tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39766881239395370702024-03-13T13:16:58.873-07:00Preacher Dan's PonderingsI am currently a full-time pastor serving a United Methodist Church in a southern suburb of Atlanta. This blog is my attempt to talk about how God's Grace is seen in our world today and how humanity attempts to deal with it...Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-76427813289950055292011-04-01T19:05:00.000-07:002011-04-01T19:05:13.231-07:00Halfway DoneWell, 23 days down, 23 days to go. I cannot believe it has been that many days; every day from here will be down hill for me. So far, I am more than halfway to my goal of $2500. I am excited and blessed by all that has been donated by my friends and those who have heard about mine and the other three pastors' fast for Stop Hunger Now ( www.stop hungernow.org ). Our journey has been filled with many opportunities to share with others about the purpose of our journey; to raise awareness and funds for an organization which is dedicated to providing shelf-stable meals which are shipped around the world. <br />
So far, Stop Hunger Now has provided more than $70 million dollars worth of direct aid and 34 million meals to 72 countries worldwide. For those of you wondering what is exactly in those meals, it is a combination of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a flavoring mix including 21 essential vitamins and minerals all packed into small meal packets. All of these meals are packed by a specially designed process which uses volunteers in an assembly line type operation to put the meals together. This overall process keeps the costs of the meals low; how low you may ask? <u><em><strong>Each meal costs only 25 cents</strong></em></u>!!! The food stores easily, has a shelf-life of five years and transports quickly. <br />
I have a favor to ask of you; find a quarter and put in your hand. Look at it and try to imagine what you can buy with that quarter. Not much? WRONG!!! Please send me that quarter; put it an envelope and mail it to me and I will make sure Stop Hunger Now gets it. If you want to be a little more adventurous, get a dollar bill (which will feed 4 people) and mail it to me. Shoot, why not live on the wild side, and mail me a five dollar bill and know that you are going to feed 20 people!!! AND if you really want to get wild and crazy, get out your checkbook and mail me a check made out to Stop Hunger Now in any tax deductible amount you want. Multiply your dollar amount by four and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you fed that many hungry people somewhere around the world. Please consider sending me any amount you can so that WE can feed those who have little or less to eat. <br />
Also, please continue to pray for us as we continue to eat our Stop Hunger meals only. We're halfway there and I am looking forward to celebrating what God has blessed us with. If you are led to make a donation, please make your tax-deductible checks out to Stop Hunger Now and please mail them to me at Rev. Dan Dixon, c/o Mount Gilead UMC, P.O. Box 72113, Newnan, GA 30271-2113. And if you like, you can also donate online at: www.stophungernow.org/4for40 . You can donate to us as a group or you can place my name in the “honor” option. Help us complete the Project. Help us make it: 4 for 40 for 40,000. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uJYspOq_7uM/TZaBjzms85I/AAAAAAAAADI/SIN81W21qFQ/s1600/NatJohnMe+SHN.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uJYspOq_7uM/TZaBjzms85I/AAAAAAAAADI/SIN81W21qFQ/s320/NatJohnMe+SHN.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Rev. Nathaniel Long, Rev. John Mattox, and me </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>(not pictured is Rev. David Blackwood). </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We are the 4 for 40 Project (Four pastors fasting on </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Stop Hunger Now meals for the 40 days of Lent </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>raising money </em><em>and awareness to feed 40,000 people. </em></div><div align="center"></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-4634289122368131122011-03-21T12:04:00.000-07:002011-03-21T12:04:15.707-07:00Only 100 meals Left!!! As of this writing, I currently only have 100 meals left on my Lenten fast of Stop Hunger Now (<a href="http://www.stophunger.now/">http://www.stophunger.now/</a> ) packaged rice meals. This of course means that I have so far about 35 meals of the rice mixture. Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to get tired of just adding butter and salt to it. Myself and the other three pastors have been letting each other know about the various creative ways we have been fixing the meals for our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have been fairly simplistic in my approach most of the time "doctoring" the meals after they have been cooked in a 12 cup rice cooker. I do this so I can keep to the original way of how the meal will be fixed overseas although our local representative from SHN, Kyle said that many of the local cultures who have received the meals adapt them to their taste and cuisines adding whatever spices and other food sources they can to the mixture. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6zo2YcjrQTY/TYegnZ-sTkI/AAAAAAAAADE/dnpn_QicFI4/s1600/4For40Before11Alive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6zo2YcjrQTY/TYegnZ-sTkI/AAAAAAAAADE/dnpn_QicFI4/s1600/4For40Before11Alive.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>From left to right- David Blackwood (Trinity UMC, </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Dalton), John Mattox (Pleasant Grove UMC, LaGrange), </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>me, and Nathaniel Long (Senoia UMC)</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"></div> Some of the ways I have tried to eat the rice is by adding sauces such as barbecue, soy, teriyaki, and worcestershire. So far, my favorite way to prepare and eat it is by pan frying the mixture with a little olive oil. This removes a lot of the moisture and stickiness from the rice and when it is cooked right (I'm not always successful) it has a kind of crusty crunch to it and reminds me somewhat of hash browns. I recently bought me some Cajun spices the other day and I can't wait to see how it taste. <br />
I did have my first challenge in eating my meals. I went out of town last week to seminar where I and several other pastors were giving some great tips and instruction on planning several months ahead with our sermon preparation. I called the place where we were staying ahead of time and was told that they had a full kitchen available for us with a microwave. Before heading to the seminar, I iced down four of my prepared meals before I left home so I would have plenty to eat while I was away from home. When it came time to eat our first meal there, I noticed that there was no type of butter/margarine or sauce available for me to put on my rice. Luckily, (and I'm typing this sarcastically) I was able to get several packets of yellow mustard from the attendees from their Chick-fil-A packed lunches. For that meal and the balnce of my time there, I spread the mustard over the rice the best I could so it would have some flavor to it. Of course, I did whine to myself and my wife about my dilemma of "mustard rice" but finally remembered as I was typing this that my fast is NOT about flavor. It's about eating this way in order to raise awareness and the financial resources needed for Stop Hunger Now. Instead of whining, I should have been praying for God's help and for God's blessings to those in the world who eat these meals with gratefulness and probably whole lot less flavor and frequency. <br />
Will you join us on our journey? It all starts with a quarter, 25 cents per meal; think what even the smallest of your donations can do for the hungry all around the world, even Japan where Stop Hunger Now is trying to get their meals there to help out with that tragedy. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to eat our Stop Hunger meals only, but if you are led to make a donation, please make your tax-deductible checks out to Stop Hunger Now and please mail them to me at Rev. Dan Dixon, c/o Mount Gilead UMC, P.O. Box 72113, Newnan, GA 30271-2113. You can also now donate online at: <a href="http://www.stophungernow.org/4for40">www.stophungernow.org/4for40</a> . You can donate to us as a group or you can specify on of us in the “honor” option. Help us complete the Project. Help us make it: 4 for 40 for 40,000.<br />
<br />
Thanks again for following my journey and blessing me with your time... <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Dan <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Irt4qpWN3xI/TYeekepXIwI/AAAAAAAAADA/D-c8K3jhINg/s1600/Stop+Hunger+Logo.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Irt4qpWN3xI/TYeekepXIwI/AAAAAAAAADA/D-c8K3jhINg/s1600/Stop+Hunger+Logo.bmp" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Please look up their website at (http://www.stophungernow.com/ ) and </em></div><em><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></em><div style="text-align: center;"><em>"Like" them on Facebook and you can see how people share how </em></div><em><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></em><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Stop Hunger Now is working in their communities. </em></div>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-55978498108171006092011-03-17T04:03:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:03:11.917-07:00Media Day for Stop Hunger NowHere's a quick blog for yesterday as I am trying to get out of town for a meeting 2 and half hours away. Yesterday, 3/16, the three other pastors and I met at Senoia UMC for a quick lunch and a catch up on our stories in raising money for Stop Hunger Now (<a href="http://www.stophungernow.org/">http://www.stophungernow.org/</a> ) and sharing "recipes" on how we are eating our SHN rice meals. Here's a picture of the four of together: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://thehogfather.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/p3160004.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-161 " height="158" src="http://thehogfather.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/p3160004.jpg?w=210&h=158" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" width="210" /></a><br />
<br />
After a quick lunch, the four of us headed up to a local restaurant called Maguires to meet up with a TV crew from WXIA-TV here in Atlanta. There we were greeted by Ted Hall, one of their anchors who actually set down to talk to us about what we were doing and then ate some of the SHN rice meal we had brought with us. Here's a link to that story: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=182992&catid=3">http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=182992&catid=3</a><br />
<br />
After meeting with the TV crews, the four of us pastors said our good-byes and left. Later that evening, I caught up with Nathaniel Long, the pastor from Senoia UMC who I am on the fast with and we were both interviewed by WEKS 92.5FM the Bear Radio and were interviewed by them about our involvement with SHN. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thehogfather.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/img_1264.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-165" height="112" src="http://thehogfather.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/img_1264.jpg?w=150&h=112" title="IMG_1264" width="150" /></a> <a href="http://thehogfather.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/img_1262.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-164" height="112" src="http://thehogfather.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/img_1262.jpg?w=150&h=112" title="IMG_1262" width="150" /></a><br />
Nathaniel Me and "Uncle" Rich <br />
<br />
After this day, All I can say is, "Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; <br />
<br />
<br />
Praise Him, all creatures here below;<br />
<br />
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;<br />
<br />
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-82205089268532611212011-03-15T07:39:00.000-07:002011-03-15T07:39:53.687-07:00Hoping Big Time!I hope it's safe enough to say this since I'm out of seminary but one of my favorite authors is Max Lucado. For me, he has a God-given gift of taking ordinary events of life and their stories and then links it to the ways God moves in our lives. I came across this definition of hope from him, "<em>Hope is not what you expect (but) a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming ending... Hope is not a granted wish... (but) a zany, unpredictable dependence on God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction." </em>(from his book "God Came Near") <br />
<em> </em>As I continue my Lenten journey with my other three pastors, I am beginning to sense some excitement. Some of the media in our areas, along with our Annual Conference is spreading the news about our journey and I am very hopeful that the four of us will be able to pass our minimum goals of $2500. In fact as of this morning, I am one-fourth of the way having ten of my forty days sponsored with over $600.00 raised so far. I believe that for me (and maybe the others too) to achieve and go beyond our individual goals, we do need to have that type of hope mentioned above, that "<em>unpredictable dependence on God" </em>so that God will continue to bless us and use us as we continue to raise awareness and money for Stop Hunger Now (<a href="http://www.stophungernow.org/">http://www.stophungernow.org/</a> ). <br />
Will you join us on our journey? It all starts with a quarter, 25 cents per meal; think what even the smallest of your donations can do for the hungry all around the world, even Japan where Stop Hunger Now is trying to get their meals there to help out with that tragedy. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to eat our Stop Hunger meals only, but if you are led to make a donation, please make your tax-deductible checks out to Stop Hunger Now and please mail them to me at Rev. Dan Dixon, c/o Mount Gilead UMC, P.O. Box 72113, Newnan, GA 30271-2113. <br />
Thanks again for following my journey and for your time... <br />
<br />
Dan <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RjSQyw5d0As/TX95Ceuq5XI/AAAAAAAAAC8/W_KMTF3NWQw/s1600/Stop+Hunger+Logo.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RjSQyw5d0As/TX95Ceuq5XI/AAAAAAAAAC8/W_KMTF3NWQw/s1600/Stop+Hunger+Logo.bmp" /></a></div><div align="center"><em>Please look up their website at (<a href="http://www.stophungernow.com/">http://www.stophungernow.com/</a> ) and </em></div><div align="center"><em>"Like" them on Facebook and you can see how people share how </em></div><div align="center"><em>Stop Hunger Now is working in their communities. </em></div><div align="center"></div>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-31982206137361213762011-03-12T18:35:00.000-08:002011-03-12T18:35:42.625-08:00A Great Day All AroundToday was day 4 of my Lenten fast and it was a day filled with temptations and many, many blessings. Our church held its annual barbecue complete with chopped pork (<em>cooked all night long over a wood fire</em>), Brunswick stew (<em>some of the best I ever put in my mouth</em>) and all the other fixings. The smells of barbecue, stew, and desserts filled my nostrils all day long but by the grace of God and a whole lot of prayer (<em>had to be somebody else besides me praying for me too</em>) I made it through the whole day without succumbing to anything edible other than my meal of Stop Hunger Now rice. I will confess here that the rice had some of Mount Gilead’s secret BBQ sauce mixed in although even with the sauce on it, only one person was willing to taste my lunch. And by the way, let me mention and say here how blessed I am to be serving such a wonderful congregation who loves to serve. Thanks to everyone at Mount Gilead for all of your hard work and shining the light of Christ.<br />
<br />
<br />
Quick question for you, have you ever noticed how many times Jesus is seen throughout the Gospels eating and fellowshipping with others? From eating with “sinners” to feeding the 5,000, Jesus uses food as a way to share the good news concerning the kingdom of God. Of course, he also talks about how we are called to reach out to others just by meeting their needs in various ways in Matthew 25. One of those ways is by feeding the hungry which is one of the main reasons I am on this fast for Stop Hunger Now (www.stophungernow.com ). It is my prayer and hope to raise enough money ($2500.) so that my church and I can purchase the food necessary to host a packaging event where we can package 10,000 meals which will then be shipped overseas. Each of those servings costs only 25 cents; five dollars would feed 20 people! 100 dollars would feed 400 people!!! Any amount can and will feed so many hungry people. <br />
<br />
Would you consider making a donation today? If you can, please mail your tax deductible checks made out to Stop Hunger Now to me at Mount Gilead UMC, P.O. Box 72113, Newnan, GA 30271-2113. As always, I covet your prayers for me and the other three pastors who are on this Lenten journey with me as we continue to raise awareness and money for this great organization. Thank you for your time and support. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bhfmj75pLEo/TXwtBee16uI/AAAAAAAAAC4/VXXYvhpNmgw/s1600/BBQ+and+Stew.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bhfmj75pLEo/TXwtBee16uI/AAAAAAAAAC4/VXXYvhpNmgw/s320/BBQ+and+Stew.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
<div align="center"><em>I sure am glad this chopped pork and stew freezes great! Guess what I will be having after Easter? </em></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"></div>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-30598980294816963302011-03-10T10:28:00.000-08:002011-03-10T10:28:39.957-08:00Very Special Quarters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UrCyB7gO3Lc/TXkTSdidjfI/AAAAAAAAAC0/g76vfxRbgcc/s1600/6QtrsEqualMeal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UrCyB7gO3Lc/TXkTSdidjfI/AAAAAAAAAC0/g76vfxRbgcc/s320/6QtrsEqualMeal.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN"><br />
If you noticed in the above picture, you will see six quarters. These are six very special quarters. They came from two different sources. The first three coins were given to me by Miss Sarah who is a permanent resident of the nursing home/rehab center I serve on Wednesday afternoons. She gave them to me as a gift to the church and to use it anyway I wanted. What made her 75 cent gift such a blessing is that she gave out her meager monthly allowance. After her government check pays for her living expenses, she is left with about $15.00 which means she gave 5 percent of her allowance to my church. How many of us are willing to give 5 percent of our total monthly income to a church let alone feed someone around the world we don't even know? (yes, I am a pastor and know we are all called to tithe 10 percent but with the way the economy is, any extra giving can be a stretch for many people). <br />
The other three quarters are very special to me too. When I officially announce my participation in my Lenten fast for Stop Hunger Now to my congregation, I also extended an invitationin the children's sermon to the children of our church to particiapte by collecting quarters in order to provide meals to the hungry children and adults around the world. Our church is making this a mission projecct for the kids and if they raise $400. then the church will have a partyof some sort in their honor for reaching their goal. After the worship service was over later, one of the children came up to me by himself and offered the quarters to me then. When I told him he could bring them back next week for the offering, he said he wanted to do it now not later. How I could refuse that offer?<br />
Six ordinary quarters; that's what they may look like to may people but to me they hold a very special lesson on giving when most people won't or can't. Thanks to Miss Sarah and one of my church's children, these six quarters will provide a meal to six hungry people somewhere in the 72 countries Stop Hunger Now (<a href="http://www.stophungernow.com/">http://www.stophungernow.com/</a> ) serves around the world. Would you like to join me in supporting this wonderful organization? If so, please make tax deductible check out to Stop Hunger Now and mail it to me at Mount Gilead UMC, P.O. Box 72113, Newnan, GA 30271-2113. If you have any questions about this, you can also reach me at <a href="mailto:preacherdanumc@yahoo.com">preacherdanumc@yahoo.com</a> . <br />
Thank you for your time and prayers... </span>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-15177590760516244992011-03-08T09:31:00.000-08:002011-03-08T09:31:55.658-08:00It's almost time!Well, Lent is almost here. Starting tomorrow on the first day of Lent, I will begin a journey with three other pastors by fasting away from the food I would normally eat and only eat a pre-packaged meal of rice for the entire day. Of course, this is no ordinary bag of rice. It is a bag of rice which contains all of the daily requirements for the nutrients needed for any person to live on. These pre-packaged meals contains six servings and are normally shipped to third world countries around the globe to help those feed the hungry within their borders. These meals are packaged usually at packaging events around our country where everyday people like you and me get together and package the rice and nutrients together so it can be boxed and containerized for shipment. The organization who oversees this non-profit endeavor is called Stop Hunger Now (<a href="http://www.stophungernow.com/">http://www.stophungernow.com/</a>) and currently is serving these meals in 72 countries around the world. Since 2005, the organization has packaged and shipped almost 40 million meals!!! <br />
The minimum cost for one of the events is $2500. and during the event at least 10,000 meals will packaged and boxed ready for shipment. The cost for each one of the meals is $1.50 and serves 6 people which means it cost 25 cents to feed one person; what greater value can you find anywhere than to feed one hungry person for 25 cents? In the world today, under nutrition contributes to more than one-half of the 9.7 million deaths of children under five each year in developing countries. This means that one child dies every six seconds from malnutrition and related causes. Every six seconds a child dies from hunger! That means since I started typing this, over a dozen children have died from the effects of hunger. <br />
And this is one of the major reasons, I am starting this fast and promoting awareness for the work that Stop Hunger Now is doing. It is mine and the other three pastors' plan to eat the same food that is being shipped around the world for the forty days of Lent. We will eat one package a day which is about 1300 calories (yes, I do have my doctor's approval). What I would like for you to prayerfully consider is to support our cause by donating any amount you can so that we can package as many meals as possible. An example of support would be the cost of bag ($1.50) multiplied by the forty days of Lent ($1.50 X 40= $60.00). But that's just an example; I will gladly accept any amount you feel led to send. If you are interested, please make out your tax-deductible checks to <u><em>Stop Hunger Now</em></u> and you can mail them to me in care of Mount Gilead United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 72113, Newnan, GA 30271-2113. If you have any questions or comments, please feel to e-mail me at <a href="mailto:preacherdanumc@yahoo.com">preacherdanumc@yahoo.com</a> . Also, please feel free to forward this blog or a link to it to your family and friends for their consideration of support too. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XiL7p66_myo/TXZmxqTc8fI/AAAAAAAAACs/mcD6JrRFLZg/s1600/6QtrsEqualMeal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XiL7p66_myo/TXZmxqTc8fI/AAAAAAAAACs/mcD6JrRFLZg/s320/6QtrsEqualMeal.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><em>Six quarters can feed a family of six </em></div><div align="center"><em>somewhere around the world. </em></div><div align="center"></div>I will try to share with you over the Lenten season on how my journey is going thorough this blog. I covet your prayers for me and the other three pastors (Nathaniel Long from Senoia UMC in Senoia, John Mattox from Pleasant Grove UMC in LaGrange, and David Blackwood from Trinity UMC in Dalton) as we begin this spiritual journey serving God and humanity along the way... <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zIW2efOH7mY/TXZnRu2_6HI/AAAAAAAAACw/Z7c8nKYDE_c/s1600/NathanielJohnMeSHN.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zIW2efOH7mY/TXZnRu2_6HI/AAAAAAAAACw/Z7c8nKYDE_c/s320/NathanielJohnMeSHN.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><em>Nathaniel Long, John Mattox, and me at the </em></div><div align="center"><em>Stop Hunger Now warehouse in Marietta. </em></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-12001537058103066192011-02-23T20:01:00.000-08:002011-02-23T20:01:53.405-08:00A New ChallengeAs many of you know, I graduated from seminary last May after spending the previous eight years in school full-time while serving a church on a part time basis. Those eight years kept me busy and totally reliant on God’s grace, which for me was seen through the never ending prayers and love from my family and friends. After my graduation, I was so excited to finally to be able to serve my church on a full-time basis and hopefully gradually get settled in a somewhat normal routine. <br />
<br />
<br />
I have been blessed in so many ways by my church family as we have journeyed together on the path called ministry. We have done some wonderful things together in service to God and our community and I look forward to the years to come in our service together. But even saying that, I have noticed something missing in my life. After some prayer and what I called “<em>God-incidences</em>,” I believe I have come up with an answer and I believe that answer is the absence of a “spiritual challenge.” <br />
<br />
You see while I was in school. I always had some people to count on to challenge me whether it had my professors or fellow students (this was especially true for me in my three years in seminary at Emory University). All of the work I did in those classes always seemed to be challenging me in some form or fashion in its application toward my future in ministry. Now that I have graduated, I still have some challenges but nothing on the caliber of what I have experienced in the past. So a couple of months ago, I began to look and recently I believed that I have found at least the latest challenge for me. <br />
<br />
A fellow United Methodist pastor in my district mentioned something about getting involved with an organization called “<em>Stop Hunger Now</em>.” I first heard of this organization when the annual conference I am a member of packaged over 220,000 meals for use and distribution around the world. Hundreds of members of the annual conference donated their time measuring and packaging various ingredients together which created a ready to cook meal for six. This meal is mainly made up of rice but is a well balanced one with all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients necessary to meet the daily requirements for any individual. <br />
<br />
While discussing with my fellow pastor about his interest in <em>Stop Hunger Now</em>, he mentioned that he and another pastor were discussing ways to raise the funds necessary to plan a packaging event for their respective communities. Each event costs a minimum of $2500, which will purchase the necessary items and materials needed to package 10,000 meals. One of their ideas on how to raise funds spoke directly to my heart. With the season of Lent approaching in the next several weeks, their idea was that they would eat only the packaged meals for their food intake during the forty days of Lent. To bring awareness to the events, they were going to ask their churches and friends to help sponsor them while they were on their packaged meal-fast. Since it cost $2500. to sponsor a packaging an event, that means it would cost a little more than $60. per day during Lent to accomplish our task.<br />
<br />
After hearing of their original plan and then later subsequent discussions, another pastor and I have decided to join in with the first two pastors in raising money and awareness for <em>Stop Hunger Now</em>. This means for me that during the period of Lent I will be eating the same packaged food which is sent around the world to help combat hunger wherever it is needed. My hope and prayer is that this endeavor of mine will challenge me spiritually and physically to rely on something that I take for granted way too much – the ability to eat as much as I want, any time I want. <br />
<br />
In the coming weeks, I will hopefully use this blog as a way to ask for your prayers and your financial support for my Lenten journey.Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-55674253539941843262010-12-01T06:55:00.000-08:002010-12-10T18:57:37.701-08:00Xmas or Christmas? An Opportunity to Share What It Really MeansIt’s amazing what will pop into your head to ponder at 2:30 in the morning when you’re wide awake due to the medicine you are taking for bronchitis/sinusitis. Not that I’m complaining because I have been fighting this stuff for over 10 days now and it has already passed my “<em>pain in the back side stage</em>.” So, I wake up this morning and the first thing that pops into my head is my sermon for this coming Sunday. I’m venturing out of my comfort zone by preaching a sermon series instead of following the preaching lectionary which I have done predominantly for the past ten years. The focus for my sermon prep this week is on how the word “Christmas” has been and/or is being defined in the world over these past 2000 years. <br />
<br />
Now instead of boring you with my vast array of “sermon marinade” from my academic stuff, I decided to see what Wikipedia (online encyclopedia) had to say and found it wasn’t too far off from some of my academic writings. <br />
<br />
<em>The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. "Cristes" is from Greek Christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa (the holy mass). In Greek, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. Hence, Xmas is sometimes used as an abbreviation for Christmas</em>. (Wikipedia- 12/1/10)<br />
<br />
It was the last sentence of the Wikipedia quote that caught my eye and began within me that was something worth blogging about this early morn. It’s that time of year when some Christmas discussions fall back on whether or not we should use “Xmas” in place of Christmas. Now, let me start out by saying that indeed the commercialization of Christmas has gone beyond description and measure and any attempt to say “<em>Merry Xmas</em>” instead of Merry Christmas is to me open for debate as to why someone would intentionally say that. But writing “Xmas” instead of Christmas is something I am not against for a couple of reasons. <br />
<br />
First, as the Wikipedia article states correctly, the first letter of Christ in Greek is “chi” represented in the English alphabet as an “X” ( the word “Christ” in Greek would be Χριστός ). And since most of our New Testament writings are based on our translations and understanding of the Greek language used at that time, I believe “Xmas” can be used without problem. I would like to also add that there are some traditions that say that many early followers of Christ used the “X” letter as a way to secretly identify themselves with other believers during the early persecution of the church in the centuries after Christ’s death. They would write the symbol on the ground, in correspondence, as small mark on their homes, etc… as a way to show they believed in Christ. And for what it’s worth, I was told years ago that if you write an “X” on the ground, a piece of paper, without lifting your writing instrument the “X” could then be seen as a “fish” similar to the “<em>Christian fish logo</em>” we have seen used for years now. <br />
<br />
And my final and second reason is that this may open the door for us to teach and help others to a better understanding of who Jesus Christ is for us in our lives and can be for their lives. Who knows? <em>You just may be able to share what the true meaning of Christmas is</em> (I’m kind of partial to Linus’ theological rendition from “Charlie Brown’s Christmas” myself). Now when this door opens for you to share, I would remind you that this is not about “bible thumping” but about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. As 1 Peter 3:15 says, “<em>But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect</em>.”<br />
<br />
With gentleness and respect, that kind of reminds me of another shortcut we Christians used a while back, “WWJD?” Isn’t that what Christ would want us to do? <br />
<br />
So Merry Christmas! or Merry Xmas! Either way look for an opportunity to share the true meaning and gift of Christmas...Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-36509915916401527412010-11-23T03:30:00.000-08:002010-11-23T03:46:41.608-08:00God Even Speaks on Vacation<i>1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. 4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? 8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?— 9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, 11 and said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped'? 12 "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, <br />
<br />
<br />
16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. 19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, 20 that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? 21 Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!</i> – (Job 38:1-12, 16-21)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Brenda and I are on vacation at one of our favorite vacation spots which is just about anywhere with a beach. Of course, the start of the vacation didn’t start too well when I decided to get sick. Woke up on our first day with what the doctor told me later was a full blown sinus infection with some “crud” on the side. She ordered me some great meds and with my wonderful nurse, Brenda who for about 72 hours has spoiled me rotten with attention, I am just about back to normal; well that is if you consider me to be normal in the first place. <br />
<br />
One of the things I wanted to try to “find” out on vacation was a couple of answers from God about some questions I have about the direction of my ministry at the church I am presently serving. Since I graduated from seminary last May, Some doors have been slowly opening for me to step through and I have been questioning who is opening the door; God or me? Well, yesterday morning I think I got one of my answers… <br />
<br />
One of my medicines has really messed up my sleep schedule. The last three morning rises have been in the 4AM range so I have been up reading, praying, etc… Yesterday morning, I decided that since I was somewhat better, I wanted to see the sun rise so I went to go for a walk on the beach around from where we are staying. When I got to the beach, I noticed a peculiar thing; a full beautiful moon was setting in the west over the sound while a new gorgeous sunrise was rising in the ease over the ocean. (pictures provided but not so great— there from my BlackBerry camera.) <br />
<br />
As I was pondering the scene over the next couple of hours, I was amazed at the beauty of what I had seen in God’s creation? How could God do that? Better yet, why would God do that? It was about then I remembered the above passage from Job where God decides to answer some of Job’s questions on some of the things which had occurred to him and his family. While I was thinking about that, I wondered if God was trying to answer some of my questions. <br />
<br />
Well, I got my answer this morning, I opened my Wesley Study Bible and this is what greeted me on the same page as Job 38, “<i>Life Application Topic—God’s Presence</i>.” And it started off with this, “<i>God gets our attention however God chooses. The most basic spiritual discipline is attention; paying attention to God. All other disciplines are effective to the degree that they enable us to sense God’s presence</i>.” <br />
<br />
These “doors” that I have seen slowly opening for me over the last several months; maybe the answers I seek aren’t the doors themselves, but Who is with me when I approach these doors…<br />
<br />
I think I may have found my answers… <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;<br />
<br />
Praise Him, all creatures here below;<br />
<br />
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;<br />
<br />
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2Vko29y_DHo/TOupcMK9XkI/AAAAAAAAACU/fdMbejemQdg/s1600/SouthBeachMoonset11.22.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2Vko29y_DHo/TOupcMK9XkI/AAAAAAAAACU/fdMbejemQdg/s320/SouthBeachMoonset11.22.10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2Vko29y_DHo/TOupi6ZiqwI/AAAAAAAAACY/QUN3oKhIAns/s1600/SouthBeachSunrise11.22.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2Vko29y_DHo/TOupi6ZiqwI/AAAAAAAAACY/QUN3oKhIAns/s320/SouthBeachSunrise11.22.10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-66606102933553781302010-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:002010-09-16T20:04:30.917-07:00"The Long Road Back"This past week has been wonderful; painful but wonderful. <em>Wonderful</em> in that I have been able to spend a week in Florida at the beach with my wife and some beautiful weather each and every day. <em>Painful</em> in the sense in that I'm not as smart as I thought I was. It seems that for the last eight years (maybe longer) while I was in school, I got so wrapped up in books, papers, pastoring, and stuff that I may have (probably did) missed out some important things in life like God, family, and friends. <br />
<br />
My wife and I were talking last night about the past ten years or so, and now reflecting back on our talk, I came to see this morning that I missed out on a lot mainly because I had gotten my priorities out of line. Don't get me wrong; I know God called and provided the way for me to go back to school but while going through all of that, I made some decisions based on their ease of choice and not the priority of choice.<br />
<br />
The best example I can give is a phrase I have laughed at in the past and hopefully will not in the future. The phrase is "self care" and I mean this for all areas of my life- spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Since I started back to school, my prayer life was based mainly on <em>my needs</em>, I have gained about 35 pounds, not taken a vacation with out books and laptop in tow, and have missed out on numerous opportunities to spend time with my beautiful beloved wife, our two great sons, other family members, and many, many wonderful friends. <br />
<br />
So what do I do next? I've admitted my problem so now I need a remedy. First thing is something I should have done eight years ago is praying to God for guidance in how to best live a more balanced life in those areas listed above. And second thing is be more dedicated about being aware of my need for self care. And third, finally send this out and believe that God will allow this to be read by my family and friends who will hold me accountable to follow up on what I have written this day. <br />
<br />
Hebrews 10:24-25-"<em>And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, <u>but let us encourage one another</u>–and all the more as you see the Day approaching</em>."Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-21670163003652523282010-09-06T12:35:00.000-07:002010-09-06T12:35:46.865-07:00Love Dependent“<i>Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything</i>.”- 1 Peter 4:8<br />
<br />
"<i>Love Dependent</i>"<br />
<br />
The above verse is from “<i>The Message</i>” which I love reading. Of course, I couldn’t confess that for the past three years since the seminary I attended did not think too kindly on the accuracy and relevance of this paraphrased version. The reason I like reading <i>The Message </i>is that it often shows me possible meanings for verses which I may not come across using my usual exegetical means and analysis. <br />
After reading the above passage from the fourth chapter of 1 Peter, I was reminded how much my life depends on love. I got to experience that a couple of weeks ago when my older brother from Texas stopped by to visit Brenda and me. It’s been way too long since we had last seen one another and we both need to figure out how to make it happen more often. Then last Thursday, I got to surprise my youngest son with a quick lunch get together after getting away early from an all day meeting. And again, it’s been way too long since we had seen one another (the same goes for our oldest son too). <br />
It’s been real easy for the past three years to blame my school schedule for not seeing my family on a more regular basis, but I don’t have that excuse anymore. I need to be more dedicated in seeing and catching up with my family (anybody want to be my accountability partner?). Looking at that verse above, I am reminded how much my life as a person and as a pastor depends on my relationship with my family. I would especially not be who I am if not for the way my older brother watched out over me during my “formative years” and the way my two boys loved and supported me during the darkest times in my life. Combine that with the daily and never-ending love of my wonderful wife, Brenda, and I am one individual truly blessed beyond what God’s Grace has shown me. My life does depend on their love and of course, God’s love. With all of that love, how can I not be the person God has called me to be? Of course, during those moments where I fail to be that person, then all of that love, like the verse says, does make up for practically anything. <br />
My prayer for those reading this is that you know and believe this too with every part of your being…Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-80530261404821499512010-08-25T08:23:00.000-07:002010-08-25T08:23:48.050-07:00Best Seats in the HouseWhile getting ready for this week’s sermon, I came across an answer to one of the great questions found within many churches today, “Why do so many people sit in the back of our churches?” I believe the answer to this question can be found in the Scriptures, more precisely in Luke 14:10. This is where Jesus tells those listening that they should sit in the worst of the seats so that the good seats could go to the more distinguished guests. <br />
I think this now explains why so many people are anxious to sit in the back of churches; they are doing it because Jesus had told them to do so. Isn’t that a relief to know? Of course, Jesus does go on to say something else after telling those listening of their need to take the worst seats available. He goes on to say that by taking the worst seats; their host could come up to them and invite them to move up closer to the seats of honor up front. So I guess that would make the pastor the host when applied to our congregations as a context. And if that is true, then it would also be scriptural for the pastor to invite those sitting in the back to move closer to the front. And why shouldn’t they be willing to do so? I mean doesn’t everybody want to be in the front row for the best of the concerts and sporting events? So if that is true, why wouldn’t they also want to be in the front row for the “Good News” of Jesus Christ? Hmmm… just something to ponder…Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-1994037281053625282010-08-18T10:57:00.000-07:002010-08-18T11:02:35.952-07:00Which Jesus Do I Serve?This past Sunday, I preached on the text from Luke 12:49-56. In my ten years of ministry, I have never before preached on that passage, mainly because I have never really liked what Jesus was saying in those verses: "I have come to bring fire on the earth… do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division… They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Who wants to hear Jesus talking about that? Besides not preaching on this passage during the past ten years, I don’t ever remember hearing a sermon on it either. If I have heard a sermon preached on it, the sermon must have been very forgettable. What was I going to do?<br /> Well long story short; after some mental discussion on the passage, I decided to go with the above text. After doing all of my sermon prep work, I struggled with how to start the sermon and then where to go with it. The next day, I was talking to one of my seminary friends who was dealing with a different problem. She wanted to preach to her congregation on the passage from Luke as a way of addressing a challenge within the church she was serving. While we were talking, she made me realize how often we filter out the verses from the Bible which make us uncomfortable and leave in those we like to hear. She now gave me the direction I wanted to go in with my sermon (Thanks Sarah B.)<br /> I preached my sermon to my congregation as a warning to all about the danger of how easy it was to filter out some of the difficult sayings of the Bible, especially those where Jesus preaches to us about things that are considered obsolete in the world’s terms. Sure, we love to hear Jesus say that he is the light of the world (John 8:12), but this is the same Jesus who told us that we are to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Luke 6:27-29a)<br /> I closed my sermon by asking my congregation (and myself) which Jesus were we going to serve: the Jesus we like from passages like John 8:12 or the Jesus of Luke 12:49-56. I then reminded us that they were both the same Jesus and for us to grow in our walks with Christ and in our service to the kingdom we needed to be followers of Jesus instead of admirers of Jesus. Because when we are faithful to following Christ, we are not only drawn closer to God, but we are also drawn closer to our neighbor—to those in our lives and even strangers. We see them just as God does—as human beings just like us, created in the image of God. Human beings just like us who are a sinners who need to know and be reminded how much God loves them. Human beings just like us who need to know and be reminded that God loves them so much that God sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for them and for me. Yeah, that’s the Jesus I want to serve and preach on no matter what he may be saying to me and the congregations I am blessed to serve.Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-79084476482429243652010-08-05T12:44:00.000-07:002010-08-05T12:46:21.606-07:00An Answer to Prayer<strong><em>I am so blessed on Wednesday afternoons</em></strong>! I get to go to the local nursing home/rehab center and “preach” to the wonderful residents there. They are so wonderful with their hugs, their smiles, and kind words for me. Now, I have to admit it wasn’t always that way for me. Three years ago, I found out that I was going to have to serve in my local community as a part of a class obligation in first year of seminary. I had no idea turn of where to serve and I finally stole the idea of serving at a nursing home from another one of the students in my class. Besides, it was only for one semester and then I could quit and spend more time studying for school and serving my church. <br /> I went into the activity room at the rehab center for the very first time not knowing what to expect. I “preached” to about 15 people that day and thought it went okay. As the residents filed out of the activity room after I was done, one of the ladies gave me a big hug and told me that I was exactly who they had been praying for. I asked the activity director what the resident was referring to. She told me that she had not been able to get a pastor to come out to “preach” to the residents. Yes, several churches in the area sent people out to the center, but it was for bible studies and sing-a-longs, not for preaching. The residents wanted a preacher/pastor to come and share God’s word with them. I was shocked! Surely, there had to be at least one pastor in the area who could spare an hour or so to share with the residents of a local rehab center. <br /> I came back the following week and was blessed again by the responses of the residents who attended. I was once again reminded by the same lady that I was exactly who they had prayed for. Well, to make a long story short, I soon found out that I began to look forward to my weekly appointment with these wonderful people and when the end of semester came, I had fallen in love with them. I decided to do it for one more semester and then quit. <br /> At least that’s what I thought… Now three years later, I’m still going to my weekly appointments with the residents and always looking forward to it. No matter how bad a mood I can be in when I get there, it all changes when I enter the activity room. The anticipation of their hugs, their smiles, and their kind words would melt any type of discord I may have felt within me. Yes, there are some there who may not be able to stay awake during my “sermon” and there are some who aren’t able to communicate clearly for some physical reason. But I have learned that none of that matters to me because each of these people have chosen to spend 45 minutes to an hour with me each week sacrificing other things like naps and other activities just to come here me share God’s word with them. <br /> I want to close by sharing my favorite event during my time there. One particular afternoon, my throat was very dry and very scratchy. I struggled to speak and finally wished aloud for a drink of water. Shortly, one of the residents, Miss Ethel left the room in her wheelchair. This was not out of the norm because some of the residents do get bored and sometimes have to leave to take care of boredom or other things. About 15 minutes later, Miss Ethel re-entered the activity room and rolled herself to the front of the room where I was standing. She stopped in front of me and handed me an ice cold bottle of water. <br /> I didn’t know what to say. You see, Miss Ethel had rolled her wheelchair all the way back to her room but not in the conventional way you and I would use a wheel chair. Miss Ethel, along with man of the other residents roll their wheelchairs by shuffling their feet back and forth which uses a great deal of effort and energy. Miss Ethel rolled about 250 yards down to her room to get some of her own money and then rolled herself back to the vending machine outside of the activity room to buy me a bottle of water. <br /> This is just one of the many examples of how these wonderful people have blessed me and my ministry. I pray that any of you who may read this post are serving your community in some form or fashion. You never know how much it may mean to those you are serving and the blessing you will received in return. <em>Besides, you just may be an answer to a prayer</em>…Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-28252277642358879092010-07-17T14:03:00.000-07:002010-07-17T14:05:02.675-07:00It’s Never Too Late to Teach an Old Pastor New ThingsThis past week while serving on a mission trip in Tennessee, I was blessed to discover that I was traveling with eight new and wonderful teachers. These teachers were the youth part of the mission team from the church I serve at. I am so indebted to them for their willingness to love, laugh, and serve while being the hands and feet of Christ to those we were serving this past week. They did all of this in some very hot and humid conditions and did it all without complaint to anyone. I’m still not too sure how they felt with their pastor tagging along with the other two adult chaperones, but I felt it was something that I needed to do. <br />Of course, I thought I needed to be there for them but instead these eight remarkable youth taught me and showed me that I needed to go for me. I say that because I used to be involved in youth work and ministry for about ten years. I stopped serving in that capacity when I decided to go into full-time pastoral ministry. That was about ten years ago and I have learned something new during this mission trip with the youth; a lot has changed in the last ten years especially in how good youth ministry takes place. Needless to say, that was just one of the many things I learned this past week from my eight teachers. <br />If you’re curious, I will go ahead and list some of those new things I did learn:<br />• A smile when you are hot and tired is worth a thousand words. <br />• Leaders come in all sizes and in all ages. <br />• Time passes a whole lot quicker when you serve side by side with someone rather than working with someone. <br />• Sharing a laugh at the right moment can make everyone’s workload and mood a whole lot lighter. <br />• Rolling down here may be itchy and dirty, but it’s can still be a whole lot of fun. <br />• The younger generation sometimes makes better listeners that the older generation does, especially if it is someone from the older generation speaking in the first place. <br />• Youth can worship no matter how loud the music may be. <br />• Sometimes the youth can articulate what someone else’s sermon is about better than their pastor can. <br />• Youth are sometimes more willing to give their last dollar for a good cause than their pastor is. <br /><br />Contrary to what many people may believe about the youth of today, not every teen is only interested in themselves and expects the world to be handed to them on a silver platter. I personally can attest to the contrary because I saw eight great teachers give up a valuable week of their summer vacation to strip and repaint an old barn, pull a ton of weeds off of a 60 degree slope, and paint a metal roof in some truly unbearable heat for two families they had never ever met prior to us pulling up in their driveways. I will cherish for the remainder of my ministry and my life the time I spent this past week serving with Katrina, Benjie, and my eight wonderful teachers. Thank you for all you taught me and for allowing me to tag along with you on this mission trip. <br />Andrea, Ashley, Austin, Haley, Kaylee, Kimberly, Maddy, and Matthew, you have blessed me more than you will ever know this past week. I look forward to serving with you again wherever God places us together to do so. I love each and every one of you… <br /><br />“<em><strong>I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy</strong></em>.”—<em>Philippians 1:3-4</em>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-20079537413686801132010-07-13T19:29:00.000-07:002010-07-13T19:32:55.540-07:00A Little Love and Service Equals Fried Pies<em>Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.</em><br /><br /> Today was the first day of my first mission trip ever. What a great and glorious day! Of course, tonight will be a FOUR Advil night because my muscles from mid-back to my shoulders are hurting something fierce. But it was all worth it! And all of this out of a day, that I really didn’t expect much too happen. <br /> I woke up this morning and checked the weather before leaving for breakfast. It was not too promising; sixty percent chance of showers starting about eleven this morning and the rain on the radar heading this way. I talked it over with Benjie, our church’s youth director, and we both agreed we would try to get as much done before the rain came. We got to the site and surveyed what we needed to do; scrape all the paint we could off an old storage shed and re-paint it. The house belonged to a gentleman who was disabled confined to his bed. His older sister lives with them taking care of him. We were told by the mission group we are serving with that it would probably take us about a day and a half to get everything done. Somebody forgot to tell our kids that. <br /> They hit the ground running. All eight of our church’s youth were scraping that shed like there was no tomorrow. During all of this and throughout the afternoon the older sister, Miss Rebekah, came out side to thank us time after time. The kids were working hard and she wanted them to know how thankful she and her brother were. Well, in no time the shed was ready for painting so we went ahead and got the kids painting. One problem; the mission group only gave us one gallon of paint (and it was a gallon of Kilz primer). <br />Needless to say, one gallon of paint among eight painters did not last long. While they were finishing up with the paint, we received a surprise. A lady across the street saw what we were doing and came over to tell us how thankful we were to see us helping one of her neighbors and then offered to make us homemade fried pies in return. We came to bless someone and now we were the ones being blessed in return by someone we weren’t even serving. I love it when God does that! <br /> So we ate our lunch and then waited for some more paint to show up. It finally did (two more gallons of primer) and by the end of our day we had the shed looking good. All of us, especially the kids were tired and ready to head back and try to take a shower so we could get some of the paint chips out of hair and the paint off of us wherever it landed. <br />As we headed back, I wondered what the kids thought about their day. Did they regret coming? Were they thinking about the great job they had just finished or were they wishing they were back home laying out by the pool with their friends? It was then I remembered one of my favorite verses from being a youth counselor. First Timothy 4:12 which says, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” <br />The youth group of Mount Gilead lived and portrayed that verse today throughout painting and scraping with not a complaint to be heard from them. On this day, these wonderful hard working kids were examples in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity to Miss Rebekah, her brother, to the neighbor with fried pies, and best of all, their proud pastor. I am truly blessed to be the pastor such a great group of young women and men. Thank you Lord for crossing my paths with theirs.Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-83418721372406368152010-07-06T10:44:00.000-07:002010-07-06T11:42:34.717-07:00GuidanceI have a "Peanuts" daily calendar on my desk in my office at the church where I serve. I love reading the strip each and every day. Today's strip caught my eye: it's a strip where Charlie Brown has picked a flower with some petals on them. Beside him, is Linus (the strip's resident theologian) and he is watching Charlie Brown pull a petal off the flower one at a time. Each time he pulls a petal off Charlie Brown says, "She loves me. She loves me not." Just as Charlie Brown is about to finish, Linus says to him, "It is difficult for me to believe that a flower has the gift of prophecy."<br />After I finished reading the strip, I wondered to myself of where do people turn for guidance in their lives. Certainly not a flower, but what about horoscopes? A gut feeling, a hunch? With me, I usually start with myself (which I should know by now is not such a good idea) which sometimes work out, but there are too many times where it does not work out. It is then I wonder why I didn't start with God first or at least with those people that God has placed in my lives to help me along the way. God has been so faithful to me over the years that it should be second nature for me to turn to God anytime I need help and guidance with this life of mine. I have been especially blessed by God with a great group of friends who I can turn to anytime and any place and get the answer that will be best for me. It may not be the answer I am looking for, but I know it will be the best answer for me because that is what they want for me. I trust and believe in these people because I know they have the Spirit of the living God leading their lives and it is that same Spirit I want leading my life each and every day.<br />Maybe just maybe, one day with God's help, I will finally know where to turn without even thinking about it...<br /><br /><em>"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6</em>Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-89453481175114566932008-09-01T23:46:00.001-07:002008-09-02T01:02:09.789-07:00"Well done, good and faithful student"It's a couple of hours before I have to get up and go to the first day of school. I would like to say that it is the excitement of the unknown and getting to see my friends that has me up at 2 in the morning, but then again, it might be the Sprayberry's barbeque I had for dinner. Anyway, as I was laying there trying to figure out whether or not I should get up, a thought crossed my mind. When I started this thought of finally going into the ministry some nine years ago, did I have any idea that I would be where I am today? For me, the answer is easy, "NO WAY!" As I thought about that answer, it hit me that this nine year journey has been filled with a lot of hard work, but best of all, a ton of people who have loved and supported me in my call to the ministry. How could I ever tell them thank you? I got a great idea, write a blog! Maybe not such a great idea, because I may leave someone out, but I have some time to kill so here I go...<br />Where to start? How about Monty and Fert? Seriously, that's really their names. Anyway, I was serving on a Walk to Emmaus weekend and a fellow preacher, David and I were talking about content we were about being "local licensed preachers." (it's a Methodist thing!) Then these two guys over that Emmaus weekend in their own little God-blessed ways put this silly little idea into our heads about us going back to college and then seminary. I laughed at them and came up with some really great excuses like my age, full time employment, and oh yeah, money to pay for school, seminary, and all of those other little things that cost money. By the end of the weekend, the thought of gme oing back to school wouldn't leave my mind, so I decided to check into it.<br />Eventually, I found out that I could go to school "full time" going a couple a nights a week and still serve my little church. So I started back to college after 28 years going to Shorter College (Lawrenceville campus). It was hard and easy at the same time, and after two and a half years, I had an associate degree. While I was at Shorter, I served on another Walk to Emmaus weekend and came across a couple of preachers. I was talking to them that I needed to finish out my undergraduate degree before heading to seminary and was trying to figure out where I should go. Without the other knowing, both pastors suggested LaGrange College to me about an hour apart (sounds like a God thing to me). Both Dave and Scott told me about how great the school was and how beautiful the campus was. And oh yeah, it's a Methodist school with a lot of old Methodist scholarship money, so I decided to check it out. Later that year at annual conference on missions night, the emphasis was on Methodist schools in the North Georgia conference. Guess who was one of the key speakers, the dean of LaGrange College, Dr. Stuart Gulley. After the service was over, my wife and I went onto the stage to introduce ourselves to Dr. Gulley and express our interest in me attending LGC. When we finally got to him, we introduced ourselves and told him of my plans. Dr. Gulley literally stopped what he was doing and for about 10 minutes answered every question we had about LGC. He encouraged us to come down to LaGrange, visit the campus and to call him if we had any other questions. He also called over Quincy Brown, the school's chaplain (much more than a chaplain and a great blessing to the school and to me) and introduced us to him.<br />Well, in fall of 2005, I started LaGrange College. What was I doing at this small campus of about a 1,000 students as a 48 year old transfer student? I'm pretty sure that's what some of those students were thinking. In fact, on my first day there, I was the first one in my Humanities class sitting in a desk when one of the students walked in and wanted to know if I was the professor. No, I was a student just like them. And for the next 2 years, I was a student mainly because of the way I was treated by a majority of the students at the school. The students I will remember most are the students from the religion department. They blessed me more than they will ever know. I have no doubts that God placed those special "kids" at LaGrange just for me during those 2 years. I couldn't have done it with out (in alphabetical order and with many thanks) Amber, Andy, Bill, David, Julia, Matt, Ryan, Sandra, Suzanne, and so many more that my old age won't let me remember. Also, I shouldn't leave out my three favorite professors; Dr. Ahearn for challenging me and preparing me for seminary. Dr. Cook, for making Greek fun and for all of those wonderful off the subject conversations in classes that made those horrible academic subjects you taught bearable enough to live through. And Alvin, though I only had you for one class, you were the one who "talked" me into going to Candler. Even though you were a "Dukie" through and through, over the course of several conversations you enlightened me enough through my doubts to point me at Candler.<br />I would be remiss if I did not to tell you about one more wonderful piece of God's grace that had gotten me through this educational quest so far, my beautiful wife, Brenda. Nine years ago, she sat on our bed and told me that she knew that I was called to the ministry (She also said she had known that I had been called for some time and that she was waiting on me to find out and admit it). She has never once objected to me going back to school especially when money was and still is tight. From nights alone while I wrote and typed papers to me toting my books and computer on OUR vacations, she has loved and supported me unconditionally. When I doubted or whined, she was there to remind me of the journey and how far and how much God has blessed me to get me to where I am today. And for that, I am eternally grateful for all that she has done and sacrificed for me these past 9 years.<br />And as I begin my second year at Candler, I am beginning another list of people who have blessed me so far and will bless me over the next over the 20 months and 8 days (til graduation!) with God's love and grace to get me through to the degree I seek. What lays before me, only God and my professors know, but whatever that may be, let's do it, because May 10, 2010, can't come quick enough!!!Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-11658853506432509322008-08-29T02:16:00.001-07:002008-08-29T02:49:19.862-07:00Plans?"<em>For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope</em>."- Jeremiah 29:11<br /><br />As I write this, I am about less than 96 hours away from going back to school. For those of you who don't know and may care, I am in my second year of seminary at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. So far, I can say God has truly blessed me in getting me to Candler and during my first year there. I can say that because there was a period of time (about 4 years) where I was "A-B-C", which means "Anywhere But Candler." I have always thought of myself as a fairly conservative sort and really had no interest in attending Candler. But as I was finishing my undergraduate degree at the really ripe of age of 50 years old, God had a very special way of getting my attention.<br />I made a commitment to myself and my checkbook that if it was God's plans for me to attend seminary, then God was going to have to show me where I should go to school by furnishing me a "free" way to school. I checked into two schools, Candler and Asbury. To make a long story short, Candler furnished me a full tuition scholarship and Asbury didn't. As I thought about going to Candler and wondered what their "liberal" way of doing things was going to warp me, I was reminded of something a pastor friend told me, "If I can make it through Candler and still keep my core beliefs intact, them maybe I was supposed to go to Candler after all." (thanks David!)<br />Well, after my first year at Candler, I am amazed and blessed to say I am still clinging to my "core beliefs." NOW, let me say this about my core beliefs; they have gone under a slight "transformation." During my time at Candler, God has placed certain people (both students and faculty) who have revealed to me that God's grace is NOT through with me yet. My ideas about theology, the Bible, and other religious points of view are not exactly aligned with God's and more importantly, NOT quite ready to allow me to become the pastor and preacher that God has planned out for me to be.<br />God's plan for my welfare go much further than my checkbook. God has shown me that my spiritual and emotional welfare is still in need of some more "transformation." So as I begin my second year of school, I look forward to being transformed some more by my fellow students, professors, faculty members, and oh yeah, God!<br /><br /><em>Praise God for whom all blessings flow</em>!Preacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-47636382227060782372008-08-19T19:46:00.000-07:002008-08-19T20:18:44.586-07:00Thank you James BrookingI had to do a funeral yesterday for a member of my first congregation. James and his wife Kathleen were very special to me during my 4 years at North Covington. Their daughter called me last week to tell me that they had to admit James to hospice last week and wanted to know if I would preside over James' funeral. Of course, I accepted the honor and thanked them for thinking of me. Not long after hanging up the phone and I began to think about James, the word "treasure" popped into my head.<br /><br />James had a very unique way of looking at life. No matter what people saw whether it was in an object or a human being, James saw something of value—something that could be treasured. A good example of that occured the very first time I went to visit James,. He invited to tour the shed to left of the house. What some may consider to be junk, James considered them to be treasure; maybe not at that very moment, but something that could could be fixed or repaired into a futire "treasure." The family and some of James' friends shared numerous stories about the STUFF James brought home from other people's garbage or thrown away on the side of the street. He could go to work or go to run some errands with an empty pickup truck and come back later with the back of the truck filled with just about anything that could be fixed. Most of whatever James could fix, he would eventually give away to those in need.<br /><br />In the neighborhood, along Sammar and Odom Streets, James was a treasured neighbor, helping out wherever he could. If anything needed to be fixed or repaired, James was the man to call to help out. There were also times that I was the beneficiary of some of the treasure that came from James’ and Kathleen’s garden. They would usually have to remind me to leave my car unlock so I could receive some of the vegetable of the week. I also benefited anytime Kathleen used some of those fresh vegetables at our church's covered dish dinners.<br /><br />Another one of James' treasures was his old Model A car. James loved to talk about his treasured Model A and the trips James and Kathleen took showing the car off around the South. It was his Model A that James made some of the numerous friends that he enjoyed over his 90 plus years of life. James was not only a treasured friend to so many, but in his later years treasured his friendships. Anytime when I would visit, James loved to tell the stories of times and friendships from the years bypassed.<br /><br />Now, what did I treasure most about the years I have known James Brooking: LIFE LESSONS. James had a special way of looking at the world—mainly through what he saw out his front window. I can remember sitting in James and Kathleen’s house listening to the stories of James and Kathleen’s life. When I was in licensing school, I was alsways told to limit my pastoral visits to be no more that 30-45 minutes. With James, there was no such thing as a 30-45 minute visit; James would start talking and then I would look at my watch and it was 2-3 hours later. Time flew by while James shared different parts of his and his family's life. Each and every story I heard from James was a TREASURE—no matter how many times he told the story. During my last couple of visits, Kathleen would try to correct James by telling him I had already heard that story or maybe James got the story a little mixed up. For me, it didn’t matter because James was willing to share the treasure of his life and families’ life with a brand new preacher who was still trying to figure out what visiting people in their homes was all about.<br /><br />The last verse of the Scripture that I read yesterday says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If that is the case, then James Brooking lived his 90 plus years because of the size of his heart and the size of the treasure that God had blessed him with. I believe James looked at life much like Christ did; where people saw junk and no value, James saw treasure and where people saw worthless and no good people, James saw people who could be treasured. I can never ever remember James saying anything bad about any one person. You could see it in the way James treated his family, his friends, and in his neighborhood.<br /><br />I am thankful to God for the many treasures that he has blessed me with over the years of my life. I am especially thankful for the treasure of James Brooking in my life. I pray that after you finish reading this, you will look over your life and see the many treasures God has blessed you with. And after you finish inventoring all those treasures, thank God for them and then make the time to tell each of those treasures how much they mean to you.<br /><br />Blessings and Grace,<br /><br />DanPreacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3976688123939537070.post-16960039445356102402008-08-12T17:47:00.000-07:002008-08-12T18:07:57.911-07:00Why Preacher Dan?It was June 24, 2001, and I was getting ready to serve my first Sunday as pastor of North Covington UMC in Covington, GA. I was scared to death and extremely nervous. I had warned the District Superintendent not to send me to this church because I had in-laws there and was replacing a pastor who just so happened to be my wife's cousin. Sounds like the making of a great soap opera, doesn't it? Anyway, somebody asked me by what name did I want the kids and youth to call me by. I told them anything but "Preacher Dan." I felt like I was being called to be a pastor of a church, but wasn't too sure about the preaching part of the call. Besides, "Preacher Dan" just didn't sound right; almost uppity to me.<br /> Well, guess what happened? At the end of the church, the children of the church came up to me and presented me some pictures they drew. Every last one of them was addressed to Preacher Dan! What was I going to do? Well, I did thank the kids for the pictures and promised that I would hang them up in my office. Later, on the way home, that small little voice in the back of my head brought something to my attention. Maybe, just maybe, God was trying to get my attention by telling me that it was God who was the one calling me into ministry and that part of that call was to "preach." And to help me remember this, the kids were going to call me Preacher Dan.<br /> Some seven years later, I am still Preacher Dan to the kids and youth (and a whole bunch of adults too) of my church, but now at a slightly larger church in the southern suburbs of Atlanta. I love what I am doing being a pastor and a full time seminary student (Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA). I am blessed by the journey that God has brought me through over these years and I stand here to profess to one and all that if it wasn't for the grace and mercy of God and my beautiful bride of 12 years, Brenda, I have no idea of where I would be today!<br /> I have no idea of how many of these blogs I am going to be writing because once school starts, my time will be limited so don't be surprise if there is a dry spell between September and mid-May!<br /> Blessings and grace to one and all...<br /><br />Preacher DanPreacher Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15378236738487830115noreply@blogger.com0