If one word had to be chosen to capture the essence of Pastor Galen Call, it would be shepherd. He led and cared for his family and friends with tender compassion and sure-footed guidance. And he would surely credit the fact that he faithfully followed in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd all his life - the same Jesus he now sees face to face. After a short and sudden illness, Pastor Call went home to be with God on July 25, 2020, at the age of 75.
Galen came into the world on a spring day in northeast Kansas on April 24, 1945, the firstborn of Grace and Leo Call. Brothers Steve and John and sister Susan were added to the family in short order. Their earliest days were simple and rustic, fitting of a rural farm family of the time - filled with extended family dinners on Sundays, farm chores before dawn. They had no indoor bathroom in their house, and all the kids attended a one-room country schoolhouse. A few times, Galen even rode his horse to school, although he didn’t think it was fair to have the horse tied up all day, waiting for him to get done.
Life forever changed when Galen was eight. He was riding in the farm truck with his father when Leo clutched his chest and died of a heart attack. Galen became the man of the family, and his household became the exception in his community: a farm and family run by a single mother. Grace went to work at the IGA in town and Galen and his siblings helped run the farm. Despite the hardship, he always remembered it as a generally happy time and credited his mother with hiding the stress and sorrow from her children as best she could. By the time Galen was in high school, Grace remarried. John Duffield was a kind and gentle presence in their family, and sister Lori completed their sibling group in 1961. Grace and Galen remained close until her untimely death at the age of 66, also of a heart attack.
The Calls attended Calvary Baptist Church in Valley Falls, which is where Galen first felt a tug toward ministry. After graduating high school, he attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago - a school he loved his entire life. He finished his bachelor’s degree at Grand Rapids Baptist College, and shortly received a call to become assistant pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Covington, Kentucky, under Pastor Warren Wiersbe.
One of the duties of the assistant pastor of Calvary was to step into the pulpit at neighboring Baptist churches when their pastor took a break. And that is how Galen first laid eyes on Jeannette Eggleston, the daughter of Pastor Harmon Eggleston. As the story goes, Galen came to Highland Baptist Tabernacle one Sunday evening to fill in for Pastor Eggleston. Seated in the very middle of the choir behind the pulpit was a dazzling young woman - who was immediately elbowed by her choirmates on both sides. Galen was attractive and charming, and self-proclaimed matchmakers were already wondering if the stars would align. They did. Galen and Jeannette began dating. He proposed in May 1970, and they were married at Calvary Baptist Church on October 24 of that same year.
Galen and Jeannette lived in a parsonage across the street from the church. He often recalled it as a happy and hopeful time. Warren Wiersbe was one of the finest expository preachers of the day, and he became a close friend and mentor. When Pastor Wiersbe was called to Moody Church, the congregation at Calvary voted to call Galen to be their new senior pastor - on the same night that his first child, Kelly, was born in January of 1972. He often laughed about that and said it probably helped the vote go in his favor.
Two more children joined the family during their time in Northern Kentucky - Michael, born in 1975, and Emily, born in 1978. Those were busy years. Galen was energized by his work at Calvary - founding a Christian school nearby, starting an inner-city ministry and expanding the church’s foreigh missions focus, revealing his deep love for missionary work. But he was also burning out, and later in life, he said he wished he’d focused more on his young family during those years.
In 1979, Galen accepted a call to become pastor of a small Baptist church in Richardson, Texas. But it was a disastrous move - something Jeannette predicted, which he humbly admitted the rest of his life. Within a year, Galen resigned and experienced his first dark night of the soul. Redemption came when Edina Baptist Church called him to be the founding pastor of a new church they wanted to plant in Roseville, Minnesota. The Calls moved to the Twin Cities in January of 1981. It was cold, dark and snowy - but the church welcomed them warmly, and Galen and Jeannette knew they were home.
A fourth child, Jonathan, was born in 1982, and Galen was busy building Grace Church Roseville, where he was pastor for 19 years. Under his leadership, both church and his family grew. Galen loved being a dad - except for maybe a few days during his kids’ teenage years. He treasured being together. He loved to joke and to tease around the dinner table. He read books to the kids at night. True vacations were rare, but the Calls visited Jeannette’s family in Kentucky and Galen’s family in Kansas every summer. He earned a master's degree in pastoral leadership from Moody Graduate School, “cramming a seven-year program into nine years,” he often laughed.
In 1999, Galen accepted the position of senior pastor at Los Gatos Christian Church near San Jose, California. During his tenure, the church regained health and eventually decided to merge with another church it had planted in the 1980s. It became Venture Christian Church, and after two years, a new senior pastor was called for the combined congregations. Galen resigned, per the merger agreement, satisfied that he has helped the Lord set the church back on firm ground.
After 40 years of pastoral ministry, Galen and Jeannette moved to Colorado Springs in 2009, and it was there that Galen finally fulfilled his wish of becoming a missionary. Together, he and Jeannette served with Barnabas International, providing pastoral care and encouragement to missionaries, their families and other international leaders - mostly in the areas of Central Asia and Spain.
In 2015, Galen and Jeannette moved back to Minnesota. Only the lure of grandchildren could entice Galen to return back to the land of winter. But it was worth it. His final five years were filled with the joys of family. He adored his 14 grandchildren and lived for those big family gatherings. It was during this time that Jeannette was diagnosed with dementia, and while it was a heavy blow for both of them, Galen found it an honor to care for and serve his life-long love.
Those are the details of what Galen did during his time here on earth. But part of the reason we mourn him today is because of who he was.
He was a man of God. It’s hard to picture Pastor Galen without a Bible in his hands. He was a student of the Bible and a communicator of its truth. But more than that, he was a pastor who cared for his flock. Since his death, hundreds of people have said, “He was a hero of the faith to me.” Or simply, “I never knew someone so Christ-like.” He had a knack for listening and asking just the right questions. His warm brown eyes invited others to be reflective and honest, which led many to pour out their hearts to him, and he in turn would lift them right up to the Father.
Physically, he was imposing. People often remarked on his big hands, which he would clasp around others as he stood by the church door on Sundays. But in stature, he was gentle. He rarely raised his voice except to sing his favorite hymns.
He loved this country and had strong political convictions - which all his Facebook friends know well. His patriotism was rooted in his belief that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and he was proud that his family roots could be traced back to the Revolutionary War. If he had been present at the original Boston Tea Party, we are sure he would have been there, throwing tea into the harbor.
Galen read maps for fun. You could often find an atlas on his bedside table. He never lost his sense of direction - “just go north after you get to the stoplight” - fitting of any country boy worth his weight. He treasured a drive on the back road - be it in the prairies, the mountains, or through the lakes and forests. He loved a good storm and was known to go outside when the tornado sirens went off, instead of retreating to the basement. He was fascinated by planes of all sorts, and he was always thrilled to travel, be it to Israel, Turkey, Ireland or Spain.
But more than anything, Galen found joy in his family and friends. Loving well the people he loved - that was his hobby. In Genesis, the patriarch Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons by saying,”God has been my shepherd all the days of my life to this day.” That was true for Galen. It is true for those of us who called Galen our shepherd too. His memory is a blessing, and while we miss him, we know we will see him again.
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