In this heartfelt and inspiring episode of the Pulpit Perspectives Podcast, Reverend Dr. Kent Lundy stands with Reverend Jared Kendall, the senior pastor of Valparaiso United Methodist Church. With the sacred backdrop of the church's pulpit, the two delve into Reverend Kendall's journey, joys, and the profound lessons he's learned in ministry. Kendall's heartfelt reflections and candid responses provide a rare glimpse into the life and mind of a dedicated pastor navigating both the heights and valleys of his calling.
Show Highlights:
1. The Joy of Family and Ministry: Reverend Kendall joyfully recounts his experiences of moving with his family and witnessing his daughters acclimate to their new environment. He also shares about his playful puppy and how simple family moments like jumping into piles of autumn leaves bring him immense joy. In his ministry, Jared is excited about the fresh wind of change and opportunity he perceives within the church and the broader denomination, embodying a season filled with hope and rejuvenation.
2. Support Systems and Spiritual Anchors: When pondering the metaphor of ministry as a basketball game, Kendall identifies his primary supporters—his wife, his parents, his spiritual director, and his congregation. He acknowledges their unwavering support and how their encouragement bolsters him through the highs and lows of ministry, reflecting the essence of a "great cloud of witnesses."
3. Answering the Call to Ministry: Kendall narrates his profound awareness of a call to vocational ministry, which began during his baptism and was solidified at camp. Despite his initial aspirations to design airplanes or roller coasters, Kendall's divine calling led him on a different yet equally inspiring path—helping people navigate life's turbulent ups and downs as a pastoral engineer.
4. Learning Through Life's Lessons and Hardships: One of the most significant takeaways from Kendall's experiences is his reflection on dreams and unfulfilled potential. He shares the poignant lesson that, in our thirties, unrealized dreams may give way to new dreams and visions, reinforcing the importance of resilience and hope in the face of life's inevitable losses and frustrations.
5. Sources of Restoration and Strength: Kendall reveals his love for woodworking and spending time in nature as crucial activities that restore his soul. Particularly, he speaks about building a cedar strip canoe during the COVID pandemic, a family project that brought them together and provided a sense of accomplishment and joy.
Conclusion:
This episode of Pulpit Perspectives Podcast encapsulates Reverend Jared Kendall's profound insights and personal reflections, presenting an enriching listen for anyone on their spiritual journey. As Kendall contemplates his legacy, he wholeheartedly embraces the sentiments of faith, hope, and love as the pillars on which he aspires to build his ministry. Tune in to be inspired and encouraged by the genuine and heartfelt narrative of a pastor steadfastly committed to his faith and community.
Call to Action: To keep up with the latest updates on the North District clergy and their churches, like the North District Facebook page and visit the conference website at inumc.org.
Rev. Jared Kendall
Valparaiso UMC
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.