Richard N. Hermansen (MDiv '78) TEDS 2004 Alumnus of the Year

The TEDS Alumni Board, on behalf of the Trinity Alumni Association, salutes Richard N. Hermansen's life of service to the Lord and enthusiastically and gratefully extends to him the Alumnus of the Year Award for 2004.

Out of the Heartland . . . and Into the Land of the Heart

Taking God at face value

Rick Hermansen grew up in Nebraska in the fifties. Fremont was a typical town in the Heartland, a town where people were good, hard working, neighborly, church-going people. It was a community that valued productivity, cross-generational relationships, local businesses, local sports teams, and religion.

It was a good place to grow up with his parents and three sisters. Rick’s dad, administrator at the local hospital, was a warm and consistent example. His mom kept the family united and tight-knit with her attitude that “We’re going to work these things out!” As a boy, Rick loved sports…and the notoriety his agility and skills brought him. His was a good childhood in a simpler time when family, school, sports, and regular church attendance framed each week.

While his church background was not an evangelical one and his faith in Christ didn’t become personal until college, there were people and events in the church that had a huge impact on Rick Hermansen’s life. Rick remembers one man in particular: Mr. Herb Bones. 

During Rick’s senior year of high school, he was home watching cartoons one Saturday morning when Mr. Bones came to the door. Nervous and awkward, Mr. Bones proceeded to tell him about something that had happened to him during the Christmas church service. Mr. Bones had felt compelled to look over towards Rick during the service, and at that moment, believed God gave him this message: “Tell Rick Hermansen that I want him to become a pastor.” Mr. Bones described it as a brief but overwhelming experience which left him shaken.

Rick was polite but laughed it off. Inwardly, though, he quietly and simply took this as God’s directive and took God at face value. He hoped, however, that God would tell him more directly one day because he didn’t want to become a pastor just because Mr. Bones thought God wanted it. Until then, he had wanted to be a coach or physical therapist. After this encounter, he began to think, like any teenager, “Wow, if God wants me to be a pastor, he must think I’m a pretty good guy. God must be impressed with me and my accomplishments.” Looking back now, Rick says wistfully: “If I only knew then how wrong I was, I might have been spared a lot of inner pain in my life later on!”

Coming face to face with a bigger God

Unlike today when athletes specialize in a sport in order to excel, Rick was able to experience them all, enjoying each sport during a given season and becoming a home town star in each sport. He enjoyed it and liked being “a big fish in a small pond.”

Sports brought a lot of positives into Rick’s life, from developing friendships to learning the value of discipline and team work to enjoying success. But there were some negatives it brought along too. Subtly and slowly, Rick began to conclude that his anger was helping him to be a better player. He fell victim to a performance orientation that was rooted in anger, in proving his worth, and in pursuing success that didn’t satisfy. Rick looks back at this and says, “Sports were something God used to get my attention and reveal my need for Him and for His grace. I find that I respond to life and spiritual challenges the same way, and that I have to be reminded often that God is bigger and better than I am.”

Rick became a Christian during his first year at New Mexico State University, where he had won a football scholarship. He came to choose philosophy as his major because he found the realm of ideas and logic and reason so stimulating. Rick explained, “Even though I had outwardly dismissed Mr. Bones’ exhortation from God, inwardly I continued to churn it around.”

He attended an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting with several athletes, including two defensive tackles on the football team. Rick describes his first glimpse at a larger God: “I don’t remember much about the Bible study, but I remember we closed the meeting with conversational prayer. This was so unusual to me. One by one, the guys talked to God like He was their best friend, right there in the room. I was attracted to the personal nature of these guys’ faith.”

Several of the players came by his dorm and invited him to a meeting of Campus Crusade for Christ, where he was presented with the Four Spiritual Laws. It helped him see that he truly was a sinner in need of a Savior. The acknowledgement of his sin and depravity also helped him see that he would never be the pastor that God wanted him to be just by being a good guy. He knelt by his bed, trusted Christ as Savior right there, and invited Him to direct his life.

Rick attended the University Methodist Church close to campus, taught Sunday school, and observed the pastor’s remarkable spiritual awakening as Christ became personal and more real to him. Rick began to see his own calling not only as a vision that Mr. Bones had, but rather as a sense of calling that was emerging from a strong inner desire and from the feedback and encouragement of Christian friends.

Probably the most important turning point in college for Rick was learning to walk in the Spirit. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, also helped Rick grow through understanding Transferable Concepts which turned following Christ into an adventure. Rick admits he had an overly simplistic view of the Christian life back then. He knows and appreciates now the value of suffering and of trials and the good they bring about in the spiritual growth and character development of a believer. He would flesh out these lessons during his early years of ministry, but the idea and the practice of being filled with the Spirit by faith was planted in his heart during those early college days.

Knowing a bigger God at TEDS

Oddly enough, Rick Hermansen first heard about TEDS by reading Josh McDowell’s book Evidence That Demands a Verdict. At the end of the book there was a list of recommended books and many of the authors of those books were TEDS professors. Rick thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to study under these men?” Still taking God at face value, but now in faith, he knocked on the door by applying to TEDS, and God opened the door.

When he arrived on campus the summer of 1974, a security guard showed him to his room and said, “You know, Rick, there’s nothing quite like the communion of the saints as there is here at Trinity.” Rick thought, “Communion? Christians sometimes take that on Sunday mornings, right? Saints? Aren’t all the saints Catholics? What kind of place did I come to?!” Obviously still young in his faith, Rick grew to deeply appreciate the fellowship of the saints at TEDS. It was a rich and rewarding discovery that he will always attribute to TEDS.

A relative who taught in a Chicago-area seminary had cautioned him about going to Trinity, saying that it was far too conservative. But Rick had done his research into the other schools and was surprised to see that many of their doctrinal statements were often unclear. One failed to mention the person of Christ altogether!

These days, Rick says, “I have recommended TEDS and TIU to people in every church where I’ve served and will continue to do so! I so appreciate the value of a well-rounded, Christian higher education where students are helped to draw conclusions and develop convictions from the Word of God, to value the Scriptures as the authoritative, inspired and inerrant Word of God, and to communicate in ways that are both relevant and redemptive.” For Rick Hermansen, TEDS was a place where the faculty were committed to the essentials of the faith but exhibited wisdom and grace when it came to the nonessentials.

And it was that wisdom and insight that he lapped up from the TEDS faculty. Rick learned to imitate some of their voices and would regale his classmates with: “Brothers and sisters, shall we look to the LORD in prayer and ask His blessing on this hour?” (Dr. Paul Feinberg) “Attend to the details in Scripture and be able to defend your conclusions and way of thinking.” (Dr. Gleason Archer) “We spend so much time protecting the inerrancy of Scripture, that we don’t let the lion loose.” (Dr. Carl F. H. Henry) Rick still remembers today the words of these professors who influenced him so greatly during his years at TEDS. 

A long way from Nebraska

Between his second and third years at TEDS, Rick took an entire year off for a required internship at the LaSalle Street Church in Chicago. Just a few blocks to the west of the “Gold Coast” and to the east of Cabrini Green, LaSalle Street Church offered Rick Hermansen one of his life’s richest and most marvelous experiences.

When he went to visit and interview, Pastor Bill Leslie said, “Rick, we’re not like some churches that seem to be only interested in three things: Shekels, saints, and sanctuaries. We’re interested in individuals, in reaching people where they are with the love of Christ. These people need servants who will come along side them to help in the struggles of their lives. True evangelism comes out of caring for people.”

It was a full and hectic year: Rick taught Sunday school, ran a summer day camp for kids in Cabrini Green, attended team meetings, planned worship services, worked with inner city Young Life, and played basketball in local gyms and football in Lincoln Park. In addition to all of this, Rick taught drop-outs and other troubled students at Lakeview Academy as a VISTA volunteer. Besides teaching these kids English and ethics, he also coached the school’s flag football team and basketball team and helped in Physical Education. 

Rick remembers: “It really was difficult leaving those kids after a full year together and to come back from the city to TEDS. I had really grown to love these kids. I also discovered the rewards of investing in the lives of youth who had so much to offer and had so much potential, even though they didn’t always see it.”

Growing tough and tender together

It was during this year in Chicago’s inner city that Rick met his wife, Kathy Jenks. She was one of the Wheaton College students who came weekly to help out. The LaSalle Street Church was a great place to be involved with kids together, to talk, and to become good friends. They kept their relationship on an open palm and sought together to determine God’s will for them as individuals and as a couple. God continued to grow their hearts together and to deepen the love and bond between them. In 1978, they were married in Oklahoma City in Kathy’s home church, Metropolitan Baptist Church.

Rick and Kathy honeymooned on their way to Florida to be a youth pastor in a church in Sarasota. They soon discovered that the church was burdened with endemic problems and that their new marriage would be tested. There were enjoyable parts to their time there, but the problems in the church were a lot for a young married couple to have to deal with. Rick and Kathy turned to each other and really became one as they dealt with the pain and confusion that they felt in these difficult circumstances. The church eventually split, and Rick and Kathy returned to Oklahoma to heal and to work for a time in a secular job and part time in a youth ministry.

Rick firmly believes that God used that first hard year of marriage to help them see how essential it is to be honest, sensitive, and committed to each other…and to learn to listen well. Like all wise counselors, Rick continues to draw from these tough lessons early on in their marriage when he counsels other married couples.

Rick and Kathy have three children: Sandy, now 21 and a student at Gordon College; Jennifer, 17, an accomplished musician; and Kevin, 14, who loves both sports and music.

They pastored another Free Church in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, from 1980 to 1984. These were wonderful years. The church had met in the basement of the local YMCA for a number of years and grew during Rick’s time there. The people were encouraging, visionary and accepting. Evangelism and Missions emphasis grew, and Rick felt a real sense of love, community and fellowship in the Stevens Point EFC that they still miss. On his last Sunday there in 1984 the church had its groundbreaking ceremony for their first building. 

Twenty years on the Metropolitan Baptist Church team

After serving as the youth pastor in one church, and an only pastor in another church, Rick felt a strong desire to become part of a team ministry and to learn from an experienced senior pastor. He didn’t seek a position at Kathy’s home church, Metropolitan Baptist Church, but Pastor Dave Cotten asked Rick in early 1984 if he would consider coming on staff. The more Rick and Kathy prayed about this, the more it seemed like another door that God was opening for them. God heard the desires of Rick’s heart and put him on a ministry team with Dave Cotten, a man who would serve as Senior Pastor at Metropolitan Baptist Church for 33 years before leaving to join the faculty and administration team at Dallas Theological Seminary. 

Rick developed a number of initiatives during those early years at Metropolitan Baptist Church, from small groups to one-on-one training; from outreach dinners to home Bible Study groups; from door-to-door surveys to Lifestyle Evangelism seminars. Rick also oversaw the church’s sports leagues and sports evangelism events, neighborhood block parties, and open gym nights for basketball that still have 35-50 men from the community come out each week to play basketball…and to meet God! These various activities were and are a great way for people to get around Christians and be exposed to the Gospel while enjoying the camaraderie and competition that sports offer. 

TEDS alumnus Randall Faulkner became the Senior Pastor after Pastor Cotten left for Dallas. Randall has been a delight for Rick to work with. He models hard work, a pastor’s heart and love for people, a commitment to a strong teaching ministry, a desire to see people grow in their faith and walk with God, as well as a strong emphasis on evangelism/discipleship and missions. He has high expectations of Rick and his ministry, but he also gives Rick the freedom and autonomy to do the work without looking over his shoulder. 

Rick says admiringly, “Randall is really consistent in his relationship with the LORD and with people. I appreciate his strength and vulnerability with our staff. I feel affirmed as I sense that I have really found my niche, that my family is thriving, and that I do make a difference in this church and our community.” 

Rick attributes his ministry effectiveness to two enabling concepts. The first is having the freedom to discover where his strengths truly lie…and then using them! Part of this comes from being surrounded by people who have more realistic expectations of their pastors than some other places. There seems to be a strong base of spiritually and emotionally mature people who are patient and involved with their pastors, and they support them in focused prayer and practical encouragement.

Secondly, Rick has learned to appreciate his own weaknesses. “I used to think I had to do it all, to perform. While preaching from John 5 on the man who had been an invalid for 38 years, I came to verse seven where Jesus asked the man, ‘Do you want to get well?’ I couldn’t continue. I had been experiencing panic attacks, and I thought my heart would leap out of my chest. I knew those words were for me. And that started me on a long, slow process of letting go…and getting well.”

Rick came to appreciate how God’s power is made complete in our weakness, not in our strength. Rick is confident that he connects much better with people now that his own weaknesses are not hidden. He seems to have found his stride in the acceptance of a loving congregation and in the discovery of the man God has created him to be.

Rick says that he is coming to understand that “we learn a lot through success, but we learn a lot more through failure. God has used tough experiences in my life to bring me to a healthier place and a healthier perspective on the kind of ministry He wants me to have.”

And what a ministry Rick Hermansen has had! With his steadfastness and his compassionate pastor’s heart, he has impacted the lives of thousands of people. The TIU Alumni Association proudly salutes Rick Hermansen’s ministry and influence and honors him with the TEDS Alumnus of the Year Award for 2004.

Story by Mark Heintzman