tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5505987796745947211.post7487687000268653459..comments2024-01-08T20:25:59.084-05:00Comments on Relevancy22: Contemporary Process Christianity: Post-Evangelic Topics and Theology: How Evangelicalism Changed in 1978-79 with a Call to FundamentalismR.E. Slaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07236791303306154165noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5505987796745947211.post-21280525849228915152012-12-06T07:51:56.547-05:002012-12-06T07:51:56.547-05:00Your close. Dr. John White pastored Calvary Baptis...Your close. Dr. John White pastored Calvary Baptist Church. Edward Dobson pastored Calvary Undenominational Church. Both are located in Grand Rapids. And both were GRR's first mega-churches. Curiously, Calvary Baptist was first to surpass 1500 in attendance. Later, Undenom (now Calvary Church) caught up when they moved to their present address.<br /><br />Some personal facts. Both Dr. White and Pastor Gardiner married my wife and I in a "double shot gun" wedding as we use to call it. White did the pre-marital counseling (six weeks; all wonderful!), and Gardiner the ceremonial review. But both stood with us at our wedding and both spoke at it. This was unusual but both were friends to our families.<br /><br />Secondly, when Calvary Baptist thought to expand and move, Pastor White looked at our 200 year-old farm homestead on 28th street between East Paris and Patterson Avenue. We had a 100 acres to sell but it then lay in developer's hands to which the church might not have been able to afford. What I understood though is that they wanted to stay near the Burton Heights neighborhood and not go so far away from its roots. In any case they did and it seems that either location would (and did) reduce its neighborhood ministries. Which is unfortunate. But churches, like ministries, have a life-and-death cycle to them. It is a fact of life.<br /><br />Anyways, Calvary Baptist Church was originally located on the SW corner of Burton and Eastern; then spread out between the Ottawa Hills Public School address before moving to its "south campus" at Seymour Christian School near Alger and Eastern. Throughout the 12 year? process the Burton Church was in continued use both as a worship facility and as offices. Afterwards all properties were sold and moved to their present 28th Street location near Kalamazoo Avenue. Here is their link (which is very slow) - http://cbcgr.org/.<br /><br />Calvary Undenominational Church (my wife's church) was originally located at the Michigan Avenue location (now replaced by a large Medical Facility owned by Spectrum Hospital). It started under M.R. DeHaan (Radio Bible Class) as a split from 3rd? Reformed Church. My wife is from there and our pastor was George Gardiner, then Louis Paul Lehman (who died on stage at my college groups first Christmas Eve concert we advertised as "Festival of Lights"), then Edward Dobson, and now Jim Samra (one of my College & Career Sunday School class kids). Under Lehman the church moved to its present E.Beltline & I-96 address. Somewhere along the way Undenom shortened its name to simply "Calvary Church" and is no longer "Calvary Undenominational Church". Here is their link (which is little faster) - http://www.calvarygr.com/.<br /><br />I can never say enough about Dr. John White. He was wonderful in every way. From the pulpit, to pastoring, to ministry, vision, and administrative ability. He was the complete package and we were privileged to have had God's "Man from Iowa!" Thank you brother for the memories.<br /><br />R.E. Slaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07236791303306154165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5505987796745947211.post-5246517403287683742012-12-05T15:56:47.768-05:002012-12-05T15:56:47.768-05:00Brother,
You mentioned Dr. John White. I love th...Brother,<br /><br />You mentioned Dr. John White. I love that man.<br />Help me understand. Is the church he pastored the same one that Ed Dobson pastor's presently?<br /><br />I enjoyed your article.<br />TrentTrent Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10568391764505377681noreply@blogger.com