Stories of Triumph and Inspiration
Members of Faith share personal experiences that highlight God's love, mercy and guidance.

Beth Nyland
If Beth Nyland’s story started like a sermon—"The text for today is…”—two Bible passages might characterize that tale:
Before we deal with these Scriptures, though, let’s go back a few years. From early in her childhood on a farm outside Geneseo, Illinois, Beth knew she would probably be a writer. Writing in her ever-present journals, she fantasized about other jobs as well—teacher, nurse, U.S. president… and pastor. In adulthood, as her career progressed in business, that pastoral calling whispered to her until she enrolled at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago (LSTC).
While taking classes, she experienced three miscarriages, causing her to question whether ordination was the right goal. “At a minimum, the timing was wrong. But more than that, I believed I had misheard God’s call,” says Beth. She wasn’t going to become a pastor. (Or so it seemed.)
Fast-forward through Beth’s continuing career in business—a series of increasingly significant marketing and communications roles in major corporations. During those years, she encountered a recurring reality in the business world: “If you’re a ‘creative’, you’re paid less.” Writers and other communicators didn’t seem to rise to the most senior ranks of most organizations. That didn’t match Beth’s plans, so she formed her own consulting agency, Spencer Grace, which helps business leaders communicate more effectively. By creating her own company, she gained a new level of access and influence in important decision-making processes.
After running Spencer Grace for several years, Beth took a five-year hiatus to return to corporate marketing work, where she communicated “change” and “transformation”—which was code for downsizings, facility closures, and do-more-with less. Exhausted by the weight of that responsibility, she left bureaucracy behind and reactivated Spencer Grace.
This time she broadened and deepened her offerings to include coaching and skill-building workshops in the wider work of creative message-crafting. Operating beyond the sometimes-narrow role of a consultant, she engages her clients’ imaginations so they can realize and appreciate their skills and value to their employers, customers, and colleagues. Her unique version of business expression—influenced heavily by poetry and visualization—centers on storytelling and creativity as essential art-skills that help people and organizations get things done. As a result of this philosophy, Beth has grown her client list to include many Fortune 100 corporations.
When asked if she feels successful, Beth doesn’t hold back. “I help clients to trust their inner voice, to ask ‘dumb questions’—the obvious ones everyone else is afraid to ask,” she says. “I give my clients permission to say things simply, to break the rules, to not do things the way they’ve always done them.”
Personal integrity is the foundation for Beth’s relationships with clients. No sugarcoating or pretending with this woman! She shows the courage of her convictions by telling the truth, even when it’s hard. “I don’t always say what [my clients] like, but I do tell them the truth.” She knows her approach isn’t always welcome, but she’s witnessed time and again how being “inappropriate” (outspoken, direct, contrary) is a gift to her clients. Her honesty is valuable to decision-makers who may otherwise receive a glossy, whitewashed version of the truth.
More than anything else, Beth thinks of herself as a messenger. Messengers tell the truth, but they also translate truth into the language of wisdom. As a messenger-among-messengers, Beth helps people find their own words, and be confident delivering them. Does she think of herself as a prophet? “I wouldn’t be surprised by that label,” she says, “But ‘messenger’ is a better word for me. It’s louder!”
In her current vocation, Beth personifies those two texts for the day: Beautiful words; the pleasure of congenial conversation; crafting custom-made jewelry from just the right word(s) at the right time. These Scriptural ideas seem to describe Beth’s work.
These two Bible verses may also hint at something else about Beth. If you talk with her about individual clients, you soon come to realize that there’s more to her sense of calling. Beth operates in the business world much like a spiritual leader. Like a pastor, Beth is a truth-telling messenger (or prophet)—the bearer of Gospel truth. Like a pastor, Beth helps people find the words they need in order to make sense of their lives. Like a pastor, Beth shows grace to folks who yearn for that unique blessing from God. Knowing we are all made in the Creator’s image, she wants everyone to tap into their innate creativity. In the middle of the corporate world’s ups and downs, Beth cares for people, sometimes in ways that are invisible. Like a pastor, Beth gives of herself so that others can fashion their well-being. Like a pastor, Beth loves her work as well as the people she ministers to.
Beth’s pastoral instincts extend into other areas of life. She has added her caring insights to the work of Literacy DuPage, where she served on the board of directors for several years. Its focus on ESL tutoring closely matches Beth’s vision of practical justice, righteousness for here-and-now. She also takes seriously her role as steward of the ever-widening circle that is her family. She and her husband Jim parent a blended family. Their six kids have become young adults, all making their own way in this complex world of work, communication, and creativity.
Just as it is true of many members of Faith, Beth Nyland exhibits the character and calling of a pastor in her work life, as well as in the congregation’s life. Over her decades at Faith, she’s assumed any number of leadership roles. Currently, Beth works with a small team of members who create the content for Faith’s long-running and faith-engaging Prayer Project.
After all these years, Beth has come full circle, back to the childhood inkling that she would eventually be a pastor. As she reflects on it: “Now I experience that sense of calling every day!” A messenger with a pastoral heart—that’s the story of Beth Nyland.
P.S. If you want to see more of Beth’s (pastoral) philosophy and practice of communication, visit www.spencergrace.com or www.instorymode.com.
If Beth Nyland’s story started like a sermon—"The text for today is…”—two Bible passages might characterize that tale:
- “Congenial conversation—what a pleasure! The right word at the right time—beautiful!” (Proverbs 15:23 The Message)
- “The right word at the right time is like a piece of custom-made jewelry.” (Proverbs 25:11 The Message)
Before we deal with these Scriptures, though, let’s go back a few years. From early in her childhood on a farm outside Geneseo, Illinois, Beth knew she would probably be a writer. Writing in her ever-present journals, she fantasized about other jobs as well—teacher, nurse, U.S. president… and pastor. In adulthood, as her career progressed in business, that pastoral calling whispered to her until she enrolled at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago (LSTC).
While taking classes, she experienced three miscarriages, causing her to question whether ordination was the right goal. “At a minimum, the timing was wrong. But more than that, I believed I had misheard God’s call,” says Beth. She wasn’t going to become a pastor. (Or so it seemed.)
Fast-forward through Beth’s continuing career in business—a series of increasingly significant marketing and communications roles in major corporations. During those years, she encountered a recurring reality in the business world: “If you’re a ‘creative’, you’re paid less.” Writers and other communicators didn’t seem to rise to the most senior ranks of most organizations. That didn’t match Beth’s plans, so she formed her own consulting agency, Spencer Grace, which helps business leaders communicate more effectively. By creating her own company, she gained a new level of access and influence in important decision-making processes.
After running Spencer Grace for several years, Beth took a five-year hiatus to return to corporate marketing work, where she communicated “change” and “transformation”—which was code for downsizings, facility closures, and do-more-with less. Exhausted by the weight of that responsibility, she left bureaucracy behind and reactivated Spencer Grace.
This time she broadened and deepened her offerings to include coaching and skill-building workshops in the wider work of creative message-crafting. Operating beyond the sometimes-narrow role of a consultant, she engages her clients’ imaginations so they can realize and appreciate their skills and value to their employers, customers, and colleagues. Her unique version of business expression—influenced heavily by poetry and visualization—centers on storytelling and creativity as essential art-skills that help people and organizations get things done. As a result of this philosophy, Beth has grown her client list to include many Fortune 100 corporations.
When asked if she feels successful, Beth doesn’t hold back. “I help clients to trust their inner voice, to ask ‘dumb questions’—the obvious ones everyone else is afraid to ask,” she says. “I give my clients permission to say things simply, to break the rules, to not do things the way they’ve always done them.”
Personal integrity is the foundation for Beth’s relationships with clients. No sugarcoating or pretending with this woman! She shows the courage of her convictions by telling the truth, even when it’s hard. “I don’t always say what [my clients] like, but I do tell them the truth.” She knows her approach isn’t always welcome, but she’s witnessed time and again how being “inappropriate” (outspoken, direct, contrary) is a gift to her clients. Her honesty is valuable to decision-makers who may otherwise receive a glossy, whitewashed version of the truth.
More than anything else, Beth thinks of herself as a messenger. Messengers tell the truth, but they also translate truth into the language of wisdom. As a messenger-among-messengers, Beth helps people find their own words, and be confident delivering them. Does she think of herself as a prophet? “I wouldn’t be surprised by that label,” she says, “But ‘messenger’ is a better word for me. It’s louder!”
In her current vocation, Beth personifies those two texts for the day: Beautiful words; the pleasure of congenial conversation; crafting custom-made jewelry from just the right word(s) at the right time. These Scriptural ideas seem to describe Beth’s work.
These two Bible verses may also hint at something else about Beth. If you talk with her about individual clients, you soon come to realize that there’s more to her sense of calling. Beth operates in the business world much like a spiritual leader. Like a pastor, Beth is a truth-telling messenger (or prophet)—the bearer of Gospel truth. Like a pastor, Beth helps people find the words they need in order to make sense of their lives. Like a pastor, Beth shows grace to folks who yearn for that unique blessing from God. Knowing we are all made in the Creator’s image, she wants everyone to tap into their innate creativity. In the middle of the corporate world’s ups and downs, Beth cares for people, sometimes in ways that are invisible. Like a pastor, Beth gives of herself so that others can fashion their well-being. Like a pastor, Beth loves her work as well as the people she ministers to.
Beth’s pastoral instincts extend into other areas of life. She has added her caring insights to the work of Literacy DuPage, where she served on the board of directors for several years. Its focus on ESL tutoring closely matches Beth’s vision of practical justice, righteousness for here-and-now. She also takes seriously her role as steward of the ever-widening circle that is her family. She and her husband Jim parent a blended family. Their six kids have become young adults, all making their own way in this complex world of work, communication, and creativity.
Just as it is true of many members of Faith, Beth Nyland exhibits the character and calling of a pastor in her work life, as well as in the congregation’s life. Over her decades at Faith, she’s assumed any number of leadership roles. Currently, Beth works with a small team of members who create the content for Faith’s long-running and faith-engaging Prayer Project.
After all these years, Beth has come full circle, back to the childhood inkling that she would eventually be a pastor. As she reflects on it: “Now I experience that sense of calling every day!” A messenger with a pastoral heart—that’s the story of Beth Nyland.
P.S. If you want to see more of Beth’s (pastoral) philosophy and practice of communication, visit www.spencergrace.com or www.instorymode.com.