Dan Cooper's Blog

Shock! That is the word that best describes my initial feelings about Sue’s sudden passing.  How can it be?  She had plans for her life: a trip to Russia, another trip with us to France.  The future was positive, hopeful, and filled with dreams.

Sobering! That is the word that best describes my current sentiment.  She was younger than I.  She had no real warning.  It was so sudden, and her life was snatched from us.  The same thing could happen to me!  Without warning, at the blink of an eye, in a split-second, my life on this earth could be taken.  Neither you nor I have the promise of tomorrow.  That is a sobering fact.  How then should we live? What will I do the day before I die? Will I live for self?  Or will I, like Sue, visit a sick person in the hospital (Illeane) and will I attend the play of one of our teen-agers (Aubrey) the day before I die?

Secure! That is the word that best describes my hope for Sue’s future.  While I grieve over this loss for Jay and Bethany, I feel great security about Sue’s eternal destiny.  She has gone home to be with the Lord.  She just got there a bit faster than expected.  Resurrection is a sure thing.  We celebrate that fact every spring.  She lived right, she was faithful to the end, and she is in paradise at this moment.  That is security.
Thank you, Sue, for a life well-lived.  To God be the glory.  Your love-filled, Christ-centered life made your funeral a celebration. 

Dan the Preacherman

When the book of Joshua begins, Moses had just died.  The people of Israel had concluded their forty years of wilderness wandering and were about to cross the Jordan River.  Joshua had assumed leadership of the fledging Israelite nation, and God was giving Joshua advice.  Joshua needed it; the Israelites weren’t exactly an easy bunch to lead.
Many things have changed since those days. The Israelites didn’t have cars, telephones, newspapers, TV’s, computers, the internet or cell phones.  But some things never change!  Like us, they didn’t have an over-abundance of good leaders.  Men like Joshua and Moses were rare. Three thousand years later, good leaders are still hard to find. 

This five-step leadership plan from God is lifted directly from Joshua 1:
1. Be Strong
2. Be Courageous
3. Be Careful
4. Do Not Tremble
5. Persevere

God needs leaders in this church like the list above: men and women who are strong, courageous, careful and persevering. 

Former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, said, “The most important quality of a leader is courage….Most action must be taken when a leader cannot see his way clearly to the end.  What is needed is a curious combination of egomania and humility.  If he is too much impressed with the size of the challenge, he does nothing.  If he is too little impressed, he gets into trouble.” 
I am thankful for the good leaders in Pitman!

Dan the Preacherman

Ty Cobb played twenty-two seasons for the Detroit Tigers, establishing over ninety records. He won twelve batting titles, nine in a row. He still holds the record for the highest lifetime batting average of any player in the history of baseball—366.  Some say he was the greatest to ever play.  He received more votes placing him in the Hall of Fame than any player in the history of the game.

He was a great baseball player, no doubt; but what is equally agreed upon is that he was one of the most disliked people to ever played the game. Maybe even despised!  He once climbed into the stands and physically beat up a heckler. The heckler was handicapped, having lost one hand and three fingers on his other hand in an accident. Teammates tried to stop him, only to hear Cobb say, “I don’t care if he has no feet.”

On another occasion, he got into a fight with an elevator operator.  When another man tried to intervene, Cobb pulled a knife and stabbed him. 

When Cobb died, not one former teammate attended his funeral; and only three players from any team attended. He was perhaps the greatest baseball player to have ever played, but not one teammate from twenty-two years of playing came to pay respects.  Cobb is reported to have said on his death bed:  “I only wish I’d made more friends.”

Ty Cobb should have developed a better definition of greatness and an understanding of the importance of friendship. The Bible says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble” (Prov. 17:17).

Prayer:  Dear God, help me to remember that being a true friend is more important that entering baseball’s Hall of Fame.  In Jesus Name, Amen. 
Dan the Preacherman

I know of no other church that hosts four weekly men’s prayer times.  There may be others, and I hope there are; but I don’t know of them.  Do you? 

This past week, our Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday prayer times, generated 25 man-hours of prayer to the heavenly throne.  Black and white, rich and poor, white collar and blue collar, tall and short, young and not-so-young men came together for one purpose!  Prayer.

What happens during these prayer times is supernatural. God is in the room with us.  Hearts are touched, sins are confessed, burdens are shared, the sick are healed, the lonely are lifted up and the future is changed.  Real men express their sensitive side!  Amazing stuff happens!

God is growing our church and keeping us unified because we are depending on Him, and not on ourselves.  We are humbling ourselves before Him. And…The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with (James 5:16 CEV) He promises that when we pray fervently, it makes a big difference.  Brother, will you find a time to join us in prayer one day this week?

Dan the Praying Preacherman