Comments on: Mr. Johansen

By: Tracey Giorgio

Tracey Giorgio — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:28:49 +0000

Shaun this is beautiful, you are beautiful, I love you and your family so much!!! You are such an inspiration to so many, and you have always been to me…I miss you, I love you ALWAYS, Tracey

By: SD

SD — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:12:18 +0000

So, Shaun. . .how do you respond to the Mr. Johanson’s of the world in 2010?

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:13:08 +0000

Just finished reading “Who Stole My Church?”…it’ll be a book discussion at our church in the near future. I currently sit on the worship team, and have those same discussions. I loved the book. It addresses all these issues, but not just to the older folks who need to “get with it”. It also speaks to the younger generation as well, giving them insight into what it is and why the older generations are fighting change so hard. It’s a book meant for the multi-generational church…the pix you posted could’ve been from the stories in that book! Loved them! Yayy for redhead moms!

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:06:27 +0000

Dude…I got to church with a lot of saints old enough to be my grandparents…and i love the stories and histories

By: rachelpage

rachelpage — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:19:09 +0000

Thank you for sharing this, Shaun. I really appreciate your blog, and this story definitely resonated with me today as I think about my own church experience.

By: NancyTyler

NancyTyler — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:01:46 +0000

Thanks, Kid.

By: Shaun Groves

Shaun Groves — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:46:33 +0000

So good to see your face now when you post!

And, as always, good to read your thoughts…elder one ; )

By: NancyTyler

NancyTyler — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:31:03 +0000

I’ve become nearly obsessed thinking about age lately. Part of it is because I lead a team at work whose members are 11-19 years younger than I am. But the bigger part of it is that I have a lot of friends, mentors and favorite family members in their 60s-80s and I’m watching them look back on their lives as they’re coping with bodies that are betraying them and friends who are disappearing one nursing home and one funeral home at a time.

I’ve been noticing–and surprised–that being planted in the middle of these wildly different generations is making me more merciful toward and respectful of the people on both ends of my spectrum.

Friends and coworkers in their 20s and early 30s aren’t “kids.” They’re people I have the honor of mentoring and nurturing and from whom I learn about trends and technology. They re-energize me. And my friends and family on the senior side of the seesaw aren’t “old.” They’re full of hard-earned wisdom and many of them, well-weathered faith. They ground me.

A lot of my mentors are moving into their senior years, and I’m standing with a couple of them who I fear I’ll lose soon to the cancers that they’re fighting. I listen so much more intently now, in my 40s, as my more seasoned friends talk about their lives and successes and regrets, and as they fight their fears and make peace with what is ahead for them in this life. I feel lonelier as each of my senior friends leaves me for the next life, and the buffer between my generation and the grave becomes thinner.

By: Dawn~Canada

Dawn~Canada — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:09:33 +0000

Thanks for sharing that touching story!
It’s hard to think that we all will be Mr. Johansens one day. Our brains scream “WHAT?! We’re still young + invincable!” Meanwhile our bodies whisper “Well…not really.” Thankfully our Heavenly Father is always there for us, no matter how old we are. No matter how much our world changes around us, His love never does. There’s alway Him.
And shuffle board.

By: Laura @ Texas in Africa

Laura @ Texas in Africa — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:56:08 +0000

I’m pretty sure you’re talking about the church in which I grew up and the Dr. Harvey I’ve known for most of my life. What gets lost by ignoring the wisdom of those who came before us, and what we lose by only worshiping with those who are just like us is profound.