New Board Member Preston Fields on Vocation, Connection, and the Transformative Power of Community
Preston Fields, Campus Pastor and Executive Director of Lutheran Campus Ministry at UW-Madison and 2018 MDiv graduate from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, has charted a remarkable journey to becoming a Lutheran pastor and board member of LSTC.
Raised Catholic, Fields grew up deeply involved in his faith. However, as he began exploring his identity and calling, he encountered challenges that prompted a broader spiritual search. In considering an MDiv program that would support his spiritual formation, “I wanted a community that valued liturgy and communion… but also aligned with my sense of justice and inclusion,” he shared. This journey eventually led him to the ELCA and later to LSTC, which he chose over other seminaries for its unique balance of denominational identity and commitment to academic excellence. “LSTC is a great community, but it is also a really powerful place to learn and grow and be formed as a pastor and that’s what made me excited to go there,” he explained.
Fields was part of the inaugural cohort of the Public Church curriculum at LSTC, an approach to learning that equips theology students to engage communities beyond church walls. “The Public Church curriculum trained us to be pastors who connect our congregations with the world around them,” he said. For Fields, this meant learning practical skills like community ethnography, relationship-building, and communication in an inclusive, approachable way. “What LSTC does really well through the Public Church curriculum is that it teaches us how to be effective pastors in the community who are Christ-centered and who able to take our message in an effective way into the community around us and then also put gospel values into practice in those communities.”
These skills proved invaluable when Fields began his first pastoral call in Sycamore, Illinois. There, he applied the lessons he learned at LSTC, engaging with his congregation to build connections that supported both the church and the wider community. “In that experience I learned about agriculture and farming more than I’d ever thought I would,” he said. “But in reality, the Public Church curriculum helped me understand that I needed to know about those parts of my congregation’s life,” he continued. Fields’ experience at LSTC and commitment to the lived realities of his congregants allowed him to connect at a deeper level and to demonstrate his commitment to the spiritual and physical wellbeing of his congregation.
After graduation, Fields maintained close ties with LSTC. He was invited to join the Foundation Board of Trustees, contributing to the seminary’s visioning campaign and supporting its mission during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, he was appointed to LSTC’s Board of Directors. Reflecting on his involvement, he said, “It’s rewarding to help shape the future of the seminary. LSTC is leading the way for the church by thinking practically about how to stay mission-focused in a changing world.”
Fields remains an advocate for prospective students considering theological education. “LSTC is about more than academics—it’s about formation,” he emphasized. “The seminary equips you to be a spiritual leader, administrator, and visionary for your community. It helps you ask the big questions and gives you the tools to answer them.” From a student navigating his vocational calling to a leader shaping the seminary’s future, Fields exemplifies the impact of LSTC’s mission to form leaders for the church and the world. And to future MDiv students, Fields offers some advice: “Chicago is such an amazing learning lab and not just for urban ministry, but also for building a general understanding of what it means to connect to different kinds of people and different kinds of communities. You have so many so many amazing opportunities in Chicago and at LSTC.”