Pastor Dan’s Blog

Living A Legacy - Pastor G

This past week, my family and I traveled to Denver, Colorado to join in on the retirement celebration for Pastor Elias Gonzales who retired after thirty-eight years at the same church. Back in the summer of 1986, my junior year of college, I worked as a summer intern at First Spanish Assembly of God. Pastor G (As he was affectionately known) welcomed me with open arms, provided me with a wonderful family to stay with, a salary and a priceless experience.

 

That summer I grew. I acquired knowledge that could not be learned in a book. It was knowledge that could not be taught but caught, caught by watching & gleaning from a well seasoned minister.

 

I caught the importance of. . .

 

§          Vision

When I was there the church was in their old building. The plans & blueprints for 1^st Spanish’s new building were being drawn up. Conceptual drawings and renderings of the church’s exterior were all that existed materially.

 

Pastor G saw the end before he started. I walked the new property and saw the completed building in the eyes of a visionary. I caught the reality that the leader must see the end before others and then help them see it too. Years later I returned to walk the halls & preach on the platform that was once only a imagination in the heart of a man.

 

§          Humor

The man loved to laugh and to make people laugh. You could always count on a smile and a laugh when Pastor G was around. In my short time there he found certain habits or sayings of mine to exploit and make fun of. To this day when I see him those sayings & habits are still brought up. His humor was a form of “carino”.

 

In Manteca, for Master’s Graduation, Pastor G came to watch his son Jason’s graduation. Manteca in June can be extremely hot. This summer night was no different. The air conditioners were not working & Pastor G sat in the front pew soaked from perspiration. Like a penguin in the desert, sweat poured from his brow and he attempted to control the flow with a hand towel from his hotel room. When the church was asked if there were any visitors present that night. Pastor G responded, “If there are they won’t be back. It’s hotter than hell in here!” That’s where I learned a pastor can say hell!

 

§          Love

Pastor G’s love is legendary. He possesses a great love for people. I observed him interact with elders and children with same passion and attention. He valued people and people in turn valued him. I believe his effectiveness as a preacher was due in part to his love for the people. People will respond to someone who loves them. They may not like what he says but they know that it is generated by love.

 

His love for people was on display on night I preached and a drunk man walked in off the streets and began a profanity laced prayer that would shock any Hell’s Angel. I tried to quiet the man until Pastor G walked up, touched his shoulder and looked into his eyes and said, “that was the best prayer I have ever heard because it came from his heart.”

 

§          Family

For a man who lived in a glass house for half a century, he showed me the value of family. He has always referred to his wife as “Lovie”. His public expression of his love for his wife was on display every time he mentioned her name. If one of his own children were not serving God at the time, his love did not falter. His family was not his ministry they were his priority & passion. His example of juggling the roles of pastor & family man I still value to this day.

 

§          Lastly, Commitment

You don’t reach this kind of milestone absent of commitment. Over the years I have heard of the struggles & trials that he faced as the lead man. He has shared some of those times with me in private visits over the years. Troubles that would have cause a weaker man to quit. Yet, he would not allow those issues to overwhelm him. He made a choice years ago to pastor these people, so when the trials arose, there was no decision to make as to continuing. The choice had been made years ago. No quitting. This is not a job, this is my life.

 

The church in Denver has lost a great leader but his legacy continues in the lives of the people that he has touched. He may be retiring from the church but not from ministry. We are not what we do, we do what we do because of who we are. Pastor G is and will always be a minister. I must become a Pastor G in the lives of those around me.

 

True success in ministry is not what we have when we are done, but rather what we have given away.

Tags: Elias Gonzales, Legacy, Retirement

Out Of The Wild

I have been watching a program on the Discovery Channel called the Out of the Wild, Alaska Experiment. Nine volunteers are dropped off in the Alaska wilderness and challenged to trek over 60 miles toward civilization. Each one was trained & instructed on survival techniques & equipped with various items to assist them on their journey.

 

Each person was also outfitted with a personal GPS unit that had a panic button that once engaged by its carrier would signal a rescue helicopter to come & pick them up and return them to the comforts of civilization. Enduring rough terrain, extreme conditions, make shift shelters and a lack of food they follow a map & compass to each check point. Twenty eight days later only five are still pressing toward their goal.

 

One young lady, Carolyn Yamazaki is a 26-year-old attorney from Chicago, bravely endured the horrific Alaskan climate & terrain until she reached her breaking point. Her battery was spent. She was spent. She was tired. She was done. She could no longer envision the finish line. The pain & discomfort she was in no longer was worth the prize of completion. She pressed the button. Unbeknownst to her, she was only a mile away from her goal.

 

How terribly tragic to have traveled & endured so much hardship, only to give up on the verge of completion. I am not judging her (I probably would have pressed the button the first day!) but I have seen so many go through so much in life, endure the pain, survive the climate of life on just on the verge of breakthrough and reaching their destination . . .  give up.

 

The value of the goal must not lose it luster. We must not give up on the verge of breakthrough. You have come too far to give up now. Pushing the button is not an option. We must press on. We will reach our goal. Don’t give up on your God, your marriage, your career, your family or children. One step at a time. You can do it!

 

Almost there . . .

Tags: alaska experiment, don't give up, endure, out of the wild

Recharge

I have spoken recently on the subject of Recharge, I realize that the number of people who are experiencing burnout has increased dramatically during this financial recession and global economic unrest. Our overall work load has not increased per se but the stress of what we were sacrificing for has.

 

Why?

 

1.      People will sacrifice time, resources & energy to hold on to what is valuable therefore when the value decreases so does our willingness to sacrifice.

When housing values were rising, wages were elevated & the stock market was at all time high, people had no trouble making the sacrifices necessary to pay for their lifestyles. The time commuting, extra hours on the phone to close a deal, getting up early & stay up later seemed like a small price to pay when the material things in life were increasing in value.

 

When the value of our homes began to go down, the willingness of people to sacrifice to keep it also followed. Without equity or value the time & effort outweighed the value on its return, thus pressure. This principle is true in marriage, relationships, careers and in business. If the value of our marriage goes down so does one’s willingness to fight for it. The level of value determines the level of sacrifice. No value, no sacrifice.

 

2.      People equated their personal value based on their valuables.

My daughter years ago was having problems with simple math due to a faulty conclusion. This miscalculation affected the succeeding problems which resulted in her getting not only that one problem wrong but the ones to follow. You see, if you start with a wrong concept, your resulting conclusions will be wrong as well.

 

People who wrongly estimated their personal value based on the possession of valuables by definition had to lower their own personal self-worth when the value of what they possessed diminished. As the housing bubble burst and equity in homes began to dissipate so did the esteem of many people. Wrong start equals wrong finish.

 

3.      People valued possessions over relationships.

The first thing to suffer when we get busy in life is relationship. We don’t have the time or the energy to develop meaningful connects. We leave the house earlier to beat traffic and work later. Family dinner times have been replaced by a drive through or a solitary plate in the microwave. All this to buy a house that will never become a home. The value of a house is not the land it sits on rather it is the occupants inside. What good is a house without the family to make it a home?

 

In our quest for the holy grail of economic bliss we have mortgaged our relationships & support structure. The collapse is inevitable. Just like the Twin Towers on September 11^th, the heat melted the support beam which caused the greatest tragedy since Pearl Harbor. That tragedy is being repeated everyday throughout our cities as families are collapsing under the emotional duress of stress. When the heat of bills, time, resources & energy has been applied to our core, if we have no support, we too collapse.

 

We are not made up of rebar and concrete. Our core is made up of faith, friendships, relationships & fellowship. Our faith, family, friends and spouses are the support system we rely on in times of trouble. When that is damaged due to neglect, collapse will ensue.

Tags: Recharge, relationships, sacrifice, value

Recharge

Just recently, my cell phone was acting up. I would charge it and as soon as I would get a call or a text the battery that appeared full charge was depleted in a matter of seconds. What was a otherwise normal task that the phone was designed to do literally hundreds of times a day was now too much for the battery to handle. The battery was damaged. It could not, would not hold a charge.

 

The problem was at the devices core. The central power source looked normal on the outside but one simple call, text or email would deplete the fully ‘charged’ battery. The very core was damaged due to normal use. I needed to replace the battery if the device was to become fully functional again. In many of our lives what used to refill & recharge us simply is not enough any more. If we do not act quickly what once was easy will become impossible to handle. The result is a life that becomes overworked, overwhelmed & overspent.

 

We, as a society, have developed a problem at our core. Like the people in the ancient city of Corinth, we have chosen a piece of wood that does not rot, hired a gold smith to overlay it with gold, then pray to that which we created to provide strength for us. It has no ears, no mouth and no life. Our possessions, our homes, our careers, our money and even our families cannot provide what only God can. We can lose our possessions, careers, money & even our families but only God promised to never leave you nor forsake.

 

Only being plugged into the true source will you find the strength & power to excel in your calling & purpose on this earth.

Tags: core, damaged, depleted

Making Memories

Thursday evening we traveled to Waterford, CA (don’t ask, I still don’t know where that place is!) for my daughter, Jazmine’s High School graduation ceremony. The family and I cheered and shouted as Jazmine’s name was read & her future goals in life were conveyed through the PA system.

 

Although Jazmine had finished high school in December she joined other students for her graduation ceremony here in the month of May. She initially didn’t want to go to her ceremony because she saw it as a step backwards being that she had already started college.

 

However, her mom & I were able to convince her that by taking part today she will create memories for tomorrow. Everyday is a new opportunity to create memories of a lifetime for a lifetime. Don’t miss out on life’s moments. Take advantage of every opportunity to create these memories for you and your loved ones.

 

Don’t just go through life, live it!

Tags: memories, opportunity

Mother’s Day

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the Mother’s out there.

 

For this man however, it was an early Father’s Day, for sure! I received a wonderful gift by watching my wife take her first public steps in ministry. This past Sunday, on Mother’s Day morning, my lovely wife, Angie, spoke her first message. It was both insightful and powerful. She made people laugh and cry. She shared from a mother’s heart that touch many, both men & women to their core.

 

I just want to take this time to express to my wife just how proud I am of you! Your message ministered to me. I love you!

Tags: Mother's Day

Recharge

Recently, I faced one of the most exhausting times of my life, emotionally, spiritually & physically. It was a different kind of strain than I faced when Jessica passed away but just as intense. My energy levels for life and ministry were drained.

 

I was depleted.

 

Rockstar, Redline, Red Bull, Five hour energy are products common in today’s market but to my father’s generation it is foreign. We are the generation that has drained its batteries & depleted its resources. What was a strength for one generation has become a weakness for another.  

 

What has changed?

 

Today’s generation wants what we have not yet earned. We have borrowed on tomorrow’s hopes & dreams and then mortgaged our futures. We are in more debt, worse shape and are over drawn emotionally more than any other generation. We consume more pharmaceuticals than any previous generation, per capita, to get up, go to sleep, remove pain and relieve tension and calm nerves. Just like a car, we cannot keep going without taking time to refuel. Like a cell phone we must recharge.

 

Stop for a moment and identify what recharges & drains your batteries. Make a list of those things that recharge you and those things that drain you. While we cannot avoid some of the things that drain us, we can be deliberate and strategic to plan activities that recharge us.

 

Let’s recharge our batteries & enjoy life at its fullest!

Tags: Add new tag, depleted, drained, Recharge, tired

Update

Wow, I can’t believe it has been this long since my last post! A lot is happening. Thank God most of it has been good.

 

Unfortunately when things get hectic, it is the things we love or enjoy that sometimes get neglected the most, even simple things like sharing your thoughts on a blog.

 

In the next couple day I will backtrack a bit & update some experiences and share some principles that have touched & shaped my life. Hopefully, those principles will challenge, encourage and inspire you to reach your dreams and make each day count!

 

Blessings!

 

PD

My Heroes

Heroes come in various forms. As a child it was Superman, Batman or Flash. Following September 11^th , it was policemen & firemen. Even the captain of cargo ship that traded his life for his crew has been hailed a hero. Today, I would like to share a couple other heroes.

 

Yesterday I was afforded the pleasure of speaking at my great aunt’s funeral, Livia Santiago. As wonderful of a woman as she was (she was a wonderful lady) it was one of the first times in my years as a minister that I saw the funeral become about the living more than the deceased. in this case rightfully so.

 

You see, over the past decade or so, my cousins Meg & Minerva cared for their mother after their father had passed. Due to declining health she could no longer live on her own so her daughters brought her into their homes and took care of her. They took her to church weekly, cared for her and tended to her needs. The commitment they displayed was in a word, heroic.

 

Their husbands, Steven & Robert, valiantly & honorably supported them. At a time families are splitting for silly reasons, Steven & Robert have shown the true value of a vow. You are both my heroes & examples of what a husband should be.

 

I can only imagine the pressure & demand placed upon them daily for the care of my aunt. In this day and age it is almost unheard of for someone to sacrifice of themselves for the good of another. Why would they do that? The answer is simple . . . love. It is that kind of unconditional love that can change this world.

 

Meg, I know you read this blog on occasion and I also know you and your sister did not do this for recognition or honor. However, the Bible says to give honor to whom honor is due. You and your family deserve that honor. You have honored your father & mother by your actions.

 

You have greatly impacted my life by your unselfish acts of love for your mother. I know it was not always easy but you kept your promise to your dad and took great care of your mom. My pray is that someday my own daughters would grow up and become half the women you & your sister are and men of understanding & character as Steve & Bob.

 

Thank you for your example. Thank you for being my heroes.

Tags: Heroes, Livia Santiago, Meg, Minerva, Robert, Steven

New Birth!

With the launching of the new Spanish service at the Milpitas campus, it was necessary to send our best, in the form of Pastor Benjamin Cortez, to lead them in worship. He along with the Spanish worship team now minister at 9 am at the Milpitas campus which left a huge void in San Jose.

 

Not to worry. This past Sunday morning we unveiled our seventh worship team of Christian Worship Center and latest addition to the Worship Nation team, under the direction of Jonathan “Tana” Nuia, a third year staff member of San Jose Master’s Commission. They brought a fresh new sound with a strong vocals and a great combination of three guitars, four keyboards, bass & drummer.

 

As great as their sound was, it was the heavy anointing that that this team carried that moved the early service at the San Jose campus. Their hard work & effort was greatly evident as they ministered. I was moved by their music and touched by their heart for God. They sang with passion & excellence. I cannot express just how proud I am of you all. Keep opening the heavens.

 

Like a proud father of a new born baby, I want to show you off to the world!

Tags: Benjamin Cortez, Jonathan Nuia, Worship Nation