Rolf Svanoe

Rolf Svanoe is a retired Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor living in Decorah, Iowa. During his career he served congregations in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Minnesota. His only claim to fame is that he graduated from Hollywood High School in the Hollywood Bowl. Rolf is a 1974 graduate of California Lutheran Bible School, and a graduate of Augustana College, Sioux Falls in 1978 with a BA degree in Music Performance. In 1982 he received his Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul. In the fall of 1982, he spent a semester studying in Germany and received the Zertifikat Deutsch als Fremdsprache (German as Foreign Language Certificate). Over the his 36 years of ministry Rolf served churches in Wisconvins, South Dakota and Minnesota. In 2005 Rolf enrolled in Luther Seminary's Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Preaching program. One of his projects became his first book, a Lenten worship series entitled, Bread for the Journey, published by CSS. Rolf's D.Min. thesis topic was, "The Beast in the Pulpit: Overcoming Objections to Preaching the Book of Revelation in Mainline Churches." In 2022, CSS published an updated version of his thesis entitled, "The Beast in the Pulpit, the Lamb in Our Hearts," which has helpful insights to encourage parish pastors to engage the book of Revelation in worship and preaching. Rolf has several other manuscripts in process of publication with CSS, including a three-part series preaching through the Revised Common Lectionary's alternative Old Testament texts, and an Advent/Lent worship series based on C. S. Lewis' fantasy book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In 2016 Svanoe has had the privilege of serving as a volunteer chaplain in the Wittenberg English Ministry, preaching and leading worship in the historic churches of Martin Luther and the Reformation.