I have always been a straightforward person. As a young man, I tended to say what was on my mind. It wasn’t always the right thing to do. It got me into trouble more times than not.

Over the last thirty years, I’ve come to value the art of candidness with humility. I’ve learned that there is a right way to say what needs to be said so that someone can receive it. Nearly twenty years ago, I heard Pastor Chuck Swindoll say that we need more truthtellers in our churches. He emphasized the need for candidness, i.e., speaking the truth with love.

Harshness is rarely needed. Yet, as Christians, we are ready to jump on someone at the first hint they don’t see things the way we do. It’s especially a strong reaction among the various protestant denominations. How many are quick to say their way is the right way and everyone else’s is the wrong way? In too many instances, it’s a setup to validate who’s right and wrong over issues that unnecessarily divide the Body of Christ.

I learned a long time ago from a professor at Lancaster Bible College that it’s good to hold strong convictions. It’s even better to hold to those convictions with incredible humility.

I believe church as I’ve known it over the last thirty years is dying a slow and miserable death. The evidence is in the number of people who have walked away from the church. Every year, more are closing and fewer are opening. 

In my mid-30s I became disillusioned with what I saw and heard. Today, I’m reborn in my faith. I want to share my story candidly with you.

In 2005, I was attending Dallas Theological Seminary. I met representatives there from the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). I went through their process and was selected to plant a church in our small community just east of Dallas, Texas. 

I was under no delusion about the challenge before me. The town we lived in was growing rapidly. It was served by two large Baptist Churches. To say they “ruled the roost” is an understatement. While at a clergy meeting with the various churches around town, the Baptist preacher of the largest church told me to my face that the City Council didn’t pass anything without it going through his desk first.

I thought that was arrogant until the next words were spoken from his mouth. He stated, “We can’t build a town on the back of lower-income people like those who live in new homes across the street (from his church).

See, this pastor’s church was undergoing a massive capital campaign. He wasn’t interested in ministry. He was desirous to build his church kingdom instead of Christ’s church.

Over and over again, I experienced pastors communicating their desires to build bigger and bigger buildings while their influence in the community and culture decreased more and more every year.

It’s time to get candid!

I stopped going to church for over 15 years due to my disillusionment. So many Christians are hurting spiritually and craving to know Jesus but aren’t being encouraged to do so by too many pastors. Actions do speak louder than words.

I just couldn’t stomach it any longer. I felt myself getting angry at the lack of ministry in the church for the sake of supposed “ministry” and personal kingdom building.

Where was the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry?

I’m sorry to say… going to church one day a week, singing four songs, giving some money, listening to a sermon we’ll forget by Tuesday, and going home so we can do it all over again next week isn’t working. 

I don’t understand how pastors aren’t seeing what’s happening or what they are doing. There is more to church than a building and a once-a-week event.

Too many people inside and outside of the church are struggling in their family relationships. Divorce is at an all-time high (in and out of the church). Private pornography is a sewer trap eating away at the souls of humanity. Children are disrespectful to their parents, teachers, and other adults in places of authority over them. People are struggling in their jobs. Economic issues are eating away at people.  Racial tensions are at an all-time high. Social issues are destroying the fabric of society.

Where is the mentorship and discipleship inside the church?

Where is the excitement of being a follower of Christ and experiencing Him in our lives?

Instead of being the answer to the problems of our culture, many churches have turned to the government as a solution to “saving America” instead of following Christ obediently to save souls and physical bodies.

Too many churches have fallen into the trap Satan set. They not only lost their first love (i.e., Jesus Christ), but they went head first into compromising themselves and their congregations. More and more, they are becoming the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), which entered into open rebellion from Jesus.

Rainbow flags, transgenderism, and other alternative lifestyles are embraced in the church. I’ll say more about this another time. Suffice it to say, too many churches have embraced the world and sin in the name of Jesus Christ — may it NEVER be!

Yet, here we are.

So, where does this lead me?

Six months ago, I meant Archbishop Wayne Daniels. He is a leader in the Orthodox Church of America. As we spoke, he kept asking me if I was Orthodox. I barely knew what that meant. The more we talked, the more I studied, the more I became convinced.

I have embraced Orthodoxy. Its rich faith, traditions in the ancient church, focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, and a strong emphasis on community as an expression of faith drew me in. I  have grown stronger in my walk with Jesus Christ than at any other time in my life. 

I pray differently, communicate differently, and have experienced a radical shift in my walk with the Lord.

Now an ordained Deacon, I’m working my way toward the priesthood. If it’s God’s will, I intend to start an orthodox church that will serve parts of Lancaster, Dauphin, and York Counties (in Pennsylvania). 

This website serves as the starting point of my public ministry. It doesn’t matter where you live. If you’re here to become part of this online community, I’m here alongside you growing in my faith and discovering more each day what it means to be a Christian and intimately know and walk with God.

I’ll write daily on my personal thoughts, work through a Bible study, post videos, and work diligently to share God’s truth with you. I’ll be introducing ways for you to grow deeper with your spouse, build a Godly business in a secular world, and pray for and with you.

You don’t have to be Orthodox or even a Christian. Everyone is welcome here, but know this… I will always candidly speak God’s truth in love.

Blessings to you,

Deacon Father Don