Elected bishop of the Southwestern Washington Synod on June 14, Keith Marshall feels the Spirit’s call to keep “paying it forward.” He strives to share with others the love, hope and belonging found in Christ that he first encountered in his Lutheran youth group years ago.
Marshall, who has served as pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in Enumclaw, Wash., since 2015, connected with Living Lutheran via email about the transformative power of sharing, through the church’s words and actions, the good news that God loves everyone and gives us all a place to belong. He took office on Aug. 1 and will be installed on Sat., Oct. 11.
Living Lutheran: What is your vision for the future of the synod, and what do you see as its biggest priorities?
Marshall: My vision for the Southwestern Washington Synod is to continue being a Christ-centered, Spirit-led church that shows up with courage, compassion and conviction for the sake of the gospel and the world. My hope is for our congregations and our synod to be healthy, thriving and growing, not for our sake alone but so the people in our communities will know through both our words and our actions that God loves them and that they have a place to belong.
I will prioritize proclaiming Christ boldly and with grace, supporting the unique passions and callings of each congregation. I will accompany the new leaders God is raising up and intentionally nurture strong, life-giving relationships among rostered ministers, congregations, ecumenical partners and the communities across our synod. Through prayer, discernment and listening, I hope to hear the hopes and needs of our congregations, members and communities so that I can equip and encourage them to address these needs.
None of this can be accomplished without acknowledging the significant challenges the church faces today, such as declining membership, the rise of Christian nationalism and the weight of grief and change that many of our communities carry. Despite these challenges, I hold a deep and abiding conviction that by embracing a Spirit-led vision, we will faithfully step into the new things God is already doing in our midst.
How did you feel when you were elected?
My initial response to being elected was shock. (Really? Me?) Even though I had prayed, prepared and opened my heart to the possibility, the reality of hearing my name called caught me off guard. It was a holy and disorienting moment—one I will never forget.
What followed was a deep sense of relief. For months, I had been in a liminal space, unable to fully live into my role as pastor at Hope because I didn’t want to start some of my summer programming I wouldn’t be able to see through. At the same time, I couldn’t fully envision stepping into the role of bishop. The long season of discernment had finally come to a clear and Spirit-filled conclusion. I felt a weight lifted, not because the journey was over but because I could now begin stepping into this new calling and envision how life [would move] forward and begin to take shape.
I experienced an overwhelming wave of gratitude. I felt grateful for God and for every person who walked alongside me, prayed for me and encouraged me along the way. I was also grateful for the other candidates who, like me, had felt a nudge to be open to the calling of bishop. Finally, I was grateful for my family, the people of Hope Lutheran Church, and colleagues, mentors and friends throughout the synod who believed in me and reminded me that I was not on this journey alone.
What experiences in your ministry do you feel have best prepared you to serve as bishop? What have you learned in your ministry that you might incorporate into your approach to leading the synod?
Looking back on my ministry and life in the church, I can see a clear path that led me to this moment. As a teenager, lost and hurting, I found myself in the youth group of a Lutheran church. It was there that I first experienced welcome, love and grace unlike anything I had known before. In that community, I encountered people who deeply reflected Christ and revealed God’s love to me in real and transformative ways.
From that experience, I felt a gentle but persistent nudge from the Holy Spirit, a call to share that same love, belonging and abiding hope we have in Jesus Christ with others. Over the past two decades, I have lived out that calling in various ways: through outdoor ministry, as a congregational youth director and most recently as a minister of Word and Sacrament.
What I’ve come to learn is that, regardless of age, life stage or circumstances, people long to know that they are loved by God. They also want their leaders to be present and to genuinely care about their passions, their stories and their lives. It’s by living into these core truths that I’ve faithfully served as a camp counselor, youth director, pastor and now bishop of the Southwestern Washington Synod. From that initial nudge I felt as a teenager, I have come to understand that the call has remained the same. Only the context has changed.
