Echo Spring 2024 - 8

Ladies First
Paulette Teague and Shannan Kiedis Reflect on Their Roles
as Two of Six First Ladies in LBC's History
By Amy Mongiovi, MA
T
hough their introductions to Lancaster Bible
College and their life stages while serving as First
Lady may look different, Paulette Teague and
Shannan Kiedis have a common bond only
two living women share.
Few people can identify with the mountaintops
and valleys of college leadership-the rewards
and challenges, the great joys and occasional
disappointments-in the same way as a committed
and supportive lifelong partner. One woman who
knew this well preceded both Paulette and Shannan.
Just prior to Dr. Peter W. Teague becoming the
fifth President of LBC in 1999, Paulette received an
invaluable piece of advice from her predecessor:
" Take good care of the President. "
Those wise words from Dolores Peterson, wife
of LBC's fourth President, Dr. Gilbert A. Peterson,
would resonate with Paulette for years to come, and
she would also share them with another First Lady
20 years later.
Their common bond as LBC First Ladies isn't
actually the first time Paulette and Shannan crossed
paths. Years earlier, the two couples first became
friends when the Teagues visited Spanish River
Church in Boca Raton, Fla., where LBC's current
President, Dr. Tommy Kiedis, served as the Senior
Pastor while also mentoring LBC church planting
master's degree students. This relationship
continued for several years, as Tommy faithfully
visited campus to attend meetings as a college
Corporation Member. The Kiedises also celebrated
alongside students at graduation ceremonies in
Lancaster. The relationship between the Teagues
and Kiedises, however, would eventually become
much deeper.
" Never in a million years, " Shannan says, did the
Kiedises see themselves in the roles of a college
President and First Lady-and certainly not in
Pennsylvania, hundreds of miles away from family.
God, however, had other plans. And one might
say Peter Teague had other plans, too. After two
decades in the LBC presidency, he was nearing
retirement and had built a respect and admiration
for his now-good friend, Tommy Kiedis.
As the realization set in that the Kiedises' life was
about to change, Shannan had many questions
about what it might look like to serve as the First
Lady of a Bible college. From her perspective, there
was only one person to ask.
" I remember I really wanted to talk to Paulette to
hear her thoughts, " Shannan says. " What was it really
like? "
Paulette Teague and
Shannan Kiedis
Even though it was a role they never envisioned,
Shannan knew God had been at work to bring
them to this point, but she still had some trepidation
about a major life change.
Shannan recalls, " I said, 'Lord, I know you've
designed him for this, and he's ready, but I don't
know that I am.' My prayer has always been that the
Lord sees a bigger picture that I don't always see. "
Any pressure Shannan put on herself as a future
college First Lady, Paulette put to rest.
" Mrs. Peterson passed on to me that, as the
spouse of the college President, there were no
expectations, " Paulette says. " Each one makes the
role their own. She said to keep it simple and 'take
good care of the President.' "
But as any participant in a Christ-centered
relationship knows, " care " is mutual. Caring for one
another was a hallmark of the Petersons' 61-year
8 ECHO
Echo Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2024
