Sarah Salzberg Uses Her Passion for Theology to Motivate Others
As a student at Concordia University Nebraska, Sarah Salzberg had no idea what possibilities were before her. In fact, there were some she thought were completely off-limits as a Lutheran. An education major, Salzberg had her eyes set on teaching English, but an advisor at the university pointed her in another direction—one that has become more than a job, but a vocation, a calling, and a life’s passion.
“Fortunately, my advisor at Seward (CUNE) my first year, said ‘Sarah, you love English, but the thing we always talk about when you’re in my office is the Bible as literature, and how much you enjoy kind of crossing over,’” Salzberg said, adding that her adviser encouraged her to teach English and theology. “I didn't know I could, and she was like, ‘Yes, you can!’”
While she said it’s never been explicitly stated, she believes she is the first theology education major to graduate from Concordia Nebraska. While most of her Lutheran high school teachers taught a theology course and another subject, she said now it’s becoming more common for Lutheran school teachers to be skilled theology teachers, which in turn motivates other students to want to pursue that path as well.
From Student to Teacher
Salzberg said she knew she wanted to be a teacher since her high school days, helping with Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. However, she never considered doing it in a church setting. She wanted to be in the schools.
“I like that at a school, they don’t necessarily want to be there, and I also like that it’s a good reminder that our schools are our greatest mission fields,” said Salzberg. She said many people choose the Lutheran school system, regardless of theology, because of what it offers—whether that be excellent academics, arts, or athletics. “I think it’s cool when you have kids that don’t want to be there or are trying to figure it out and taking ownership of their faith. Certainly that happens in a church setting, but more so in the school setting.”
A Lutheran high school theology teacher, Salzberg team-teaches a large lecture class that often breaks into smaller groups for more focused discussion. It’s a long way from her beginning as a Sunday school volunteer, but her work has also taken her to plenty of classrooms, breakout rooms, conference rooms, and stages, where she shares her thoughts on these topics with bigger audiences. At the High School Gathering, Salzberg plans to host three sectionals. She’s also sharing the stage with Rev. Bill Yonker for a fourth sectional, allowing her to continue her love of team-teaching and interacting with someone else as she speaks on topics she’s passionate about.
Work Outside of Church Walls
Salzberg said not all of her students, in fact very few, will go on to become professional church workers. However, they are still church workers in that they are able to spread the love of Christ and Word of God no matter what they do.
“I think that it’s really awesome to get to be in a setting where I am teaching people who are going to be engineers and doctors and accountants—I don’t know why you’d want to be an accountant but go for it,” joked Salzberg. “God’s going to move through you in any one of your vocations.”
Salzberg said she often asks her breakout session attendees: What does it mean to be made in the image of God? She said in the ancient world, the “image of God” was a likeness reserved only for kings. Yet, she said, right in the opening pages of Scripture, God says every human being, male and female, is made in the image of God.
“I cannot change the fact that I am made in the image of God. I can’t, it’s just true. And so whatever I do, wherever I go, (the book of) Romans tells me the Spirit’s living in me,” Salzberg said of what she tells those gathered for her sessions. “I think the beautiful thing about that is any job that you have is God working in and through you. So you could argue that every job is church work. Every job is Him building His kingdom further out.”
Faith, Questions, and Purpose
Salzberg said she often likes to ask her students, “Do you think it was a good idea that God made us in His image?” She said the question often leads to a debate about the bad things humans do, but can often circle back to people like John Lewis, who fought for voting rights, and the world of Jane Goodall, who saw the need to study chimpanzees, which led to saving many primates and also conservation efforts.
She said she illustrates that while humans do things to misrepresent God’s image, the good they do is also reflecting His character to the world. Salzberg said students who are motivated to go into science or math or areas other than becoming pastors, Lutheran school teachers, or other professional church workers, are still doing God’s work. Maybe a student has been impacted by cancer and wants to work hard to find a cure.
“I want to say to them, ‘God is so glad that you love science and you study it and you learn more and more and more and I pray that within your lifetime, we figure out how to turn those cancer cells off, and even if we don’t, God is doing good work through you,’” Salzberg said.
For those who get to do their work at a church, Salzberg said it’s a great experience, but if they don’t, their faith in God still has a place in their work.
“Somebody might say one day, ‘Hey, why are you so joyful in the work that we get to do?’ and you go, ‘Oh, because I’m made in God’s image and He has shown me so much compassion and so much grace, and He has such joy in creating me that I get to have joy in doing this,’” said Salzberg.
Holding Space
Salzberg said she grew up in the age of Apologetics in the Lutheran church. In that time, she felt there wasn’t much that women could do to make a difference in theology. However, she said there are plenty of places in the church and in church work for women.
She said her students refer to it as “holding space” for women—which means being physically, emotionally and mentally present for someone else without passing judgement. Salzberg was moved to hear her students refer to it in that way.
“I believe in the God of Huldah the Prophetess. When Josiah, in 2 Kings 22, finds the Book of the Covenant, he takes it to Hilkiah the priest. Hilkiah the priest and six other men go to Huldah the Prophetess for her to read it and interpret it, and I have to believe that means that there is value in women reading the Scriptures and sharing that with others,” Salzberg said.
Catch Salzberg on Monday for the sectional “Through Your Eyes” for girls only at 10:25 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. On Tuesday, she hosts “More Than Just Some Weird Stories” for adults only at 10:25 a.m., and then joins Yonker for “Siblings in Christ” at 11:15 a.m. Check the event guide for more information on locations.