Thank You J.C.
This post is in response to a challenge issued HERE.
I once had a friend named J.C. It took a while to get him to tell me what J.C. stood for, but in time I found that “Just Cliff” was the nickname. J.C. came into my life at a time when I was so far away from God, that I was not sure if I’d ever get back on track. We would hang out for hours and hours discussing the “things of God”. I loved our time together, but I struggled with letting some of my addictions go and living for Him. J.C. didn’t condemn me for what I was doing, but allowed me to see for myself that it was wrong.
I now say, thanks to J.C., my life was turned around. I left the “frat house” I was living in. I started school again. And most importantly, i started coming to OVBC.
J.C. is no longer a part of my life because of some differences we had when it came down to our core beliefs. But, today I thank him.
-AOD
A Pastor’s Sabbath
I saw a conversation between Zak and Clayton on the subject of Sabbath. I have my views and I’ll let you know in a moment. Friday has become my Sabbath because as a minister, I am technically working on Sundays. I sit in my chair and watch a movie. Or I play with the girls when they are up and about. I might run around and get some lunch or see my wife when she is working. All of this on a Friday.
So when is Sabbath? And when does God want you to take a Sabbath? It’s funny how some Christians are convinced that the Sabbath day is on Sunday. Really? Show me where God established that in the Bible. Because the God that we serve, who doesn’t change, established the Sabbath to be the 7th day. The Sabbath is blessed and to be kept holy. So if we are going to go by this command in the OT for real, then the the 7th day on the Jewish calendar (the people to whom God was speaking) is Saturday.
Now, I’m no legalist, but I do think people should be consistent. The Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week by the Christian church because that was the day Christ rose from the dead. (Mark 16:9) The God of the bible established the Sabbath to be on Saturday. So what is right?
Well, I think if you are really convicted about when to observe, always default to what God has established. Then Paul says this…
“5. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord.” Romans 14:5-6
My Sabbath is on Friday. But my choice is to do nothing but honor the Lord. You need a Sabbath, so take one. These are my thoughts, I would love to hear what you think. I know there is probably a lot more to this discussion. I chose to keep it simple, because I’m writing this on my Sabbath 
Here’s a great site on the history of Sabbath.
Everyone needs their rest!
-AOD
Starbucks Disaster
Speaking of Starbucks, may I drop a little finance thought on ya? You’ve heard that Starbucks profits went down 97%in the 4th quarter? Well one might expect that they will now go under and bankrupt because of this terrible news. Really? You know that media people love a juicy story.
You may also remember the story about 5 months ago that the coffee giant wanted to cut back 600 stores over the next year. Their said purpose of the cuts was because they “didn’t want to be the McDonald’s of coffee” (mediocre price, inferior product). Cutting the stores and almost 12,000 jobs is going to cost some money. Whenever you cut back, it is going to cost you initially. Not to mention the new product additions they have implemented this quarter.
However, if you cut stores that were making a profit, then those profits go away, AND you have to close said stores, your profits for the 4th quarter will probably go down about 97%.
I don’t mean to sound condescending here, so I’m sorry if it has come across that way.
Here’s the thought. Did Starbucks mismanage and over-do themselves by expanding so rapidly? OR did they see that they were getting away from their vision and decide to cut back?
Not only did they get away from their vision, but do you think that they had some good economic insight as well? Pretty timely that they cut back before the market setbacks, I say they are a genius company with amazing leadership!
Never fear coffee lovers, Starbucks is not going anywhere.
-AOD
Starbucks and Church
Sorry to flood y’all with videos lately. I’ve seen this one floating around the web and I thought you innovators out there would like it. Check it…
So what if? Seems pretty corny, huh? But that is exactly what we do, and then we try to call what we do unique. Seriously? Uniquely out of touch is more like it.
How then, do we “market” the church to a Starbucks generation. I read HERE, this conversation:
Overheard on a local college campus:
Person 1: Are churches really non-profits?
Person 2: They aren’t taxed, I’m pretty sure they are.
Person 1: Hmm… I guess I don’t ever really think about churches.
Just like we (church people) don’t think about the local bookstore going out of business on the corner, people outside the church don’t really think about it. Has that ever crossed your mind? Think about all of the work you do to “reach” those “outside the walls”. Are you trying to reach someone who hasn’t even thought about church in the last month? The person that has been worried about the next bill that is coming or a single girl that is about to have a baby, might be too caught up in their life issues to think about the big building taking up space on the corner. Yet, instead of communicating an unconditional love that is available to us (that is JESUS), we try to create additional “events” for people to come to, taking more time from their already busy lives.
Solution? You tell me. I have my ideas as to where the church is going. I love change, but sometimes being a generation that is at the center of this change is difficult. As a leader, the pressure can really hurt! It’s your turn, join the convo.
-AOD
Conspiracy Theory
I’ve been reading and hearing a lot about people spending less on Christmas this year. My mom and dad said they were going to spend more on birthdays instead of Christmas. (Christmas was crazy for us as kids. We got A LOT of things, and I loved it. She said they used to do that because she never got much when she was little. But, now I’m glad to see my mom had a change of heart.) My friend Drew has said he will cut back this year. And so did my friend Justin. And then with these thoughts in mind I saw THIS…
Advent Conspiracy is a group that is challenging us to cut back on Christmas consumerism and focus on Christmas relationship building and helping the poor. A great thought, yes. But my question is, how many of us see a video like this and say “what a great idea!”. Then we forget about it the next day.
You don’t have to be involved in this particular organization, or any organization for that matter. Just give this Christmas. Give from your heart, give unconventionally, give unconditionally.
-AOD
Hello Students
Here’s a video my wife and I shared with our students on Wednesday night. It was day 3 for the baby so she didn’t go to midweek services that night. We made up this quick video to say, “hey!”
-AOD
Welcome to the World
November 8th, last Saturday night at 10:51pm, Katie and I welcomed Miss Kerrigan Leigh Dininny to our life. Kerrigan is baby number two in 15 months! It’s been a busy year. Kerrigan weighed 9lbs and measured 20.25 inches long. We had a very fast night last night once we got to the hospital. We got here at 6:30sh and 4 hours later she was here!
We are so glad we can move on from this pregnancy. Kate has been very uncomfortable in the last couple weeks. Now we get to figure out life with two little ones running around. I can’t wait! It’s so fun to see what God has in store for our lives. Here are some pics for you, I’ll get some video up soon. Enjoy!
-AOD
An Obama Nation
Here I sit in my office, with the weather reflecting my mood. (dark and dreary in SE VA) I went to bed last night scared. I woke up refreshed and assured. It’s easy to believe the pundits and their bashing of certain people. It’s easy to look at people and their relationships and make your own negative judgments. Here are my thoughts on an Obama nation…
I have lost so much respect for the presidency with Clinton AND Bush for that matter, that I think the president is no more than a figure-head at this point. Do I think that Obama has a near socialist agenda? Yes, but apparently the nation feels the same way. I guess that is why I am scared. I am a business minded person when it comes to the economy and I have trust in the market. (Yes I said it) Markets go up and down and they recover. EVERY TIME! I believe that we grow ourselves out of recession and rough economic times. So I fear that starting a new business will cost much more than it has in the past. I fear the phrase “spread the wealth”. In this case it means government would have the ability to take what I or anyone else earns and give a portion of it to someone else. Here’s my issue…if I take what I earn and give it to someone else, doesn’t it mean a lot more to the person receiving it? So, the government has the potential to create an “I deserve this” mentality and in a sense it already has with social security, welfare, etc. These programs were good for their time.
These are my biggest concerns for an Obama nation. I don’t think he is the anti-Christ, or really even the catalyst to the end times. The first two years will be crucial to his presidency. Will he remain a figure-head or will he decide that there is a nation hurting and he needs to energize the PEOPLE to help heal it, not government! I look forward to learning about him. I really don’t know anything about his past but what the pundits say.
Here’s to my worries…Philippians 4:6-7 says this, “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” -AMEN
I pray for you Mr. Obama and your family. I do not wish ill on you or this nation. I want to see you succeed. Good luck the next four years, and thank you in advance for your service!
Thanks Be to Thelma
…for helping us out this week. Sorry I kept you in suspense for so long. So, at 5pm the same day we had all the sound issues, Thelma Drake came back to shoot the commercial for us. I can’t say enough about how nice she was/is. She did such a great job in keeping the spot neutral, too. Here’s the video of our announcements with the Thelma Drake commercial. Enjoy!
