Class of 1963 Dr. Joe Kutter and Jim Stoll (resume and induction TBA) 

Dr. Joe Kutter,  

inducted 1/16/19, with Board member Jo Ivey

         In 1958 Riverview opened its doors for the first time with and 8th, 9th, and 10th grade class.  Joe was a member of the 8th grade class and five years later graduated in the class of 1963.  He admits that over his five years at Riverview he made his share of mistakes and underperformed in some key areas.  He discovered that “lunch-room” was his best subject.   He was a defensive football player for the Rams but scored the schools first touchdown against Sarasota High in the Turkey Bowl in November ’61 when he recovered a fumble by the Sarasota quarterback and ran it into the end zone.  At Riverview he did begin to love the big questions of life and learned that high school teachers, coaches and administrators really matter. 

        After graduation he entered Florida State where he began as an engineering student.  He did graduate with a major in history and a minor in political science and intended on becoming a lawyer but life has a way of changing ones plans. He had taken three religion courses and discovered an inner engagement with the study of religion that none of his other courses provided.  His involvement with the FSU Baptist Student Union changed his direction.

        He attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania – the alma mater of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was at Crozer that he met his wife Peggy.  They were married in 1969 and are now the proud parents of four children and the grandparents of 11 grandchildren.  It is also where he became an American Baptist.  After graduation he served as associate pastor or pastor at churches in New Jersey and Michigan.  While in New Jersey, he commuted to Drew University and received his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1978. 

        Dr. Kutter moved to Topeka, Kansas in 1997 and was the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Topeka for 11 years. While there, they built a new community life center that was designed to engage the community. Their “Upward Basketball” program brought nearly a thousand persons each Saturday into the building to watch about 200 elementary school children play in a less competitive and emotionally safe environment. 

Dr. Kutter has been involved in a number of initiatives over his career including providing a home for the local “meals on Wheels” program in Royal Oak, Michigan.  It was also in Royal Oak when Dr. Kutter set out to understand the issues surrounding the LGBTQ population in that area.  He wrote a paper called, “The Bible, the Church and Homosexuality”.  This was only the beginning of his engagement with this issue.  He has facilitated civil, thoughtful and respectful conversations and to lift up the core convictions that we all share even as we struggle with our differences.     

       After concluding his congregational ministry and now in retirement, He has served as Director of Interim Ministries for the American Baptist Churches of the Central Region and now serves as the region’s Interim Executive Director.   I am delighted to introduce to you Dr. Joe Kutter.

Jim Stoll

Class of 1963