David Dollinger

I am not a trained counselor. A lot of people would hear that remark from me and say, "Hey! You are a Pastor! You are supposed to be a trained counselor and fix my problems!" There are counselors out there who help you dig deep into your feelings and straighten things out complete with all the Dr. Phil and Oprah tactics that make you cry and then you feel better. I use the GOYB approach of counseling. GOYB stands for Get Off Your Butt. It's not the most popular approach with those who enjoy living their lives as victims. Listen, my father abandoned my family when I was a Sophomore in high school. We then lived on welfare for the next 2 and a half years. We ate pot pies everyday. The best meal of the day came from the school lunch. I found out something during that time. The world didnt care. It sounds a bit harsh. But follow me on this one. We didnt get condolences cards from the Governor. Ty Pennington didnt come out to makeover our apartment. The world

It's true. Softball saved my life. Late April, 1988, my life was changing, and I had no direction. I was getting married, had a child on the way, no job, no future,immature, and I was dragging the most important person in my life down the tubes with me. Paul Parker was the Pastor of the Light and Life Free Methodist Church in Grand Blanc. He was going to officiate my wedding. He invited me to play softball with their church team. It was a good time. I could handle it. I played some ball in high school, and even some at the esteemed Mott Community College. I knew that playing in a church league would not be the same. I could play hard, show off some skills, yet have a good time with my new friends. It wasnt a competitive league. We had guys on both teams who couldn't run, so others would run the bases for them. No one would complain. In fact, there was a guy on our team who had broken both of his ankles earlier that year after a falling off of his roof while trying

I love the Rocky movies. My favorites are the Oscar award winning "Rocky," and I did love the final installment Rocky Balboa. But I loved Rocky III. When the movie begins, we see our hero living it up as a celebrity. He is making a lot of money fighting against lesser opponents, making commercials and numerous tv appearances. The moment of tension comes after he gets his clock cleaned by Klubber Lang (Mr. T) and watches his close friend and manager, Mickey, die all in the same night. He begins to question if his championship run was a fraud. He begins to question if he is a fraud. Of all people, Apollo Creed, Rocky's first nemesis comes to inspire Rocky to win the title back. For this to happen, Rocky has to change his fighting style, and he must believe in himself. What would you think would be easier for Rocky? Change how he has done things? Or believe in himself? In the bible, many of you know the story of Jesus walking on water. Peter walked out to him. He