Meet our Instructors

Robert Salzgeber (Chip – as he likes to be called) grew up and graduated from high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College. He attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota and there earned a Master of Divinity. He then studied at Pittsburgh Theological School during the 1980’s and received a Doctor of Ministry degree from that institution. He is also a Certified Professional Behavior Analyst and Values Analyst.   

Chip has spent his years in the ordained ministry as both a camp director  and parish pastor. His ministry has taken place in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. He is retired and serving as the contract pastor at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, FL.  

He was awarded the Richard J Rapp Memorial Prize in Doctor of Ministry Studies at Pittsburgh Theological School in 1987 for his published dissertation entitled “Christian Community, Individualism and Work in Butler, Pennsylvania,” which was published in the same year. He has authored and published two other books: “Inklings and Tidbits: Hot Fudge Sundae and Other Delectable Faith Stories” and Assayings: Theological Faith Testings.”  

Chip and his wife Susan have 4 grown children and 11 grandchildren. Together, their favorite pastimes are their grandchildren, kayaking, shelling in the Gulf of Mexico, camping, walking, and traveling.   

Chip likes to read, play his guitar, walk, and ride his bike. Chip’s favorite solo hobby is long distance cross-country walking. His most memorable walk is rambling the West Highland Way from Glasgow to Fort William, Scotland.  

Pastor Gabriel is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, receiving the Master of Divinity degree in 2012, with the Hitchcock Prize for excellence in historical theology. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, which is now called United Lutheran Seminary. His dissertation was on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Paul Ricoeur. Originally from Tampa, Gabriel is also an alumnus of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s in philosophy. He and his wife Erin live in Southeast Seminole Heights.

Pastor Tom arrived at St. John in November 2015 as Senior Pastor. A graduate of Capital University (1986) and Trinity Lutheran Seminary (1990). In his 27 years of ministry he has served as pastor the unique ministries of six different congregations in Ohio and Illinois, from mission congregations to growing staff ministries.

He also is a writer on worship for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Augsburg Fortress Publishing, and several magazine. He brings a passion for meaningful worship, community building for service, and an infectious sense of humor to his leadership and daily life.  

Favorite Scripture: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

In his spare time he likes to spend time exploring with his wife Carla; visiting with our sons and families; being an unabashed Disney geek; cooking; reading sci fi and fantasy novels; computer gaming; fantasy football; and reveling in all things tech that comes from Apple.

Pastor Jefferson Cox celebrated his 25th anniversary of ordination in November 2022. A native Floridian, Pastor Jeff grew up in the northern Palm Beach County area. After graduating from Jupiter High School in 1989, he attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he met his future wife, Jennifer Duncan. In May 1993 they graduated college together and got married at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Dunedin. They spent the summer of 1993 working as camp counselors at Hammock Park in Dunedin. From there they moved to Gettysburg, PA to attend the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg (now called United Lutheran Seminary after merging with the Lutheran seminary in Philadelphia.) His seminary education included a year of internship at Grace Lutheran Church in Boone, NC under the supervision of Rev. Tim Smith, the current bishop of the North Carolina Synod.
Two weeks after graduating from seminary, Pastor Jeff and Jenny’s son Joseph was born in Gettysburg. Five days later, they moved back to Florida. Pastor Jeff’s first call was as pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Jacksonville. His second call was as associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kissimmee, followed by a call as associate pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Orlando. Between leaving Salem in November of 2010 and starting his call here at Grace Lutheran Church in Clearwater on January 1, 2016, Pastor Jeff worked with two congregations in transition (both named Atonement Lutheran Church; one in Sebring and the other in Orlando just east of the airport),  worked as a part-time chaplain at Dr. Phillips Hospital for over five years, started a small wedding business that operated for three years, and began working as a paid consultant for the Florida-Bahamas Synod in the area of applied demographics (work which continues to this day).

While I wasn't born in Florida, I was definitely raised here and my cousins think I have the accent to go with it. 

My family came during the original space program boom to Melbourne, Florida, and I have been here since except for the time I was in seminary. My initial profession was as an educator with the Brevard County school system including time spent as Coordinator of Math Science and Technology. After approximately 22 years I began to explore other options which would eventually lead me to discern a call to ministry. 

I graduated from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and am currently serving at Messiah in Cocoa. I love learning which makes me love teaching. This program has been a blessing in that I am able to journey with others as they learn about and grow in their faith.

Greetings, 

The year 2021 ended with my appointment as The Executive Director of the Synod Diakonia program for Lay Ministry. It is with excitement and gratitude that I serve. My lay ministry began by serving in positions on the congregational level. Acknowledging my call to Word and Sacrament ministry and others observing my gifts, I was first trained and assigned as a Lay Mission Developer/redeveloper with the ELCA in1997. In 1998 I entered the TEEM (Theological Education for Emerging Ministry) program at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) in Calif. I was ordained in 2002 and served in parish ministry till 2019 when I retired. 

I am excited about God’s possibilities for the Lay ministry program in our Synod and look forward to sharing Ministry with you. 

For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you-or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine - Romans 1:11-12

Rev. William “Ham” Hamilton

Michele Hilton- Chair  

I was a member of the Synod's first diakonia graduating class in 2008!  I am a retired attorney and a retired Assistant to the Bishop, now serving as a parish deacon and Vice President of the Synod Council.  

diakonia was life changing for me. Even though I wasn't sure I would finish my first class, never mind the whole program, the Holy Spirit used diakonia to propel me (as only the Holy Spirit can 😊) into ministry in the wider church I never would have imagined...which has been fulfilling, exciting, challenging and great! 

Contact me at: micheleahilton@aol.com

Greetings,

     In 2016, after 35 years working at Lockheed Martin in Information Technologies and Cyber Security, I started working at my real love, the Church.  

     I graduated from the diakonia Program in 2017. Later that same year, I was commissioned as a Parish Deacon serving as the Deacon of Worship Ministries at St. John Lutheran Church - Winter Park, Fl.  

     I am also serving as the diakonia Florida Treasurer and the Webmaster for diakoniafl.org website.

    My wife Anita and I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters. Now, we have three grandsons to keep us busy. Who knew, little boys growl?

Contact me at: bornmel@diakoniafl.org

My name is Carolyn Stanton.  

I serve at People of Faith in Winter Garden.  It is just outside Orlando.  I run WELCA for my church.  I am an assisting minister  for services.  I work with all of the outreach programs my church is involved with.  I love to read.  I am looking forward to working with the committee. 

Hello, my name is Debora Koepke. I have been married to my awesome husband, Karl (who served 24 years in Submarines), for 47 years in May. We have 3 sons, 5 grandchildren. I love to keep busy with unusual puzzles, games, reading and sewing/crafts, and of course serving God where He places me. My life has definitely been, and continues to be, an adventure! 

I (with my husband, Karl) graduated from diakonia in 2017.  I have learned much from my diakonia studies and I am putting these skills and knowledge to use as I attend St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Florida. At St. Mark’s. I am regularly the assisting minister, have served as Lector, have taught adult Bible Studies, make a joyful noise to the Lord in the Festival Choir, take Communion to shut-ins, am actively involved in our two WELCA groups and I am serving as Council Secretary for the next two years. It is my heart’s desire to be a Synod Parish Deacon for St. Mark’s Church, someday. 

It is exciting and I feel honored for the opportunity to share my time and God given talents with the diakonia Steering Committee because I have benefited so much from this most excellent Florida Bahama Synod diakonia program. It has defined my faith and launched me into a direction that truly has changed my life! I am excited about this program and what it can do to enhance ALL and ANY lay person’s life. 

I’m Pastor Bruce Dillman, and for the last two and a half years I’ve served as associate pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in the Villages, FL. My wife Anita and I moved to Florida in 2016 after retiring as public school teachers in Louisville, KY. Prior to that, I had served as a priest in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville. We have two adult children and four grandchildren, and are blessed to be in Florida where our grandchildren live.