After graduating from Gustavus, Ted attended Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary and graduated in 1966. He served as the pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Lakewood, Colorado (1966-1971), and then went to Northwestern University and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary to do a Ph.D in Religion with a speciality in pastoral psychotherapy. He moved to Indianapolis where he served as a staff pastoral counselor at the Family Institute. From 1978-1981, he and his family went to Nairobi, Kenya with the Mennonite Central Committee. He worked with the Family Life Education Programme of the National Christian Council of Churches. He returned to Indiana where he was hired as a professor of pastoral care and counseling at Anderson University School of Theology. He served there for 25 years and now is retired as an Emeritus Professor.