Bio

Joe Harder has been a member of the LCC faculty since 2015, when he moved with his family to Lithuania from the United States. Joe holds master’s degrees in theology (Regent College) and biblical studies (Grace University), and earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Nebraska. His bachelor’s degree in journalism is from the University of Kansas. Currently, Joe is also serving as the interim dean of the faculty. 

Before coming to LCC, Joe taught for a number of years at a Christian liberal arts university in the U.S. Midwest, and was a pastor for nineteen years. Joe’s research interests are in the relationship between Christianity and politics, especially in the United States; his Ph.D. dissertation examines the political theology of the Religious Right in the mid-twentieth century. 

At LCC, Joe teaches primarily history and theology courses, as well as a course in worldview that examines basic frameworks of thinking. He has served in other leadership roles at LCC, including as Academic Council chair. 

Joe’s wife, Lisa, also works at LCC, as a mental-health counselor. They and their three teenage children often connect with students outside the classroom. Joe enjoys biking to campus and on local bike trails, attempting to improve his carpentry skills, expanding his Lithuanian vocabulary, helping create and maintain LCC’s community garden, and often leads worship singing at a local Lithuanian church.