John Weborg

Rev. Dr. C. John Weborg, emeritus professor of theology at North Park Theological Seminary and a formative voice in Covenant theology, passed away on Saturday, December 13, 2025, in Walnut, Illinois. He was 88.

Charles John Weborg was born on January 20, 1937, to parents Reuben and Pearl (Olson) Weborg in Omaha, Nebraska. He was raised on a farm more than 90 miles north in rural Pender, a place that deeply formed his life and sense of calling. After contracting polio at 15, he was left paralyzed and had to learn to walk again, a process that involved leg braces and painful physical therapy. He would later refer to that period as a crisis God called him to steward.

After graduating high school, John attended North Park Junior College, graduating in 1956. He went on to the University of Nebraska, where he met Lois Elaine Johnson, who would become the love of his life, graduating in 1958. He and Lois married on June 7, 1958.

In 1961, they moved to Chicago, where John attended North Park Theological Seminary. After he was ordained in the Covenant in 1962, he went on to serve in pastoral ministry for congregations in Peoria, Illinois; Springhouse, Pennsylvania; and Princeton, Illinois. He earned a master’s degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.

In a 2014 profile in the Covenant Companion, Weborg admitted that he had no intention of leaving pastoral ministry for further education, but during his time at the Covenant church in Princeton, he received a request from seminary dean Glenn Anderson to consider succeeding Covenant theologian Donald Frisk. Weborg initially demurred, but after Anderson’s persistent calls—and some prompting from a few congregants—Weborg enrolled at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he eventually earned a PhD in historical theology with a focus on the roots of Lutheran Pietism. In 1975, he joined the faculty of North Park Theological Seminary, where he faithfully served for nearly thirty years.

John Weborg was a revered presence not only at North Park but throughout the Covenant; his theology classes shaped a generation of Covenant pastors. The Companion profile quoted Covenant pastor Jodi Mullen Fondell saying, “He left me in tears so many times in his class. His deep desire was for people to have access to God’s love, and all he ever sought to do was to open wide the doors for all to know this.” In line with the Covenant tradition of crossing cultural boundaries for the sake of the gospel, Weborg once suggested interpreting the Apostle’s Creed as rap music.

He was concerned not only with the theological grounding of his students, but also the interior health of their souls. He helped initiate practices of spiritual formation at the seminary that continue to this day. After retiring in 2003, he continued to teach part-time in the seminary’s Center for Spiritual Direction. When he retired for the second time in 2011, the center was renamed the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction.

In retirement, Weborg found ways to continue in active ministry. After moving back to Princeton in 2003, he served as a chaplain for Freedom House, a nonprofit that serves and supports victims of domestic and sexual violence. He completed a certification to advocate for victims of domestic or sexual abuse. He was a member of the Princeton Rotary Club and the Hymn Society.

Weborg maintained that studying God’s Word should result in both an accumulation of wisdom and a practical impact on one’s actions. In a 2016 Companion article entitled “Scripture Demands More,” he referred to the practices of Pietist theologian August Francke, insisting that Christians should always ask three important questions about the text, which should lead toward equally important conclusions: “What does it teach? Faith. What does it command? Love. What does it promise? Hope. Taken together, faith, love, and hope constitute the three fundamental virtues of the Christian life….What goes on in the text becomes part of one’s life, and it informs and forms one’s living, and one’s doing.”

Weborg was known for his living and doing as much as his scholarship. He was fascinated by trains, especially steam engines. Not only did he often travel by train whenever possible, but he was known to spend many afternoons during his retirement watching trains pass through in Rochelle, Illinois, about an hour’s drive away. He subscribed to five different train-related magazines. He had a legendary sense of humor and often played practical jokes on his seminary colleagues. He once left a large piece of Chicago concrete on Burton Nelson’s desk and told him it was from the Berlin Wall. His deepest delight was time with his children and grandchildren, of whom he was very proud.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Lois; his parents, Reuben and Pearl Weborg; and special aunt and uncle, Joe and Florence Weborg.

He is survived by his two children, Clement Weborg (Sharon) and Catherine Allicks (James); six grandchildren, Cody Weborg, Shelby Weborg, Tyler Mecum, Casey Starr (Joe), Jamie Allicks, and Lilly Allicks; two great-grandchildren, Isabella Eckberg-Weborg and Parker Starr; nieces, Gail (David), Deana (Mike), Nina (Chuck); nephew, Bill (Tamilla); and the late Linda Lane (Steve); nephew, Ben Johnson (Jennifer) and niece, Andrea Oliver (David); and many great- and great-great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Friday, December 19, 2025, at Grant-Johnson Funeral Home in Princeton. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton, with Pastor Derek Boggs and Pastor Alex Taylor co-officiating. Clergy are invited to wear a robe, process with the family, and be seated together, in keeping with Covenant tradition. Burial will immediately follow at Oakland Cemetery in Princeton. The service will also be livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to either the Covenant church in Princeton, or to Freedom House in Princeton. Online condolences can be made here.

Peace be to his memory.