Chapters Summer 2009
Publisher/Designer: Dave Gavette
Publications Team: Chris Brewer Fred Carlson Ken Chesterman Kathy Clawson Alma Gilleo Deb Grandmason Shannon Popkin Sara Sisco Margaret Strawn Scott Teesdale
Chapters
is a magazine of Calvary Baptist Church 1200 28th St. SE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49508 (616) 243-3674 www.cbcgr.org Comments/Suggestions: If you have article suggestions and/or comments regarding “Chapters” please contact Dave Gavette at dgavette@cbcgr.org
Calvary Baptist Church exists to represent the reign of God as: Community Servant Messenger
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Kim, Randy, Chelsea, and Olivia Wright
When I was approached regarding writing down some of my thoughts for this edition of “Chapters,” I was asked if I could relate my some of my life experience to God’s plan and purpose in the redemption of mankind. Immediately my thoughts turned to my job. For the last ten and one half years I have been working at D.A. Blodgett Services for Children. My official position is that of social work therapist, where I provide counseling and case management services for abused and neglected children in foster care. Prior to this I worked for approximately seven years as a child care worker at Wedgwood Youth and Family Services. My role there was one of providing direct care for abused and neglected youth in a residential setting. One thing I can tell you in working with these children is that the effects of the fall of mankind are real! And they are devastating. These children have seen, heard and experienced things that anyone, let alone someone in their early formative years of life, should never have to experience. As a result of neglect and abuse, these children engage in dysfunctional, and often harmful behaviors. The effects of being
emotionally abused and/or neglected or abandoned by a caregiver leaves deep and often lifelong emotional scars for these children. Despite the best efforts of the professional caseworkers, counselors, and foster parents with whom I have been blessed to work over the years, many of these children never recover from the trauma inflicted upon them. Many are destined to continue the cycle of abuse with their own spouses and children in the future. Along with the inevitable disappointment I have felt due to some of the lifestyle choices the children I have worked with have made, I have also been blessed to see some of them respond to the love and nurturing that has been provided to them by the wonderful foster parents who have taken them into their homes and have made them a part of their families. What a wonderful representation of the transformation that can occur through the redemptive work of our lord Jesus Christ! Much like the work of our heavenly father on our behalf, many of the foster parents with whom I have interacted, have taken these children in and ac-
LOVE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE by Randy Wright
Lives can be transformed when the feeling of being part of a family and having a purpose that transcends our individual existence occurs in the life of an individual.
cepted them as family. Foster parents have given assurance to many children that they have worth, value, belong, and can function well within a family environment. This was something that, for various reasons, they did not receive from their families of origin. Lives can be transformed when the feeling of being part of a family and having a purpose that transcends our individual existence occurs in the life of an individual. Exactly like our heavenly father does for us! I have had the pleasure of attending the Christian wedding of one of my former foster children. I have also had correspondence from former foster children who have served in the military, are working with people with developmental disabilities, and have been successful in the working community and world. And it is all because someone cared enough about these children at one point in their lives to make them feel valued and a part of a family! What are some of the practical applications that we as individuals in this local body of believers can incorporate? I propose three: 1. If you were raised in a Christian
home, and are still walking closely with the Lord, be thankful for the strong Christian heritage you received from your parents. Although they were not perfect, your parents gave you the best possible gift that money cannot buy. Let them know how grateful you are for this! 2. If you have been the victim of emotional or physical abuse or neglect, and are still experiencing the emotional and behavioral scars that occurred in the process, rest assured there is healing for you in the work and person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Your traumatic and painful experience was not because a loving and caring God was absent or far removed from you. It was because the individuals who were providing for your care chose to use the free will given to them by God to make decisions that were dysfunctional and destructive to their families and loved ones. Jesus loves you deeply, and wants a relationship with you. In that relationship He can give you a life that is full, joyful, and free of the pain and guilt you have been experiencing and possibly holding onto for too long. In order to come to a place where you are able to receive God’s wonderful offer, you may need to seek the help of a Christian
counselor or other professional to help you work through this process. I am telling you the truth, I have seen Christ make a difference in the lives of broken individuals and He can make a difference for you too! 3. If you see yourself as being blessed by God and have been given gifts by Him that have made you sensitive and compassionate to the life situations of those less fortunate, get involved! Several opportunities to show the love of Christ exist within our church and community. Check with Pastor Blocher for ministry opportunities available at Calvary. Call Mel Trotter or Guiding Light Mission and ask about volunteer opportunities they may have. The Child Welfare System is also always looking for Big Brothers and Big Sisters as well as foster parents to become involved in children’s lives. You can talk to me if you have any questions. Don’t be afraid to get involved in an opportunity to which God is calling you. Begin today to make a difference in the lives of others, and possibly guide them to a saving, life changing relationship with Him. Remember the words of our Lord when He said: “when you do this to the least of these, you have done it unto me”. (Matthew 25:40)
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Thursday’s with Delta by Margaret Strawn
I would like you to meet a friend of mine—Mrs. Delta Perry. A member of Calvary Baptist Church for many years, she was a godly widow, a good friend and a valiant prayer warrior. I met Delta in 2003. I had called Pastor Van Norman to see if there was a widow I could visit. He recommended I visit two ladies at Beacon Hill (formerly Michigan Christian Home). Delta was one of the two ladies. She was 89 years old when we met. Small and stooped over, she had deep set glasses that made her eyes look large. Her eyes would twinkle with joy, of which she had plenty to share. We would spend our time chatting, playing games and praying together. It seemed we could always find something to talk about, whether it was what we were learning from the Lord or news about our families. Oh, how she loved the Lord. He saw her through the deaths of her husband and her youngest son. The Lord was her Rock, holding her steady when everything around her seemed shaken. Her large family was very close—two sons and a daughter, and seemingly endless grandchildren and great grandchildren. Delta had current photos proudly displayed on the dresser, along with older photos of her twelve brothers
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and sisters…and of course one of her beloved husband, Jim. Sometimes we’d play games—Aggravation and Lightning Scrabble. With Aggravation, Delta had added a couple rules of her own. It made it fun, as was the game of Lightning Scrabble, which she invented. This game was her solution to the slow, tedious original Scrabble. In her version, each player is given a set number of letters and at “go” each creates their own crossword, drawing extra letters as needed. We did not use the game board. She excelled at this game, joyfully proclaiming that this is what kept her mind sharp. Besides praising God and interceding for our families, our prayer times consisted of lifting up the residents at Beacon Hill. Her deep love for the Father and His Son was the reason for her love of others. She had a sincere concern for those in the home that didn’t know Jesus Christ. At a stage in life where it is tempting to become self-concerned about a growing loss of independence and increasing pains, Mrs. Perry reached out to others. Not complaining, she inquired into the welfare of her friends and shared her faith when given the opportunity. While she could still get around with her walker, she would go down to Health Care and help out by feeding the residents. She had spent
her life caring — as a wife, mother and psychiatric nurse. At Beacon Hill, she continued doing what came naturally. During one prayer time, Delta asked me if I wanted to read the testimony she had written. I did and thought you might be blessed by reading it too. This thoughtful, devoted woman was my friend for six years. On New Year’s Day, 2009 she turned 95. A few weeks later she was called to be with her Lord. She was a whole person again, regaining the mind which had slowly failed her during the preceding year. She had faithfully run the race.
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ANOTHER PLAN by Jude Fabisch
His love is healing, not dysfunctional; He is always ready to provide whatever I truly need; and He has written me an incredible letter in which He tells me that He loves me every day of my life.
On a scale of 1-10 for dysfunction, the household in which I grew up rated about 7.5. Sparing the details, let me say that while all of my physical needs were met, my step parents were emotionally bankrupt. In the 55+ years that I knew my stepmother, I never once heard the words that told me that she loved me. That said, my idea of the “perfect plan” was to find a man who loved me, get married, have a home, and have babies. I knew about God, but I often hoped that if I died it would be right after communion in our main stream denominational church so that it would be with my sins forgiven – by the pastor. Other than that, a godly life could wait until I’d had time to have a little fun. I would do it my way. In 1957, the man came; Edward Fabisch and I were married a year later. 1964 brought the baby, my son Scott. The house came a year after that. But the emptiness inside of me wasn’t filled. I went back to church, but found little there. Enter, Ed and Diane Fuller. They were our new next door neighbors; he was the new pastor of Garfield Baptist Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was threatened by their Bible knowledge. Diane longed for my salvation. I pulled
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the Bible out of the closet and began to read. She sat at her bedroom window at 1:00 every morning and prayed. I sat in my living room at 1:00 every morning wondering at the purpose of life. Late in the spring of 1971, I stood in sunlight of my open back door and asked God to take over the life I found so bereft of meaning, knowing at last that salvation came from Him and not from works. To say that the change in my life was profound could be the understatement of the year. Old habits were rejected, I developed a hunger for the Word, and I began praying for the salvation of my husband and child. My son Scott made a profession of faith about six months later. Ed and I talked; he rejected the message. In January of 1973, I began to feel that God was calling me to some kind of full time service. I prayed harder for Ed’s salvation and pictured us marching off to the mission field as a family, thinking that was the only road “full time” service other than being a pastor. On March 18, 1973, however, at 2:00 in the morning, I was awakened by the death rattle; my husband of fifteen years succumbed to a heart attack. Whatever was going to happen would be without this husband at my side.
Left: Friends in Papua New Guinea, Bottom: ESL students in India
Because I was such a new believer, the Fullers suggested that I spend a year working in the church, and I will be forever grateful for that advice. I taught Sunday school, served as prayer chairman for the Ladies’ Missionary Society, and performed other services, learning from all of them. In June of the following year, I sold the home Ed and I had shared and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to attend what was then Grand Rapids Baptist College. God blessed me in ways that are too numerous to list here, but I sat under the Bible teaching of men like Joe Crawford, John Wilson, Jerry Casner, and Victor Matthews. I also sat under Dr. Raymond Bartholomew, an English professor, who showed me that I could write. Just before I graduated in 1977, I was able to celebrate the acceptance of my first book, Not Ready to Walk Alone, for publication. It is the account of the lessons I had learned as a widow. One of my professors, Dr. John Wilson, pointed me toward a furloughing missionary couple from Papua New Guinea, George and Norma Haberer, who welcomed my son and me into their home and their hearts. By September of 1978, Scott and I were ready to fly half-way around the world (literally). God’s hand was everywhere: He provided a one year time-line for deputation; He provided a house in Jenison with a garage so that our goods could be crated for shipping; He provided someone to build and pack the crates; and once we were on the way, He even provided escort services from Australia to Papua New Guinea to insure that we would have a flight from the coast to Goroka during what is known as the Goroka Show. Qe, a worker on a cable
laying ship who was flying back home, stayed with us during lonely hours in the airport in Port Moresby, where we had landed at 2:00 a.m., and then miraculously came up with passage for us in the morning. The four years in Papua New Guinea were not a mistake, souls are bound for heaven because I went there, but God used those years to show me that I really belonged in the United States, teaching. That was the ministry in which almost all of the good things during my ministry overseas happened, and so, against the advice of several people, I moved forward to what I felt sure in my heart was God’s plan. In a year, I finished out a major in English, finished a second book, and enrolled in the Masters’ program at WMU, which I began that summer. Before my first classes there were finished, I was hired to teach basic writing and study skills at Grand Rapids Baptist College. That was twenty-six years ago, and the journey has been astoundingly fulfilling. Ironically, my original thought was to get a doctorate in English and then move back to a mission field as a professor in a foreign university. God said, “No. Get the doctorate, but stay right here to teach.” Yet He has allowed me to travel to Kenya, India, and Ukraine – often to teach English as a second language. He even led me back to Papua New Guinea for a week long reunion; the names of those I love there tumble from
my heart like music. For good measure, He threw in trips to Eastern Europe and France. Would I ever remarry? A nickel for every time I’ve been asked that question would buy a ticket to visit my son and his family in Japan. The answer is, “Perhaps. The right man at the right time.” I would not reject the idea of having someone to love again in an earthly relationship. But if God were to say to me, “Well, Jude, shall we roll the clock back and follow your plan this time?” I’d turn down the opportunity without hesitation. I have learned that true joy does not need to lie in husbands and houses and children – although they are really nice; I do own a condo, and I love my son beyond all words. True happiness, the kind that lasts for eternity, lies in the truth I have found in Isaiah 54:7: For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. He has shown me more joy and fulfillment than I ever thought possible. His love is healing, not dysfunctional; He is always ready to provide whatever I truly need; and He has written me an incredible letter in which He tells me that He loves me every day of my life. His plan has been the perfect one. Anyone who wants to argue with that can just go talk to the head of my household. Truly, I am satisfied in His unfailing love.
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Shauna Brentana: From Counterfeit to by Shannon Popkin
Shauna was sitting in her fifth hour American Lit. class, when her teacher stepped out of the room. This was a moment of opportunity for Rick, who wanted to act on what his Baptist youth pastor had been urging the youth group to do. He went to stand in front of Shauna’s desk and, in a voice meant for the whole class, said, “You do know you’re going to hell, since you believe what Joseph Smith teaches, don’t you?” That night, Shauna voiced her angry frustration to her mom. She felt so victimized for her beliefs! But her mom comforted her, saying, “Shauna, the reason you’ve been persecuted by that boy from the Baptist church is because you’re a part of the one true church.” Understandably, Shauna’s mom now has difficulty understanding why Shauna, who grew up surrounded by Reorganized Later Day Saints (RLDS), has become part of a Baptist church. Can I get a Witness? Shauna remembers sitting in her RLDS church one Sunday at the age of 28, gazing at a stained glass window which depicts the story of Joseph Smith receiving his message from the angel Moroni. At this point, she was married to Tom, and they were extremely involved in their church as the senior high youth leaders. But Shauna remembers feeling very dry; very empty inside. And as she gazed at the picture of Joseph Smith, she wondered, “Why is this the One True Church? Why is this God’s only church?” Shauna let her eyes drift out to the parking lot next door and she started praying, “God, please reveal yourself to me.”
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Unlike many of her friends in the RLDS church, Shauna did not have a testimony of how God had revealed to her that this was the One True Church. RLDS members would often tell of a these spiritual experiences, which they called their testimony. Sometimes a church member would become inhabited by the Spirit, and God would speak through them. Shauna remembers getting chills down her spine as the person’s voice changed while giving God’s message. It was so obviously spiritual that she assumed this was the one true God speaking. (Shauna now firmly believes that this was totally demonic. She said, “When I read in Scripture that Satan masquerades as an angel of light, I knew exactly what that meant. I’ve witnessed that.”)
“God was telling Abraham, ‘Get up and move. I have a new place for your family.’” With wide eyes, Tom and Shauna looked at each other, realizing that God was leading them in the same way he had led Abraham. training, and the next best thing was a Christian conference. Besides, the RLDS church didn’t see Christianity as opposition to their own beliefs. They simply believed that God had entrusted them with something extra—the revelation of Joseph Smith. Recalling this five-day conference, Shauna said, “I was just blown away! I would go to these speaker sessions and just soak it up. I had never heard the Word taught.”
There was a time around a campfire at church camp, when a friend spoke prophetically over Shauna, telling her that she would be called to the priesthood of the RLDS church. While this friend was speaking, Shauna experienced what the RLDS call ‘the burning of the bosom’. Her lungs and heart felt like they were are on fire, which frightened Shauna. But it also excited her because this was supposedly THE confirmation that you were hearing God’s truth. However, ten years later, this experience wasn’t enough for Shauna. She told God, “I want to know why this is your One True Church. I want my own testimony of this.”
She got home with her arms full of literature and books on how to study the Bible, but she didn’t have her own Bible. She had Joseph Smith’s rewritten version of the Bible, but it made no sense to her. So on her next trip to Zondervan to get music, she noticed a purple NIV study Bible. It was on clearance, and since purple was her favorite color, she bought it.
Faith Comes from Hearing And the One True God answered that prayer in a most unexpected way. Tom and Shauna’s church decided to send them to a Christian youth leader’s conference in Denver, CO. The RLDS church didn’t have any youth leader
Shauna began using all of her new materials and her new Bible to prepare to teach the youth group at church. She said, “For some reason I fixated on the book of Ephesians. I didn’t understand it, but I loved it! I was just drawn to it.” But as her appetite for Scripture grew,
Christ
the last year researching a little booklet which claimed that RLDS beliefs were mutually exclusive to those of Christianity. He had contacted the writer of the booklet (a former RLDS church member), and had become convinced that Joseph Smith was a false prophet. The next Sunday, Tom and Shauna slipped into the very back of First Baptist Church, feeling like two scared RLDS kids who had snuck out. That week, the sermon was about Abraham. After reading several Bible passages, the pastor looked up and said, “God was telling Abraham,
her discontentment with the cold and dead atmosphere of RLDS church service grew in proportion. A few months later, a friend invited Shauna to a Women of Faith conference. Soaking in the awesome worship music, and looking around at the thousands of other women gathered in the arena, Shauna had the thought, “Everyone else here is worshiping from within a relationship, and I feel like an outsider. What do they have that I don’t have? I’m the one in the One True Church! I’m privy to this additional truth that I’m supposed to be offering them.” But to Shauna, the roles seemed reversed. A New Place At the conference, she bought a CD with the song, “Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord.” One day, driving home, she was singing along and making this song her prayer, and she had an overwhelming urge to leave the RLDS church. She said, “I pulled into a parking lot and sobbed and sobbed. I said, ‘God, what are you telling me? I don’t know how to leave! I don’t know where to go!” Suddenly the image of First Baptist Church came to her mind. It was as if the Lord were saying, “Well, how about here?” When she arrived home, drenched in tears, Tom was alarmed. But she told him, “I’m okay, the car’s okay… I just think we need to go to church somewhere else.” He responded, “Is that all? I’ve wanted to leave for six months!” Unbeknownst to Shauna, Tom had spent
voice in spiritual experiences, emotions, and feelings. But now, God was speaking through His Word! Shauna said, “God told me, “It’s fine that you like your new church. But you don’t know Jesus. And he doesn’t know you.” She realized the change in their Sunday morning destination didn’t matter. She saw herself apart from Christ for the first time. That day, Shauna had to work into the night, preparing for a scrapbook party she was hosting at a hotel. But at 2 a.m., she knelt beside her bed at the Hampton Inn with her purple Bible and prayed to receive Christ. “That was the moment that Christ took up residency in me,” recalled Shauna. “There was a profound change! The next day I don’t think my feet hit the floor because I knew that I knew Jesus!” She calls it her ‘honeymoon with Jesus’. Shauna went home and began to really dig into Scripture with new understanding. She was shocked at what it actually said! “I had to unlearn everything and start over,” said Shauna. Constantly, she had to ask herself, “Am I making an assumption here based on my RLDS background, or is it from Scripture?” She wanted to make sure her foundation was secure—built on Christ and His Word.
‘Get up and move. I have a new place for your family.’” With wide eyes, Tom and Shauna looked at each other, realizing that God was leading them in the same way he had led Abraham. A New Lord A few months later, Shauna was giving praise to God for her new church, new Bible study group, and new friends. Immediately, Matthew 7:22-23 came to her mind, which says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “ This was a new experience for Shauna, who had been taught to listen for God’s
Shauna longs to invite her mom, and other RLDS friends and family to this same secure foundation of God’s word. But since she also once believed that Joseph Smith’s teachings compliment the Bible, she understands their reluctance. It’s hard to convince an RLDS member that this special revelation entrusted to them by Joseph Smith is actually keeping them from Christ. They have their counterfeit spiritual experiences and testimonies of how ‘God’ convinced them that theirs is the one true church. But they do not have Christ. Shauna says that her testimony is actually a story about God. He’s the one who caused her to question the legitimacy of a place which called itself the ‘one true church’. He gave her a hunger for His Word. He opened the eyes of her heart. And He drew her to himself: the One True Christ.
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God Had a Plan for His Life by Alma Gilleo
As Mark Blocher drove along Plainfield Avenue, he recalled the night a friend showed him a picture of a pretty brunette. Noting Mark’s interest, she said, “Why don’t you take her out?” She’s cute, he thought. “Maybe I will,” Mark replied. He called and invited her to a movie. But Julie Hallberg was not interested. That was a challenge to Mark Blocher. He always met a challenge head-on, whether it was energetically drumming rhythms in a rock band or enthusiastically championing a rebel cause. So, he called Julie. Again and again and again. Finally she agreed to go out with him. They went to a movie. They discovered they had nothing in common and now Mark was taking her home. On the way, they approached Underground Fish. “Why don’t we stop in here?” Julie suggested. “I thought it was a restaurant,” Mark says. But there was no fish, pizza, burger or fries. Instead, Underground Fish served food for the soul. It was an outreach effort of Calvary Baptist Church. Here, for the first time, Mark heard God’s story. And it gripped him. He wanted to learn more.
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The couple drove around for hours discussing what they had heard. Julie had accepted Christ as her Savior a few weeks earlier (which probably explains her reluctance to go out with a guy who used drugs and was known for embracing anti-government and rebel causes). But what Mark had just heard was all new to him. He wanted to hear more. Finally, they stopped for breakfast, then he took her home. His thoughts returned again and again to what he had learned about God. He decided to go back to Underground Fish. But the next day, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad transferred him to New Buffalo, Michigan. As a relief engineer, Mark ran his train to different cities each day. As he rode the rails, God’s claim on him was on his mind almost constantly. Finally, Mark yielded himself to God, accepted the salvation Jesus had purchased for him and started his new life in Christ. After two weeks, the raiload transferred him back to Grand Rapids. And he called Julie. They went back to Underground Fish. They discusssed what they learned. And Mark wanted to know more. The couple began attending Calvary Baptist Church.
As he rode the rails, God’s claim on him was on his mind almost constantly. Finally, Mark yielded himself to God, accepted the salvation Jesus had purchased for him and started his new life in Christ. Although an indifferent student in high school, Mark felt God was leading him to enroll part-time at Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music. A year later, his work hours changed and he transferred to Grand Rapids Bible College (now Cornerstone University). Working all night, he went to the classroom each day, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion. Friends weren’t surprised when Mark and Julie married in June 1972. The family grew to four when Brian and Sarah were born. Mark still felt God leading him to learn more about God and His Word. So the couple packed up household goods, bundled up Brian and Sarah and moved to Dallas. Daddy enrolled in Dallas Theological Seminary
Mark and Julie, 1971
and earned a master’s degree in biblical studies. After graduation, a church in Corvallis, Montana, called the young seminarian as pastor, and Mark knew this was God’s call to him. He enjoyed his ministry as pastor. While there, Meagan was born. The family had been in Corvallis about three years, when Mark’s father was killed by a drunk driver in Michigan. While in Grand Rapids for the funeral, Highland Hills Baptist Church offered Mark the challenge of a new ministry: pastor of youth and education. As Mark prayed, he felt God was leading him into this new ministry, and accepted the position. Mark, however, couldn’t forget an incident which occurred while he was in Montana. A school counselor took a young student to an abortion clinic without her parents’ knowledge. Mark realized God was calling him to help young women make the right choices for their unborn babies. Baptists were largely silent on pro-life issues at that time, so he began Baptists for Life, which he directed for eight years. It is still an active agency, now headed by CBC’s own Thomas Lothamer. Back in Grand Rapids, Julie gave birth to the couple’s fourth child, Emily. And Dad again listened to God prompting him to continue his education. He enrolled in Western Michgan University, taking classes in philosophy and medical ethics. While there, Mark also did some student teaching and found he enjoyed it. He felt God leading him into this field after earning his MA degree. Today, Mark Blocher is a full-time professor of interdisciplinary studies at Cornerstone University. God is still leading Mark in paths of service. A student in one of his classes at Cornerstone mentioned the subject of chaplaincy with the police force. After exhaustive background and educational
they learn to trust Him. I’ve seen how God is making changes in some of the men.” It was a surprise to Mark Blocher when his home church offered him the position of Pastor of Christian Education. A committee had been searching for the individual whom God could use in this ministry. Amazingly, they found him in their own congregation.
checks, Mark was accepted as Chaplain with the Michigan State Police. Most Friday evenings, and sometimes far into the night, Chaplain Blocher rides with a State Police Trooper, usually between the cities of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and throughout Allegan County. When asked, he assists the trooper, especially in situations where negotiations are needed. He wears a chaplain’s uniform and is outfitted with the full armor of God. He does carry a firearm and wears a bulletproof vest, but is also equippped with the sword of the Lord. “My job as chaplain is to assist the officer, to be on his side in all situations,” Blocher says. “These men are under constant pressure and are confronted with a myriad of temptations. Consequently, family life is affected. Some marriages do not survive. But God can enable men to turn their lives around as
“Is this something I am qualified to do?” Blocher asked himself. “Is God leading me to this ministry?” It was obvious that God had led him to choose college and university courses that equipped him for this challenge. He had experience in a similar role at Highland Hills Baptist Church, and he had a love for God’s Word and for teaching. He already had many responsibilities, but he felt God was leading him to accept this new opportunity. After praying about it, he accepted. “My goal is to make sure every child in our care gains an understanding of God’s story. Beginning at a young age, children need to know what the Bible is, what it teaches about sin and salvation, how God wants them to trust and obey Him, what God promises to do for them. If we do our job well, by the time a student reaches adulthood, he will be thoroughly grounded in God’s Word.” Mark Blocher wears many hats: husband, father, grandfather, professor, chaplain and pastor. And he wears them well. God’s leading in his life began when a pretty young brunette invited him to hear God’s story.
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look for cbc on facebook and twitter! Do you have a Facebook account? If so, look for the CBC fan page and the Camp Calvary fan page. These pages are updated regularly and are a great resource for staying connected with your friends from camp and church. In July, Calvary Baptist will begin tweeting! For those of you who use Twitter look for @cbcgr and pass the word along to other users who might want to follow what is happening at CBC!
Calvary Baptist Church 1200 28th St. SE Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Chapters