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Pastor Bob Selle |
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 Robert
F. Selle
was born on 10/21/42, the son and grandson of Lutheran
pastors. After elementary education at St. Peter
Lutheran School in Reedsburg, WI, he attended high
school and junior college at Concordia College,
Milwaukee. He received his B.A. in 1964 from Concordia
Senior College, Ft. Wayne, IN. In 1970, Selle was
awarded a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary,
St. Louis, MO.
After ordination, Selle served as "worker priest"
(bi-vocational minister) in the Missouri Ozarks. There,
Selle owned and operated a 20-sow feeder pig operation,
while pastoring Holy Cross Lutheran Church, a new
mission in Houston, MO.
From 1973-76, Selle was administrative assistant and a
member of the chaplaincy staff at Bethesda Lutheran Home
in Watertown, WI, a 600-bed facility for mentally
retarded persons. He authored several monographs (What
Do You Say to Parents of a Retarded Child and
Confirmation for Mentally Retarded Persons Who Are
Christians), and also co-authored a book illustrating
the pain and joy experienced by a family with a mentally
retarded son: Thank You, Davey; Thank You, God
(Augsburg, 1978). Selle's most recent publication is a
1997 book-length study series on people-pictures of the
Bible, titled Figuratively Speaking, issued by the LWML.
In 1976, Selle was commissioned as evangelistic
missionary to the Philippines. During 8 years there, he
prepared courses for theological training of national
pastors, served 4 congregations on the north coast of
Mindanao, and began mission work with the Higaonon tribe
in the mountainous interior.
Returning to the States in 1984, Selle spent 6 years in
the North Wisconsin District, pastoring the dual parish
of Zion (Embarrass) and St Peter (Pella Opening). He was
also circuit Mission Representative, board member of the
Shawano County Mission Society, and zone pastoral
advisor for the Lutheran Laymen's League.
Selle was summoned back to the Philippines in May of
1990, this time as mission administrator (Missionary
Counselor), and pastor of the International Lutheran
Church in Manila. In addition, he was chairman of the
board for Concordia Children's Services (a mission to
special-needs Filipino children), and also prepared
evangelistic and instructional materials for outreach
among the Tagakaulo people of Mindanao.
On May 2, 1995, the Board of Directors of the North
Wisconsin District issued a call for Selle to serve as
"Mission Planter" in the district. Jointly funded by the
district and LCMS World Mission for its first three
years, this pilot project aimed to multiply the number
of new church starts in northern Wisconsin and upper
Michigan. "In this district," urged Rev. Dwayne Lueck,
the district's Mission Executive, "are thousands who do
not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Your job
is to help identify places for new ministry, and also to
rally local support for these new possibilities." Selle
responded: "What an exciting opportunity! May the Lord
grant insight and ability to faithfully fulfill the
awesome opportunities of this position!"
From 1998 to 2000, a hands-on component of Selle's role
was service as interim pastoral to a new mission,
Victory Lutheran Church, at the former K. I. Sawyer Air
Force Base, 19 miles south of Marquette, MI.
Selle is wed to Penny nee Neale of Bombay, India. With
degrees from both Indian and U.S. colleges, she has
taught elementary, secondary, and remedial education. In
the Philippines, she coordinated publication of several
specialized curricula for use with street children
ministry in Manila. Most recently, she facilitated the
development of a Christian child care program at St
Paul/Fremont, which opened its doors in mid-1998.
In August of 2000, the Selles moved to Wrightstown to
assist the development of a new Lutheran congregation in
this growing community between Appleton and Green Bay.
"God has blessed Alleluia with a wonderful group of
caring Christians," Selle notes, "who are excited about
reaching out to friends and neighbors with the
life-transforming truths of the Bible. We extend a
cordial welcome especially to those new in the area who
haven't yet found a church home."
Bob and Penny have 3 adult children: Rachel Baker, a DCE
graduate of Concordia, Seward, NE, now serving with her
husband David and their children (Julia , Timothy,
and Daniel) as missionaries in Kazakhstan; Benjamin, an arts-management
graduate of UW-Stevens Point, who lives and works in Los
Angeles; and David, a civil engineering graduate of
UW-Madison, working as Production Engineer with Great
Lakes Dredge & Dock.
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