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Former Centerville pastor elected bishop

Senior Pastor John Bradosky speaks during the Epiphany Lutheran Church's groundbreaking ceremony of their second campus in Centerville, Sunday November !5, 2009.

Peter Wine/Photographer Senior Pastor John Bradosky speaks during the Epiphany Lutheran Church's groundbreaking ceremony of their second campus in Centerville, Sunday November !5, 2009.

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By Jill Kelley, Staff Writer 9:30 PM Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Rev. John Bradosky, the former senior pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Centerville, said he was “thankful and humbled” to be elected bishop of the North American Lutheran Church earlier this month. The bishop is the NALC’s chief pastor and evangelist and serves a four-year term.

Bradosky had been general secretary of the year-old denomination since January, when he parted ways with Epiphany and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America amid strife regarding the interpretation and application of Scripture.

The NALC, a more traditionally focused Lutheran denomination, was formed one year after the ELCA issued a social statement and policy changes that included the decision to accept noncelibate gay ministers.

In its first year, the NALC has grown to include more than 250 congregations and represent more than 100,000 Lutherans.

“The pace has continued to steadily increase, with congregations coming on board,” said Bradosky, 59. “Our expectations for the first year were about 100 congregations.”

Bradosky has 32 years of pastoral experience, and served at St. John Lutheran Church in Springfield, Trinity Lutheran Church in Canton and Grace Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach, Calif., before Epiphany.

The NALC is based in Hilliard and Bradosky will continue to travel extensively in his new role, but his home remains in Centerville with his wife of 34 years, Kristi. The couple has four children and one grandson.

Bradosky attends Living Water Lutheran Church, which is led by former Epiphany Pastor Todd Kornahrens in Springboro.

Of his last couple of years, which have taken him from discord within his congregation to becoming the leader of a new denomination, Bradosky said the words of Saint Paul best sum up his reflection.

“I have learned how to exist when I am abased and when I am abounding,” he said. “And the one thing that ties these together, and the only thing that matters, is serving Christ. That is reward enough, in and of itself.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7325 or jikelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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