Meet Pastor Dwight

Dwight Warden has been the pastor at BEFC since March of 1989. He grew up in suburban Cleveland (think Detroit without the glamor) and Columbus, Ohio (home of Ohio’s most successful professional football team, The Ohio State University). He was raised in a church going home, but it wasn’t until he was in the 9th grade that he really understood what it meant to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus.

 

During his high school days he believed that God was directing him into full-time ministry. He attended Grace College (Winona Lake, IN) for three semesters and then transferred to Biola University (La Mirada, CA) where he received a BA (Communications) in 1979. He then attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1983.

 

After finishing his class work at TEDS he did a one year internship at the Johnston Evangelical Free Church in suburban Des Moines working with student ministries. At the end of the internship he was hired as a permanent youth pastor. He served in that role until leaving for Blackduck in 1989.

 

While he was at Johnston, he proved that most men marry way above themselves when he met and married Lorraine Deitirck.  Lorraine is a native of Iowa (please no Iowa jokes), a Trinity College graduate. When they married she was working at the county hospital as a psychiatric social worker. She is currently employed as the Dean of Students at Blackduck Elementary School.  They have three children (Alicia, a May 2009 graduate of Iowa State living in Des Moines, IA where she is the Digital Home Design Editor for Better Homes and Gardens  Elliott, a 2011 Wheaton College graduate living in Idaville, PA where he is the Student and Worship Pastor at Idaville Church, and Emily, a senior at Bethel University).

Dwight is currently working on his Doctor of Ministry degree at Trinity.

Favorite

Food: Chicago style deep-dish pizza, Chinese, Mexican, BBQ, convenience store hot dogs (the ones on the hot dog roller coaster)

Beverage: Diet Coke

Restaurant: Famous Dave’s, Minnesota Nice, Backyard BBQ, any slightly dodgy Chinese place

Vacation Spot: Pawleys Island, SC

Music: U2, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Van Morrison, delirious?, classic 60′s Motown, Alison Krauss,  Coldplay, Handel, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton

TV: Mythbusters, Pardon the Interruption, Dirty Jobs

Movie: Lord of the Rings,

Teams: The Ohio State University, Browns, Twins,

Spare Time: Reading, watching sports, playing golf, amateur carpenter/handyman, learning to play the bass guitar

What I’m Reading Now:  The Meaning of the Pentateuch