Dave Bjorn Olson

SON | HUSBAND | FATHER
Pastor at River Valley Church
Fan of the MN Vikings | SKOL

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

@Pastor_Gabe Do you feel better about yourself after posting this? This is actually a great bit of wisdom to help pastor people. The church would do better to believe in and champion all kinds and all sizes of churches.

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

This response is a perfect capture of what ails most young men - delayed adolescence.

To be a man means to become a spiritual head of a house, to live for the betterment and fight for the protection of a wife and kids and to provide for a family that goes on for generations.

[Lucky Teter @TheMagaHulk]

Nick Fuentes mocks one of his followers for getting married and having daughters.

Notice the constant nose touching.
The face mannerisms.
The odd jaw movements.

What habit does that suggest?

[River Valley Church @rivervalleymn]

We believe prayer changes things. 🩵🕊️🙏

On this National Day of Prayer, we’re coming together to seek God, worship and pray for our communities, our church and the people around us.

Join us at our campuses for a Prayer & Worship Night at 6:30pm!

Lakeville will be hosted at Apple Valley Campus
Maple Grove and City will be hosted at Crosstown Campus

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

Baseball tournaments do NOT have the same effects…

[Clint Teeples @TeeplesCY]

"If I told you there was one free thing you could do every Sunday that would make your kids happier, healthier, smarter, and closer to you, you'd think I was selling something."

Take your kids to church regularly. I don't care if you believe. The data is so lopsided that skipping it is the parenting equivalent of refusing vegetables because you don't like the taste.

Grades. Religious teens get As at almost twice the rate of nonreligious teens. In a class of 100, that's 24 A-students instead of 14. Church gives a kid the same academic boost as being born rich instead of poor.

College. Working-class religious kids earn bachelor's degrees at double the rate of their nonreligious peers. Middle-class kids do it at 1.5x the rate. For families without a trust fund, this is one of the most powerful forms of upward mobility social scientists have measured.

Character. Religious teens are far less likely to lie, cheat, or do things they hope their parents never find out about. They're more likely to care about racial equality, the elderly, and the poor. They reject the idea that morality is whatever works for you in the moment. That kind of kid doesn't happen by accident. It's built.

Closeness. 60% of parents of religious teens say they feel "extremely close" to their kid, compared to 50% of nonreligious parents. The kids report the same thing back. They get along better with their parents, talk about hard stuff, and actually want to spend time with their family.

Despair. Religious teens are dramatically less likely to be depressed, anxious, lonely, or feel that life is meaningless. 90% of devoted religious teens never binge drink, compared to 41% of the disengaged. Economists named the modern epidemic "deaths of despair." Regular church attendance is one of the strongest known buffers against it. Parents are spending fortunes trying to solve teen mental health. The most evidence-backed intervention is free.

Purpose. Religious young adults report higher purpose, gratitude, life satisfaction, and resilience. These are the exact traits every parent says they want their kid to have.

Here's why it works. Affluent families already surround their kids with networks of stable, accomplished adults through neighborhoods, schools, and parents' colleagues. Working and middle-class families usually don't. A congregation is often the last institution in American life that puts your kid in weekly contact with dozens of stable, employed, sober adults who know their name. It used to be called "a village." Now it barely exists outside of churches.

"But I don't believe." Your kid doesn't need your theology. They need you to show up.

"But church is boring." So is sitting through a kindergarten music recital. Parenting is the deliberate choice to be bored on purpose for someone you love.

There's a church within 15 minutes of nearly every American home. You don't need money, connections, or credentials to walk in. Nothing else in this country will surround your kid with engaged adults, teach them moral seriousness, and give them a stable weekly rhythm at zero cost.

You already drive them to practices that produce far less. The free thing on Sunday produces more, on more dimensions, than almost anything else you do as a parent.

You don't have to believe anything. You just have to take them.

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
1 Samuel 2:2

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

@churchtalkative Simply? No.

You can love church and not love Jesus. But you cannot love Jesus and not love His church (his people). Get below the surface of ANY epistle and you will realize the Christian faith is meant to be lived out in community under a shepherd’s care and leading.

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

@Biblicalman I didn’t read your article so my apologies if you laid it out there - are you saying that after his resurrection he went and physically sprinkled his blood somewhere?

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

@robketterling He is risen indeed!

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

He is risen!

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

@PAOnTheMic Love it, PA! “The man on the middle cross said I could be here.”

God bless you on this Good Friday.

You can stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you. –Spurgeon

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

It’s true. I’ve seen too many people get ship wrecked in their faith after moving away from their vibrant, healthy local church to a new place and not finding a similar, life-giving church community.

[Josh Lofthus @joshlofthus]

A good local church is worth moving for.
A good local church is worth staying for.
A good local church is worth quitting a job.
A good local church is worth keeping a job.

The local church should be one of our primary deciding factors in life decisions. This brings blessing.

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

Pride will block what God wants to give you.

“God opposes the proud…”

Let that sink in.

Not ignores.
Not delays.

Opposes.

Choose humility.

[TreVeyon Henderson @TreVeyonH4]

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10

[Matt Rife @mattrife]

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Matthew 5:10

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

Leadership in God’s Kingdom looks nothing like the world.

Not power.
Not control.
Not status.

It looks like a shepherd.

Serve first.
Lead by example.
Stay humble.

That’s where real authority comes from.

[Josh Howerton @howertonjosh]

If you’ve ever wondered why progressives (media, higher ed, the arts, etc) hate and target Bible-believing Christians so much, this is why.

They (we) are literally the only group left in America holding back a tidal wave of evil they’re seeking to legislate and advance.

Remove evangelical Christians (or just get them to sit out elections / think “eh, the gospel is neither right nor left, doesn’t matter”), and the United States becomes Portland or Canada in one generation.

And that would be the (tragic) cultural inheritance we pass down to the future Church and our grandchildren… to our shame.

[Scott Barber @thescottbarber]

Chuck Norris knew who wrote Hebrews

[Scott Barber @thescottbarber]

Chuck Norris once read through Leviticus and Numbers for fun.

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

Marty Booker

[Dov Kleiman @NFL_DovKleiman]

Age yourself by naming an NFL wide receiver you grew up watching.

I'll start, Andre Johnson.

[Dave Bjorn Olson @davebjornolson]

@jaysonyork I’ve been processing this myself - landed here - the gathering of believers is for:
#1 God. His glory & worship
#2 The people of God. Community, edification & accountability.
#3. The lost. There has to be space for unbelievers to hear the gospel and respond.

This order matters.