Dr. Lubomir Martin Ondrasek, President and Co-Founder
 

EDUCATION

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D.Min., Boston University

M.A., University of Chicago

Th.M., Harvard University

M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

B.B., Zion Bible Institute

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BIOGRAPHY

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Born and raised in Czechoslovakia when Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, Dr. Lubomir Martin Ondrasek converted from atheism to Christianity in his late teens. In order to prepare for faithful and effective Christian service, he arrived in the United States in 1995. After completing his

undergraduate studies with high honors at Zion Bible Institute in 1999, he received his M.Div. in 2003 from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, graduating summa cum laude. He earned his  Th.M. in Christianity and Culture at Harvard University in 2005.

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From 2005-2013, Dr. Ondrasek pursued a course of Ph.D. study in religion and ethics (philosophical, theological, political, war and peace) at the University of Chicago under the supervision of the late Professor Jean Bethke Elshtain. He received his M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago in 2014. Subsequently, he completed his D.Min. in Transformational Leadership at Boston University in 2020. His doctoral project thesis was titled “Spiritual Autobiography as a Method of Research, Vehicle of Personal Transformation and Tool of Transformational Leadership” and was written under the supervision of Professor Claire E. Wolfteich.

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During his academic journey, Dr. Ondrasek was honored with a number of awards, including the nomination-based Rumsfeld Graduate Fellowship, which is awarded to candidates of “outstanding intellectual ability, integrity, moral character and leadership potential” (2010); Robert J. Lamont Award for Excellence: “Granted to the graduating senior, who, having achieved academic excellence, is in the opinion of the faculty likely to apply his or her beliefs effectively to personal and social problems in the work of the pastorate” (2003); and John and Sally R. (Brunetto) Albanese Memorial Scholarship: “In recognition of outstanding Christian character and commitment to ministerial pursuit” (1999).

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From 1999-2005, Dr. Ondrasek served as a minister in two New England churches. He also worked as an adjunct faculty at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, teaching courses in the area of Christian Social Ethics and the Public Ministry of the Church. In 2008, he was a recipient of the University of Chicago’s Human Rights Internship, which enabled him to explore the issue of religious freedom i n Slovakia. He later closely cooperated with the Institute for State-Church Relations and Institute for Legal Aspects of Religious Freedom in Slovakia and provided expert advice to the Department of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. In 2011, he was recognized for his contributions by the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic.

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As a public theologian, he contributed more than 130 commentaries and essays to leading Slovak newspapers from 2013 to 2020 that were published in three books: Kresťanská etika a verejný život (Christianity, Ethics, and Public Life, 2017), Verejná teológia na Slovensku (Public Theology in Slovakia, 2019), and Úvahy verejného teológa o viere, spoločnosti a politike (Reflections of a Public Theologian on Faith, Society, and Politics, 2021)

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His other works include the book Neocharizmatické hnutie na Slovensku (Neocharismatic Movement in Slovakia, 2011) and coedited volumes Church and Society: Towards Responsible Engagement/Cirkev a spoločnosť: Smerom k zodpovednej angažovanosti (2015) and Pentekostalizmus v náboženskom a spoločenskom kontexte (Pentecostalism in Contemporary Religious and Social Context, 2013). He has also written numerous chapters, articles, and reviews that were published in Slovak and English.

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After living with his wife and ministry partner, Dr. Noema Bradnanska Ondrasek, on the South Side of Chicago for over a decade, the couple now resides in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He is a cancer survivor.