Watching God Work
06-01-2022
For dual-degree alumna and McCormick professor Joanne Lindstrom, teaching offers abundant opportunities to see God transform the lives of others as well as her own.
Joanne Lindstrom likes to say that she has “the best job in the joint.” The “job” is helping students connect their classrooms to their communities. The “joint” is McCormick Theological Seminary. And what’s best is watching God unfold a unique plan for each student’s life.
“The thing that struck me when I was a student at McCormick was a growing awareness of the vastness of God,” begins Rev. Dr. Lindstrom, M.Div.’94, D.Min.’05, “vast in the sense that God has multiple paths…a diversity of expressions…many ways in which to work in a person’s life.”
That acknowledgment, she notes, has been reinforced over the past 26 years during which she developed the experiential education and field studies program at McCormick. “I’ve been entrusted with the lives and stories of so many students,” continues Dr. Lindstrom, who is charged with helping students hone their vocational paths, cultivate leadership experiences, and attend to their own spiritual development. “I’ve seen students become engaged with various organizations and ministries…listened as they reflected on how these opportunities were fashioning them…observed their learning become embodied…watched their confidence grow. How can I not be inspired by God’s faithfulness to these students? I have a front row seat at watching God work.”
Having that seat has deepened her sense of gratitude, remarks Dr. Lindstrom. “I had a friend who had a little sign that read, ‘practice defiant gratitude,’” she says. “I think that’s what happens every time I experience the power of being present…of listening…of giving my full attention to the words, questions, and concerns of a student.”
Growing up in Robinson, a small town in southern Illinois that’s home to the Heath Museum and Confectionery, Dr. Lindstrom says she can’t recall ever seeing a “lady preacher” until she was in her 20s. Serving on a church planting team on Chicago’s northwest side, however, sparked a desire to be involved in urban ministry and to receive a formal theological education.
In 1996, Dr. Lindstrom began her McCormick career as the program coordinator for the seminary’s field studies program. This June, she retires as the Jean and Frank Mohr Director of Experiential Education and Field Studies/Associate Professor of Ministry.
“Being able to see God plant, grow and bear fruit in someone’s life is an amazing gift and experience,” says Dr. Lindstrom. “It’s an expression of God’s love to all of us that comes through the transformative ministries McCormick students take into our world.”
Rev. Dr. Joanne Lindstrom, the Jean and Frank Mohr Director of Experiential Education and Field Studies/Associate Professor of Ministry.
Lily Grace, Dr. Lindstrom’s dog, has been a frequent McCormick guest. The 16-pound Pug has been known to jump on a lap or just serve as a calming presence in Dr. Lindstrom’s office and other parts of the seminary.