Worship & Prayer

Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison has served as president of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod (LCMS) since 2010. Before becoming president, Harrison served for nine years as executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care. Harrison holds a B.A. in religious studies from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and M.Div. and S.T.M. degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. (CTSFW). Harrison has pursued additional graduate studies at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. and has received honorary doctorates from Concordia University Ann Arbor and CTSFW. Harrison has written, translated and edited a number of books. He is active in the pro-life movement and frequently speaks at such events. Harrison and his wife, Kathy, live in Ballwin, Mo. They have two married sons and two grandchildren.

Rev. David A. Davis earned a B.A. from Concordia University Ann Arbor in 1979 and an M.Div. from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. in 1983. Other academic pursuits include Classical Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. and Governance and Executive Training through the Pastoral Leadership Institute.Since his ordination, Rev. Davis served as pastor of four different congregations, all in Michigan: St. Matthew, Spring Lake; St. Paul, Trenton; Immanuel, Grand Rapids; and St. Luke, Haslett/Lansing. Davis has served in various leadership positions in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, planted congregations, developed multicultural ministry, led non-profit governance seminars, developed mentoring processes, wrote leadership development materials, and facilitated meetings and retreats. He has authored a book, Toward Significance: A Guide For Pastoring Well, and has a blog with the same name (towardsignificance.com/blog). Davis and his wife Sallie have been married since 1980. They have four grown daughters and a growing entourage of grandchildren.

Rev. Christopher Bodley earned a B.A. from Concordia University Nebraska, Seward and an M.Div. from Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Additional ministry education includes the completion of the Pastoral Leadership Institute. Rev. Bodley’s public ministry of 33 years has been solely in an urban context. His ministry background includes being a church planter and pastoring two multiethnic congregations. He also served as a United States Naval Reserve Chaplain for 12 years. In 2012, he was installed as Director of Acts 2 Enterprise and Missionary at Large for the Michigan District. Christopher is happily married to Shikina and they have five sons.

Rev. Robert Appold is the retired pastor of St. Matthew, Grand Rapids, now serving as Assistant Pastor at Mt. Calvary, Greenville. He earned degrees from Concordia Jr. College in Ann Arbor (A.A., 77), Concordia River Forest (B.A., 79), and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. (M.Div., 83). He is the father of four children, 14 grandchildren, and the husband of Elizabeth. Pastor Appold is currently trying various hobbies: bee keeping, biking with Liz, river fishing, and grandfathering.