David Dollinger

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 ...

Jesus tells this remarkable story of a son who takes his inheiritance from his father before the man is dead. He then squanders it all on irresponsible living. He reaches rock bottom when he has no money and no more friends. There is this period between between sin and punishment called pleasure. We may be having fun when we are going wild. But there is no such thing as a consequence free life. As a teen, I was having a lot of fun at Michigan State University. I would be lying if I told you that I wasnt. The problem is when the drinking, and the irresponsible decisions affect more than you. It affects those around you too. So this son was having a great time. But the money runs out. He gets a job where he is feeding slop to pigs. And the slop is starting to look like good food to him. That's when he came to his senses and realized that he is better than that. Three things for us to know: 1. Sin takes you further than you ever intended to go. 2. Sin keeps you longer t...

If you know me, it's no secret of my struggle with church people. To my friends who do not go to church, that may sound very odd to you. I don't struggle with every person who goes to church. But I just struggle with those who have gone to church, have a big bible, know the songs, are there at the church whenever the doors are open, and they love no one but those who buy into their sub-culture. These are the folks who have dropped generation after generation of people all in order to hang on to their territory. I look at the teens who are growing up today, and my heart aches for them. They have no role model. The girls have Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie to look up to, while more guys are growing up without dads with each new generation that comes into existence. A large rate of girls growing up are abusing themselves by cutting, while a large number of the guys are struggling with porn, self esteem, and little direction for the future. We cant drop these guys. I saw t...

I love pandora.com. It's a website that allows me to set my own radio station. I choose an artist and pandora sets up songs and musicians to match my taste. I would like to think that I listen to a wide variety of music. My stations include some classic rock featuring Kiss and Van Halen (preferably with David Lee Roth at the lead vocal). I have a station devoted to worship leader Israel Houghton when I want to get my gospel on. When I want the blues and some classic R&B, I have the Blues Brothers station. For Jazz and Disco, I have a Jamiroquai station. I have a David Crowder band station, Michael Buble, and a Violent Femmes station when I want to get my old school punk on. My daughters remind me that most of those stations are oldies. There where three Hebrew boys in their 20's who were in trouble in Daniel 3. There is this place that used to exist called Babylon. It’s about 55 miles south of modern day Baghdad, Iraq. And at the time Daniel 3 was written, Babylon...

Every dysfunction begins with a distortion of who God is. There is this dysfunction that I see in so many of our lives and I see this resurfacing again and again in my life and in my heart. Its the dysfunction of Anxiety When I am feeling anxious and when I am feeling afraid, and I know you never do, you all trust God for your every needs, you have no fears about the economy, because God is your source. You have no dysfunctions in your relationships because God is your father. But for me, my heart is anxious. And when my heart is anxious, it says so much about what I believe who God is. If no one has told you this before, let me be the first one to tell you, anxiety is not only a dysfunction, it’s a sin. I hear so much preaching about so many other sins. Sins of lust, sins of greed, sins of negligence, but because my heart is anxious, it is one of the most offensive sins before God. Anxiety betrays the belief that God is not in control of my life. Philippians 4:6-7 say, "Do no...

'He must also have a good reputation with outsiders" (1 Timothy 3;7) I was fortunate to serve 5 years at Wesley Free Methodist in Waukegan, Illinois. The issues that I faced there was so different than anything I have seen at other churches. When I served in Waukegan, it was a vibrant, healthy, selfless church with a strong young adult base. Many of those who attended there had friends outside of the faith, and did well to represent our church, and Jesus. I cant say that about other churches that I have served at. The other Free Methodist Churches that I have served in have for the most part, been self serving. Now there are people at those churches who are heavily offended by my statement, and will argue that the people who attend those churches are highly respectable, they just choose to not be like the world. Highly Respectable to whom? My observation has been this: We have given up our witness to outsiders in exchange for unlikable people who have bought into "o...