10 Pastoral Care Teachers in Honor of Herb Hoff's Birthday: Bill Bartlett

In honor of my Dad's birthday on January 26th, I am reflecting on those who have formed my view and (hopefully) practice of pastoral care. Herb Hoff has been the most formational, but these other 10 have been important teachers. Even now God has gifted me with partners in pastoral care that I learn from all the time. How many times have I gone into our Deaconess Sue Scott's office and said, "now what?" I watch Pastor Poul Erik Nørgaard and his wife Deserie take time and listen and intercede with such care. There are teachers everywhere! An early teacher in my ministry was Pastor Bill Bartlett in South Orange County. Bill's core motivation is outreach and evangelism. This did not make him an ineffective care-giver. It made him a better care-giver. 

4th Teacher: Bill Bartlett

Bill taught me how important it is to know someone's name. Everybody thought that remembering names was Bill’s gift. I never heard him correct people because he probably preferred for people to think God had given him this gift and was the rightful recipient of any glory that may come of that gift. Bill Bartlett remembered names because he worked at it. Everyday he worked at it. While I was sitting behind the pulpit next to him singing hymns, he was pouring over his well-annotated directory trying to recall the name of the third child of that new couple so he could bless the child by name at the communion rail. In those days, Lutheran Church of the Cross was attended by around 700 people a weekend. Bill communed them all by name. I lost count of how many people said something like, “I joined LCC because Pastor Bill communed me by name the second time I came.” Bill worked hard at remembering names because he knew a God who knows every name and everything else about his own.

Maybe two of the greatest miracles in Gospel of John are connected to authoritatively naming people. “Lazarus, come out” (John 11.43). Resurrection! “Mary” (John 20.16). Revelation! Such an awakening when we are called by name. We have Easter Seals volunteers at Trinity a few times a week. These adults with many varieties of developmental disabilities clean our nursery, and stock our kids welcome bags. They watch movies in our library and shoot hoops on our lower parking lot. I think they are usually seen as “that Easter Seals group.” But watch what happens when you call Julio or Mai by name. Their face says, “You know me!” Awakening!

Pastor Bill also taught me how important it is to organize pastoral care. Pastoral care people are often warm and Pastor Bill is that. We felt the warm love of God when he showed up at the birth of our second child. What people didn’t see was important too. Bill had “tick” sheets for everything. He called them “tick” sheets because they helped him get rid of a nervous tick he developed when he was anxious about forgetting something, or more importantly, someone. Bill shared these sheets with the rest of the staff and was always improving and changing these sheets as circumstances changed. I was in charge of hospital visits on Tuesday, Bill, Leland, Ron, and Tom on other days. It was organized, but people didn’t see that. They just got a regular visit, and hopefully felt remembered and cared for.