Called, Deployed, and Sent: An Opportunity for PLC

by Pastor Sean Kelly

Something is in front of us. I want you to see it the way I see it: as a gift.

Pastor Bob Rognlien is a seasoned LCMC pastor whose ministry has grown well beyond the walls of a single church. He and his wife Pam have spent the last eleven years equipping leaders, training pastors, and leading immersive pilgrimages to the lands where Jesus walked. To continue that work within LCMC’s framework, Bob needs a congregational home, a sending church that will formally recognize his calling and release him into that wider mission.

He is asking PLC to be that church.

How Pastors Are Called at PLC

In our tradition, pastors are not hired. They are called. That distinction is more than semantic. The conviction behind it is that God initiates the call, and a congregation confirms and affirms what God has already set in motion. A pastor is not self-appointed or simply employed. They are recognized by a local body as someone set apart for ministry.

At PLC, that process is intentional. The Church Council appoints a Call Committee to evaluate and interview candidates. The committee then brings a recommendation to the full congregation, where a two-thirds majority vote is required to confirm the call. This is not a formality. It is an act of discernment, a community listening together for the Spirit’s leading.

What “Called and Deployed” Means

LCMC recognizes a special category for pastors whose work extends beyond a single congregation: missionaries, chaplains, traveling teachers, ministry leaders serving across regions or nations. These are fully credentialed pastors, but their calling is not rooted in one place.

Every LCMC pastor must be connected to a sending congregation. When a pastor’s work reaches beyond one church, a local body calls them and deploys them into that wider mission. The pattern is ancient. The church in Antioch prayed, laid hands on Paul and Barnabas, and sent them out. A local community recognized a calling, confirmed it, and released those people into something larger than themselves.

That is what makes this arrangement so compelling. When PLC calls and deploys Pastor Bob, we are saying: you are not out there alone. We see what God is doing through you, and we are part of it. We become his home base and his sending community at the same time.

Meet Pastor Bob Rognlien

Bob has decades of experience in congregational ministry. About eleven years ago, he and Pam sensed God leading them into something new: a calling focused not on leading one church but on equipping leaders across many. They stepped out of traditional church roles and into a wider work of teaching, coaching, and training pastors around the country and around the world.

A signature part of their ministry is leading immersive pilgrimages to the lands of Scripture. The Footsteps of Jesus and Footsteps of Paul experiences are designed to help people walk in the footsteps of Jesus not just as a trip, but as a daily way of life. I journeyed with Bob and Pam on both of these pilgrimages during my first sabbatical in 2018. Those weeks changed how I read the Gospels and how I understand my own calling.

This is not a distant connection for PLC. Bob and Pam are personal friends of Jenny and me, of Pastor Rob and Nikki Horne, and of Pastor Greg and Cindy Hoffmann. Bob has trained members of our staff in discipleship, led workshops here at the church, and walked alongside our leaders in meaningful ways over the years. Several in our congregation have already traveled with them on a Footsteps of Jesus pilgrimage.

A new group is now forming for a Footsteps of Paul trip in Fall 2027. Spots are limited, so if you are interested, reach out soon.

What Bob Is Asking of PLC

Bob is not asking to join our staff or receive a salary. He is asking PLC to become his sending church: a home base that recognizes his pastoral calling, stands with him in prayer, and stakes a claim in what God is doing through his ministry.

The Church Council has already met with Bob and is taking the next steps to move this forward. But the process belongs to all of us.

How the Process Works

Our bylaws require that calling a pastor follow a defined process, including the formation of a Call Committee. The Council has convened a committee made up of people with direct, firsthand experience of Bob’s ministry: members who traveled on the 2023 Footsteps of Jesus pilgrimage to Israel, as well as former members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Torrance, California, where Bob previously served. Their role is not to decide for the congregation but to guide the process with knowledge and discernment the rest of us may not have.

The Call Committee members are:

•        Chuck and Dena Bricker

•        Mark and Kirsten Corey

•        Pastor Sean and Jenny Kelly

•        Pat and Sharon McDonnell

•        Brent and Carrie Smith

•        Josh and Erika Thornes

What Comes Next

Over the summer, you will hear directly from Bob. He will share his story, his heart, and his vision in his own words. You will also receive a formal recommendation from the Call Committee and the Church Council. A congregational vote is planned for our Annual Meeting on Sunday, August 23.

For now, I want you to sit with this. Get to know Bob (check out his website). Begin praying. Ask what it might mean for PLC to be the sending church behind a ministry reaching pastors and pilgrims across the world.

At its core, this is an invitation into shared participation in the mission of Jesus. Those invitations are worth taking seriously.