St. Paul’s Neal Keller is both Pastor and Surfer
Neal Keller was raised in El Cajon, California in a church going family. He was on the swim team in high school, his specialty – the butterfly. He graduated from San Diego State University with a psychology degree, ambitious to attend law school. Though Neal had an uncle who was a minister, going to seminary didn’t really cross his mind.
As Neal was applying to law schools, “God started working on [his] heart.” He says “God called me to serve.” The Lord’s message was that though Neal could attend law school and likely be successful, the Lord’s first choice was for him to join the ministry. “How do you argue with that?” he says, with a warm grin.
Neal was accepted to and attended Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. The school is about twenty miles outside of Lexington, Kentucky in a tiny town. There is the Asbury Seminary and separate Asbury College. “It’s a one stop light town,” Neal offers. The isolation of being in a small Kentucky town helped Neal focus on prayer for the three years he was there. Neal says the best thing about being in Kentucky was meeting his beautiful wife of thirty seven years.
Pastor and surfing enthusiast Neal Keller
His time in the ministry parallels his years of marriage, so Neal Keller has been a pastor for thirty seven years! His first assignment was at a Hispanic church in a Phoenix barrio. He spent some time at a congregation in Camarillo, north of Los Angeles. When he was personally requested by the Bishop to move to St. Paul’s in Coronado, Neal and his family had been in Ventura, California for eight years.
The move happened quickly and they didn’t have time to sell their house in Ventura. The Keller’s two sons were in sixth and tenth grade and were not happy about leaving their friends. Neal had his doubts as well. When the Bishop initially asked him to move, his first thoughts were that he would be leaving several classic point breaks to move to a beach break. Yes, Neal Keller is a surfer.
Though the transition was difficult at first, the Keller sons adjusted well to Coronado and Neal decided that the beach break was a blessing because he didn’t have to share the waves with very many others. Point breaks are generally packed with other surfers.
The sign in front of the church
The first few years at St. Paul’s were challenging as the church worked through some difficult changes. Fifteen years later, though, the congregation is three hundred and fifty strong and is a true cross section of our community. One member told me that she enjoys St. Paul’s because it is a “loving, warm and welcoming” place. Pastor Keller believes that St. Paul’s is relevant to residents and members because “people need to see beyond the temporal to the eternal and we talk about Jesus Christ.”
If Neal Keller were not a pastor, he would likely be a lawyer. He even attended a semester of law school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is a fabulous story teller with an infectious smile and warm demeanor. He is a teacher. His favorite Bible verse is Romans 14:8-9. “If we live, we live to the Lord. If we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For it was to this end that Christ died and rose again that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” Another saying he enjoys so much that he has it framed in his office is, “Our little systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be; they are but broken lights of thee, and thou, O Lord, art more than they.” Alfred, Lord Tennyson from “In Memorium”.
A typical week for Pastor Keller includes three mornings of surfing, three trips to the gym and regular office hours at the church doing administrative duties Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The afternoons are spent working on sermons or attending visitations. A visitation is a trip to see someone who is homebound either because of age or illness. “Shut-ins” can no longer physically make it to church, so Neal brings the prayer to them. He also visits members in the hospital as needed and reserves Saturdays for church business, weddings, and visitations. Sunday, of course, is church and his day off is Friday.
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church is located at 700 D Avenue and has a myriad of outreach and Bible study programs, as well as their regular worship times. For more information, visit their website:http://www.stpaulsmethodist.com/ or give them a call 619-435-5691.
A wonderful place to relax on the church grounds. Meet the other “clergy of Coronado” here.
Kellee Hearther
Online Editorial Intern
eCoronado.com
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