PC(USA) pastor spins the ‘Wheel of Fortune’
The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Reinink appeared this week on the popular game show
LOUISVILLE — Nobody could ever say that the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Reinink isn’t a “man of letters.”
And now he’s proven it on national television.
On Wednesday, the pastor of Irvington Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis and man of letters — who holds degrees in mathematics, French, divinity, Christian education, organizational behavior and sacramental theology — pursued letters of a different kind as a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune,” America’s Game® and its longest-running syndicated television game show.
And although Reinink didn’t ultimately prevail, he said he had “a lot of fun” and was able to fulfill a childhood dream in the process.
A longtime fan of the popular game show, Reinink started watching “Wheel of Fortune” as a kindergartener in his native Canada.
“My sisters and I learned our letters by watching ‘Wheel of Fortune,’” he said recalling his earliest memories of the hangman-inspired game show. “We all watched the show together as a family because it was on at 7 o’clock. Even though ‘Jeopardy!’ was on next, it was always too boring for us, and we never understood any of the questions anyway. Besides, at 7:30, it was already time for bed!”
Although Reinink’s life changed dramatically when he moved to the U.S. in 2010 to study at Princeton Theological Seminary, his love for game shows remained unchanged with “Wheel of Fortune” continuing to top his “must-see TV” list.
“I love watching game shows,” he confessed, “probably because I have such a short attention span! I always have to have something on in the background. This was especially true during the pandemic.”
Since being ordained as a teaching elder in 2014 by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, Reinink has served in variety of positions including pastorates in Pennsylvania and Missouri and a stint in the PC(USA)’s office of Special Offerings and the Presbyterian Giving Catalog.
It was while he was in between ministry calls that he decided to apply to be a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune.”
“Because I had six months off, I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I just throw my name in there,’ and I was actually chosen to audition,” he said. “Then, after going through the whole interview process on Zoom back in October of 2023, I didn’t hear anything at all until March of this year, when they invited me to come to L.A. for a day!”
As he prepared for his big Hollywood adventure, nerves jangling, Reinink said that one aspect of “Wheel of Fortune” that he found to be helpful — even liberating — as he contemplated competing on national television was the element of luck.
“If you do terribly on the show, you can always chalk it up to luck,” he laughed. “I knew I couldn’t make too much of a fool of myself.”
Of the experience of being on the show itself, Reinink said he had “so much adrenaline pumping the entire day” that he barely remembers much, if anything, about what happened during the episode.
“I was in the spot closest to [host] Ryan [Seacrest] and I got to chat with [co-host] Vanna [White],” he said, “They’re very nice, very friendly. But honestly, I don’t remember a whole lot of the details except that I almost solved one of the puzzles and then I hit the ‘bankrupt’ wedge. To tell you the truth, I didn’t do all that well!”
But win or lose, Reinink’s church members are still his biggest fans.
“We canceled all of our church meetings on Wednesday night so that everyone could watch Pastor Jon,” said Lori Chapman, Irvington’s church administrator. “And it’s funny, because we’ve had two other church members, Joe Stuckey and Matt Harris, who were on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in the past year or two.”
Reinink said that all three of them had applied independently of one another.
“It’s not like it’s a club or something,” he said, “but it kind of is now.”
Since having come back down to earth after his whirlwind West Coast visit, the wheel-spinning pastor has only one further adventure planned: a trip to the United Kingdom to officiate at his cousin’s wedding.
“We’re also about to embark on a capital campaign at the church,” said Reinink. “I think I’ll give all my ‘Wheel of Fortune’ proceeds to that. After expenses, of course!”
Click here to watch a clip from the “Wheel of Fortune” episode. (The password is xD?ej!4VAqLj “Wheel Of Fortune” courtesy Sony Pictures Television)
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.
