Serving as preaching intern this summer at Levy is Will Brannen. Will will be a junior at Harding University in Searcy, AR studying Bible and ministry. He is from Houston, TX. He and his family worship at the Bammel Church of Christ.
I have known Will since 2003 when my family and I moved to work with the Gateway congregation in Pensacola, FL. Will and his family were living there then.
Will has an amazing God story to share about his life. He had a heart transplant as an infant and is a two-time cancer survivor. He plans to tell us a little more about that soon at Levy.
In spending dedicated time with Will–studying text; talking ministry and preaching; visiting people–I am deeply impressed by Will’s desire to serve God, his genuineness and his maturity.
I am thankful that Will is with us for six weeks and I urge everyone at Levy to pray for him, encourage him and support him in his pursuit of a life of ministry.
I am a new preacher again and at my age that is no small feat!
Actually, I am now the new preaching minister for the Levy Church of Christ in North Little Rock, Arkansas. God works in amazing and surprising ways and did so by opening up the door to me for this opportunity. For over sixty years Levy has been an active kingdom presence in her community. I feel blessed to join the ranks of those who have preached before me and I look forward to the wonderful adventures God has planned for my ministry here. By God’s grace, I think we are off to a good start.
As I get settled in here, my mind still drifts back to my family in Pensacola at the Gateway Church of Christ. Regardless of where God may lead me, I will always cherish my time there. This church loved me and my family and supported and encouraged my ministry in tremendous ways. They are family and I love them. My prayers are earnest in asking God to bring them a special servant to minister with them in the Word. It was not at all easy to depart, but I felt that perhaps they needed a new voice. I will be excited to see what God has in store for this sweet church next. I expect it to be terrific.
I have some pretty high expectations at Levy too, but they have much more to do with the heart of this family than with me. I see an incredible and grace-oriented servant spirit saturating this church and an encouraging vision for letting God work in powerful ways. From every thing I have observed so far, the Levy family is fully committed to being a church who serves her community. The direction and extent of the ministries here clearly demonstrate that. Talk about exciting! This desire to be a church of the community stems from a heart for reaching people for Christ- both here and abroad. I am truly humbled to now be a part of this family- my family at Levy.
I still do not think Levy is fully aware of what they have in their new preacher. I have yet to introduce the theology of country music into my sermons or to quote Barney Fife! 🙂
For now, I am just enjoying the adventures of a new preacher!
Once again God blessed us with an outstanding week of Lithuania Christian Camp at Camp Ruta, near Moletai, Lithuania. Almost 70 children enjoyed the little kids week (ages 7-13). Our theme was Step by Step and together with the local and American counselors from Gateway Church of Christ -we all grew closer to God. Many people in both countries are to be thanked for making this session happen.
This is the thirteenth summer for Lithuania Christian Camp. The evidence of the power of this ministry was all around us during June 27-July 2 as most of the Lithuanian counselors had first been campers in years past. As we listened to the current campers speak on Saturday night of how meaningful the camp was to them in bringing God into their lives, it is not difficult to imagine some of them becoming Christians and Christian counselors in the future.
Of course the camp ministry is an extension of the work of the Vilnius Church of Christ (for many more photos go to their facebook page here). Your continued support, prayers for this body and for the camp ministry is always appreciated.
Here are some photos and a wonderful video put together by those in the Vilnius church:
Death has visited us at Gateway. Two brothers- both amazing men- have gone to be with the Lord. They are asleep- at rest from the diseases that slowly ravished their bodies. I praise God for that. While they will missed greatly it is better for them that they went home.
Oscar Bell (along with his wife Lucy) was a trailblazer in racial integration among Churches of Christ in Pensacola. If you knew Oscar, you would not be surprised at this. This gracious brother quietly made lasting impacts across two continents in his long military career.
David Jordan was the definition of a servant. He spent his life serving God, his family, the hurting and his country. David survived (and helped dozens of others to do so) an Amtrak train accident in Mobile Bay. Later he served the devastated people of Pascagoula, MS after Hurricane Katrina as a key man “on the ground” for the relief efforts of the Central Church of Christ. (John Dobbs writes about David’s work).
Sunday (April 10th) at Gateway the sermon focus will be on the resurrection followed by a related sermon on Easter Sunday about heaven. Oscar and David are learning more about this right now then I will be able to share. But I can imagine.
MercyMe sings a deeply moving song entitled I Can Only Imagine. (posted below) It lifts me up to God’s throne every time I hear it. As I mature I find myself thinking more frequently about the things Oscar and David are now realizing. Then I think about another song.
It is Well with My Soul is an old standard that has touched generations. There is a phrase in this song that has become much more meaningful to me- Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight. Right now (to paraphrase the apostle Paul) I can only see darkly, but one day I will see God face-to-face. This will be the day when faith becomes sight- when all I’ve hoped and lived for and struggled to know becomes reality. Lord haste that day!
I think Oscar, David and a whole host of others will be there- waiting and grinning.
Every month at Gateway we gather with our homless friends to celebrate Christ, enjoy some food and fellowship and just get to know each other. I thought I would share some pics from today
Posted by dannydodd 
Adventures in Preaching 