Saying Yes: Building a Culture of Care with Rob Borgerson
Description
What if caring for others was not one more thing on the calendar, but the way we live? Pastor Rob Borgerson joins Shannon to share how a handful of small, faithful yeses grew into a culture of service at the Winnipeg Church of Christ. From being welcomed as a skeptical 17-year-old, to saying yes to preteens he was not sure he was wired to lead, Rob traces a thread of ordinary presence, humility, and practical love. We talk about building culture on purpose, helping people start where they are, and why God delights in our willingness even when it is messy. It is an honest, encouraging look at love as a lifestyle.
About our guest
Rob Borgerson serves as a pastor with the Winnipeg Church of Christ, a diverse community gathering at Bronx Park Community Centre in Winnipeg. Rob and his wife, Katie-Ann, care deeply about cultivating a church family where people show up for one another in practical ways and grow together in faith.
Time Stamps
04:30 "Caring as a Lifestyle"
08:37 "Building a Culture of Service"
10:17 Journey to Leadership Through Gratitude
15:45 Change to Improve Results
18:55 "Congregant's Child Finds Faith"
19:59 "Transformative Care and Ministry"
25:22 "Forget the Former Things"
26:47 God Works in Unexpected Ways
31:24 "Start Moving, Improve Your Circle"
Guest Links
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Shannon Steeves [00:00:03]:
What if caring for others wasn't another thing to fit into our schedules, but simply the way we lived our lives? Our guest today has spent years helping shape that kind of culture right here in Winnipeg. Pastor Rob Borgerson leads the Winnipeg Church of Christ alongside his wife, Katie Ann. Together they've built a church family that reflects the beauty of diversity. People from all walks of life coming together to serve, love and grow in faith. In our conversation today, Rob shares how small, faithful yeses turned into a culture of care that's now woven into the DNA of their church. We'll talk about what it really takes to build that kind of community, how to lead with humility, and why saying yes, even when it's uncomfortable, can open the door for God to do something new. It's an honest, encouraging look at what happens when love becomes a lifestyle.
Johan Heinrichs [00:01:00]:
Every one of us has a story about who showed up when it mattered most. I'm Johan, and this is Neighbourly, a podcast about the ordinary ways people show extraordinary care. Every other week, Shannon Steeves sits down with someone who's lived that out. Real stories of faith, kindness and community in action. So grab your coffee and let's join Shannon at the table.
Shannon Steeves [00:01:27]:
Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Pastor Rob. I should have asked this from the beginning. Do you prefer Rob or Robert? I've seen both.
Rob Borgerson [00:01:35]:
Yeah, Rob's great. And. And you're. You are one of the few that refers to me as Pastor Rob.
Shannon Steeves [00:01:40]:
Well, I try. It's really important to me. You are a pastor. You have taken on a burden and just a mantle for a group of people in a city, and so I believe that. Well, I'm so excited to be chatting with you today. I know we have connected here and there over the last little while. The title of this podcast is neighbourly, so I love to hear. Growing up, who was a neighbour that you will never forget?
Rob Borgerson [00:02:06]:
Honestly, as I looked at my childhood and all the homes I was at, there wasn't a whole lot that came to mind. But when I was a young adult in school, that totally jumped to mind. So my birthday is in November, and So I was 17 starting at the university, and my first week on campus, that's where I got invited up to church. I was total atheist, you know, zero background with the Bible. But these. These campus brothers who were getting to know me, they treated me in a way that I totally did not expect. You know, they're. They're older than me.
Rob Borgerson [00:02:37]:
They're, you know, they're in their early 20s and they're they're just, they're just getting, trying to get through campus life as well. But they treated me if, if anything, if anybody ever has. They treated me like a true neighbour. They didn't know me. They looked for ways to serve me. They organized study groups on campus. I had one of the guys who was really helping me with my math. He had done all the math and he was about four or five years ahead of me.
Rob Borgerson [00:02:58]:
He was doing his PhD at the time. And then at the same time they were talking about the Bible with me and guiding me through and putting up with my questions from total ignorance because I literally had zero experience with the Bible. And then on my 18th birthday, they took me out for a lunch in North Garden just off campus, right? So I mean like, stuff like that, like they treated me with real respect. Talking to me like a normal human being and as a total nerd in high school was something I never really experienced. I didn't have a whole lot of friends growing up and to have these guys treat me with, with so much love and respect, it was, it was powerful. It was something that changed my life for sure. I, you know, four months later I, I became a Christian and it was, I literally said to them that it was because of them. Right? I cried and said that, you know what, it's because you guys, I'm here.
Rob Borgerson [00:03:44]:
Like the, the love that you guys have shown me, it's just ridiculous. So that was the, that was the best example I had of a, of a great neighbour.
Shannon Steeves [00:03:52]:
Wow, that's beautiful. When you are talking about this group, it really makes me think about like that was really a community. When you think about that now, like, what did that teach you about community?
Rob Borgerson [00:04:05]:
Oh, it's huge. Like, like everybody's busy, everybody's got stuff to do and you have to make the time for it. Right. More specifically, you have to do life with you. It's not like you have to make time to do extra stuff. Like. No, you just have to invite people into your life. And the way people did that in a loving, encouraging way, like, that's incredible.
Rob Borgerson [00:04:26]:
And that's, that's one of the hallmarks of the church has had since then.
Shannon Steeves [00:04:30]:
Wow. That's exactly it. And that's really, I think what we're trying to communicate out through stories like this and a platform like this is that caring for others isn't like a task that you need to add to the list or, you know, a big a time consuming thing you need to put into your life. It's just we're trying to make it a lifestyle that how we live our lives is that way. And, and that's beautiful. That's just a perfect story.
Rob Borgerson [00:04:59]:
And people want to make it complicated. Right. They want the big thing. But in fact, you know, like, it can be super loving to just invite somebody to go grocery shopping with you.
Shannon Steeves [00:05:08]:
Absolutely.
Rob Borgerson [00:05:09]:
Because, hey, come do life with me. You gotta. You gotta buy groceries just like I do. Let's go. Let's do it together.
Shannon Steeves [00:05:15]:
Yeah, exactly. I had a pastor once also who. She shared that when she was a youth pastor. That was one of the main ways she built relationships with the youth students was she had three kids, she had to go grocery shopping. So she'd bring along the youth kids around the grocery store and just built relationship that way.
Rob Borgerson [00:05:34]:
Beautiful.
Shannon Steeves [00:05:34]:
Simple. Well, that's a great segue now into kind of getting more into current day. Can you just give us a kind of a quick picture of what your church community looks like?
Rob Borgerson [00:05:45]:
Yeah. So it's the Winnipeg Church of Christ. We meet at Bronx Park Community center on Henderson right now. That's great. We got about 100 people and it's incredibly multicultural. We have a really big Nigerian contingent right now, really significant Chinese contingent. We've had for many years a significant Filipino contingent. So it's amazing to have so many different perspectives.
Rob Borgerson [00:06:07]:
And, and this is the thing, is that I. Some of my best friends are people who are completely different than me. Right. That's. That's awesome. I love that. Yeah. For those of you, if you're.
Rob Borgerson [00:06:16]:
If you're listening to the podcast, I'm white and I grew up with, you know, people who were not entirely unlike myself, but most people who were very much. Had been in Canada for a while. Right. Whether they were white or not. But for me to have some of my best friends today, even to the point. My wife is Jamaican. She. She came up here when she was 12 and we met in the church.
Rob Borgerson [00:06:36]:
And that's. That's the picture of our church. It's a beautiful family who are all different and have tons of, tons of differences and yet love each other.
Shannon Steeves [00:06:46]:
Wow, that's beautiful. Okay, well, thank you for sharing that about your church. I think a. A big part of what I'm hearing already is where is really. What we've already started talking about is community. It's people who might not look like each other have. May not had a similar background coming together because they believe in something and they share that in common. And from what I know about your church, it's very community oriented.
Shannon Steeves [00:07:12]:
And so I'd love To hear how did that begin for you? Like, was there a specific need that came up and that's what started it all, or just what stirred your heart to kind of get involved that way?
Rob Borgerson [00:07:23]:
So again, so I, I was invited to become a Christian. Like I was an atheist growing up and I was invited to become a Christian by this church. And so I was a 17 year old guy studying the Bible and an 18 year old young Christian who has zero knowledge of the Bible. And so I, and now I'm 42 or going on 43 next week. So I've been around this church for my entire Christian life. And so I've gotten to see over time. But as I, as I look back, I'm like, it really had to be the culture. What I mean by that is that somebody made the choice.
Rob Borgerson [00:07:53]:
We as a church are going to make this opportunity, we're going to go serve in this particular way. And there's been a number of things we've done over the years. Certainly 15 years ago it looked very different than it looks now, you can imagine, but somebody made the choice, let's go serve there. And in the beginning it was a lot of reminding people, a lot of encouragement, a lot of, hey, make sure you sign up, hey, make sure you're there. Hey. And it took a long time, but it became the culture, right? Like, it just is the thing now that we do. And actually it's a really interesting dynamic we have right now because in the last three, four years, for whatever reason, immigration policies and things like this, we've actually had a lot of move ins from other churches in our particular group of churches. And because of that, there's been that picture.
Rob Borgerson [00:08:37]:
We, we need to communicate the culture, right? The culture in the Winnipeg church is we serve, we make a difference, right? We get out there and do stuff. And at the beginning, when you're first making that culture, it involves, yeah, scheduling the time, making it available, but then as well inviting people and then having some uncomfortable conversations when it's not happening, right? Or more specifically, I like looking at this way now is I want to have a, a small group of the people that have that buy in, right. Whatever that group is, and let's get together and serve and make a difference and let's talk about how great it is, right? Let's make, let's advertise that way and talk about how, how much it's helping us and how much difference we're making and share about it, you know, make announcements at church and do all these things and get people on board. Right. Make people want to do it. Right. But that's the thing. The Winnipeg church, for literally more than 15 years at this point, has had an amazing culture of service.
Rob Borgerson [00:09:37]:
So it is the expectation, it is the norm in the Winnipeg church.
Shannon Steeves [00:09:42]:
My own pastor says something kind of similar to what you're saying. There's always going to be a culture, but either happening by default or you're intentional about it. And so that's what it sounds like for you guys. You've made the intentional choice that we are going to be a church that serves. Can you share a little bit? And maybe you have to think back a ways, but you started talking about some of the, maybe the growing pains of trying to create that culture. How have you really encouraged and sought that buy in from the congregation to kind of shift that and become that type of culture?
Rob Borgerson [00:10:17]:
And this is the thing. So you go back 15, 20 years and I'm not even involved in leadership. Right. I'm just a rank and file trying to survive. And again, I always felt in the beginning like I didn't have much to contribute because I knew nothing about the Bible. I was just a warm body. But the thing about me with, with the, the gift of the love that I was shown when I was reached out to and the, the way that the, the people impacted me, what it made me respond with was gratitude and say, okay, whatever I can do, like, let me do something. And it was in, in 2007, the pastor at the time asked me and my wife if we could lead the preteen ministry.
Rob Borgerson [00:10:58]:
Some of the oldest kids in the church were preteens at that point, and they were just now coming out for the first time. Like it was a very young church for a long time. And so I had zero heart for kids. We didn't have any kids at that point. I was completely uninterested in serving kids, but I'm interested in helping. So he asked me and I said, I said, are you sure? Because I'm not, I'm not, I'm not a kid guy. Like, I, you know, but yeah, okay. If you need, you need a warm body, I'm there.
Rob Borgerson [00:11:27]:
Trust me. Like, Right. And that kind of heart is something that I've, I've seen a lot of. Certainly it's, I'm not unique that way, but that was what started us on our journey and that was what really propelled us forward. That's, that's the reason I'm here today as a pastor is because, like, God really worked through that movement. Right. So to come Back to your question of, you know, what do I do? Or what did we do? It was just like, have that grateful heart to say, okay, well, I can't do everything and I don't have the greatest skills, but what can I do? Right. And encourage the congregation to have that same attitude of, well, here's an opportunity.
Rob Borgerson [00:12:00]:
Can you stand and serve food? You have that ability. Yeah, you do. Let's go. Right? And just finding those things where you start off with something that's easy. Right. Can you go to Walmart and buy some school supplies? That doesn't take much money. Oh, you don't have any money. Okay.
Rob Borgerson [00:12:15]:
Here's an email to send out to your workplace to invite people to give school supplies where the school, like, can you do that? Yes, I can do that. Oh, great. Right. And taking where people where they're at with what they feel like they can do and then moving on that. Right. One of my favorite sayings is it's. It's impossible to turn a stop ship. And so is as long as we have a ship that's moving, even if it's moving in the wrong direction, at least we can start turning it and making progress in the right direction.
Shannon Steeves [00:12:41]:
That's beautiful. Like you said, it's all about your heart, posture and your attitude. And I think sometimes people just need someone else to kind of call out what they see in that person. And then that kind of can be light bulb moments of, oh, like, yeah, I can serve food. Like, I can do that. That's doable. And then from there, kind of that unlocking, you know, different skills and gifts and spiritual gifts that maybe they don't even know are there yet. That's really beautiful.
Rob Borgerson [00:13:13]:
And so many people are insecure. So many people are so nervous about their own skills. Like, everybody around them will say they're good at this. And then I will ask them, hey, you're really good at this. Could you share about that at a service or at a devo or at something? Right. And they, oh, no, no, I could never do that. I'm not very good. They're so like everybody, the people who know they're insecure, they think they're the only ones.
Rob Borgerson [00:13:39]:
Everybody's insecure. And so the challenge is to say if you're going to be the different one, if you're going to be. Not that you're not going to be insecure, if you're going to be the one who's actually going to make a difference, all you got to do is say yes. And yeah, it'll Be hard. And yeah, you'll probably screw it up, and that's okay, because guess what? You're not Jesus. That job's taken. And so he's going to do a lot of great things with what you do. It's just like he does not need you.
Rob Borgerson [00:14:05]:
He wants you. It's very different. Yeah, I love, I compared it because my son started playing baseball, and I compared to the feeling I have for him as he's getting up to the plate. If he hits a home run, amazing. If he completely misses, amazing. As long as he tries. Right. It's not about the home run in that particular game.
Rob Borgerson [00:14:26]:
It's about the heart of him stepping out in. You know what? I'm going to do this and I'm going to try and I'm going to put myself out there. And that's what God gets excited about.
Shannon Steeves [00:14:35]:
Exactly. And when you're motivated by love, that's huge. I think about that story you said of those friends you met. They really expressed a love that you were surprised by and that you hadn't experienced before, and that stirred you to take action. And so I think that's what really, we want churches and really just any listener to hear is that you just have to say yes and let God use you in the ways that he wants to. But, but really, like, have a burden for, for people and caring about people and just say yes. And, and God will use that.
Rob Borgerson [00:15:15]:
Yeah. And of course, that's, you know, in one sense, that's horrible advice because you're gonna have a bunch of people who listen to this and stuff start saying yes to everything, and then all of a sudden they'll do everything badly because they don't have any time. Oh, no, of, of course, of course there's discernment. Right. But especially if you're feeling something in your heart where you're feeling like, you know what, I need to do something different or I'm not contributing enough or I want to make a difference somewhere. Like, that's where you got to start saying yes, because what you're doing ain't working. Right. Like, how, how's that working for you? That kind of.
Rob Borgerson [00:15:45]:
Like, if it was working for you, you keep doing it. And I, I told this to my students all the time when I, I, I taught at the university for a long time. And I, I would say, people would come up to me after getting 40% on a midterm, and they'd be like, well, Rob, what do I do? How can I pass the course? And I say, well, what you did resulted in that 40%. If you don't change anything, nothing will change. If you study the same way and do the same kind of things. And as you get ready for the next test, you're going to get about the same grade. So you got to change something. Now that might be quality, it might be quantity, and we can discuss what that would look like.
Rob Borgerson [00:16:21]:
But, but that's the point. You have to change something. And if you want to go from a 40 to a 90, well, then you got to change something substantial because that's a little small tweak here and there. Ain't going to do that. So that kind of thing. If you want to change something with the way you're serving and your default is like, no, or your default is I can't do that, or I'm not very good at that, well, then you got to change your default.
Shannon Steeves [00:16:41]:
That's so practical and so real, so relatable. And so we've really talked about kind of the culture that you have at your church and how you've gotten there. But I'd really love to get into some, some stories and some specific things. Can you tell a story or a moment that really captures what care looks like in your community?
Rob Borgerson [00:17:03]:
So there was one. There's a couple moments. I mean, certainly we do all the, all the usual things. For instance, providing meals when somebody's sick or has a, has a, a baby or a death in the family. All those kind of things. Right. That's sort of an automatic reaction that until, geez, I was, I was, I was very old when I realized how big a deal that actually was for people. Right.
Rob Borgerson [00:17:25]:
It was just something nice you did. Right. But, you know, making time to do life together. I mean, if when you have people in your, in your life that are actually consciously putting the effort into, to get with you, then you feel like you can call them when things go bad. Right. You need people like that who you're actually doing life with. So we have these things in our church, but the biggest one, I was thinking of this one guy in the preteens. Actually, he wasn't even in the preteens when we started.
Rob Borgerson [00:17:50]:
He joined the preteens. So he was a very young kid when we started with the preteens. As he moved forward, he came into the preteens and then in the teens, and it was clear he didn't really want to be there. Right. It was clear he was not interested. He considered himself an atheist. And as he got older, I actually got with him a little bit on the side. And we had some conversations around faith and.
Rob Borgerson [00:18:11]:
But he never really. Never bought it, never got into it, never. Right. It was just not for him. Right. As far as he was concerned. And that's fine. He had a great experience.
Rob Borgerson [00:18:21]:
His parents were forcing him sometimes to come. And there's pros and cons to that. Right. But in the end, as soon as he turned 18, he was out. He left. And he left the province like he was gone, and he was trying to get away. And what happened was a couple years went by, and not too long, maybe two years. And he calls me up one day out of the blue, and he asked me, hey, hey, Rob, could we meet? And we met at McDonald's, and we went and sat down and he started telling me about how, you know, what he's seen, a lot of what the world has to offer.
Rob Borgerson [00:18:55]:
He shared some really, you know, graphic stuff. And when he came down to it, he shared about how he looked at himself in the mirror at one point, and he said, is this really all there is? And I said, well, yeah, that's all the world has to offer. Right. And he asked, can you help me become a Christian? And so we studied the Bible, and he was super fast. He was ready to go. So it was only about two and a half weeks, and he became a Christian. And it was spectacular, and it was huge. And that's especially huge when it's one of the kids of the congregants, right? We all pray for them, and it's so important to all of us.
Rob Borgerson [00:19:30]:
And so we need a. We need to be normal, that our kids are becoming Christians. And that's hard. That requires a ton of time and a ton of effort. And with this kid, it required a lot of patience, right? It required being there and being a friend to him and not turning away from him when he clearly wasn't interested. Right. It made it that we were the good household that he could come back to after being the prodigal son. Right? That's the thing.
Rob Borgerson [00:19:59]:
And he came back, and to this day, he's doing great. He's married now. They're actually leading the teen ministry now. So DoD works, right? Like that, to me, is what care looks like is that we would get with them and we would spend time with them knowing that all the hours we spent into preparing devos or whatever for the kid, like, it doesn't change anything. They're not going to remember any of these devos, like maybe the one, but almost never they're going to remember them. What matters is the culture we're creating and that we're actually, we're actually going to be there with them and show them love, right? That is the care that can change their lives. Because then, like, the world does not compare with that. The world does not have any better things to offer, right? So when they, when they get to see what the world's like, if they have a soft heart, they'll say, you know what? It was so much better in my father's house.
Rob Borgerson [00:20:52]:
Right? And they'll come back. That's the hope, that's the prayer. And when you see that happen, it's just spectacular. It was lots of rejoicing all around.
Shannon Steeves [00:21:00]:
Wow. When you experience something real, nothing else compares to that. And like you said earlier, God doesn't have to use us, but he wants to.
Rob Borgerson [00:21:11]:
And I'm convinced that if we had said to ourselves, you know what? If we'd said, oh, you know what, I'm too busy, sorry, I can't get with you, God would do that. And he would let this guy suffer because of me saying, no, that's the God we worship. Like you look in the Bible, he lets people, innocent people, suffer because of other people doing bad things. And it's a thing you got to struggle through as a Christian. You reread some of those hard passages in there, it's a big deal. But I know God would work through it. Maybe become a Christian at 30, maybe become a Christian at 50. But this is the thing, is that, is that we have to be the people who say yes.
Rob Borgerson [00:21:49]:
If we don't say yes, like, we're going to miss all the things God's doing.
Shannon Steeves [00:21:54]:
Wow. Just saying yes. That's it. That's it.
Rob Borgerson [00:21:58]:
And again, it's not like I had a ton of experience or a ton of knowledge to share with this guy. I just loved him. I just shared what I could. Right. And that was enough. Right. I had, again, no heart for the pre teens. When he was, when he was involved, it didn't matter.
Rob Borgerson [00:22:11]:
It was that I, I had an opportunity to serve. I took the responsibility. I said, okay, I got to do this. I got to organize these events and, you know, we'd organize a trip to the corn maze and organize a do this and do this and, you know, have a devo this day and run this Sunday service, run this Sunday kids class for them and Right. Doing all that stuff, I mean, no, one of those things made the difference, but all of those things made the difference, right? When you come at it with a heart of just, what can I do to Love this guy. What can I do to love these people?
Shannon Steeves [00:22:39]:
That's right. You showed up consistently and faithfully and you cared.
Rob Borgerson [00:22:44]:
Wow.
Shannon Steeves [00:22:45]:
Something else I was, as you're sharing that story, thinking about in your role as leading this church, pastoring throughout that time, has there been people who said yes, like we're talking about that maybe surprised you? People that maybe you wouldn't have initially thought were wanting to jump in, were wanting to serve, or wanting to care, but did?
Rob Borgerson [00:23:09]:
Honestly, more often, it's. It's more often the people I think should say yes will say no. That's a much more common thing. The new families that have moved in recently with the. A lot of people coming in from different. Different communities, different cultures, different languages. English is a. Is not an easy language to learn.
Rob Borgerson [00:23:28]:
I'm just grateful it was my mother tongue because I would. I would have trouble learning it myself. But to see some of them come in and step into roles of leadership, step into roles of service where they are interacting with people whose English is their mother tongue and they're willing to say no. Yeah, it's going to be awkward. And that's okay. We'll talk slow. I got Google Translate if we really need it. Right.
Rob Borgerson [00:23:50]:
Like, that's a great heart. Right. And I think if I was in a different culture, if I was in a different place, I would find that really tough. Yeah. So I. That, that's, that's. That was something that really surprised me in a good way.
Shannon Steeves [00:24:02]:
Yeah. And that resilience that, you know, people who have made these huge life changes already, navigating so much, but then to still say, yeah, I want to serve, there's so much to learn from that.
Rob Borgerson [00:24:15]:
And I want, I want every one of them to feel the same way that I felt that first, those first months. Right. That they get. They get love. Love bombed so much. Right. That in the end they're like, well, oh, what can I do to serve? What can I do to help make a difference? Because they just feel so grateful for everything that was done for them. Right.
Shannon Steeves [00:24:31]:
That's right. Is there anything I haven't asked yet that you feel like it's on your heart to share? The Lord's prompted you to share.
Rob Borgerson [00:24:41]:
What gives you hope right now?
Shannon Steeves [00:24:43]:
Okay. What gives you hope right now?
Rob Borgerson [00:24:45]:
Honestly, it's Jesus. And that sounds, you know, trite and all these things. But the thing for me is recently I've been really realizing how, that if. If the resurrection is. Is as real as I believe it is, then really anything's possible. God really can do Anything. And I was challenged with this. So I did.
Rob Borgerson [00:25:03]:
I'm doing my. My master's right now through McMaster Divinity. And I did. I did a course on Isaiah last year. Then literally about three weeks ago, I was in a conference and somebody shared Isaiah 43. And when I heard it, I was shocked. So I've got it here. I could just read it for you real quick.
Rob Borgerson [00:25:22]:
Not the whole chapter or anything. Just a small part of says. This is what the Lord says. He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army, and the reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick. Okay? So he's calling their attention. He's asking them to remember the Exodus. Remember what I did for you in the Exodus, okay? And he's getting their brains remembering this. And then he says, forget the former things.
Rob Borgerson [00:25:54]:
Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing now. It springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams, in the wasteland. And that phrase, way in the wilderness, streams, the wasteland, like, it sounds. Okay, it sounds very Bible y and all these things. But to realize what he's saying is, I'm gonna do the opposite of what I did before, just to show you I can do anything. In the past, I made a dry ground through the water.
Rob Borgerson [00:26:22]:
Now I'm gonna put water in the desert. Like, I can do anything, guys. And so the guy who was preaching this at the conference, he made the point. He said, remember God, forget his methods. Like, there's no. There's no rules with God. Like, it. Just because, like, something that worked in some church 40 years ago does not need to work in your church today.
Rob Borgerson [00:26:47]:
Like, there's lots of principles in the Bible that are certainly timeless, and we should. We should stick by those. But the actual particular methods, if somebody at that time that. So that happened during the exile and all, like, all this brutal, people had lost hope. If somebody was waiting for a Red Sea crossing, it was not going to come right? Instead, what they should have been waiting for was actually being brought back from Babylon, which, by the way, is the opposite direction from the Red Sea. So that's the thing. It's that God really can do anything. And so my story with working with the preteens and then the teens, like, that's a great example of that, because it's just I had no heart, no interest, and yet God worked through that incredibly.
Rob Borgerson [00:27:30]:
Oh, that was the Other thing was that as I started working with those, I got a chance to go to teen camp. And teen camp's amazing. As many. As many people who are listening, I'm sure know it's a great chance for the kids to, you know, connect with people and God and all these things. But here's the thing, is that what happened with, like, we were such a small church here. We were very isolated. We didn't have a lot of big issues happening. I go to these other camps.
Rob Borgerson [00:27:54]:
I go this big camp, and over there, I'm put into these scenarios. These kids, you know, 17, 16, 17, 18, they're confessing stuff. That's a pretty big deal, right? They're feeling convicted. They're saying, you know what? This is not right. I need to stop this. Or this is the thing that happened to me, and it was brutal, and I need some help with that. I've never talked about that before, and I was in a couple scenarios where there was some real stuff that came out, and it shook me to my core. I had a pretty sheltered upbringing.
Rob Borgerson [00:28:24]:
I didn't know what. What was really out there. And to see that happening, it really hit me that that was happening in our churches, and that's just what. What. How in the world. But of course, we're just churches full of sinners, just like everybody else. So, yeah, duh. But at the time, I'm just completely shocked.
Rob Borgerson [00:28:45]:
And so they have this. This thing they would do at teen camp, which is a bonfire. And at the bonfire, they give everybody a little. Little three by five card, and they ask people to write on it something that you want to change or something you want to get rid of. And then you crumple it up and you throw it in the fire. And counselors are allowed to participate or not. And. And I would do.
Rob Borgerson [00:29:03]:
I would participate most years, but that year I'll never forget, because what I wrote on the card is. I wrote the word myself because I can't live for myself anymore. This is stupid. Like, when this stuff's going on, I can't be just sheltered sitting in my. My basement playing video games. Like, that's like, there's too much need for me to not work at this. And so crumpled it up, threw it in. And that's a huge reason of why I'm here today, is because God worked through that opportunity to say yes.
Rob Borgerson [00:29:33]:
He brought me to a situation, and this was years after saying yes, brought me into a situation where he gave me a glimpse of the next phase of my life, right? An opportunity to Actually make differences in real ways in people's lives.
Shannon Steeves [00:29:48]:
Well, that's a. I've got one more question for you and I think that's a perfect place to kind of lead into. If someone listening wants to care for their neighbours or for people around them, but doesn't know where to start, what would you tell them?
Rob Borgerson [00:30:05]:
Yeah, first, first thing, absolutely, you gotta work on yourself because the whole thing, you know, if you're in an airplane, right, Secure your own air mask before securing the person next to you. Like that's, it's so true. But you also can't just say, oh, okay, I'll help out when I'm perfect, right? Just because guess what? You're never going to get there, right? So if you're a Christian who's not reading the Bible, for instance, start reading the Bible. If you're a Christian who's not attending church, start, yes, even pick a sinful church because they're all sinful, right? Get used to it. Pick a church. Just start going. If you're not a Christian, even start working on yourself because that's humility, that'll go with it, right? That's huge, right? To recognize that the ways that you're imperfect and how they, how they actually affect people around you, that could be huge in itself. So start by working on yourself then and very shortly after then like, I'm talking like less than a month.
Rob Borgerson [00:30:55]:
Okay? Like do something for yourself. And then start is find a way to serve, even something small. And so a couple ideas, you can just use your talents. So for instance, at one point I was looking for a way to serve. I had some time and I looked online at one of these job board sites and an inner city youth drop in had posted they were looking for math tutors. Okay, sure, I could do that. And so I did that for probably six, eight months. And my son at that point was old enough that he was actually able to come with me.
Rob Borgerson [00:31:24]:
And so I brought him, right? And he actually did some math and he hung out at the center while we were, while we were there. It was great. And the point of doing that is not the thing itself. And because it's probably whatever you pick, it's probably not going to be the thing that you do forever. But again, like I said earlier, it's hard to turn a stopped ship. And so when you start going, you can actually make a difference. And so at that point, third then is just be open to seeing what God will do with that, right? Watch who you interact with, who are the people you're meeting what are they like, what are their priorities? And watch for people who have a heart or have lives like you want and then hang out with them. Right? There's that old saying, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, right? So improve your circle, right? Get with people who you want to be like and bring them into your life as much as possible.
Rob Borgerson [00:32:14]:
And if somebody says no, well, then I guess they weren't the person. Find somebody else, right? And so it's, it's being open to watch for what God is doing in your life and how he's going to take you to move forward. Because again, he is not done with you. If you are breathing, you can do something and you have no idea how big or small it will be until you actually get started.
Shannon Steeves [00:32:39]:
That is so good. So, so good. Pastor Rob, thank you. Thank you so much for sharing these stories, these practical steps and just your heart and part of your own journey. I've been blessed and moved tonight just getting to chat with you, so thank you. This is all a reminder that ordinary care can really have extraordinary impact.
Johan Heinrichs [00:33:02]:
The stories we share here remind us that care doesn't have to be perfect to be powerful. It just has to be present. neighbourly is an initiative of Care Impact, a Canadian charity equipping churches, agencies and communities with tech and training to care better together. Visit CareImpact or to find out more about the podcast sponsorships, being a guest or just dropping us a line, visit neighbourlyPodcast CA. We'd love to hear from you. Check the show notes for the link or hop on our Care Impact podcast group on Facebook to join our podcast community. I'm Johan. Thanks for listening and keep being the kind of neighbour someone will never forget in a good way.
