Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Hitler bothers him

"We’re going to be a rock in their shoe."

Father David Madsen: "I don’t know so much about hell."
Father David Madsen: "I don’t know so much about hell."
Place

St. Alban's Episcopal Church

490 Farragut Circle, El Cajon

Membership: 100 families

Pastor: David Madsen

Age: 65

Born: La Junta, CO

Sponsored
Sponsored

Formation: Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, MI; General Theological Seminary, New York City; New York Theological Seminary, New York City

Years ordained: 9

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Father David Madsen: My sermons tend to be more topical than exegetical. I like to think they’re well put together, too — if you can’t say it in ten minutes, it’s not worth saying. The key is to have a 30-minute sermon within 10–12 minutes. I approach my sermons as a scholar. I spend probably 12–15 hours on the sermon.

SDR: What’s your favorite subject on which to preach?

FM: What does it mean to be a Christian? In particular, I think it’s important to meet the needs of the community. If the church were to go away, would anyone in the community miss it? That’s always been my philosophy — to love God and your neighbor. Loving your neighbor means impacting your community.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

FM: I was a sales manager for a paper company and started hanging around with this men’s group and then started going on weekends to a Benedictine monastery, St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, MI. That became my home away from home. I got addicted to the monastic side of the Episcopal Church. So that’s where it all started — I began speaking with the bishop and going through the ordination process. I thought I was too old, being in my early 50s, but here I am. I never thought in a million years I’d be an Episcopal priest. I also blame it on reading the Bible too much.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

FM: The mission of our church is to share the love of God with everyone, everywhere and as often as we can. This church has always been involved with homeless ministry. I’m involved with the city council and chamber of commerce, working within the system to help the homeless; St. Alban’s is there as an advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves. We want to work with everyone and encourage everyone, but if others want to sweep the homeless situation under the rug and not mention it, we’re going to be a rock in their shoe. We’re going to make them uncomfortable; that’s the prophetic side of our ministry. Our message is that God loves you just the way you are right now, no strings attached, not based on what you may have done in the past or might do in the future; but right now in this present moment God loves you and we love you — let’s be the church together.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

FM: When you die, you’re going to the afterlife, whatever that means. It’s described as heaven, paradise, and eternity in the Bible. Whatever it is, I believe in life after death. I don’t know so much about hell. That’s a mystery to me. I do believe in judgment, but I don’t know that that entails…. When it comes to a judgment at the end of the world, I’ll be upset if there isn’t one, but it’s not in my hands. I think some people are living in literal hell right now, and it bothers me there are people like Adolf Hitler and I’m hoping there might be a judgment for such people.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Next Article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Father David Madsen: "I don’t know so much about hell."
Father David Madsen: "I don’t know so much about hell."
Place

St. Alban's Episcopal Church

490 Farragut Circle, El Cajon

Membership: 100 families

Pastor: David Madsen

Age: 65

Born: La Junta, CO

Sponsored
Sponsored

Formation: Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, MI; General Theological Seminary, New York City; New York Theological Seminary, New York City

Years ordained: 9

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Father David Madsen: My sermons tend to be more topical than exegetical. I like to think they’re well put together, too — if you can’t say it in ten minutes, it’s not worth saying. The key is to have a 30-minute sermon within 10–12 minutes. I approach my sermons as a scholar. I spend probably 12–15 hours on the sermon.

SDR: What’s your favorite subject on which to preach?

FM: What does it mean to be a Christian? In particular, I think it’s important to meet the needs of the community. If the church were to go away, would anyone in the community miss it? That’s always been my philosophy — to love God and your neighbor. Loving your neighbor means impacting your community.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

FM: I was a sales manager for a paper company and started hanging around with this men’s group and then started going on weekends to a Benedictine monastery, St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, MI. That became my home away from home. I got addicted to the monastic side of the Episcopal Church. So that’s where it all started — I began speaking with the bishop and going through the ordination process. I thought I was too old, being in my early 50s, but here I am. I never thought in a million years I’d be an Episcopal priest. I also blame it on reading the Bible too much.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

FM: The mission of our church is to share the love of God with everyone, everywhere and as often as we can. This church has always been involved with homeless ministry. I’m involved with the city council and chamber of commerce, working within the system to help the homeless; St. Alban’s is there as an advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves. We want to work with everyone and encourage everyone, but if others want to sweep the homeless situation under the rug and not mention it, we’re going to be a rock in their shoe. We’re going to make them uncomfortable; that’s the prophetic side of our ministry. Our message is that God loves you just the way you are right now, no strings attached, not based on what you may have done in the past or might do in the future; but right now in this present moment God loves you and we love you — let’s be the church together.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

FM: When you die, you’re going to the afterlife, whatever that means. It’s described as heaven, paradise, and eternity in the Bible. Whatever it is, I believe in life after death. I don’t know so much about hell. That’s a mystery to me. I do believe in judgment, but I don’t know that that entails…. When it comes to a judgment at the end of the world, I’ll be upset if there isn’t one, but it’s not in my hands. I think some people are living in literal hell right now, and it bothers me there are people like Adolf Hitler and I’m hoping there might be a judgment for such people.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Next Article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.