REGENT UNIVERSITY/ MY LAST 3 MONTHS @ CFA PORT JEFF

     In the fall of 2017, the plans I had for the upcoming New Year 2018 were to work part time at Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson, get invited to join the pastoral staff at Christian Church at Holbrook full time and to start taking courses online at Regent University. As I sit here blogging, none of those 3 things came about. It was obviously not God's plan. In December of 2017, I decided to apply to take online classes at Regent University. I never got my bachelor's degree at Northeastern Bible College. I had to leave college early due to an illness that I later discovered was Celiac's disease. Back in the mid 1980's we didn't have internet. There were also no Christian Colleges on Long Island. Getting my degree is a priority for me and on my bucket list. I did get my associates at NBC and was proud of that. I was not the greatest of students struggling my entire life. I had a huge problem with reading comprehension and school was always a struggle for me. I decided to give it a shot and start pursuing my dream of getting my degree in Christian Ministry. I was accepted, I transferred my college credits to Regent and I was ready to rock and roll. My biggest problem was finances. After having the kidney stone in December, money was tight. I thought I would be able to afford Regent and taking out a loan was out of the question. I had to call them and tell them maybe some other time down the road when I actually have money to spend!!


    I also didn't realize that my career at Chick Fil -A Port Jeff would be coming to a screeching halt. My career there began in October 2015 and I was happy to be a part of the team. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, I was ale to work my way up from a team member to a manager. At this point, I was managing the closing shift and occasionally doing openings. In February, I started feeling like I needed a change. If you know me, you know I am always up for a challenge. As a pastor, I always loved to "stir the pot" and find creative ways to reach kids. As a restaurant manager, I was feeling like maybe I needed a slower pace. As much as I love Chick Fil-A and the culture, I was wrestling with my place at CFA Port Jefferson. I knew it would be a heart wrenching decision and something I needed to pray about. I have made so  many new friends at CFA Port Jefferson but knew it was time to move on. I accepted a position as a manger at a restaurant called Cheeburger Cheeburger in Farmingdale. I'll blog about it next time. Leaving CFA Port Jefferson was hard. They gave me a nice going away party on my last day, March 24th.     

UNTIL NEXT TIME

THE NOT SO WONDERFUL WORLD OF KIDNEY STONES - December 2017, June 2018

     Okay, let me back up a month and tell you about a challenging situation I faced. Before I start, let me just say ladies that I am not comparing kidney stone pain to childbirth. I obviously have and will never give birth to a child being that I am a man, but I can say that kidney stone pain is unbearable. I will never forget Friday, December 29, 2017 as long as I live. I was scheduled to work at Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson at 2pm. That morning I threw on a hoodie and sweat pants and drove down to Christian Church at Holbrook to make copies for Holbrook kids for that coming Sunday morning lesson. While driving on Patchogue/ Holbrook Road I started to feel a pain in my back. I thought my back was going out and as I approached the church, the pain became worse. As I started making copies, the pain became increasingly worse. What was wrong with me? I couldn't even finish copies and left all my materials in the copy room and struggled to get to my van. As I was driving I quickly called my Mom (Dr. Mom) thinking maybe she knew what the pain was and what to do. I was 3 days short of my health insurance going into effect. She told me it may be a kidney stone and to look for a health clinic and I found one on Portion Road in Farmingville. I literally crawled into the clinic leaning over the counter begging for them to see me ASAP. Of course they needed my information, license, health history and payment info. While I waited and called my boss at Chick Fil-A telling him I would not be in. He didn't even recognize my voice. The pain was unbearable. It felt like I had 20 knives stuck in my back. Finally a doctor saw me and it felt like I was in the examination room for over an hour, but it was only 15 minutes. I was sweating profusely and took of my hoodie leaning over the examination table. I begged the doctor to give me meds for the pain. She did and it felt like the nurse was taking her sweet time giving them to me. The doctor told me I needed to go to the ER. As I got to the ER at Mather Hospital my meds wore off. I was in the ER for about 5 hours, and was told after being examined and having an MRI that I had a kidney stone. I was sent home and picked up my meds. Thankfully, I passed the stone the following morning.

    That episode would not be my last.....RATS! On June 10th while at church, I felt discomfort in my back. At that moment, I didn't think it was another stone. Again, the pain was unbearable and I spent that Sunday afternoon back at Mather Hospital. This time I knew it was another stone. I went through the same routine....MRI....sent home....meds.. etc....etc...I didn't work for 2 days and thought I passed the stone. At the time, I was working part time at Cheeburger Cheeburger, a restaurant I was managing in Farmingdale off of 110 (I'll share that experience in a blog soon) and part time at Chick Fil-A Commack (I'll share that as well soon). That Friday about 6 hours into my 11 hour shift I felt discomfort. I thought I passed the stone earlier in the week. Could it be I had a second stone? So soon? Again the pain was unbearable and I had to call my boss that I needed to go home. Driving on the Long Island Expressway was murder. I felt every bump! I got home, grabbed my meds and went to bed. I had to cancel the first of my two shifts at Chick Fil-A Commack that Saturday. 2 hours into my shift I had another kidney stone attack and had to leave early. I managed to get home again and made it through the night. I was hesitant to go back to the ER a second Sunday in a row because I had no health insurance, but I had no choice. A dear friend drove me and I unfortunately spent Father's Day back at Mather. I was planning on taking my kids to the movies to see the movie Incredibles 2, but that had to be delayed for a few weeks. After the same old routine, MRI and being examined, the doctor told me I never passed the stone I had a week prior to that.

After going through this ordeal which I pray never happens again, It made me think about the pain Jesus suffered for you and me on the cross of Calvary. He did it so that our sins, those bad things we have done would be forgiven for us. He did it so that we would be saved from sin and made new. I am so grateful that God sent His one and only Son to pay that price just for me, but also for every human being on this planet. I am so grateful that He rose again and he offers us an incredible gift...the gift of eternal life!

UNTIL NEXT TIME           

     

CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF HOLBROOK PART 2 (December 2016 - January 2018)

Around Christmastime, 2016 I was beginning to feel strongly that I wanted to get involved at CCH (Christian Church at Holbrook) so I set up an appointment with Pastor Peter right after the new year. I thoroughly enjoyed attending the church as well as the Men's small group I was in, but when you have a heart and burden for kids, you can't just walk away from it. I did have some opportunities to share at Christian schools, but I was not involved with kids ministry for quite some time. I was ready. I set up my meeting with Pastor Peter in his office and when I told him I wanted to get involved with Holbrook Kids, his reaction was "I was just waiting on you to see when you were ready to begin with our kids ministry." He the reminded me that the church was still looking to hire a Children's Pastor. I will admit I did love hearing that, but knew I needed to get to know the kids at the church. That following Sunday I was handed my curriculum and would be teaching first and second grade the last Sunday in January as well as the entire month of February. The week before I began teaching, I had the privilege of not only attending but volunteering at the Children's Pastors Conference in Orlando, FL. I attending this conference many times while I was on staff at SGT. My very first one was 1990 in Denver. This time I wanted to give back to that conference by volunteering. I helped serve in the bookstore. It was great being amongst other children's pastors and I will admit I felt like the old man there. I was excited to come home to a new challenge at CCH.

    At my very first experience at Holbrook Kids I was shocked. I was expecting loads of kids but only saw we had 10. Holbrook Kids was launched the previous October and being in the sanctuary that had about 60 + people I thought there were tons of kids. I was wrong. My class had 3 kids on a good day maybe 5. I was so used to having 45 + kids at SGT so working with a small group was a challenge but if you know me, you know I love challenges. I also taught during the month of May as we rotated every 3 months. It was so amazing being back doing what I love! At the end of May, Pastor Peter approached me and said he wanted to meet with me. I had no idea what the meeting was about. I continued working as a manager at Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson 6 mornings a week so our meeting was on a Monday afternoon. Pastor Peter asked me a question I had wanted to hear for four years. "Would you be interested in being our Children's Pastor?" I said yes of course! I was introduced to the church that following Sunday and a vote was taken at a membership meeting the Sunday after that. 34 Yes...2 No! The position would be a paid position and I would have a 6 month trial period. I started on June 1st and was excited about the new challenge. Some people might think I was taking a step down after serving at a huge church. I did not feel that way at all. I had always said a would love a job where I could help build a children's ministry and watch it grow with God's help.

     The first order of business was learning the ropes of how they do Vacation Bible school. It was a lot different than VBS at SGT where we had over 400+ kids. I always believed VBS was meant for smaller churches, not big churches. Many people at SGT disagreed with me. At CCH, Pastor Peter asked me to do one of my ventriloquist figures for the VBS worker meeting and I chose Shelton the Shark. The workers had never seen me do that and they loved it. Our VBS took place in early July and my job was not only to learn the ropes for 2019, but to be the Bible teacher. out theme was Maker Fun Factory by Group Publishing. I also opened each program, which was in the evening with Grandpa Lou, my ever popular puppet friend as well as Shelton and Sonkist. We had well over 50 kids at VBS and the week was a success. We had a closing program the following Sunday morning where the kids sang the songs they learned that week with many parents attending. The majority of the kids who attended were from other churches. My prayer was that they would begin coming to CCH.

   After VBS, I organized a program for the kids on Wednesday nights I called "Wacky Wednesdays." It was a fun night planned for all ages with themes such as Christmas in August, Hawaiian Beach Party and Wet & Wild night to name a few. My hope was that the kids from VBS would come but that didn't happen. Attendance was low and I was frustrated but I figured maybe it was because It was in August where families go on vacation. During the fall season I was all geared up to begin running Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. I found it challenging especially Wednesday nights. Trying to run a program where you have 4 year olds and 4th graders together is difficult. I started feeling like maybe I was losing my edge as a children's pastor. I tried making videos for the kids on Sunday mornings and tried to bring in new ideas but I never felt like I was connecting. Looking back I think I was hoping to make CCH a mini SGT. I was used to a huge budget, a huge room to work with and tons of kids. CCH had a small budget and although a beautiful Holbrook Kids logo was painted on the wall, the rooms were small and multipurpose. My 6 month trial period was over and I began to wonder if this was really for me. In November, I knew in my heart I would not be asked to come on staff as an associate pastor. The board met with me in early January and I was told they wanted to go in a different direction. I was expecting to hear that and truthfully I was cool with it. It seemed as though God had other plans for me. I will always be grateful to Pastor Peter for the opportunity I had to serve at CCH and would like to thank him. During the fall. I attended a small group that did a church-wide DVD series called "Life on Mission." We had such a great group of people and they asked me to lead  a bible study. I sad "yes" and that bible study is still meeting on Tuesday mornings to this day. As the calendar changed to 2018, God had new opportunities for me and new challenges that I will write about in the coming weeks.

UNTIL NEXT TIME           

    

CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT HOLBROOK - July 2016 - January 2017

     At this point in my life, I was not looking to go on staff at any church. My biggest concern was where I was going to live after October 1, 2016. I was not looking to join any staff. I was happy working at Chick Fil-A as a manager. But God had other plans. In the middle of July, I received a text from two friends Tim and Jack. Both text's said the same thing and the crazy thing was Tim and Jack had never met, but they had a mutual friend, Stan (Not the Stan who owned and operated Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson by the way) who attended Cjistian Church at Holbrook. Both text's were similar. "Hey, there is a church in Holbrook looking for a Youth Pastor." My first thought was "I am in no way a youth pastor. I am a children's pastor." I said no to both of them twice but both of these dear friends were persistent and I'm so glad they were. "Just call the pastor and check it out." I checked out the church's website then called the pastor, Pastor Peter O'Leary. We set up an appointment to discuss the position and get acquainted. I truthfully felt it would go absolutely nowhere because of my family situation. I will never forget pulling up to the church on an extremely hot day and ringing the doorbell of the church. I was greeted by the pastor who had a big smile on his face and we went downstairs to the youth room to talk. For about an hour I told Pastor Peter my story about SGT and my marriage as well as what my role would be if I was hired by the church. I was open to exploring the possibility of being a children's and youth pastor but told him I was more experienced with children. We prayed together and he told me he would get back to me. I left not really expecting a call from him but again I was wrong. I did attend a Sunday morning service to see what the services were like. Pastor Pete called me 2 weeks later and said his Christian Education Committee wanted to interview me. We made an appointment for a Friday night August 26th.

    I will admit I was nervous and had a glimmer of hope that maybe just maybe I could possibly get hired. It seemed that every time I had a plan for my future, God had a better one! I was brought to an area downstairs and met the committee which consisted of seven people including Pastor Pete. It felt like more. For about two hours they asked me every question imaginable from what took place at SGT, my marital status, my theology and my vision for the children of the church. The main topic was about my divorce. That was one area I knew would be a challenge. I left the church feeling good about everything and put it in God's hands. Two days later I attended the Sunday morning service again not really expecting a decision to be made. After the service, Pastor Pete asked to speak to me. He said it is obvious I have an amazing talent with children and great giftings. However, the committee decided that not only was I not ready to begin my ministry there, they were not ready either. He told me he felt I needed to be ministered to and the church would welcome me with open arms. I was happy to attend services there during the fall. I got involved with a Men's small group and not only attended Sunday mornings, I also attended special events to get to know the members of the church. I was happy to be attending a small church and knew in due time I would be at least volunteering with the children of the church. I always felt it was God's way of telling me he wanted to use me but not right away. In the meantime, God also provided a place for me to live. My landlady from Sound Beach where I lived in 2015 visited me at Chick Fil-A and told me she had an apartment available. God was answering prayer!      

UNTIL NEXT TIME  

CHICK FIL A - September 2015 - July 2016

    Let me back up a few months to June 2015. God opened two doors for me to preach. One opportunity was at the church I was attending...Middle Island Baptist Church. The second was at Cornerstone Bible church in Port Jefferson Station, NY. I had opportunities to share at the Christian school Cornerstone supported, North Shore Christian School at their  Elementary chapel services. Cornerstone asked me in January if I would preach in June. They were having a church wide retreat and needed coverage. I was happy to help! I always appreciated what the church was doing and felt confident in my preaching abilities. What happened next to me in the next few months still blows me away.

     With so much uncertainty about where I would work and live, Pastor Mike, the then associate pastor now Senior Pastor of Cornerstone called me and said he needed to meet with me. I had no idea what it was about and thought maybe he needed me to share in church or maybe do a Kids Krusade. As I sat in his office, he told me that the Senior Pastor of the church was retiring and his house would be available. How would I like to live in the house...WHAT??? I asked him to repeat it because I thought I was dreaming. In return I would need to help on Friday evenings with their Awana Club. He also told me he would help set up counseling for me wife and I. I was so blown away. What happened next was definitely God. That exact morning before my meeting with Pastor Mike, I ran into Stan Abrahamsen at Panera Bread. I had not seen Stan since I resigned from SGT. Stan was the Head Deacon at the church but was also building a brand new Chick Fil-A restaurant directly across the street and would be the owner/operator. We spoke briefly and I told Stan I was a sales rep at TruGreen. He gave me his number and told me to call him. Two weeks later I saw Stan at a diner in Lake Grove. He was sitting with some gentlemen from Chick Fil-A and introduced me. He then said "Hey, you need to come to my house and do an estimate". We agreed on the following Saturday.

   I drove to Stan's beautiful home not thinking about Chick Fil-A or working there. I was there to do an estimate for lawn care...period. God had other plans. As I sat on the steps of Stan's backyard deck, Stan came around the back and was smiling. "Hey Dave. How would you like to apply for a position at Chick Fil-A?" My mind drifted back to the fall of 1985. At that time in my life I needed extra money so I took a job at a Friendly's in the Smithaven Mall...at the grill. I remember telling my Dad when I got home about me new job. He laughed so hard that he was crying. If you know me, you know I am NOT Chef Boyardee. I burn cereal and can't cook to save my life. Stan told me I would be hired to prep food and work in the back. All I needed to do was apply. I didn't know it at the time but Stan told me later that God had spoken to him and told him to hire me. WOW! The following day at Panera Bread I applied and received a call that week for an interview. I was hired! After realizing my career as a sales rep was over I had to give TruGreen notice out of respect. I nervously walked into my boss Mike's office and told him the news. He said to me he was so happy for me and was actually going to lay me off that day. He then told me it was a privilege having me work for him and that he appreciated my hard work. My last day was September 19th.

   Exactly one week later Chick Fil-A had their worker orientation. The Port Jefferson store was the very first in the state of NY with a drive thru. I proudly wore my black chef outfit and was so happy I wouldn't have to face people from my previous church who might "ask questions." Working in the back would be awesome! Two days after the orientation my cell phone rang and it was Chick Fil-A. "Hey, we think you are a better fit for us in the front of house. You seem to be a people person and we need you to work in the front. Are you willing to switch?" I said, "Of course. Wherever you need me!" We began our training the week after orientation from young people who came from all over the country to train us. We had lessons on how to fill drinks, make shakes, take orders at the register, do headset...every area possible. Chick Fil -A Port Jefferson officially opened on October 7, 2015. I had to report to work at 5:30 a.m. There were hundreds of people outside as well as the local news ready for that magical moment when the doors were opened. I will never forget the trainers telling us "Just run food to tables and to the "carry out" guests all day. After a few days you will be trained effectively." All I can say is after day number one I was exhausted. I never did more walking in one day in my life. I got home that night, sat in my chair and fell sound asleep. Day two we did it all over again.

     I really enjoyed working at Chick Fil-A and still do. I made friends that will last a lifetime. I will forever be grateful to Stan for the opportunity I had to serve at CFA Port Jefferson. We all worked hard but we also had a lot of fun. I opened the restaurant as a team member 5 days a week and worked a midday shift on Saturdays. What was also great was that I lived exactly one mile from the restaurant. As crazy as it sounds, I also worked at Kohl's during the holidays which was insane. I don't know how I did it!!! Life was good and things were going well until my wife and I started our counseling. All I can say it was a huge train wreck. I wish I could say our marriage was healed and things were amazing but unfortunately that is not true.

    After working at Chick Fil-A six months, I was promoted and became the opening manager. I opened the restaurant for the next year and a half and loved the new challenge. My hope was for a possible position at Cornerstone Bible church as maybe an associate pastor but due to my marriage situation it did not happen. In fact Cornerstone gave me three months to find a new place to live. I was frustrated but it was July and in the past few years God had always dome amazing things for me. What happened in July 2016 also blew me away. It was God at work but I'll save that for next time!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME               

Working at TruGreen - March - September 2015

      In February of 2015, I knew I had to get out of the "Limo business" so I started applying to every job imaginable. If you name a company, store or restaurant, I probably applied to it. I was constantly on my laptop sending applications all over. I tried Costco, Trader Joe's, Lowe's, Sam's Club, Hertz, Wal-mart and Panera Bread just to name a few. I stumbled upon one job that was posted on Indeed.com...TruGreen. I sent in an application thinking "What do I have to lose?' I was called in for an interview on Presidents Day. I had no idea what to expect nor did I really know what positions were being offered. I originally thought it was as a serviceman. I was called into an office for the interview by a man named Mike McPartland. This past summer, Mike unfortunately died of cancer. Mike kept looking at funny during the interview and kept saying, "You look so familiar." As it turned out, Mike attended Smithtown Gospel. I never saw him there but being the church has over 2500 attenders I can't possibly know everyone! Mike put me through for the next interview and I was hired as a Sales Rep!!! What??? I was happy although I knew absolutely nothing about being a salesman. I gladly gave my notice at the limo company and my last day was March 12, 2015. I began my TruGreen career 4 days later.

Life at TruGreen was bizarre. We had two weeks of classroom and field training. I remember going out with a team of 8 of us walking, knocking on doors and struggling to make "contacts". I walked with one trainer named Todd. After my first 10 houses he looked at my honestly and said, "Do you know what your problem is, Dave? You are way too nice!!" Yes!! I knew that. What TruGreen wanted you to do was knock on doors and don't leave the property until you have a door slammed in your face, you are cursed out or you are thrown off the property. Let's just say being a sales rep was not my gift. Trying to sell lawn care products was a huge challenge. The only thing I liked about the job was that I could sleep in! Work started at 11am and ended at 9 pm. 5 days a week and we worked Saturdays as well. I was happy to be doing a lot of walking sometimes 5 miles a day. I was happy getting paid and getting a nice tan. I found it stressful trying to make sales, calling up total strangers on the phone and basically being told to "bully" people. If you know me, you know that's not my style. Even the guys I worked with were "rough around the edges". When they all found out I was a pastor, they gave me the nickname "Preacherman."

While many of my fellow workers made sales by being bullies, I made sales by praying to God. I did very well when we had to sell "Hort", which is a program where you have trees and shrubs sprayed for insects that are doing damage. I am still amazed to this day that even though I was awful at this job, I made it to number 7 out of 24 sales reps. Many of them were laid off. I was able to keep my job until September and all I can say is that it was because of God blessing me. In July, however, I had thoughts about moving to Pennsylvania to start a new life. I thought maybe getting off of Long Island would be a good idea. Getting away from memories of SGT and stating over might be great. But God had other plans! God opened some doors for me to preach as well as minister at a children's camp and at Ocean Grove, NJ. It was His way of saying He needed me here on the "Island." Seeing God's hand on my life was amazing. What happened in August of that year still gives me goose bumps but I'll save that for next time!!