Ryan M. Panzer

Working at innovative companies like Google and Zendesk, I have always had one foot in the tech office... ...and another in the church, of all places. As a talent development professional in the tech industry, I focus on facilitating success through learning and service. At the office, I coach managers to be servant leaders. I teach sales and support teams to put people over process. I challenge those living in digital culture to operate with greater empathy. I am also a graduate of Luther Seminary, a religious education instructor, a former camp counselor, a Lutheran preacher, a theology blogger, and a researcher on church leadership. As I have simultaneously inhabited the world of tech and the world of spirituality, I have discerned a call to build a bridge between the two. My call to serve the church is a call to explore what it means to do effective ministry in digital culture. I am currently looking forward to the release of my first book, "Grace and Gigabytes: Being Church in a Tech-Shaped Culture," due out on December 1st, 2020 from Fortress Press. The book identifies four core values of digital culture, and what they mean for Christian leadership.