Prophetic Reflections

After graduating from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Robert Schmidt was called to teach at a seminary in Nigeria. He was also assigned ten churches so that he could gain some practical experience. In the field of mission, he began to explore the New Testament model of ministry to understand better how to serve multiple congregations. On his furlough, his master's thesis was The Ministry in Missionary Churches in the Writings of Roland Allen.

His second tour was interrupted by illness in his family and the beginning of the Nigerian civil war. Upon returning to America, he served as a campus pastor at Colorado State University. Disturbed by the carnage of the war in Nigeria he studied political science to better identify and remedy the many problems of poorer nations. Joining a faculty initiative working on the green revolution in Pakistan his master's thesis dealt with Water Management in West Pakistan and was later published by the University of Peshawar in Pakistan.

Continuing his career in campus ministry he was called to serve at the University of Washington in Seattle. There he completed his doctoral studies and wrote his dissertation on The Legitimacy of Revolution: The World Council of Churches Grants to the Liberation Movements of Southern Africa. In Seattle, he also chaired several task forces on American foreign policy for the Seattle Council of Churches.

From Seattle, he was called to Concordia University in Portland to teach theology and political science. He also served as the chair of a commission to educate lay ministers for isolated communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. This involved him in writing texts on missions and homiletics for lay people. He also wrote a religion text for all entering students at the University and an unpublished text," The Transformation of the Church."

In his advocacy of the use of lay people for word and sacrament ministry, he was invited to lecture in Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, and India. Other travels to Zimbabwe, China, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Slovakia, increased his knowledge and understanding of economic and political development.

Through his work in campus ministry and professor in one of the most unchurched areas of America, he has had a keen interest in people who have left the church but are still interested in the person of Jesus and the ethical concerns of the faith. This led him to lecture on religion and politics to a variety of diverse audiences including the Humanists of Greater Portland. He has continued lecturing and in his most recent series in the Minneapolis area he has made presentations on "New Challenges to American Foreign Policy under Biden" and "Remedying Racism." With a strong background in Biblical theology, political science, and creative mission outreach, he is well-equipped to meet the challenges of the Nones.