My Top 3 Commitments

About a week ago, I started serving at my new church First UMC Pace. This time of transition has been hectic, exciting, and fun. However, in the midst of the busyness I want to make sure I keep certain commitments during this time of transition. Here are my top 3...

1. I will move slowly. I will remember that God didn't move the Israelites into the Promise Land overnight, and he's not expecting me to change our church in one month. If there are some easy "wins" great, but it takes time to learn the people and understand the DNA of the church. I will not assume I know what is best, but I'll seek to learn about my new culture. I need to understand our past and current context before we vision for the future.

2. I will focus on priorities. Busy is not synonymous with effectiveness. Every time I'm doing something, I'm not doing something else. There is a cost to not keeping my priorities...even if I can't see it right away. I will pray and read scripture. I will not neglect my family. I will meet with people...a lot!

3. I will serve. This is my first time being a Senior Pastor. The title alone makes me sound older and more powerful. But power is not something I will use to manipulate others. Christ was powerful, but he used his power to serve. I hope to do the same. I will be intentional in trying to find ways to serve my staff, the congregation, my family, and the poor. I want my leadership to resemble the way of Jesus.

Without a doubt, this new appointment will have ups and downs, successes and failures, wins and losses. Some people will love me (at least my wife and kids but maybe others)...and some not so much. I'll have good days, but some days I'll fall flat on my face. I'm thankful for a Savior whose grace is sufficient in all things. He always works in ways that are beyond my abilities and above my highest expectations. He is always faithful.

My Top 3 Youth Ministry Books

If you scroll down and look to the left side of this blog, you'll see a list of youth ministry books I love. I am a book nerd by nature and I especially enjoy reading about youth ministry. Thus, picking a top 3 was very painful, but here you go!

1. "Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry: A Personal and Practical Guide to Starting Right" -Doug Fields

If I could recommend one book for youth ministers, this would be it. It is incredibly practical and extremely well written. I've been in youth ministry for 12 years and I continue to re-read it. The chapters on discouragement and dealing with difficult people are especially helpful.

2. "Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry" -Kenda Creasy Dean

This book made me fall in love with youth ministry again at a time when I was discouraged. The book challenges us to rethink our roles as youth ministers. The goal of student ministry is not to direct programs, but to pastor students. The goal is not big numbers, but sanctification.

3. "Sticky Faith: Practical Ideas to Nurture Long-Term Faith in Teenagers" -Kara Powell and Brad Griffin

This book provides an enormous amount of research, but also includes very practical ideas to help youth ministries. The authors present youth workers with a theological/philosophical framework and programming ideas that develop long-term faith in teenagers.

Marriage and Other Stuff

Today marks 8 years of marriage with my amazing and beautiful wife. It's been an amazing journey so far. Just thinking about what has taken place during our marriage makes me tired...

Over a decade working in student ministry: retreats, lock-ins (what were we thinking), small groups, mission trips, service projects, and eating way too much pizza.

Moving to Wilmore, Kentucky so that I could attend Asbury Theological Seminary.

Buying this guy… (roll tide!)

Going on some incredible trips including New York, Haiti, and the Holy Land!

Getting ordained in The United Methodist Church. (what were they thinking)

The birth of our first child…Kenzie Claire. She's the greatest little girl in the entire world in my bias opinion.

Going through the process of adoption...

Finalizing the adoption of our son…Caleb Kyrie. He's the greatest baby boy in the world by far.

Keeping up with these two crazy kids on a daily basis.

Like I said, it's been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to what God has in store for us in the future. 

(But one non-crazy year would be nice)

Two Awesome Websites

A couple of weeks ago, I received the exciting news that one of my articles was posted on the Seedbed website. You can check that out here. 

But the real reason for this post is simply to make others aware of Seedbed and another site called Wesleyan Accent. Both sites provide resources, videos, and articles that are centered on Wesleyan theology. The material is produced by a wide variety of scholars, pastors, and youth ministers. I've really enjoyed both websites and hope you will too! Check them out!

Prayer for Holy Saturday

Merciful and everliving God, creator of heaven and earth,
the crucified body of your Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy day.
Grant that we may wait with him the dawing of the third day
and rise in newness of life, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer)

"Since then we have a great high priest
who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,
let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:14, 16)

Prayer for Good Friday

Almighty God,
Your Son Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross
so that he might draw the whole world to himself.
Grant that we, who glory in this death for our salvation,
may also glory in his call to take up our cross and follow him;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Worship)

"If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, will save it."
Mark 8:34-35

Wherever You Call Me

Change is inevitable. Change is great. Change is hard. 

As an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church I am appointed to my ministry positions. Following the Acts 13 model, we believe in a "sent" ministry. Pastors are not hired or fired. We have a leadership base that sends pastors to different churches. The goal is to send pastors where their gifts and graces meet the ministry and missional needs of a local church. With that said, I found out recently I am being sent to First UMC Pace, Florida as their Senior Pastor. My family and I are very excited about this opportunity, but we will certainly miss our time here in Crestview.

I was sent to First UMC Crestview 5 years ago and it was a great fit. I have loved being at this church. They have spoiled my family in numerous ways. It's been an amazing journey with the youth ministry here. We started with ten kids on two pews in an old youth house. God brought together a special group of volunteers and teenagers and things began to grow. Soon the youth house was overflowing. Crowded room of teenagers + a sometimes working A/C unit = smelly youth house. It didn't matter. Kids kept inviting kids and we kept growing.

Eventually the church allowed us to use their main sanctuary for worship. You know you have an awesome church when they allow the teenagers to use their main sanctuary. I wasn't sure how the students would react to being in such a different atmosphere. Again, God's spirit moved and we didn't miss a beat. 

We spent over a year in the sanctuary, but plans were drawn to build a new facility. One third of this new building was dedicated to our youth. We moved into our new facilities in 2012.

I love our new building and I love that our youth group has grown. More importantly, however, I've loved seeing students fall in love with Jesus. I've loved seeing students grow in their faith. I've loved seeing them serve and help other people. I've loved seeing them pray together.

 

I've even loved the messy games. Never mind, I didn't love that. But I did love all the fun times and laughing until it hurts.

Like I said before, we are very excited about our new appointment. I cannot wait to get started at FIrst UMC Pace. Change is great. But change is hard because it also means saying goodbye to something else. Saying goodbye to these students and this church will be very difficult. They have been a second family for us. During this time of transition, the song "Oceans" by Hillsong United has been very encouraging. I especially love these lyrics:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. 
Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander 
and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.

Change is inevitable. Change is great. Change is hard. Spirit lead us...

Caleb's Big Weekend -Adoption Update

Last weekend was a big one for our son Caleb. On Friday, March 14th, his adoption was finalized by the state of Florida. Caleb is "officially" our son. Then on Sunday I baptized Caleb. Below is a letter we wrote for him and read at church. As always, thank you for your continued prayers and support. This adoption was made possible by so many people besides ourselves. We are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.

Our family with the Judge

Dear Caleb Kyrie Dasinger,

We are so excited that today is your baptism. Getting to this point has been an adventure to say the least. Often times adoption is seen as something embarrassing or strange. We pray and hope your adoption story is one that you take pride in. We fully realize that a child being raised by their loving birth parents is plan A. We understand that we are plan B and yet what an amazing privlege that is. Our God is good. He can take all things and redeem them for good.

Your birth mom was not able to take care of you and she made a very courageous decision in giving you to us. We will be forever grateful for her decision. We want you to know that we have been praying for you and thinking about you even before you were born. We want you to know that we fought hard to have you in our family. You are worth every penny spent, every sleepless night, every mile travelled, every piece of paper filled out, every phone call, every obstacle, every hard day. Being your mommy and daddy is one of the greatest things God has ever called us to. Having you as our son is a blessing beyond words.

As your parents, we promise to love you and take care of you each and every day. We hope to be great examples of compassion and grace. Your sister Kenzie was just as excited to meet you as we were. She couldn’t wait to have a little brother. No family is perfect, but we pray that our family will show God’s incredible power and faithfulness. 

You will also have an amazing church family who will support you and pray for you as well. In fact, it is your church family that helped make this adoption possible. The church is not perfect, and being a pastor’s son will not always be easy. But hopefully you will see and meet people who really love Jesus and really love you. Today you become a part of God’s church family.

You will always be surrounded by people who love you, but unfortunately you will also grow up in a fallen world. We’re sorry that you may face mistreatment due solely to the color of your skin. We’re sorry people may think your family is odd or weird. We believe our family is amazing. We believe our family reflects God’s kingdom…a kingdom that includes every nation, race, and tribe. We’re sorry that you will grow up in a culture that teaches men to be chauvinistic, prideful, and angry. Our culture defines real men as cocky, arrogant, and egotistical. We hope and pray you will become a Godly man. We hope you are selfless, compassionate, and kind. We hope you are strong in the way you honor women and in the way you care for the least of these. We hope you’re strong in your beliefs and that you will live by faith. This is real strength.

We hope you find your identity in God’s love for you. And this brings us back to this special day. The baptismal covenant is God’s word to us, proclaiming our adoption into God’s family by God’s grace. Baptism is a symbol of God’s love for you. It’s a reminder that you are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. Life is an up and down journey. It is filled with victories and defeats. Your baptism declares that nothing can change God’s love and commitment to you. You are his and he is yours. Follow him son.  

Love,

Mom, Dad, and Kenzie