Trinity Lutheran Church
Borger, Texas 79007
806-273-7546

• Education: Associates degree in the Arts from Howard Community College Columbia Maryland. BA in Sociology at University of Maryland College Park. (1989) Masters Degree (M-DIV) at Concordia Seminary St. Louis MO (1995)
• Experience: As of August 17, 2005 I have served as Pastor for ten years. Most of my experience has been based upon in church pastoring. However I have also sought to regularly make a difference in the lives of others by looking for and seeking to meet various needs within my surrounding communities.
• Sermon or series that made a difference: Any sermon that leaves me with thinking about the awesome Love, Mercy and Work of Jesus is a sermon that will make a difference for me. Any sermon that just tells me what I have failed to do and what I still need to do without showing me what Jesus has already done (dispite my failures), always leaves me with a sense of sorrow. It’s easy to show others their failings, anyone can do that; anyone can tear another person down. Preaching the Gospel and pointing out what God has done, even while knowing the effects of (yours & my) failures and sins, and doing it effectively is the difficult task all pastor’s must contemplate. Preach the Law, point out the sin but let the Gospel prevail!!!
• Family: Hi, since their is a space provided for me to write down information about my family I am very eager to do so. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful wife: Melissa and with two and 1/2 children: JADEN (age 3,)RYAN (age 15 mo) and TESSA (due to be born in late September 2005). I am turning 40 in April 2006 so I pray that we are done with co-creating with God so that I might still have energy left to play with and support my children as the years progress. :-)<---Pastor humor!
• What my spouse (really) thinks of my sermons: She always reads them first to help me make sure that the thoughts I am trying to convey are clear.
• Best advice given to me about preaching: When preaching the Law of God, target the hurt (what pains a person in life). Help the hearers to be drawn into seeing God’s connection to their personal trials. Expect the people walking into church are all hurting and struggling with their faith (acknowledgement on the power, effect and prevalence of sin). Pray that the people walk out of church with confidence, hope and peace in Christ (as a result of the message and Word that they received).
• Books that have had an impact: THE HOLY BIBLE!!! ELI (a must read) but I can’t remember the name of the author right now. The works of C.S. LEWIS
• Hobbies: Writing children’s poetry/ Writing Jr. High Sunday Morning Devotions/ Collecting Sports Autographs/ Photography/ Art/ Watching others play the game of baseball/softball because my wife won’t let me play anymore (The spirit is willing but the flesh has given up!)
• If I could Preach one more time, I would say...: I will attempt to write what is presently on my heart. Consider the words you read below as what I would share with someone if I knew that my time was short: "Everyone of you knows what it feels like to hurt and feel lost. Everyone can recognize a personal emptiness within as a result of such pain and loss. But many of us also have looked in the wrong locations to find such relief (false religion, self, drugs/alchohol). The world provides many so-called "answers" in order to cover over this inner emptiness. But the world cannever satiate whatever emptiness we all try to fill. Jesus Christ offers us complete relief from that emptiness. What he offers is free and demands nothing. What he offers is eternal and will last forever. Jesus, the Son of the LIVING GOD, suffered with our pain upon Himself in the weight of the worlds sin so that we could receive eternal life. Jesus then rose again, defeating Satan’s grasp of death so that all those who have received Jesus Christ could also escape the devil’s snares. One of Satan’s greatest snares is to convince people that "Head Knowledge" about Jesus is enough to change a person’s life into living for Jesus. But God convinces us that he looks at the heart in order to see the presence of His Son within us. You can’t create that heart for Christ; only the Holy Spirit can create it through the power of God’s Word. "Faith comes through hearing the message" So if you are lost, lonely and hurting, please know that Jesus is the HOLY ONE that has provided a cure to your woes. There is nothing you can do or can’t do that will keep Jesus from loving you and Jesus can never love you anymore or anyless than He loves you right now! This world offers nothing that is truly free. There is always a catch! There is always a penalty! Choose Buddah and you might feel content but in the end you lose your Salvation if you die with Buddah instead of Jesus. Choose alchohol and you might numb the pain, you might even forget your worries for awhile, but in the end that pain and those worries never really go away because you have no one to take them from you. With Jesus there is no penalty because He took the penalty of death (that should have been ours) upon Himself. So if your still looking for answers and you have finally realized that the world has yet to help you with anything then consider listening again to the precious Words found in God’s Holy Bible. Be encouraged to know that while you are still able to draw a breath, Jesus will not judge you for your past, nor will He ever hold you accountable for things you have or have not done. He simply will welcome you with open arms and then will change your life so that you will never have any doubts that Jesus is Living and Active. So if you like the idea of having all your debts wiped out while at the same time receiving answers and direction to that emptiness within you, then Jesus Christ is the answer you have sought these many many years. Don’t know where to begin as you open up the Bible? Try Ephesian’s 2:8-9 and the entire chapter of Roman’s 10. God Bless You! Pastor Doug Koehler ( and if this is my last message that I will ever share then I look forward to seeing you in the Lord’s kingdom)
• Something funny that happened while preaching: You ever have difficulty saying a word no matter how hard you try and no matter how familiar you are with that word? I once was preaching on the Power of God and how He loves to get our attention and just as I said the word "attention", the loudest sound of thunder you would ever hear crashed around our church and indeed got everyones attention. I think no minds wandered after that point. It was nice for God to bless me with a physical example to my point for that day, ha ha.
• What I want on my tombstone: Here lies Doug Koehler. He worked to serve the Lord, knowing that Jesus worked to serve him.