David Dollinger

Who finds it difficult to pray? Prayer is simply conversation between us and God. Prayer simply involves honest communication. Prayer is, in part, listening for a divine response. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? So, who finds it difficult to pray? Let’s be completely honest with ourselves and with each other. We sometimes do find it difficult to pray. This not always the case, for there are times when prayers roll off our lips like the waves roll up on the shore. Still, there are times when it is difficult to pray, difficult to converse with God, difficult to be open and vulnerable before the Almighty, difficult to listen. Sometimes I find it difficult to pray. I have had times in prayer that is so exhilarating that I just can’t put it into words. I enjoy and treasure those times. Nevertheless, all of my prayer experience isn’t like that. Sometimes prayer is hard work. Sometimes it isn’t a mountaintop experience. There are even time (dare I admit it?) when I don’t feel mu...

I bowl in a league. For as much as I bowl, I feel my average should be higher than 122. Now that's not what irritates me. The pop machine irritates me at the bowling alley. Every once in a while I will make the mistake of trying to get a pop from the machine instead of the bar. (I get stupid that way sometimes). I put my dollar in and push the button for Pepsi, and out comes a Diet Pepsi. I would ever so gently kick the machine in Jesus name and proclaim that I wanted a Pepsi. Then I pass that over to my wife who enjoys drinking that nasty stuff and I wise up and get my pop from the bar. We treat God like this. We pray for certain blessings. We even give back to Him with strings attached. We go to church, give money, heck, we might even buy a Christian book or CD in hopes that we are becoming spiritual enough that God would grant us the blessing we desire. When it doesnt turn out the way we want it to, we get angry with God. The question is not "Who gets angry wit...

I have been at Meadowood for 13 months now. I am involved with a bowling league, and have become a household name at Elkhart Hospital and Valley View Nursing Home. All of the girls at the counter and the manager of 7-11 know who I am. The owner of Sunrise Canyon Coffee knows who I am. Yet, I feel like my feet havent even touched the ground as I try to set my roots into this community. Leith Anderson and Gene Wood have told me in their books about church turnaround that it will take me 5 years to get started planting my roots. Wow! I love living in the suburbs. I have been raised in the burbs my whole life. It's my natural habitat. I love the fact that I dont have to travel more than 3 miles to get to the nearest grocery store, gas station, coffee house, or golf course. I love the ethnical diversity of living in the burbs. There has been many occassions where I find myself as a minority as I cruise up and down the aisles of Meijers, Target, or Lowe's. I love it. I lov...

A few years ago, I was taking a course on "Spiritual Disciplines" down in Indianapolis at our denominational ministry center. It was a great class. During those days, you could count on reading 100 pages a night out of textbooks, and work on a lengthy report (not kidding). But in this class, Mike Conkle gave us an unusual assignment. He wanted to show us that everything in our life is spiritual. So we were to do something that we really enjoy, and do it in the presence of the Lord. Now I am in a class with a bunch of good Free Methodists. One guy says that he will go on a prayer walk, another says that they will fast, while another one says that they will spend all night in prayer. I announced that I was going to a hockey game. My professor tells me to enjoy it in the presence of the Lord. After chapel and dinner, I notice that I was running late. So I drove over to the Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis because that is the home arena of the Indianapolis Ic...

Hi, my name is David, and I am a pastor. (Hi David!) I never intended to be a pastor. It just happened over a period of 21 years. I know I dont fit the mold of what people think a pastor ought to be. I dont wear a suit. I dont sit around holding hands with needy people. I dont end every sentence with "God bless your soul." I still listen to secular music. I do crack up once in a while when I read the bible and remember a wise crack from Sam Kinison. I prefer to dress casual. And I really enjoy hanging out with the sinners of this world. It gets even better when we discuss spiritual things. It seems to be the chic thing right now to rip on the traditional institution that we call church. And why not? It is so easy to do it. There are so many churches filled with dysfunctional people. It's almost comedic. I mean there are people who are in leadership roles in a church that could never, ever obtain such a role in the secular world. I feel that we got so wr...

One of the universal truths in the world is "Death brings life." You see it in many facets. The healthiest foods we eat were once connected to a lifesource. It's like you pick that grape from the vine, it dies. But yet the fruits and vegetables that we eat carry the nutrients that our body needs to stay alive. Meats were once alive. And yet, when we eat meat, it provides the nutrients that we need to stay alive. It's like to say, "that strawberry died for you" or "that cow died for you that you may have life." It's only healthy foods. There is nothing in a Twinkie or Mountain Dew that died for you. It's true in sports. For the Red Wings season to stay alive, the season for Columbus must die. For us to experience life, something has to die. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us that he has come to give us life and give it to the full. If that is not true, then Jesus is a liar. So the best possible way to live is the way of Jesus. By the way, Jesus...

As a wrestling coach, one of my biggest thrills is coaching someone to their first victory. Sandusky High School in Michigan is a small school that does not have a feeder program like many other schools have. We didn't have any depth either. So if you joined the team, you are on Varsity. So when guys start wrestling for us, they have no experience whatsoever. It makes their first year a tough year. Nick was a 189 pounder as a first year sophomore. He still had a little baby fat on him, and he was taking on juniors and seniors who have a lot of experience and are built like men. Nick lost his first 20 matches mostly by pin. He was getting a little discouraged. In wrestling, they have a term for this: bait. Nick finally got his first win at the Bluewater Invitational in Port Huron. He took a guy down with a head and arm throw. He had him on his back, but they went out of bounds. So the referee had them go back to the center with Nick on top. The ref blew the whistle, and I screamed, ...