In Tribute: Dr. Patrick Keifert

I met Dr. Pat Keifert through our mutual friend, Rev. Dr. Wes Granberg-Michaelson. Wes was helping a backslidden fisherman (me) return to the fold of fly fishing, and he invited me to an annual gathering in Yellowstone National Park. The gathering brought together theologians and ministers who shared a love of God and trout.

We would talk theology each morning and fish Yellowstone’s storied waters each afternoon, and often into the evening.

The name of this gathering? Ichtheology, of course.

Most people knew Pat as a professor at Luther Seminary. From his former students, I get the impression that he taught theology the way old-school law professors taught law: he challenged students to think and question and rethink and re-question, which meant his reputation as a professor was that he was tough, but brilliant. In other words, you might not always like him, but you would never forget him because he challenged you to grow.

I never experienced that toughness in Pat. In Yellowstone, we often spent two or three hours a day driving to and from fishing destinations, and another two or three hours over a meal or two. On those drives and over those meals, Pat became a kind of mentor/spiritual director to me. As a young(er) pastor and writer, I didn’t have too many people I felt I could go to with my own theological questions and ministry quandaries back in those days. Pat (like our mutual friends Wes and Alan) was one of those few.

When I felt it was time to leave the pastorate, Pat gave me counsel that helped me greatly, and helped the church too.

For all his brilliance and mental toughness (he was a classmate of Joseph Ratzinger), Pat was also a contemplative. He effectively introduced more people to the contemplative practice of lectio divina than anyone I know. He did so under a different name, perhaps more suitable for Lutherans and other Protestants: dwelling in the Word. I have warm memories of (literally)hours spent in small groups with Pat, reading and rereading, silently contemplating and collectively reflecting on a single short passage of Scripture, always finding new insights with an impact on my life.

I guess you could say that Pat’s theology and his ichthyology were perfectly integrated.

I will be forever grateful for the gift of Pat Keifert’s friendship and mentorship in my life.