4Discipleship Ministries      

Kathleen graduated with a BA in Philosophy from Birmingham Southern College and attended Vanderbilt Divinity School but discerned that she was called to remain a lay pastor, rather than to seek formal ordination.  

Kathleen has loved and served mainline, mostly United Methodist congregations for almost 30 years in a wide diversity of roles in 5 states. 

From youth ministry to older adult ministries, from work with inner city children and families to creating caring community among college students and half-way house residents, from liturgical dance to preaching, from writing curriculum to facilitating workshops and retreats, Kathleen has always found herself drawn to the next thing, the new thing that God is doing to reawaken the body of Christ to its life-restoring, transformational mission.

She last served on the pastoral ministry staff of West End United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN from 2002-2008 as the Minister of Hospitality & Evangelism, but discerned a more focused calling which led to the birth of 4Discipleship Ministries.

 In Strengths language, Kathleen is a passionate maximizer with a heart for building authentic Christian community.  She is committed to deepening & widening the effectiveness of Christ’s church for the sake of the world. 

Her contagious joy and creative energy make her a dynamic ministry partner & coach for both individuals and communities who long to discern, embrace and embody God’s intentions  for their lives.  

Background story...

Kathleen was born, baptized, raised, confirmed, and married in her hometown church, First United Methodist Church of Talladega, Alabama.  She grew up in the house her father and mother built with 2 brothers, a sister, a sucession of loveable mutts and a bunch of fruit trees that somehow managed to bear fruit despite the inhospitable, red clay soil. 

In her parents and grandparents, Kathleen saw and experienced grace and compassion, a reasoned but prayer-shaped faith, and a commitment to mercy and justice for the whole human family. 

She met the love of her life, Michael Lalor at Birmingham Southern College in 1976.  They have been married for 33 years  and are in the process of relocating to Birmingham, Alabama after 22 years in Nashville, TN. 

Michael and Kathleen have two sons, a daughter and a daughter-in-law who have blessed them greatly and who never cease to provide hope for the future.

Who & What Is 4Discipleship Ministries?

It's Me plus You responding to the Movement of the Holy Spirit.

It's tradition grounded but not tradition bounded.

It's a project to reclaim the uniqueness and beauty of Christian discipleship  as a way of being in the world that is both radically freeing and amazingly unifying.

       It's taking seriously that if the church fails to disciple God's people               the culture will.

  It's a personal and communal journey toward wholeness in Christ.