Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Practical Theology
Dr. Ryan Tinetti is assistant professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He joined the faculty in 2024.
Tinetti has a breadth of ministry experience, serving the church in a variety of roles and places. Before joining the Seminary faculty, he served for 14 years as a parish pastor. He served as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Arcadia, Mich. (2018-24); Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Spokane, Wash. (2014-18); and Faith Lutheran Church in Seaside, Calif. (2012-14).
During his vicarage in Arizona he helped plant a new mission congregation. Before enrolling at the Seminary, he served as a lay missionary for a year in Bangkok, Thailand.
Tinetti earned a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) (2019) at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) (2010) from Concordia Seminary. In 2005, Tinetti received a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.
A sought-after speaker, Tinetti has been a guest lecturer at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Praetoria, South Africa (2024); Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. (2024); and at a variety of conferences. He also has been a guest preacher for The Lutheran Hour.
His areas of scholarly interest include the use of classical rhetoric in preaching, community-building in the parish, and the writings of Eugene Peterson, Wendell Berry, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Tinetti is the author of “Preaching by Heart” (Cascade Press, 2021) and writes a regular column for the Craft of Preaching website called “The Preacher’s Toolbox.” He also has contributed to “The Lutheran Witness,” “Michigan in Touch” and “Mockingbird,” among others.
Tinetti and his wife, Anne, have four children. Aspiring backyard homesteaders, the Tinettis have long tended a garden and include among their menagerie, bees, chickens and a golden retriever named Theo.