Greg A. Egertson, M.Div. was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1957. The oldest of six sons, his parents are the Rev. Dr. Paul W. Egertson (Bishop Emeritus, Southern California West Synod ELCA) and Shirley Smith Egertson. Greg grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in Los Angeles, California. He was raised in the American Lutheran Church and comes from a family of Lutheran pastors, including his father, grandfather and brother.

Greg graduated from California Lutheran University in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Two years later, he completed the requirements for an undergraduate degree in Music. He worked at UCLA as a Research Associate in the Neuropsychiatric Institute until 1982, when he relocated to San Francisco. Since then, he has been a member at St. Francis Lutheran Church where has served in a number of leadership roles, including congregation president.

In 1983 Greg enrolled as an openly gay student at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS), in Berkeley, CA. Often referred to as the “fourth seminarian,” Greg was a classmate of Jeff Johnson, Jim Lancaster and Joel Workin, “the Berkeley three.” After completing his internship at St. James Lutheran Church in Portland, OR, Greg graduated from PLTS in 1989. Because he refused to vow celibacy, Greg was not approved for ordination in the ELCA. Upon his return to San Francisco, Greg was appointed to serve on the call committee at St. Francis that called Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart to serve with Jeff Johnson as the founding pastors of Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries (LLGM).

In 1993, Greg became a founding board member of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project (ECP) where he served until 2003. He joined the LLGM Board in 1998 and was approved for ordination by the ECP in 1999. During his time with LLGM, Greg filled many board positions including co-chair. He helped to shepherd several extraordinary ordinations and installations of ECP pastors. He also provided key leadership in the visioning process that resulted in February’s agreement to join LLGM and ECP.

In his secular life, Greg currently holds a position as Associate Dean for Budget, Administration and Enrollment Management at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco.