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David S. Dahlberg to Retire in August
By Craig Pinley
HUDSON, OH (April 9, 2002) - David S. Dahlberg's faithfulness in communicating
the message of the cross of Jesus Christ has been a hallmark of 20 years of
service as superintendent of the Great Lakes Conference.
Dahlberg's faithfulness in wearing the cross of Jesus Christ is also a
memorable part of his ministry.
In August, the 71-year-old Dahlberg will retire from his position. Richard
Lucco, who has been senior pastor at Trinity Covenant Church in Salem,
Oregon, for the past nine years, has been nominated as his successor.
Delegates will vote to elect Lucco at the Great Lakes Conference annual
meeting April 27 in Muskegon, Michigan.
Dahlberg usually wears a large silver cross as part of his attire. He
admits that the cross has been a conversation piece.
"There was a chaplain on the East Coast, Wally Cederleaf, who wore a cross
. . . I saw it and thought it was neat," said Dahlberg. "I was at a
wonderful old bookstore in Boston and this was a cross that choir members
in the Episcopal Church would wear. I bought it for one dollar and have
worn it for probably 30 years.
"We lost it (the cross) one time, or at least we thought we had," he
continued. "We found it in our luggage, but it was so associated with me
that my wife Carol was really upset."
But colleagues recall more about Dahlberg than what is hung around his
neck. His work with those he serves and his enthusiasm for the job have
been just as evident. Great Lakes Conference Chair Ken Larson has been
grateful for Dahlberg's support during the past two years and has
appreciated his care for pastors and churches alike.
"David Dahlberg is a really good guy and has some great insights into
matching pastors with churches," said Larson, the pastor at Faith Covenant
Church in Farmington Hills, Michigan. "He is not a 'top down' guy; things
don't always have to run through him. He is also an avid supporter of
conference ministries and has been an advocate of camping ministries in the
conference."
Dahlberg grew up in New London, Minnesota, a town located 100 miles from
Minneapolis. He has seen evidence that the warmth of the town and its
people has rubbed off on him during his ministry career.
"The care that was given in that kind of situation - I have highly valued
that," said Dahlberg, who earned his undergraduate degree from the
University of Minnesota and a Master of Divinity from North Park
Theological Seminary in Chicago. "I really felt a sense of call (to
ministry) and I've never said to myself, 'I have to be an encourager to
pastors' - it's part of what I am."
Dahlberg had considered law school for a time, but felt called to ministry
during college. Larson noted about Dahlberg, "Wherever he goes, he tells
people he has the best job in the conference."
"The satisfaction of leaving the job is feeling that along the way there
have been pastors whom I have been able to encourage and help," Dahlberg
said. "There have been churches that I've been able to work with in
pastoral search and sometimes in conflict situations. And there's a great
deal of joy in remembering this call and a significant part of that is in
meeting the people I've met along the way and maybe having been an
encouragement to them."
At his first pastorate out of seminary, the Evangelical Covenant Church of
Fridley, Minnesota, he met his wife, Carol. They've been married 43 years
and raised two children, Mary Kay and Mark. After serving in Tinley Park,
Illinois, (now Our Savior Covenant in Oak Forest), Dahlberg went to
Attleboro, Massachusetts, and served 15 years there.
Dahlberg was pastor of First Covenant Church of Jamestown, New York, when
the Great
Lakes Conference asked him to consider becoming a superintendent. He
replaced Harry Swanson in 1982 and credits Swanson and longtime East Coast
Supt. C. Leslie Strand for helping model how to balance being a pastor to
pastors and a resource for churches.
"You're not in control of someone's career, but you can recommend them,"
Dahlberg said as he described his role. "I feel the church is my client,
but a superintendent works with churches and pastors. You can't be a
champion for either, but you have to gain a rapport with them. You have to
be comfortable in an administrative role and you have to be comfortable
with travel."
Dahlberg has seen a lot of changes in the past 20 years. During the first
dozen years of his service as superintendent, he worked with many longtime
superintendents, including Midwest Conference superintendent and childhood
friend Wes Olson. Since the mid-90s, however, Olson and seven other
superintendents have retired. It's a different world, Dahlberg admits, but
the collegiality with his new colleagues remains positive.
"A superintendent has to be in a team ministry with other superintendents,
so we don't have a 'turf' that we protect," Dahlberg said. "We know each
other very well with a lot of trust and mutual respect. I feel very good
about the future of the Covenant with the leadership and the gifted and
godly people that are being called to ministry."
Recent months have been busy and productive for Dahlberg and the
conference, which includes 60 congregations from seven states. A surge in
church plant projects under associate superintendent Larry Sherman and the
addition of some assisted living facilities have added much
life. A "Friend to Friend" Sunday concept used by pastor Patrick White of
Christ Community Church in Allegan, Michigan, was implemented at the
conference level and has had successful results at numerous churches.
Camping ministries in the Great Lakes are also a source of
encouragement.
"Our camps are functioning very well, with good management. And we have
been blessed in church planting," said Dahlberg. "Gary Walter (executive
minister of the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism) said to me a
few years ago that we had a fertile field for planting churches and he was
right."
Busy or no, however, retirement looms and Dahlberg has considered his
future, albeit briefly. He has no plans for interim pastoral work, but he
enjoys reading, travel and hunting, among other things. Being a grandfather
to three children near Chicago will also keep him busy. "Everybody says,
'you'll be doing something,' Dahlberg said. "But I don't know. I've never
retired before." As for the cross, he hasn't stated whether it gets shelved
in retirement. However, it would be hard
to imagine Dahlberg without it.
"I guess it is part of my persona," he said. "And a lot of people say they
have noticed it and liked it."
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