Staff Profile :: Tara Malouf
Hey Wellspring Family!
We’re coming at you this week with another Staff Profile! When I began working with Wellspring last year, Tara Malouf was the very first person to greet me on “day one” on the job. I remember feeling completely embraced by kindness, and any first-day-of-work anxiety was instantly relieved. As I have grown to know Tara over the course of this past year, that first impression of her has proven to be true: her Christ-centered kindness, wisdom, and love are deeply rooted within her soul. These qualities make themselves known through Tara’s role as the Community Life Pastor, where she thinks strategically and intentionally about how to adequately connect with and care for every single member of the Wellspring body. She and her family are the embodiment of radical hospitality; sharing a home cooked meal with them on their back patio will lead to hours of rich, joyous conversations, usually followed up by Tara’s wonderful desserts and her husband David’s perfect cup of decaf coffee. Dining with Tara Malouf inevitably ushers in the presence of Jesus in a way that will make you never want to leave the table. Here is a glimpse into her story:
Question 1: Tell us about your family.
I have been married to the finest man I know, David Malouf, for 28 years now. We have two adult children, Mikaela who is 23 and Luc who is 20. They are amazing human beings and I’m so grateful that after all my parenting mistakes, they still like to hang out with me!
Question 2: What is your favorite fiction and non-fiction book? What do you like about them?
I actually don’t read a lot of fiction. It usually has to be recommended to me by friends who know me, and only then will I read it. However, one of my favorite fiction books is C.S. Lewis’ Til We Have Faces. I love how he rewrites the myth of Cupid and Psyche into the human journey of facing our weaknesses and self-gratifying fantasies, and our quest for justice and truth, which all proves to be the foothold of grace. I love how the main character searches for an answer from the “gods,” and yet no answer comes. Only when she comes face to face with God does she realize, “I ended my first book with the words, No answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”
I love to read non-fiction, so I have many favorites! On that note, though, my favorite theologian (and my theological crush) is NT Wright. I love his book The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion. Sounds like a provocative title, doesn’t it? I love his challenge that often in Christianity, “our cross is too small,” and that we’ve sometimes reduced the death of Jesus on the cross to “going to heaven when we die.” He argues that the “New Testament writers were talking about something bigger, more dangerous, and altogether more explosive than we imagined” (borrowed from the book jacket). If you’re intrigued, I suggest you read it!
Question 3: What is something interesting about you that we wouldn’t already know?
Most people at Wellspring may not know that I was a photographer for the last 15 years. It taught me to see people and be aware of the connections between humans. I think every human face is beautiful; every smile and wrinkle has a story (tears too); and photographing people playing with and enjoying one another is the best!
Question 4: What is your deathbed meal?
Well, I love food, so any meal is a good meal. But I take Anne Lamott’s words to heart, that on the day that I die, I want to have eaten dessert. So, if we take that to its logical end, since only God knows how my days are numbered, I should eat dessert everyday! (Which, if you know me, I try to do! And dark chocolate is the way to my heart).
Question 5: Who is a person (friend, family member, author, musician, etc.) that has made a significant impact on your life? How have they contributed to who you are today?
By far, the person who has impacted my life most is David Malouf. I’ve known him since I was 15 years old and we’ve grown up in Christ together. Three places (among thousands) that he’s contributed to who I am today:
Love God, Love People: This is an easy phrase to say, hard to live, but this has been the driving principle of his life. He’s taught me more about love - both for God and others - than anyone else on the planet.
Community: He’s reminded me over and over again of the beautiful metaphors scripture gives us for the church, and how we are called to live those out in the nitty, gritty, everyday-ordinary of life. We are a bride; a field; a holy temple; sheep; branches; and we are a body.
Darkness: Many years ago, I was entering a time of a dark night of the soul, and I didn’t really know what was happening. Our tribe of church at the time didn’t have a place for anything like that, and I was so afraid that I was losing Jesus. It was in that place that David said to me, “I think your faith is being stretched, like too little butter on too much toast.” (Bonus points for the LOTR quote!) The fact that he still referred to the darkness I was experiencing as “faith” allowed me to trust God to walk through darkness that lasted a lot of years.
Question 6: When church is over on Sunday afternoon, where would we find you and what would you be doing?
At home. Taking a nap. I’m a nine on the enneagram, so anytime I can conserve energy and move to comfort, I do!
Question 7: What is your #1 bucket list travel location?
I want to go EVERYWHERE, so I’m going to cheat on this one. Instead of a #1 location, I’d love to do a creative travel project of visiting churches all through the world; photographing them, writing about them, and maybe putting it into book form.
Question 8: What have you been learning lately through your relationship with Jesus?
I have been thinking a lot about the “mind of Christ,” and what actually formed the thoughts and heart of Jesus as he lived as a boy (and then a man). I’ve been asking the question, “what images did Jesus have in mind when he talked about the Father? And what images do I have when I talk about God?” So, I’ve been trying to “read the Psalms with Jesus.” I’ve asked him to give me eyes to read them in light of both Middle Eastern culture and with the gospels in view. I’m asking that he would show me how his prayer book (the Psalms) formed who he was (is?) in his humanity, and then in turn that it would form me and give me more of the mind of Christ.
