Spidahl will speak on “Intercultural Competencies for Short-Term Missions.” He will provide guidelines for grasping key aspects of religious, cultural and ethnic awareness, especially the importance of attitude and roles in observation, language and learning style.

Spidahl and his family lived for five years in sub-Saharan Africa among the Fulbe people, doing outreach, teaching and discipleship. A former pastor in Lutheran and Presbyterian churches in the United States, he has worked in HIV-AIDS consultation for Kenya and with first- and second-generation immigrants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds in the U.S.

A member of the National Advisory Board of the Ethnic America Network, Spidahl teaches missions, world religions, understanding Islam, and a class on developing intercultural competencies. He and his wife, Alice, live in a Mission House on campus with 16 students.

Spidahl joined Northwestern’s faculty in 2005 after teaching missions at Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fergus Falls, Minn., since 1994. The recipient of a doctoral degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Spidahl earned a Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Brethren Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho.