Kirkwood Baptist Church » Dr. Greg Lundberg Blog

TLC

GLundberg — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:00:37 +0000

One of the gifts my parents gave me is a love and respect for God’s creation. My parents were farmers for many years, so taking care of the earth was a natural part of their lives and they passed the love of nature on to me. When I spent quality time with dad we either seemed to be on the lake or in the woods. Mom, on the other hand, was all about plants, so in the summer I would naturally get “talked into” planting and weeding and working in the garden. The smell of geraniums and tomato plants immediately brings Mom to mind. Now, many years later, I love to garden and get my hands in the dirt. There is something about gardening that is healing somehow…or perhaps I feel connected to something larger. I don’t claim to be all that good at gardening, but I love plants and taking care of them. I have a soft spot for the ones that need some TLC. When I see the distressed plant rack at Lowe’s my heart goes out and I have to try and do something. I can’t begin to tell you how many hopeless plants I’ve tried to rescue. About six weeks ago, I was at Lowe’s and I saw this really scraggly, torn up, and soon-to-be-thrown-in-the-trash Canna Lily. It was pitiful. (My mind flashed to that scene in a “Charlie Brown Christmas” where Linus found a Christmas tree with 3 branches on it.) I don’t have much knowledge of Canna lilies or how to care for them, but I thought I’d give it a try. I took it home, found what I thought was a suitable place, planted and watered it, spoke to it kindly and said a prayer over it as I welcomed it to my garden. About that time, life got very busy with my daughter’s graduation, her wedding, her reception here at KBC, preparations for YouthCUE and the 140th anniversary celebration, so I forgot about my new plant friend for awhile. One day recently, I went into the backyard and spotted an orange flower at eye level where there shouldn’t have been one and my heart almost stopped. The Canna lily had grown like Jack’s beanstalk; and even better, it displayed the most beautiful flower. I was amazed. Some thoughts come to mind, but mostly what needs to be said is that there are a lot of people in the world like that little lily. It is up to us to look out for those around us who need a kind word, or a healing touch. Who knows what beautiful thing might emerge in our world with a little bit of tender loving care?

Biography – Dr. Greg Lundberg, Associate Pastor for Music & Worship

ksikes — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:42:56 +0000

Dr. Greg Lundberg, Associate Pastor for Music & Worship

Greg Lundberg began his responsibilities as Associate Pastor for Music and Worship at KBC on August 7, 2006. He is married to the love of his life, Polly, and they have 2 daughters, Ashley and Chelsea. Ashley graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Music Therapy degree and is now married to the love of her life, Steve, a classical guitar teacher and performing artist. They live and work in Minneapolis. Chelsea, a junior at Truman State University, is a passionate musician, studying and performing flute, music education, and Spanish, and spending much happy time with her music sorority. She loves investing herself in church music ministry.

A native of Minnesota, Greg earned a B.A. degree from Judson College, an M.C.M. degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate in Worship Studies from the Institute for Worship Studies, Jacksonville, Florida. He was ordained in 1985.

Greg served churches in Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois and Minnesota before coming to KBC. He is past president of the Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians, an organization which provides music training for ministers of music from all over the United States. The Conference for Church Musicians is held each summer in Green Lake, Wisconsin.

Greg is passionate about leading people in meaningful worship and making music to the glory of God. “We are all worshipers, 24/7, so the question is not if we worship, but what we worship. What holds our focus in this life? When we worship, we come in contact with the Eternal One. As we sing our praises to God, we mysteriously take part in the eternal praises that are sung in heaven. When we worship God, we participate in an event that is rooted in eternity.”

Greg likes to spend his free time with his family, listen to music of all kinds, enjoy food of all kinds, reading deeply, watching films, running, and tending to his gardens. An avid tennis fan, he pines for the classy play and demeanor of the great Bjorn Borg. “He beat you fair and square.” He and Chelsea were thrilled to see the fine play of Rafael Nadal in the 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon finals. Vamos Rafa!!! Greg loves baseball (Cardinals in the N.L., Twins in the A.L.).