Rev. Jeffrey B. Hemmer

In addition to filling the vacancy at Zion, Pastor Hemmer serves as
pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL, where
he has served since 2011. Pastor Hemmer is also an assistant to the
Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod (LCMS). Pastor Hemmer joined the president’s staff
in August 2021, while continuing to serve as pastor of Bethany,
Fairview Heights in a part-time capacity.

Born in Belleville, Ill., Hemmer received a B.A. in English from
Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, Neb., and an M.Div. from
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. He is currently a Ph.D.
candidate at Concordia Seminary, working on a dissertation on the
theology of body and the theology of place. His other theological and
academic interests include biblical masculinity and the function of
Christian fathers, the role of the resurrection in Christian ethics,
and martyrdom and the cross-shaped Christian life.

Hemmer is the author of Man Up!: The Quest for
Masculinity (CPH, 2017); Behold the Man! Lenten and Easter
sermon series (CPH, 2019); A Noble Army sermon series on the
martyrs (CPH, 2020); and assorted other articles, essays and posts.

Hemmer and his wife, Laura, live in Fairview Heights, Ill., while
they restore an 1860s farmhouse in Caseyville, Ill. They have eight
children.