The Doctor of Divinity degree is awarded to an individual who is a member of the clergy, and who has demonstrated significant contributions in the area of leadership or service to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Read more about the 2019 Spring Commencement award recipients and honorees here.
Rev. Terry Cripe began his college education at Concordia Ann Arbor before going to the senior college in Fort Wayne and then to Springfield for his seminary education, graduating in 1974. He also studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and earned an academic Masters in Theology in the field of New Testament.
Rev. Cripe began his pastoral ministry in 1975. He first served as parish pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Hopewell, New Jersey, where he served from 1975 through 1989. In 1989, he accepted a call to be the pastor of Christ Our Savior in Defiance, Ohio, and served there until 2006. During that time, he was a circuit visitor, a third vice president, and a first vice president in that district. In 2006, he was elected District President and served the Ohio District in that capacity since that time until last summer, when he retired. As District President he served on numerous floor committees for the synodical conventions, often as chairman.
Rev. Cripe has served as a member of the Board of Regents of Concordia Ann Arbor as well as other boards of directors, such as the Luther Towers Board in New Jersey and the Luther Home Society in Ohio. He has written articles for several publications and some of his sermons can be viewed via the Concordia Theological Seminary website. He was also was the primary drafter of the Reformation Anniversary Bible Study titled Unjustifiable Faiths.
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