Engaging the Bystanders | An Interview with Keyth Pankau

Keyth Pankau was baptized a member of the Church about six months
after joining the Navy when he was 21 years old. He spent nine
years in the Navy, including deployments to Fallujah, Iraq, as a
member of a convoy security team, and providing relief immediately
following Hurricane Katrina. During this time he obtained a degree
in Persian Studies from the Defense Language Institute and a
bachelor of science. Keyth continued to serve in the Church between
deployments as a youth Sunday School teacher, a Gospel Doctrine
teacher, a counselor in the Young Men presidency, and a
scoutmaster, along with serving while deployed as a sacrament group
leader. Keyth was selected as a Direct Commission Intelligence
Officer and switched over to the Coast Guard where he continued a
life of travel and service with much shorter trips. He was a dual
career track officer (Intelligence/Operations Ashore Response)
where he specialized in crisis/emergency management. In the Coast
Guard, Keyth also completed his Master of Arts in Organizational
Leadership from Gonzaga University and a Master of Science in
Environmental from Louisiana State University. During this time,
Keyth served as a 2nd counselor in a Young Men’s presidency,
scoutmaster, Young Men president, second counselor in a bishopric,
ward mission leader, and a branch president. When the Baton Rouge
Temple was rededicated he started serving as an ordinance worker
and continues in that capacity today. He is also the bishop of his
ward and has been serving for about a year. Keyth currently works
as a civil servant for the Coast Guard and is pursuing a doctor of
education in Applied Learning Sciences from the University of
Miami. He is the producer, host, and content creator of the podcast
"That ALL Might Be Edified: Discussions on Servant Leadership".
Keyth and his wife Tiffany have two daughters and one
granddaughter. Originally from Washington, Keyth spent about a year
in Illinois and met Tiffany in California. They have also served
& lived in Georgia, Alaska, and twice in Louisiana, where they
now reside. Highlights 02:00 Introduction to Keyth and the episode
theme 03:20 Keyth’s background in the Coast Guard, serving as
bishop, and his podcast 07:15 Search and rescue and how it relates
to church leadership 13:41 The indicators that we can use in the
Church to search for the individuals who might need rescue 15:10
Keyth shares a personal experience he has had with a member in his
ward. 19:10 Coming together as a ward council to help one
individual: Keyth shares how a targeted approach can work in search
and rescue. 21:00 Finding the families that need help. How do you
do it? What to look for and tools to help. Your ward council is
your team. 27:30 Not everyone wants to be rescued. Not everyone is
excited to help either. We have to try to help them understand that
the Lord wants what is best for them. 33:10 Who are the bystanders
in the ward? Who is not active in the Lord’s vineyard? What
invitations could we make to them to help them feel the Lord’s
love? 37:40 Coming together as a ward council to find people that
need invitations 39:15 Helping the bystander. It’s more than just
giving them a calling. We need to invite them to do inspired
things. Maybe what they need is help finding friends. 41:40 Keyth
shares an analogy about boats and making sure they are seaworthy.
In the same way individuals have to be ready and "seaworthy" before
they can go out and rescue others. 49:20 As a council we have to
learn how to ask better questions. What do you like? What works for
you? What skills do you have? We have to understand who someone is
and what skills they have. Then we can harness those gifts and
skills to help them get active in the vineyard. 50:20 Where are you
at? How are you really doing? Get used to asking these questions
and create an environment where people will answer you truthfully
and vulnerably. 54:20 Final testimony on the importance of
leadership Links