Have you ever been going a little too fast down Port Washington Road and you see a Police car and your heart drops to your stomach, and you immediately put the breaks on what you are currently doing? In the same way, you might be taking a stroll throughout campus, you’re on your phone, you’re listening to music, you are in your own world. Then, you see someone down the opposite side of the hallway, they are wearing a black button-up shirt and a clerical collar. You immediately stand up straight, you pause your music, you look into the Reverend’s eyes, and you let out a professional, “Hello.” I am here to tell you that CUW has a new sheriff in town, the difference is, he is not going to write you a ticket.
If you have not caught on yet, Rev. Jonathon Bakker is the new campus pastor after Rev. Steve Smith’s 22 years as the campus pastor. Pastor Bakker grew up in Ontario, Canada where he also attended high school. To what may come as a surprise, his dream was to become a professional trombone player. The monthly time when he did go to church with his family as a kid, the choir caught his attention every time, that is part of the reason he became fascinated with music. His fascination caused him to practice the trombone for up to four hours a day. When it was finally time for him to attend college, he chose Concordia Ann Arbor to be a music major. After some time spent at CUAA, his focus began to shift towards theology.
The change was due to subtle seeds being sowed in his mind. In his words, “I would be approached by my classmates, especially early on saying, ‘what’s your major,’ I would say, ‘I am a music major,’ [they replied saying], ‘oh so you’re going to be a Lutheran School teacher.’ I said, ‘no I’m not,’ they said, ‘oh, so you’re pre-seminary.’
“Over time, I did a couple of semesters in the education program, and I was working toward Lutheran teaching, kind of like what they offer here, and once I had to read some of [Martin] Luther’s writing’s I was addicted to Theology. It was the one thing that interfered with my practice schedule with trombone: not girls, not clubs, not other activities with my friends, not video games, none of that stuff got me excited as Theology did and then I was at a crossroads.”
To put an end to the internal conflict that Pastor Bakker had between being an orchestra player or a pastor, he talked to his home pastor, Rick Fry, who was the one that eliminated Pastor Bakker’s objections to not becoming a pastor.
After college, Pastor Jonathon Bakker attended the Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne to become a pastor. From 2006 to 2015, he was an Associate Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Chapel, which is based in the Central Michigan University campus. Then from 2015 to 2024, Bakker served as the Senior Pastor at Zion Luther Church in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. What I found most fascinating about Pastor Bakker’s experience as a pastor is that he was a Chaplin for the Michigan State Police Dept. for 14 years.
During that time, he was able to view the brokenness of human nature in a distinct perspective. Instead of dealing with the public, he was able to personally know what people that protect and serve go through. He rode alongside police officers, he did tactical drills with them, he went to their union rallies where he was able to relate to them, and he was able to feel a lot of their emotional pain.
In his words, “They see and experience a lot of awful stuff and have much more trauma on a regular basis than the regular person does. And they cope so well most of the time, but occasionally when they needed someone to talk to, I was a friendly supportive set of ears that was outside the chain of command.”
And that is the thing that really sets Pastor Bakker apart, he is not here to condemn, he is not here to judge, God has brought him to CUW to be a listener. His broad perspective of mental health and his willingness to lend an ear to anybody makes him a great fit at CUW. Next time you are in the hallway, do not be afraid to say “hello” or spark up a conversation with him.
—Peyton Smith is a writer for the Beacon. He is a senior mass communication major graduating in may 2025 with a minor in political science.