5301 Lake Street
Bridgman, Michigan
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
—1 Corinthians 13:4 & 5 (NIV)
This article originally appeared the Saturday, November 10, 2007 edition of the Harbor Country News.
Surfing Pastor Leads Unpredictable Service at New Church in Bridgman
By Matt Fritz
News staff writer
BRIDGMAN - There's a live band jamming on stage, a couple of mobsters trash-talking their mother, and a guy telling jokes over his surfboard.
Sounds like a nice variety show, right?
Actually, it's a church service.
And that's just a taste of what transpired on Sunday, Nov. 4, during South Shore Fellowship's first official worship service at the Lions Club Cafe on Weko Beach in Bridgman.
With a surfboard for a pulpit and Lake Michigan as a backdrop, Pastor Jack Nordgren shared anecdotes on life, surfing, construction work, and, of course, a guy named Jesus, to a packed Sunday morning audience.
"I work construction four days a week," he quipped while introducing himself to a roomful of rapt listeners. "That's because I can do in four days what most men can do in two."
Part of the Foursquare denomination of churches (which stands for Jesus Christ savior, healer, baptizer and soon-coming king). South Shore Fellowship offers worshipers an array of songs, impersonations, jokes, and plenty of biblical undertakings to enjoy with their sermon.
Nordgren described the service as "contemporary worship in a casual atmosphere," as was true since most listeners dressed in jeans and work clothes, including Nordgren, who took some time out to play bass in the church's live band.
An avid surfer, Nordgren gave lessons at Third Coast Surf Shop in New Buffalo this summer, and spent 22 years in Waikiki, Hawaii, where, besides riding waves, he served as pastor of Hope Chapel South Shore, a church he started in 1984.
During a Nov. 2 phone interview, he explained that his decision to start South Shore Fellowship was made two years ago when he traveled to Sawyer for his father's funeral. While there, he and his wife, Maree, felt God calling them to come together and start a church.
Despite just moving to Bridgman last March, Nordgren is not a stranger to the area. Originally from Roseland on the south side of Chicago, he often vacationed in Sawyer while growing up, and visited the area yearly when his parents moved to Bethany Beach several years ago.
In fact, he caught his first wave off that beach in his younger days.
And his reason for starting a church in Bridgman?
"When we stayed in Bethany Beach it tended to be a more isolated community," he said. "In Bridgman you get a much better feel for what's going on around here."
Nordgren said his intent wasn't to take parishioners away from other area churches. It was to attract people who have never been to church or no longer go.
The church he led in Waikiki was part of the Hope Chapel series of churches, which, along with several other churches he helped start in the area, had a goal of reaching 1 percent of the Hawaiian population in ten years (and, according to Nordgren, did so in 11).
Most of the Hope Chapels were of the Foursquare denomination, he said. But that was not a requirement for them.
"Denominations are labels," he said. "They either blow off on the way up or burn up on the way down. Only Jesus can save you."
"When we were in Hawaii we served the inner city," he continued. "We had homeless, transvestites, drug dealers, people with AIDS. We helped all of them. We have the same philosophy here."
When he initially met the person who would become his associate pastor in Hawaii, he said the man was a drug dealer with nine kids and no wives. During the process of his conversion, Nordgren said the man got back on his feet and his kids went from hating him to loving him.
"No matter how messed up you are, god can put your life back together. I can take no credit. I just help people connect with God. That's what keeps me going. That's my bottom line. That's my paycheck."
Nordgren explained that some people have just allowed their lives to get pretty messed up. It's the church's job to help them put the pieces back together, even though there is always some risk involved.
"I have had a lot of experience getting conned and I'll probably get conned again, but if they want held we can help them," he said.
Since March, Nordgren has been helping at Living Way Foursquare Church in New Buffalo, working part-time construction and working at the surf shop, all jobs acquainting him with the local culture.
Nordgren said he likes to illustrate his teachings with modern parables people understand, pointing out that Jesus always used simple parables for the people of his time. For instance, Nordgren said he often used surfing as starting point during his Hawaiian sermons, it being a common past time there.
Although surfing is part of the local culture here, he surmised that he would probably need to make more references to construction and other jobs he's held, which people in the area would be more familiar with.
And there would also be the variety show aspect of his sermon.
"You hear that the main reason people don't go to church is because it's so predictable. One thing I can guarantee you is we are not going to be predictable. We do some of the craziest things," he said.
South Shore Fellowship holds services at 10:30* a.m. Sundays at the Lions Club Café. For more, call Nordgren at (269) 465-6264 or log on to southshorefellowship.org.
» Click here to read the original post.
Note: we now meet at 9:00 a.m. from Labor Day to Memorial Day and at 10:00 a.m. during the Fall and Winter.