After The Jump

My Two Brothers....

2007-02-15T10:22:00.000-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of talking with two amazing individuals. These guys are two of the most engaging, pleasant individuals you could ever hope to meet.

They also suffer from drug addiction.

For those of you who have been around a while, you know that our society is full of folks that suffer from one chemical dependency or another.

The unique thing about these guys is that they chose to attack the addiction head on and are enlisting the help of their God, their church and their family to remain clean and sober.

I realize there are people all over the world taking proactive steps to beat addiction. I'm not concerned about people all over the world. That is bigger than me right now. I'm concerned about tese two guys and the people they will reach with their testimony of victory.

Let me be perfectly clear about one important point: I don’t know anything about drug or alcohol addiction. The important thing is that there are plenty of people who do, and more importantly, there are people in the Body of Christ who know what these guys are going through and have the tools and experience necessary to help them succeed.

These guys are looking to relocate to Hampton Roads in the future. If you know of a Narcotics Anonymous sponsor that is willing to start regular meetings at FreedomLife, please drop me a line or a comment.

My hope and prayers are that we embrace them when we see them, and equip my two brothers with the skills they need to advance the adenda of an All-Powerful God.

d

Where Has The Time Gone?

2007-02-08T11:45:00.000-05:00

Here it is, already the 8th of February. It seem like just yesterday I was writing about post-Christmas lassitude. So much for me trying to post 2-3 times a week. Things seem to have slowed down a bit, so I should be able to get my thoughts down a little more regularly.

As far as reading, the FLC staff has been going through the book "From Good to Great" by Jim Collins. It's not what you would call a "Churchy" book, but it's chock full of useful information about the different attitudes of people in good organizations versus leaders in great organizations. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like to read it.

I also had a business trip to Las Vegas since I last posted. I got to see the lion habitat inside the MGM Grand, the fountain show at Bellagio, and the Ferrari dealership inside the Wynn Hotel.

On a different note, The LIFE Group that I'm a part of has a new leader. Shawn Fisher has graciously stepped up to lead an outreach focused LIFE group. Look for us to minister to the teachers and staff of Burbank Elementary, as well as the Youth of FreedomLife.

So there you go, my life in a nutshell from the past couple of weeks. Drop me a line or a comment if you have something on your mind, or something interesting to share.

d

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-27T16:43:00.000-05:00

I'm like a little kid during this time of the year. The presents have all been unwrapped, the eggnog is gone, but the euphoria is still with me.

I don't know what it is, but I love the quiet time between Christmas and New Years. Part of it has to do with my full time job, and the fact that everyone really scales back the amount of work we accomplish. Vacations are happening, and nobody expects anything to get done. It makes for a very restful time. I don’t know about you, but I can sure use it.

We had an awesome worship experience on Christmas Eve. Our pastors were living examples of Christ's love for us and proof that his redemptive spirit is alive and well. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

I’ve taken a right hand turn with my reading this week. A good friend loaned me the book The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder. Reading it is going to open up a whole new avenue of thinking for me. I’ll blog my thoughts on his writing in coming days.

If you’ll notice, there is a new link on the right side of the page. It belongs to Carol Kenreigh and the Women’s Ministry of Freedom Life. Talk about a phenomenal lady. I can’t wait to see what God is doing in the lives of our women.

The other link is from Kara Torres, one of our dislocated military family members. Keep her in your prayers and drop her a line to let her know that we miss her.

d

It's Hard For Spirtual Leaders

2006-12-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

I'm learning about a phenomenon that often happens when spiritual leaders are ready to take action. All of a sudden things start going wrong at just the wrong time.

Stuff gets jacked up at church, a family member gets sick or goes into a crisis, friends start disagreeing, doubts about the course of action start to crop up, work turns into a hassle, and so on and on. Things start piling up as the step gets closer to being taken. Satan knows how the Lord works, and how we work.

Since many of us are currently in the middle of this type of situation, the main thing I'm trying to keep in mind is: RELAX. God is still at work. It is the Spirit, not me, that makes Spirit-led actions succeed. I'm trying to trust God, pray hard, and love harder. I know when the time arrives, the Spirit gives a sense of confidence that will chase away the nervousness and the fear. Because even though I'm no match for Satan, God is more than enough.

People who are responsible for major decisions need our support: in person, in prayer, sometimes with a helping hand, sometimes with money or skills. Our job in spiritual conflict is to be with them in the time of trial. This is no time to be alone. It's time to see just how much of a faith community we are. In 'war', some people get wounded. Expect it. God will bring healing.

d

Doing What's Important

2006-12-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

As an apprentice for Freedom Life, I'm finding out what it means to be a pastor. One of the cool things I get to do is raid the libraries of Pastor Freddy and Pastor Chris.

The current book I'm reading is Spiritual Leadership by Henry and Richard Blackaby. In this book are awesome principles on becoming an effective leader.

Time management is a place where I sometimes struggle, so I've been taking extra time to take to heart what I've been reading. Some of the things I'm working on:

Seeking to understand God's will
Saying no
Delegating
Making time for the important
Scheduling unhurried time with God
Regular, quality time with family
Managing my health
Scheduling time with people
Avoiding time wasters

I'll let you guys know when I'm finished with the book. I'm sure pastor Chris wouldn't mind if you borrowed it.

On a personal note, it's been a crazy week. Our LIFE Group is scheduling a trip to Colonial Williamsburg for our young adults. It's going to be Friday, 8 December at 6:30 pm. We'll meet at FLC and carpool to see the Christmas lights and holiday decorations. It's been a tradition in my family for the last few years, and we always have a great time.

Drop me a line at Dale@freedomlifechurch.com if you need more information.

Dale

One for the Ladies

2006-11-26T14:00:00.000-05:00

A very attractive lady goes up to a bar in a quiet rural pub. She gestures alluringly to the bartender who comes over immediately. When he arrives, she seductively signals that he should bring his face closer to hers. When he does, she begins to gently caress his full beard.

"Are you the manager?" she asks, softly stroking his face with both hands. "Actually, no," the man replies.

"Can you get him for me? I need to speak to him," she says, running her hands beyond his beard and into his hair.

"Can't," breathes the bartender. "He's not here. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes, there is. I need you to give him a message," she continues, running her forefinger across the bartender's lips and slyly popping a couple of her fingers into his mouth and allowing him to suck them gently.

"What should I tell him?" the bartender manages to say.

"Tell him," she whispers, "there is no toilet paper, hand soap, or paper towels in the ladies room."

Gross, I know.... I just thought this would be a good way to give a big Thank You to the people who work behind the scenes to make our Freedom Life facilities such a rocking place to experience God.

Wayne & Candace Coates
John Klick
Jay Kriner
John Limmer

These guys rock. Next time you see them give them a big hug and let them know you appreciate their servant hearts. (And the fact that there are paper products in the bathrooms!)

First Post Excitement

2006-11-25T13:51:00.000-05:00

People always say that the first part of anything is the hardest.

Think back to the last time we saw a baby try to walk, or the skinned knees the first time we went solo on our bikes.

I'm finding that the blogging process (blog = Web+Log) is not much different. Getting started has been harder than I thought it would be. I want to able to talk about things that matter, and maybe bring a little clarity to my own thinking along the way.

To that end, I guess I'll explain the title "After The Jump". After the jump is a holdover from newspaper lingo. The 'jump' in a newspaper article is the point where the article is interrupted on one page and continued at that point on another page, with a notation of where to go to continue the article. They serve the same purpose: to conserve "front page" space (or inside page space, though that's less common) for as much of as many articles as possible.

I always liked the term, because it made me think of the series of events that followed an act of obedience, or "Jumping" into God's plan for my life. Recently it seems like I've jumped into something that is tremendously significant. The pastoral apprenticeship at Freedom Life Church is something that I'll be writing more about in coming posts, but suffice it to say that it has been a turning point in my life.

I hope you'll stick around for the bumps, bruises, and skinned knees. I'll post at least twice a week. I hope you will come back to hear how things are progressing.

Dale