new church life: september/october 2015
“It is a balance between working with others and studying the doctrines –
a constant tension between both. You are placed in every imaginable preaching
situation – in small homes, large homes, coffee shops, old warehouses, and
sometimes just leaning over the hood of a car.
“People are so interesting and they want to make their lives better and
depend on you to provide them with some spiritual food that they can digest or
take home with them. It is an awesome responsibility and an honor. The other
part is that you better have something they can use. You better have studied
and be able to relate doctrine that is not in Swedenborg-speak. Nothing is
more fun than giving a class and introducing concepts about heaven and hell
that make it real and interesting!”
When they got to Atlanta “I was told to ‘take it easy, get to know them,
and don’t do any radical changes right away!’ They knew what I was like! Best
advice I ever got! When you say you are the pastor of Atlanta that means you
are the pastor of a group of people who all have desires, wants and needs. It
is the people who make the church, so anything you do better work for more
than half of the people and be doctrinally sound. If you alienate people then
you can’t be their pastor. That sounds obvious but it took me a while to figure
that out.
He says he “feels good about what we have accomplished so far in Atlanta
but I know we have a long way to go before we even begin to put a dent in
growing our church. It seems that making a church work has hidden steps that
need to be met before you can go to the next step.
“Some are more obvious than others – like you have to be making enough
money to keep the lights on and the lawn mowed. If you try to start a strategic
plan before the basics are met it doesn’t work. I’m still discovering the ‘hidden
steps’ but I am very hopeful and feel positive about our future here in Atlanta,
and for the future of the New Church. Besides, the Lord said this will be the
church of the future and He hasn’t been wrong yet!”
Among personal interests,
Calvin says a transformative
experience was when he and Maggie
went to Italy for two weeks. “It was
really hard to come home!” They
hope to travel more as the years go
by. He loves his guitar and saltwater
coral tanks, and recently has become
“a closet Bonsai grower.” The Five
Love Languages by Gary Chapman
still stands out as one of his favorites.
And he says the Matrix series “should
The Odhner children, left to right:
Kale, Asher, Kelsie, Briggs, Brittany
504