here I Am Lord.’ It felt like God was speaking to me through that song. It took me a couple years to wrestle with that. I served active duty for 5 years. I had that sense of calling early on but trusted the Lord would use the years in the military to prepare me. As I served in that calling, it was confirmed through pastors, military chaplains and the many people I was with in Bible studies.”
Pastor Zeigler graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in general engineering.
In 2006 he answered God’s call and left active duty to begin studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., where he completed a Master of Divinity degree in theological studies and a Ph.D. in doctrinal theology.
After ordination, he served two churches in the St. Louis area. As he was serving Epiphany Lutheran in 2018, Pastor Zeigler learned his name had been put on a list to fill the vacated position of Lutheran Hour speaker.
“They reached out to me to see if I would be willing to let my name stand,” he said. “I didn’t think that would ever happen. You provide a resume and I sent in a recording of a sermon and six months later I was contacted that I was in the final three.”
He soon learned he had been chosen as the 10th speaker of The Lutheran Hour, the world’s longest running Christian outreach radio program.
The program began in 1930 as a ministry of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Lutheran Laymen’s League.
God spoke to this minister through the words of a song and now one million listeners hear Zeigler each week in a radio program whose motto is: “Bringing Christ to the Nations.”
Locally, the Lutheran Hour is heard at 7:30 a.m. Sundays on KFGO AM 790 and 94.1FM.
Speaking over the air waves is a bit different than serving a congregation. But, “There are similarities,” Zeigler said.
“There’s less face-to-face contact with the people you are speaking to and I have to do a lot of imagining who my listeners might be. The position requires quite a bit of travel and being able to see God’s people all over the country is wonderful.”
Pastor Zeigler lives in St. Louis with his wife, Amy, and their four children.
On Sunday, Jan. 16, he’ll be the guest preacher at my church, Immanuel Lutheran, 1710 Cherry St., Grand Forks. Services are at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Zeigler also will speak during the Bible Class hour beginning at 9:45 a.m.
The public is most welcome.
Sometimes Pastor Zeigler’s whole family travels with him and sometimes it’s just one or two. This time his 11-year-old son, Jude, will accompany him to Grand Forks.
“He’s going to have to dress warm,” Pastor Zeigler said.
This is a coming home of sorts for this pastor as he was born in Grand Forks when his parents, Tim and Bernice (Bernie) Zeigler were stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base. Immanuel is where Pastor Zeigler was baptized as an infant in November of 1978. His sponsors are longtime Immanuel members, Pat and Ron Guthmiller.
Pastor Zeigler’s parents were assigned to GFAFB three times and the early 1990s tour is one he remembers the most.
“I delivered for the Grand Forks Herald,” he said. “My brother and I shared a paper route on the base. It was hard work. My dad was in missile maintenance and he had all his cold weather gear. We would put that on and go out and deliver at 6 in the morning. And that’s where I learned to ice skate. I got introduced to ice hockey and I played pickup games.”
Pastor Zeigler’s visit to North Dakota is packed with stops.
At 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Jan. 13, he speaks at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Minot, N.D. He also is a presenter at a Men’s Retreat at Shepherd’s Hill at the Crossroads, St. John, N.D., Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
I have read some of Pastor Zeigler’s writings and I have listened to him speak over the waves. His message is always captivating.
I very much enjoyed our phone conversation and I look forward to meeting him in person at Immanuel on Sunday, Jan. 16.
Remember, you also are welcome.
Until Soon
In the Spirit 