Are you flying high? | Terry Brandt | TEDxFargo

What if your calling isn't one perfect destination, but something that changes as you do?

Terry Brandt begins with the remarkable story of Larry Walters, who attached weather balloons to a lawn chair to pursue his dream of flying. What started as a short trip above his neighborhood unexpectedly carried him 16,000 feet into the sky—and into a dramatic rescue. But for Terry, Walters' story is about more than a homemade flying machine. It's about being willing to pursue a dream while still being “wonderfully scared.”

Drawing from Lutheran theology and his own journey from teacher to pastor, camp director, bishop, and foundation executive, Terry offers a different way to think about calling. Rather than a single point we can either find or miss, calling exists at the intersection of our gifts, our passions, and the needs of the world—and those things are always changing.

Terry explores how listening both inwardly and to the people who know us best can help reveal where we're being called next. His challenge is simple: have the conversation, dream a little bigger, and be willing to move forward even when you're wonderfully scared. Rev. Dr. Terry A. Brandt believes that transformation happens when people create space for vision, risk holy experiments, and trust that something sacred can emerge in the process.

As the Executive Director of the Offutt Family Foundation, Terry leads with a conviction that generosity is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world. He guides the Foundation’s efforts to strengthen communities and expand opportunity, helping people and ideas flourish in ways that make a lasting difference.

Before stepping into his work with Ron Offutt and his family, Terry served as Vice President for Advancement at Concordia College in Moorhead and earlier as a bishop of the Eastern North Dakota Synod in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Those experiences shaped his deep belief that leadership is ultimately about relationship, namely listening well, calling out the gifts of others, and inspiring people to imagine what’s possible together.

Terry’s path has never fit into a single category. He has been a pastor, entrepreneur, educator, and strategist, each role forming part of a lifelong commitment to bridging faith and innovation. He often describes himself as a “flipper and fixer,” not just of houses (his past time) but of systems, cultures, and stories that need new energy and vision.

Today, Terry continues to explore how purpose, generosity, and imagination can renew institutions and communities alike. He brings humor, humility, and a deep sense of hope to every conversation believing that real change begins not with certainty, but with the courage to begin.

Terry is married to Kristi Brandt, principal of Fargo South High School. Together, they have three children, Lindsay, Kallie, Austin and a beloved English Bulldog with a face that only a mother could love named Stella. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx