Dr. Dale A. Meyer

Dr. Dale A. Meyer is president emeritus and professor emeritus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

Meyer retired in 2020 after 15 years as Seminary president. He first joined the faculty at Concordia Seminary as a guest instructor, serving from 1979 to 1981. He then served as an assistant professor from 1981 to 1984. In 2001, he rejoined the faculty and served as professor of Practical Theology in addition to his role as president.

He previously served as the Gregg H. Benidt Memorial Chair in Homiletics and Literature (2001-05). He served as the interim president (2004-05) and became the 10th president of Concordia Seminary in 2005.

After earning a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Concordia Seminary (1973), Meyer earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in classical languages from Washington University in St. Louis (1974, 1986). He completed his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (1969) at Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Ind. He also is the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. (1993), and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Concordia Seminary (2021).

Meyer’s first call was as pastor of St. Salvator Lutheran Church in Venedy, Ill., and St. Peter Lutheran Church in New Memphis, Ill. (1974-81). After his tenure as a guest instructor at Concordia Seminary (1979-81), he served as an assistant professor, teaching classes in New Testament and homiletics, and as the director of Resident Field Education (1981-84). He went on to become senior pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Ill. (1984-88).

Meyer was Speaker of The Lutheran Hour radio program (1989 to 2001). Through 2003, he hosted the national television show On Main Street for Lutheran Hour Ministries. In 2001, LHM received two prestigious Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) St. Louis/Mid-America Chapter for two On Main Street episodes.

Meyer has served The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the church at-large over the years in several capacities. He served as third vice-president of the LCMS from 1995 to 1998. He was a charter board member of the Association of Lutheran Older Adults (ALOA), has served as an honorary director of God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society and as a member of the Standing Committee on Pastoral Ministry for the LCMS. He was pastoral adviser for the Southern Illinois District of the International Lutheran Laymen’s League and has served as first vice president, second vice president, secretary and circuit counselor of the LCMS Southern Illinois District. He served on the Board of Trustees of the American Bible Society from 2001 to 2013.

Meyer has written numerous sermons and columns for Lutheran Hour Ministries, including the booklets “Coping with Cancer” and “Real Men.” He co-authored The Crosses of Lent, in-depth Bible studies of Matthew and Prophecy in the LifeLight series, and authored “The Place of the Sermon in the Order of Service” in Liturgical Preaching for Concordia Publishing House. He has contributed to Issues in Christian Education, Concordia Pulpit Resources and the Concordia Journal. His articles include “A Church Caught in the Middle,” “An Urban Seminary” and “Why Go to Church?” and “The Formative Power of Preaching the Ascension.”

In 2014 Meyer wrote Timely Reflections: A Minute a Day with Dale Meyer, a compilation of 365 daily devotions from his long-running online series, The Meyer Minute. This book was published by Tri-Pillar Publishing in conjunction with Concordia Seminary. In 2018, a new volume of his sermons, Word Alive!, was published by Tri-Pillar. The volume includes 52 sermons, spanning decades of his ministry.

Meyer has been speaking and preaching for 50 years. His areas of interest and study include 1 Peter, the church in a changing culture and the Sabbath applied to life today.

He lives in Collinsville, Ill., with his wife, Diane. They have two grown daughters, Elizabeth (Darren) Pittman and Catharine (Charles) Bailey; and five grandsons, Christian, Connor and Nicholas Pittman, and Andrew and Jacob Bailey.