Pastors & Staff
About Pastor Stephen Barnes
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,… And sorry I could not travel both…” - a dilemma shared both by the poet, Robert Frost, and our own Senior Pastor, Stephen Barnes. Stephen David Barnes was born in Joliet, Illinois, to David and Elizabeth Barnes, on September 27, 1950. For many, many years, he had to look long and hard down two roads that beckoned in somewhat different directions – a full-time career in music, or full-time church ministry.
Steve’s earliest recollections are of his family moving around in Texas, where his father was stationed in the Air Force. His father, David Barnes, had served as a radar man and bombardier in B 29’s during World War II and the Korean Conflict. In 1954, he moved the family back to their original hometown of Joliet, where he and Elizabeth bought an old, two-story house on the east side, which they fixed up as their own residence, with a rental apartment on the upper level. Steve remembers that his dad was a very devoted father, who taught him the value of a loving family. He was also Steve’s first fishing buddy – taking the family to Wisconsin every summer for vacation. Steve’s mother, Elizabeth Schmekel Barnes, was one of five daughters born to William and Frieda Schmekel, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Germany. Elizabeth was the emotional “rock” of the family, providing guidance and rules for Godly living, and insisting that her children attend church regularly.
Steve attended 1st – 8th grades in the Joliet Public Schools, and, when he was in 4th grade, he decided to enter band. Steve had his heart set on playing the trumpet, but, at his audition, he did not pass the “buzzing lips” test, and so he was assigned to the clarinet! Although heart-broken, Steve accepted the challenge and became the best clarinet player in an outstanding and nationally recognized band. In grade school, Steve was also active in his church youth group, and his confirmation pastor, Don Kruger, suggested that Steve consider the ministry, but Steve was determined to pursue a career in music. When Steve was in 8th grade, his family moved out into the country, and, after graduation, he entered Lincoln-Way High School. Steve played 1st chair clarinet in the high school band, ran cross-country, and wrestled on the Varsity team. He was a good enough wrestler, that two colleges offered him wrestling scholarships! Steve also got a job playing with the Bill Carnegie Orchestra, and no matter how late he was out on gigs, his mother insisted that he be in church at 8:30 on Sunday mornings!
In 1968, Steve was offered a music scholarship at Millikin University in Decatur. He enrolled in the music education program, played first chair clarinet in the wind ensemble, and also played in the elite Jazz Lab Band, which performed experimental music. A young lady named Judy Albert, who lived on a farm outside Decatur, also entered Millikin as a music education major in 1968, and a new romance blossomed! One of the highlights of Steve’s college years was his opportunity to tour the Near East at the end of his freshman year. The U.S. State Department selected Millikin’s Jazz Lab Band as cultural ambassadors to the Near East, and they spent two months playing in Portugal, Italy, Crete, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran. Political tensions were high at the time, and Steve was thankful to get back to the U.S.
Judy and Steve both graduated from Millikin in June of 1972. He took a position teaching band at Edison Junior High in Champaign, and she took a position teaching elementary music in Stockland, Illinois, on the Indiana border. They were engaged in the summer of 1972 and got married in February of 1973, but they had to live separately until the end of the school year, because of their jobs. Judy and Steve celebrated their 35th anniversary in February 2008.
During the five years that Steve was teaching band, he felt God’s constant call to the ministry. He wrote inquiry letters to three or four seminaries, and the warmest response came from Dr. H. George Anderson, president of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in South Carolina. In 1977, Steve resigned his teaching position and took his family to Columbia, S.C., where he entered Southern Seminary. (Daughter, Stacey, was just two years old at the time.) After three years, he was sent to St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Wilmington, N.C., with the assignment of a healing ministry. (His son, Michael was only ten days old at the time of the move.) Steve’s area of emphasis at seminary was in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Steve remembers his internship as one of the greatest learning experiences in his life. After his graduation from seminary, Steve was ordained in June of 1981, with Pastor Don Kruger, his junior high confirmation pastor, serving as his sponsor. Steve’s first pastorate was as Associate Pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Rockford for three and a half years. In 1984, he accepted a call to a two-point parish in the town of Hillsboro, Illinois, where Susan was born in 1988. In 1989, Steve accepted the senior pastorate at First Lutheran in Decatur, the church he had attended during college. He served there for five years and then accepted the position of Senior Pastor at Salem, in June of 1993.
Steve is currently in his 16th year at Salem and enjoys serving such a family oriented church, with a wealth of strong volunteers. With his instrumental music background, he adds music by playing his instruments with Roman Wegrzyn, who plays keyboard. Not only does he bless the congregation with his pastoral skills, but he also blesses us with his musical skills on any number of instruments. He has created a culture of excellent music within the church, which enhances the worship experience for each of us.
During the past 58 years, God continues to bring many surprises and Steve realizes that patience is also a gift, for all things come in God's time and have a way of workig for the good. His eldest daughter, Stacey, is married to Greg Klemstein, who works in real estate. Stacey enjoys writing novels, hoping that one day, that will be her full time vocation. Michael, his son, works for Blue Cross Blue Shield in downtown Chicago and is married to Jessica, a high school math teacher. They had their first child, Grace Elizabeth in April. Susan, the youngest is currently in her second year at Valparaisa University and is majoring in both English and Secondary Education. Judy, his wife of 35 years, continues to teach elementary music, working in three grade schools in the East Peoria Public School System.
To briefly sum up Steve’s life experience, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,…I took the one less traveled by,…And that has made all the difference.” (Robert Frost)
