Pastor Stahlecker is sports lover, CPA
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
When Pastor Alan Stahlecker of St. John's Lutheran Church in Lincolnville was growing up, his mother's dream was that one of her four sons would become a minister.
"That's great, Mom, but not me!" he told her.
He was born in a small town of about 50 people in southwest Colorado and grew up at Rangely, an oil community about the size of Marion on the high desert of northeast Colorado.
As a high school student, Stahlecker was very involved in sports. During his freshman and senior years, he was a running back in football. As a senior, he achieved Honorable Mention All-State.
He was part of the cross country team as a sophomore and junior and went to the state meet both years.
However, his first love was basketball.
"I used football and cross country to stay in shape for basketball," he said.
He was on the varsity three years. His team went to the 2A state tournament in 1976, when he was a junior. They set a state tournament record of 115 points, a record which still stands today.
Stahlecker said the game was very fast-paced at that time. As a senior, he was named to the All-State Second Team.
He also participated in track, doing different events every year.
"I was basically a jumper," he said.
He qualified for state competition as a sophomore in the mile, junior in the pole vault, triple jump, and 180-yard low hurdles, and senior in triple jump, low hurdles, and high hurdles. As a junior, he placed third in low hurdles, and as a senior, placed fourth in high hurdles.
He also served on the student council and was a member of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America).
After graduating from high school in 1977, Stahlecker attended Adams State College, an NAIA school in Alamosa, Colo., which is located in the middle of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado.
He went to ASC planning to play basketball, but entered track instead. He said he had dreamed of running the decathlon as an elementary student and saw his chance at ASC.
The decathlon is a series of 10 track and field events that take place during two days. They include the 100-meter dash, long jump, shotput, high jump, 400-meter dash, 110-meter high hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500-meter run.
Stahlecker competed all four years and went to nationals the last three. He placed third and fourth, respectively, during his junior and senior years. He received NAIA All-American honors both years.
He is modest about his achievements, saying, "I was good, but not excellent."
He was an accounting major in college and was a member of Phi Beta Lambda, a business organization similar to FBLA in high school. In competition, he placed first as a senior, and also placed first in nationals.
After college, he took and passed the Certified Public Accountant exam and worked as an accountant for seven years. He and his wife, Sheri, were married in 1980.
At the age of 28 or 29, while living in Colorado Springs, Stahlecker began to think about entering the ministry. He was inspired by local church leaders who were trying to recruit youth workers.
He was 30 years old when he entered Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. He spent three years in seminary and one year in an internship.
"Having those accounting skills helped me in making ends meet while I was in seminary," he said. He also worked as a part-time accountant during those years.
He also played basketball in seminary. The school played small colleges in the area.
"We were doing good if we had 10-12 players," Stahlecker recalled. "We weren't in as good a shape as when we were younger. We played 10 or 15 minutes, then sat out for a while. There was a lot of substituting."
He arrived at his first and only pastorate, St. John's Lutheran Church at Lincolnville, 10 years ago, where the couple are raising their three children.
Andrea, 19, is a sophomore at Wichita State University. Todd, 17, is a senior and outstanding athlete at Centre High School. Brianne 16, is a junior and a member of the volleyball team.
"I love sports as much as anybody, but I have a better perspective now," Stahlecker said.
He was a Rule 10 assistant track coach at CHS the past two years and now is coach of the cross country team.
Stahlecker said his experiences prior to becoming a minister have helped him in serving the church community.
"The advantage of having a second career is that it gives you other experiences which are helpful in your work," he said.
