Steve is a Deacon of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is a member of the Lutheran Deaconess Association community. Steve is certified as a Director of Christian Education and as a Lutheran Teacher. He has served the Church through parish ministry, teaching at a Lutheran high school, and serving on the faculty of a Lutheran university where he taught parish leadership and lifespan faith formation. Steve currently serves as a Chaplain at a senior living facility that encompasses assisted living, memory care, transitional care and long term care. Steve is trained as a certified dementia practitioner and as a Spiritual Director, in the Christian tradition. Steve’s doctoral work and research are in the areas of adult development, with emphases in gerontology. Specific application of these studies have been made to transitions in faith formation throughout the lifespan. Special focus in the research has been to equip adults for developing increased responsibility for personal life and development in the third-third of life.