David Lundberg
I am blessed to call Linda my beautiful and wise wife of 48 years. We have two children and three grandchildren whose love and lives enrich us continuously. We moved to Grand Rapids in 2015 after living in Wisconsin and Illinois. We found Shawnee Park CRC to be a welcoming community of people who desire to be servants of Jesus. I attended college at Goshen (IN) College, North Park College (now University) in Chicago, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
After a career in Social Work I retired (or semi-retired) to do other stuff. One of the "other stuff" is working part-ime as a caseworker at Volunteers In Service (VIS) in Grand Rapids. Teaching high school age youth for 40 + years has been a passion and a joy. To say that i have learned much from the students is an understatement.
Posted in: Have We Lost the Art of Conversation?
Amy, your experience reminds me of an anecdote I heard a pastor describe in his sermon this past weekend. He was seated in an airport boarding area waiting to depart. The only seat available was next to a young woman who was in the midst of an intense phone conversation with her brother. As he overheard the conversation, he discovered that she was trying to persuade her brother from ending his life. As the conversation ended he heard her call their father, from whom her brother was estranged. She pled with their father to call her brother, explaining that his call might convince her brother to not follow through with his plan to take his own life.
Following that call, the pastor responded to the Holy Spirit's "nudge" to initiate a conversation with the young woman. He said "I am a pastor, and I would like your permission to pray for your brother?" She immediately said yes. He touched her shoulder and offered a simple prayer of intercession for her brother and their family. Following the prayer, she was tearful, yet thankful, to the pastor. Then they went their separate ways. He never knew what happened to the young women's brother. He not only did the only thing he could do, her did the best thing he could do - leave it in God's hands. God took it from there.
The experience of the pastor reminded me (again!) that I am in circumstances daily of opportunities to initiate conversations with others at times of the Spirit's choosing. Two questions for me are 1) Am I listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit?, and 2) Am I obedient to the Spirit's call at that time - believing that I have been placed there by God for that purpose?
Thank you, Amy, for your experience and reminder that we are placed where we are by God to bring glory to Jesus and possibly even save another's life.
Posted in: What If Nobody Came?
Thank you, Michele. Whether a rural or small-town setting or urban setting like ours, the challenges are much the same. My plan is to provide updates as our congregation travels this journey. There is much we can learn from one another. We know, also, that there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solution. In fact sharing responses like yours, helps us to avoid thinking that we are isolated.
Posted in: What If Nobody Came?
Hi Colin. Thank you for sharing some wonderful ideas for us to consider. We are seeking the Spirit's guidance on future directions. you thoughts about hearing from the parents and youth themselves are what we plan to do. Your comments validate doing that as well as many other things. David
Posted in: What If Nobody Came?
Jonathan, I was confirmed in a Covenant Church myself. That is a model that has worked for them, and may have relevance (with some tweaks) for CRCNA churches. a retreat-based model is something we have discussed for teaching the Heidelberg Cat. Thank you for sharing.
Posted in: What If Nobody Came?
Rebranding is something we are going to do. But we also realize that doing so without making substantive structural and other changes will be inadequate. I like the sound of "The Core", and the move to Wednesday nights. Thank you.
Posted in: O Church, Where Art Thou?
Thanks, Gary, for your words. We resonated with your experience on looking for a new church. My wife and I experienced the same move as you (from Wheaton to GR) two years ago. It was logical in our search to check out a church from the denomination we had been part of almost our entire adult lives. In brief, we were invisible to the congregation, even to the person at the "welcome desk". So...we checked out a congregation recommended to us by a friend of a friend. It happened to be a congregation of the CRCNA. When we walked in for the first time, it was as if we were being welcomed home. Search over. Now it is our home congregation, blessing us and, hopefully, being blessed by us. Christian (biblical) hospitality seems to be outside the comfort zone of many churches of all stripes. Any wonder that such churches are wondering why they don't grow? Training in this area, for and within churches, is needed. I hope you have been welcomed home. If not, we should talk.
Posted in: Sustained Listening
What a timely and helpful post by Chris Pedersen. It clearly describes how complex the act of listening is. The four-direction model is helpful in demonstrating this. I find that this issue is especially pertinent in making room in the church for people with mental health challenges. Not only might there be no room at the table for them, there may be no "table".
As one who spent his career as a social worker listening to others, I am conscious of how imperfectly I listened; it is still a challenge. Several factors get in the way. Here are four reasons / excuses:
1. Time - I don't have (or take) the time. How can I be a better steward of my time to include listening?
2. Fear - I don't know how I would respond to something I don't understand. Actually listening doesn't require solving anything - it requires only my presence. Many husbands find this out the hard way.
3. Skill - I don't know how to listen. Our churches can do something about that. how about Listening 101 as an Adult Discipleship class?
4. Apathy - I am not sure I care enough to listen; I have my own issues to deal with. Closely allied with fear.
The challenge of listening is much more than an individual one, it is institutional as well. Churches are noisy places - we sing, pray, drink coffee and chat, and do service. but our churches by-and-large do not structure themselves to allow listening to flourish. Small groups may help to make this happen but not uniformly.
I would be interested in hearing from people whose churches have structured themselves to help make listening easier. We all have stories to tell, but is anyone willing to listen?
David Lundberg
Volunteers in Service, Grand Rapids, MI
[email protected]