NORTH BEND – Chris Hermansen grew up watching his dad live a life of faith, an experience that helped him decide to take the step he will this Sunday.

The 26-year-old son of Mount Si Lutheran Church pastor Paul Hermansen will become an ordained pastor at a service his father will preside over. The ceremony is the culmination of a life spent following his father’s example, while also setting his own.

“I am so honored,” said Paul.

Although the Hermansens moved around a bit when Chris was a child, he considers Seaside, Ore., where the family lived from 1987-1997, his hometown. In his youth, Chris said he managed to steer clear of some of the “rebellion against parents” stereotypes that befall pastor’s kids. He credited it to the environment his parents fostered in his home, where faith or church were never forced.

After high school, Chris attended Concordia University in Portland, Ore., on a soccer scholarship. Before he started college, Chris was undecided as to what he should do or study, but he believed God called him to be a pastor his freshman year. He sought counsel from his friends, professors and, of course, his father, and made the decision to go into ministry.

“I have never second guessed the decision,” Chris said.

Once he finished his undergraduate degree, Chris enrolled in Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif. He said his time in Berkeley, which was far more populated and far more to the left of the political center than anyplace he had been before, was a great experience. He said the city’s demographic was a cross section of the world and that he learned about engaging a secular culture where matters of faith seem irrelevant or hostile.

After his third year of seminary, Chris did an internship at a very different place, a small church in Starbuck, Minn., population: 1,314. It wasn’t at the top of any list Chris had of places he would love to spend a year in, but taking a step of faith was what his calling was all about. He said he came to love the small town and believes he learned more there than he ever did in school. He found the time spent presiding over funerals provided particularly powerful experiences.

“It allowed me to get close to the family,” he said. “They let you in at a very vulnerable time.”

Both his time in Berkeley and Starbuck would be great bookends to experiencing his theology in the modern world. Chris said Lutherans tend to be behind the times when it comes to progressive movements, which can be both good and bad. As he developed his own theology, Chris saw how different places will react to the same message.

“For Berkeley, I was conservative. For Starbuck, I was liberal,” Chris said.

Chris graduated this May and started going through a process he and other seminarians call the draft, when they wait to see which church they will be sent to. His time in Minnesota helped his placement. Chris was recruited by a pastor in Arizona, whose in-laws went to the church in Starbuck. On Sept. 1, Chris will start as an associate pastor at the Lord of Grace church, located in the Tucson suburb of Cortaro.

Paul said he sees Chris as much more than just a chip off the old block. More than anything, Paul said Chris represents the new way the Lutheran church does ministry. If the church is to grow, it has to train its laypersons to reach out to the world, a role that many older generations have just left to church leaders.

“This is not your father’s church,” Paul said.

Chris agreed. He also said a black and white theology that doesn’t take the whole Bible into account will put people off. He said some people may use just a snippet of the Bible to justify what they are doing while ignoring the rest of it, which can be hard to hear.

“You have to read the whole spectrum of what is in the Bible,” Chris said. “The Gospel is something we don’t always want to hear. It points out our sins. It’s tough.”

To help mark Chris’s decision, Paul decided to take all the money collected from the offering at the ordination service and give it to Mamma’s Hands, an organization in the Valley that runs two shelters (called House of Hope) for battered women and their families – a charitable start for a life of service.

* Chris Hermansen’s ordination service will be at 3 p.m., Sunday, July 31, at Mount Si Lutheran Church, 401 N.E. Eighth St. in North Bend.