Nathan Aaseng pursues persistent pull to seminary

by Jennifer L. Krempin | Photography by Dave Kaphingst

For nearly 20 years, Nathan Aaseng lived the kind of literary life that many harried and tired workers dream of.

He was a writer—a successful one, at that. So successful, in fact, that he penned more than 170 books during his career, most of them non-fiction geared to the educational and sports interests and hobbies of middle-school students.

Though he worked for four years as a research microbiologist, Aaseng’s early years were spent pursuing his writing dream. “I always enjoyed writing, and I’d been trying to get things published,” Aaseng recalls. “Eventually I decided to take one year and really dedicate myself to writing.”

Hoping to find work as an editor, Aaseng spent a lot of time pounding the pavement, meeting with local publishers and trying to get his foot in the door at a publishing house. When he walked into one Minneapolis publishing house, his luck changed immediately: The publisher had purchased a few photos for a potential book project and needed a story written by someone with some expertise in track and field. Aaseng, a former member of the track team at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, was just what they were looking for.

And with that, his first book was born: a short chronicle of the life and achievements of Olympic track superstar Bruce Jenner.

Dozens, and then hundreds more books would follow, tackling subjects ranging from meat-eating plants to the White House, and from Navaho code talkers to football’s Barry Sanders. He went on to author four devotional books for students with Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and began traversing the country for a series of speaking engagements to share his expertise with fellow writers at seminars and workshops.

Aaseng says his career leap was a gradual process. Indeed, he thought of seminary off and on for years. “But it got to the point where two things became more and more clear. I was seeing a church that needed leadership in the midst of a declining population, and I was looking at how my talents could support that.”

One day he broached the subject with his wife, Linda. Her response surprised him. “She said, ‘I knew that’s where you would be going,’” he recalls. “She was seeing the same thing I was seeing. Without realizing it, we each had come to the same conclusion.”

It wasn’t easy in the beginning. “I had mixed feelings the first year,” he explains. “The academics were fun, but I questioned all the way through the end of the first semester whether I should be there. But by the second year, it all fell into place. I knew that’s what I needed to be doing.”

Of course, it comes as no surprise that one aspect of being a student came naturally to him. “Writing papers was, of course, not a problem!” he laughs.

Though he continued writing books for the first two years to help pay his way through school, he gradually has scaled back to concentrate on his studies. “During my internship year at a church in Spooner, Wisconsin, I stopped taking on writing work. I really wanted to focus on what I was doing,” Aaseng explains.

With their three oldest children now living in Southern California and Evan looking toward his first year of college next fall, the Aasengs say they are open to going wherever the Spirit leads them. “Part of you looks for adventure, but part of you thinks: ‘Where can I be most effective as a pastor?’” Aaseng says. “The main thing is going where I’m needed.”

So what will happen to Nathan Aaseng, the nationally recognized writer? “I envision doing some writing as a pastor, but I’ll be more selective, writing what I really want to write,” he says.

More important, he adds, are the communication skills he’s honed over the years, which he knows will serve him well as a congregation’s pastor someday. “Writing sermons isn’t a lot different than other kinds of writing,” he emphasizes. “As a writer I learned to explain complicated things in a way that others—in my case, middle-school students—could understand. That’s a huge advantage to someone in the pulpit.”

1. When I envision what I really want for my life, what do I see?

2. How closely does my current existence match up with my answer to the previous question?

3. What matters most to me at this point in my life?

4. If I make a big life change, who will be directly affected? What impact would the change have on those relationships?

5. What am I afraid of?

6. What do I stand to gain from this change? How might this change benefit others?

7. How would this change enhance my faith and reflect my values?

8. How do I see my life in five years if I make the change?

9. How do I see my life in five years if I do not make the change?

10. What additional guidance would make me feel more comfortable about making the change?

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