This month, we’re thrilled to introduce you to someone who’s been a champion of Closure Mapping since the very beginning: Larry Brundage, Engagement Leader with Thrivent in Northern California.
Larry’s story weaves together decades of pastoral leadership, deep care for families, and, yes — a few wild pet stories. From serving congregations as a pastor for 21 years to now guiding advisors and churches across Northern California, Larry’s passion is simple: helping people live with impact and clarity.
Courtney sat down with Larry to talk about his work, why Closure Mapping matters, and one unforgettable memory involving a pit bull, a couch, and about 15 pounds of fair-trade coffee.
1. What is an Engagement Leader, and what do you love about your role?
I love a lot about my role. But what I love most is that it feels like a calling.
I get to take Thrivent’s resources and tools to people I care deeply about so that they can feel confident. For me, our finances are tools to be stewarded, and the goal is helping people use those tools to care for their families and the causes they love.
Every week, I meet with 3–5 churches to help put their financial house in order, so they can serve their communities more effectively. I coach our advisors on how to show up with heart — using the right language, focusing less on selling and more on truly helping.
I don’t have a market director in Northern California, so part of my role is launching advisors, interviewing candidates, and making sure they’re called to do this work in a faith-forward way. I’m still a pastor at heart — I fight for people I love, and I want advisors to care for those they serve like they would their own family.
2. You have been a champion of Closure Mapping since its inception. Why do you think it is such an important tool?
It’s like communication in marriage — you need the tools in your backpack to communicate well with each other before a crisis happens. When emotions are running high, it’s hard to be successful without those tools already in existence.
Closure Mapping gives families a way to prepare ahead of time — we’re not only capturing those passwords, account numbers, and details, but also gathering the stories and memories that matter and we want to keep.
When you create a Closure Map outside of a crisis, you get to capture the joy — the fun moments, the best vacations, how your parents met, their favorite colors and why. Most people don’t know those things, but they build a family’s identity. That matters to me a lot.
One of my favorite memories from growing up: My grandmother was a pianist for silent movies, always dressed to the nines in a long fur coat and hat. But during the Great Depression, she had to work as a prune picker to provide for her family. And as a single mother, she bought her own property and home. She was such a hard worker and was no nonsense. Stories like that matter — they remind us what our lives are built on, and I don’t want to lose them. I don’t want my family to lose them.
As a former pastor, I’ve walked countless families through funerals, and too often, people learn their loved one’s favorite scripture or stories after they’re gone. Wouldn’t it be better to know those things while they’re still alive so you can talk about them?
And just from a financial standpoint, Closure Mapping also creates trust across generations. Research shows that 87% of beneficiaries don’t stay with their parents’ financial advisor. But when an advisor knows the children of their clients, and when they know the family’s stories, values, and priorities ahead of time, retention is much higher. That’s powerful.
3. Step #31 in Create Your Own Closure Map is “Critter Comfort.” Can you share one of your funniest pet memories?
I just lost my pit bull Pepper last year — she had a stroke and became paralyzed — but she gave us plenty of joy while she was here.
When she was 7 months old, we decided to leave her loose in the house for the first time. I had just been given 15 pounds of fair-trade coffee at church from an organizational partnership, and my wife and I were gifting these pounds of coffee to our friends and family for Christmas. We left for less than an hour. Not long at all.
When we came home, every single bag of coffee was ripped open. Our brand-new IKEA couch was shredded. Coffee grounds everywhere across our condo. And to top it off, she decided to poop too…she had run through the house like a hurricane.
I opened the door and just froze. My jaw hit the floor. My wife and I looked at each other and said, ‘Holy crap.’ And then we spent hours scrubbing and disinfecting.
At the time, it wasn’t funny. But now? It’s one of our favorite family stories, and it was just so crazy that it’s hilarious.
Larry’s heart for families, churches, and advisors is clear: He’s committed to helping people prepare well, love deeply, and leave legacies that matter. And with Closure Mapping, he’s found a tool that turns that commitment into action.
You can connect with Larry at [email protected].
