Timely transition: Vicar steps in as St. Andrew's Rev. Short retires

Editor's note: The story has been modified to correct Pastor Short's place of education.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church was founded in 1957 "to be open to the promises of God and trust those promises," says outgoing pastor Paul Short, who will preach his farewell sermons and be honored at a 12:30 p.m. reception next Sunday.

Going into semiretirement and remaining in Cape Girardeau with his wife, Jeanne, the Rev. Short will be succeeded by the Rev. John Dehne, a recent graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, who will be installed June 22.

"A group from Trinity Lutheran Church had the desire to do new and different ministries, and they had their first service in a parking lot on a flatbed truck," Short said. "It's amazing to see what happens when you have that culture of openness to God's grace and love."

The 71-year-old Katy, Texas, native will work for the Food for the Poor organization that reaches 17 Caribbean countries and will be a leadership life coach with the John Maxwell Leadership Team. Both groups are based in Florida.

Senior pastor at the church, 804 N. Cape Rock Drive, since 1996, Short previously had served six parishes in Texas, Illinois, Kentucky and British Columbia, Canada. He said some of his former parishioners will hear his sermons at 8, 9:15 and 10:30 a.m. June 15 and attend the reception.

The Air Force veteran attended Concordia College in Austin, Texas, and graduated from the University of Houston before earning his divinity degree at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Ill. The Shorts have three sons, Justin, Kevin and Nathan, and four grandchildren.

Dehne, 41, has spent the past year as St. Andrew's vicar, or candidate for ordination, to complete his four-year master of divinity curriculum, occasionally preaching and having the opportunity to know the congregation of about 500 people.

Noting that one of St. Andrew's innovations is its Sunday night Celebrate Recovery program to help people end addictive behavior, Dehne said, "This congregation is very generous and giving to the community.

"We're willing to take risks. Christian life boils down to this one word: identity -- who God has declared us to be because of who He is and what it means to be His people, carry His name and represent him to the world."

Referring to Colossians 3:3, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God," he said, "Then the question becomes, how do we live out that identity?

"It is summed up in six words: loving God, loving others, making disciples."

Following his June 22 sermons, Dehne will be ordained and installed as St. Andrew's senior pastor at 3 p.m.

Reared at Red Bud, Illinois, he has four siblings, including a twin brother. The former high school history teacher earned a bachelor's degree at Concordia University in Chicago and a master's in organizational leadership at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He and his wife, Jill, are the parents of a 7-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter.