Examples are powerful teachers. On this Father’s Day I am reflecting on the powerful example my father gave me, and still gives me. Much of what I am today is a result of me following the example of my Dad. Some life changing things he has taught me are …

–Love Jesus passionately and depend on him and his Word with each breath you take. My Dad is a great example of loving Jesus.

–Laugh a lot. There was always laughter around our house and there still is whenever you are around my Dad. He loved pranks, he loves a good joke and a funny story.

–Be committed. My Dad is a picture of commitment. He is committed to Christ. He was committed to my Mom, they were married for 41 years before she died and he has been married to my stepmom for nearly 26 years. He was committed as a pastor for 44 years. He taught me that if you are going to get involved in something be committed to it.

–Preach the Word. My Dad was my pastor for all my growing up years but I didn’t have a choice he was a great pastor. He was my pastor for a few years when I was an adult (before I became a pastor) and that was by choice. In fact we drove 30 minutes each way just to have him as our pastor. In all of the years of his ministry he always was faithful to preach God’s Word. He showed me, and told me, that as long as I preached the Word I would be okay, and when I would get in trouble was if I tried to preach my own stuff.

–Love people. My Dad loved, and still loves people. He endeared himself to the people he pastored because they knew he loved them. He showed them that love during good times and not so good times. They always knew they were loved.

–God is still God. This phrase is my Dad’s ministry in a nutshell. He repeated the phrase often to everyone and he lived it in all areas of his life. It was proven especially during my Mom’s battle with cancer and her early death at age 59. I vividly remember talking with my Dad shortly after my Mom died when he said, “I guess now I will find out for sure if all that I have preached through the years is really true.” Three months after this conversation I reminded Dad of his statement and I asked him if it was really true. His answer was a firm “Yes. Yes it is!” I use that phrase a lot in my ministry because I have seen it to be true, God is still God no matter what.

–Be generous. My parents were always generous with their time, with their possessions, with their home, with their stuff and with their money. We never had a lot, but we always shared. What a powerful lesson of being truly generous and trusting God for all things.

There is much more I could share about the things my Dad has taught me by his example and maybe I will share more of them in another post sometime. For today let me just say thanks Dad and happy Father’s Day. I love you.

Dennis