Dr. Richard ''Dick'' Hardel As I was planning this issue, my years in Christian education and youth ministry began to stir and Dick Hardel’s name popped into my mind. This interview is a result of remembering his words from an event in which I shared some leadership.

Janine: Dick, will you please tell us the “story” of The Youth & Family Institute? What is the focus of the Institute? How did it begin and where is it now in terms of vision, work, and ministry?

Dick: The Youth & Family Institute was founded in 1987 by Dr. Merton Strommen from a vision that God gave his family after the tragic death of one of his sons, David Huglen Strommen. Dr. Strommen and his wife Irene had five sons and come from strong Christian Norwegian, Lutheran families.

Dr. Strommen is a Ph.D research scientist and a Lutheran pastor from the Lutheran Free Church. He is one of the best research scientists we have in the Church. He is also the founder of Search Institute in Minneapolis (Building Assets in Youth and Communities)

His vision was to take the best of research in youth and family and connect it with a solid theology of the cross to help train leaders to be more effective in discipleship in youth and family ministry.

In 1994, I was called by the Minneapolis Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to serve as the Executive Director of The Youth & Family Institute. I was challenged by the Institute Board to give it identity and become the cutting edge of ministry to children, youth, and families. With the help of my friends in the Religion Department at Augsburg, I developed the undergraduate major in youth and family ministry while we were at Augsburg College. It is one of the best undergraduate programs in youth and family ministry in the country.

By the grace of God, the Institute began to grow. We moved from an institute supported 100% by grants to supporting ourselves through sales of services and products as we worked with leaders in congregations and in homes. Again, by the grace of God, we added wonderful staff people to help grow the ministry from this vision.

Our mission in a simple statement is: To assist congregations to strengthen families to nurture faith, live well in Christ, and pass on faith.

The research clearly shows that the home (in the broadest sense of family that includes single people with their friends as family, with or without children) is the primary place to nurture faith and pass on faith. Discipleship and evangelism for the 21st century needs a partnership of home and congregation in nurturing faith.

Janine: What would you think is the most distinctive feature of the Youth and Family Institute?

Dick: It is tending the Christian journey from pre-birth to the grave, working with “Children of God of All Ages!”

We have a clear vision of youth and family ministry, a solid biblical and theological foundation (based on a theology of the cross), a wonderful training program for professionals and lay volunteers in the Church, and resources to nurture faith in our homes and congregations. Our strength is the passion that each of our staff has for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to pass on that faith to children and youth and their families.

Janine: What do you consider to be your greatest challenge?

Dick: To remain on the cutting edge of the youth and family ministry, our small staff has to keep studying research, creating resources and training for the home and congregation, and, of course, living in Christ.

Our greatest challenge is to grow the ministry from this vision without burning out our staff. We must build an endowed fund from the gifts of congregations and individuals to help support the ministry. By just focusing on sales of services and resources, the four of us who travel are gone constantly, and it is difficult to stay on the cutting edge. Fortunately, we have some wonderful associates that we have been training to assist us with greater outreach to congregations throughout North America.

Janine: I am having a hard time choosing which “Dick Hardel” I need to talk to next; the pastor, researcher, the author, the clown, or the “husband, father, grandfather, uncle, friend” as you name on your profile at the Institute. So I will choose the “author.”What would you like to say about your writing?

Dick: One can get a pretty good picture of my passion for passing on faith by reading some of the books that I have written. "Passing On The Faith: A RADICAL New Model for Youth and Family Ministry" is one I wrote with Dr. Merton Strommen and is the sentinel work in youth and family ministry. Another book is "Blest Be The Pie That Binds" is full of one and two-page stories of families and faith. Each story has four or five family activities that any family can do.

"The Cross in the Sawdust Circle" is really a theology book on the theology of the cross, but it is done in circus language and experience. It is a theology of clown ministry. Upon returning from our Christ Clown ministry in Eastern Europe, I was just so excited about what God was doing with us, especially in Poland, that I was moved to write this book.

I am presently working on a book entitled "Circled by Grace". This will be written more like "Blest Be The Pie That Binds" with short family stories, experiences, and action that show what grace looks like in the messiness of today’s family.

We are also developing a new curriculum of Faith Practice Modules for the cradle to the grave, where 80% of the learning happens within the context of the home/family rather than the church buildings of the congregation. It is a big undertaking!

Janine: Now for the fun part! I know from our earlier conversation that clowning is most definitely a passion of yours. Please tell us about this great love of the circus, where it began, where it has taken and continues to take you.

Dick: I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in a lower income middle class family. My parents both worked outside the home. My dad worked in the factories all his life and my mother worked in department stores and later at Concordia College, Milwaukee. We went hunting and fishing for food. Our entertainment would be baseball games, Ice Capades, Harlem Globetrotters, and the circus. In those days, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows would come to town every year. I was a kid who would water the elephants or sneak under the tent to get in. I have always loved the circus.

Years later as a Lutheran pastor, I noticed how a clown could communicate to hundreds of people with just a gesture. I wondered if clowning might not be a wonderful way to communicate the Gospel, especially to people who are not connected to faith in Christ.

So, I started to study the history of the American Circus, the art of clowning, and humor. The more I studied, the more I learned about me, and God’s call for me in ministry. I then began to interview every old circus clown I met. I just listened to their stories and asked them questions.

While I was a pastor in Florida, Ringling Bros. had a clown college in Venice, FL and also ran Circus World in Hanes City, FL. I contacted some of the older Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus clowns to teach me the art of clowning. I did not go to the clown college, but I did learn from many of their clowns. I have been blessed to have received training from some of the best clowns.

I read the Gospel of Mark again and again (even translated the Greek) everyday for one entire year. Finally, God put the two together for me. Mark begins his Gospel with this statement. “This is the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God.” Then he does not say that again anywhere in his writings. Rather, he tells story after story that paints a picture of the presence of God in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, leading the reader himself to say, “You are the Christ!”

That is exactly the ministry of a Christ Clown. Clown ministry is simply to live your life inside out so that everyone can see your weaknesses, humanity, and faith that we normally hide. The Christ Clown paints pictures, tells stories through mime and actions of the grace of God in Jesus Christ so that people can see the extraordinary love and grace of God in Jesus, the Christ in the ordinary of every day.

The Christ Clown loves the people, respects the audience of even one, and continues to tell the story until the people realize, “God is here! This is about Jesus, the Christ!” Then the Christ Clown throws confetti and helps them celebrate this wonder statement of faith in Jesus Christ. If the people are not ready to make such a statement of faith, the Christ Clown keeps on loving them and continues to paint more pictures.

I have three units of the Life in Christ Circus, the name of my clown troupe: one in Orlando, FL; another in Omaha, NE; and a third in Eagan, MN, where I presently live. We also have a unit in southern Poland that we established about three years ago. They are doing wonderful ministry throughout Poland.

We have worked with children with terminal cancer and their families, severely handicapped people, the blind, the hearing impaired, The Parkinson’s Society, nursing homes, retirement centers, inner city schools, civic organizations, national youth gatherings of Christian denominations, congregations, Sunday schools, autistic children, and many more.

My personal favorite place to clown is street clowning. I like to have very few or no props and just work with people in a park. It helps me be much more creative in my communication.

Janine: The theme for this issue is “Harvest and Health.” What can you share with us about how these have changed in meaning for you over time? Or, what immediately comes to mind when you think of this topic?

Dick: People, who are not well, cannot laugh. Wellness is not the lack of illness but being a whole person with God centered in every aspect of one’s life, even if the heart dis-ease does not go away.

Laughter takes breath. It is the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit that gives life. We are in a ministry of bringing a breath of fresh air to people who have been robbed of their breath, whether by poverty, racism, various types of abuse, etc., or having the wind knocked out of them by a loss of love or a hardship in life, or by holding their breath.

People cannot pass on faith without the Breath of God. The Harvest and Health of the people of God are all about the Breath of God. Laughter is the shortest distance between people. Righteousness means that we are right next to each other through the cross of Jesus Christ. Then the Harvest and the Health of the people of God should be full of laughter. The cross and the tomb are empty, so let the Laughter Loose!

Janine: What do you consider to be your purpose-in-life? Do you have any special thoughts or “words of wisdom” that you would like to leave with us?

Dick: It is in the family stories that children and youth receive their identity, purpose, and direction in life. These family stories are about God, they are faith stories. We must be telling the biblical stories and the family faith stories to our children.

I want my children and grandchildren to know that I do not fear death because I know this Jesus. Nothing can take Jesus away from me or them.

I want them to know how much I love my wife, Carolyn, and what it means to grow in faith together in a long-lasting, loving relationship. I love growing old in love with Carolyn. I want my children and grandchildren to learn how to give away the love of Christ and look at everything and everyone through the cross of Christ.

Tell your faith stories to your children. Every child is our child by virtue of baptism and every adult is a Christian parent whether they have ever been married or ever had children.

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