About Dr. Alvin H. Franzmeier: www.alfranzmeier.com

From the earliest days of his childhood in a rural southern Minnesota community near Rosemount, Al Franzmeier wanted to be a writer. An avid reader, he poured his reflections, thoughts and poems into journals that only he read. A few of his poems and thoughts were published in a college published journal, but nothing more. In those early years, instead of the written word he focused on debate and public speaking, an area where his talents for the dramatic was evident. His ability as a high school and college debater and dramatist stood him in good stead when he became a pastor and preacher of the Christian Gospel.

Franzmeier graduated in 1957 with a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, to accept his first call as a pastor and mission developer in the northwestern Ontario city of Port Arthur (now known as Thunder Bay). While there, he and his wife Sylvia became the proud parents of two sons and a daughter. In 1962 he accepted a call to develop the new mission congregation of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Roseville, Minnesota. Both congregations continue to flourish to the present.

While in Roseville, Franzmeier, satisfied a continuing thirst for knowledge and understanding of his calling by completing in 1965 a Master of Theology degree from Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul. Two years later he enrolled in the newly developed Doctor of Religion program at Chicago Theological Seminary, from which he received his degree in 1968 and accepted a call as Dean of the Chapel at Concordia University, St. Paul. He served in that position for three years.

During these years the demands of parish life and then of the college campus kept him from focusing on his love for writing stories, with only a few exceptions. Most of his published writing in those days focused upon sermons, Bible studies, workshops and seminars for local congregations, associations of clergy and the national church body of which he remains a member, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Called back to parish ministry in 1971, Al Franzmeier took his family on a long journey to the state of Texas where once again he used his experience and skill as a mission developer to found Resurrection Lutheran Church of Spring, Texas. He remained pastor of that congregation for twenty years, seeing it through dramatic growth and several building programs.

During this time Dr. Franzmeier received supervision to become a licensed marriage and family therapist in Texas and a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the American Association of Christian Counselors. In 1990 he resigned his position as senior pastor to found CrossTies Ministries. In his new position he led a team of therapists, trained lay counselors and served as interim pastor for two local congregations, Trinity Lutheran Church of Klein and Resurrection's daughter congregation, Living Word Lutheran Church of The Woodlands. After accepting the call to become Living Word's pastor, he continued in that position until retiring from full-time pastoral ministry in 2000.

And then the writing began in earnest!

Franzmeier joined a small writing group, Writers in the Hat, originated by his mentor and friend, Kristl Franklin, a published author and screen-play writer and now leader/teacher of The Write Ingredients. During the next two years, with the help and encouragement of 'The Hat' group, he developed his first full length novel, The Spiral Bridge, published by PublishAmerica. Since then he has completed a sequel, The Twins, published in early 2005 also by PublishAmerica. He is currently completing a second sequel in the series. Franzmeier is an affiliate of Mystery Writers of America and a member of Sister's in Crime's local chapter: The Final Twist.

Dr. Franzmeier has continued to work with CrossTies Ministries. CrossTies published two of his books: The First Words of Jesus, a study of the Beatitudes and Reclaiming The Sabbath – The Bible’s Teaching About Time. A study guide for The First Words of Jesus is also available through CrossTies.

By this time, the Franzmeier children are grown up. Two are married and live in Texas and a third lives in New York City. Al and Sylvia Franzmeier are the happy grandparents of six grandchildren. They reside in suburban Spring, Texas, their home for over twenty-five years, and escape to their second home in Pagosa Springs, Colorado as often as possible.