Daniel j. Umlauf

Daniel met his beautiful wife Abby in Switzerland in 2003 when they were both taking time off from their undergraduate studies to think about the larger world around them at Francis Schaeffer’s L’Abri in Switzerland

Daniel was raised in a Christian home - his father attended Dallas Theological Seminary and served as a head pastor in the Evangelical Free Church denomination for several years before returning to the business world - but fell away, feeling apathy and despair, inoculated in middle-class American life. After several years, knowing he was in a bad place, his parents offered to send him to L’Abri during college and without any knowledge of what the future would hold, he accepted.

During his 9-months at L’Abri, Daniel read most of the religious texts of the world’s great religions including the Koran, the Upanishads and other Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, the the Tao Te Ching, Confucius, many Buddhist writings or scriptures, and many accompanying texts. For Daniel, this was a pivotal time where was ripped from American culture and thrust into a community that was deeply engaged with the world and its most difficult questions. He knew the questions existed but didn’t know anyone who was passionately pursuing them.

He is forever grateful for that year when he was given full access to a wonderful library and told study and think about whatever you think is important.

Another pivotal aspect of his time at L’Abri was the realization that there was no question about Christianity that he could ask that would cause alarm. This was much different than the Christianity he had grown up with and the quiet calm confidence in the truth of its claims was greatly comforting.

As a capstone to everything he experienced there and as a foundation for how he wants to live his life, Daniel remembers meeting with Greg Laughery in his home library before he left and Greg saying goodbye and quietly asserting in his plodding philosophical way that he believed I would become a Christian at some point in the future because I was seriously pursuing, seeming without fear of where the answers took me, good questions, even if they were in uncharted territory.

It took approximately 7 years of very confident, even evengelical agnosticism but in 2010, after regularly sitting and learning from Ben Milner at Salem Presbyterian Church (sermons here) for approximately 2 years, Daniel was able to comfortably declare that he believe God existed.

Daniel’s has been married for 14 years (July 2019); he and Abby have 2 beautiful boys. In addition to their regular jobs and Saint Equipment, Daniel and Abby are active in their community with Daniel serving in senior leadership positions in the Stratford Rotary Club.