Whirled Views with Dan Burrell

Last June, I resigned my position as Senior Pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC.  When I resigned, I did not have another position lined up or even in mind.  I needed some time to deal with the physical effects that stress and ministry have on an individual over an extended period of time.  Thankfully, the members of Northside graciously provided a generous arrangement that gave me the time to address those issues and to seek what assignment God would have for me next. 

In the months that have followed, I’ve been assisting Dr. Dino Pedrone as the Interim Headmaster at Dade Christian School in Miami on a part-time basis that has involved me flying back and forth between Charlotte and Miami each week.  I’ve also been visiting various ministry and employment opportunities that have come my way.

I was very much convinced that I was more than likely going to end up on a college faculty somewhere or perhaps in administration.  I interviewed for a couple of senior administrative position at some Christian colleges, entertained the challenge to start a Bible college for a Seminary and even considered just becoming a full-time on-line adjunct professor.  But in recent weeks and in a variety of ways, the Lord made it known that this wasn’t the route He would have me take.

Instead, after much thought, prayer and dialogue, I have accepted an opportunity to work for my long-time friend and someone whom I trust and respect deeply, Dr. Dino Pedrone.  This coming summer, I will be joining the staff of New Testament Baptist Church in Miami as the Vice-President of the entire Ministry serving as Dr. Pedrone’s Senior Associate Pastor.  New Testament has three church locations and three school locations.  In addition, I will be over-seeing the establishment of a teaching site for Davis College in South Florida where we will be offering courses so that students in our area will be able to earn a fully-accredited college degree without relocating.  With over 350 employees, two large campuses and an annual budget of over $18 million, I have been assigned the over-all management of the ministry which will free Dr. Pedrone to continue the visionary pastoral leadership that God has called him to perform.

As a Senior Pastor for 17 years, one of my greatest frustrations was the responsibility that is placed on today’s large-ministry leader to be both a visionary leader and an administrative leader.  This is like trying to be a Quarterback and the Head Coach in the same game.  It’s possible, but in the end you will not be as effective in either role as you would be if you could focus on one.  I enjoy being a visionary and I enjoy organizing.  But for too many, ego and pride or simply pressure from those who don’t understand the role of Senior Pastor prevents larger churches from organizing properly by having someone come under the Senior Pastor and his visionary leadership and helping him implement what God has laid on his heart.  Such a person needs to be loyal to the bone and understand what that role entails. 

Dr. Pedrone is one of those rare individuals who has all the qualities of an aggressive leader without the ego, control-issues and domineering spirit that often comes with that personality.  In public and private, as I’ve observed him for fifteen years now, I have constantly admired his passion, character and intellect.  He is burdened for the gospel and has a heart that is bent toward redemption and letting others experience the blessings of God’s grace.  I look forward to serving the Lord by serving with him.

So….the next few months are going to be busy for the Burrells.  I will remain in my part-time role as Interim Headmaster of the 1250-student Dade Christian School throughout the school year.  I have a house to sell in Charlotte and many things to conclude there in addition to finding housing in the Miami area.  Of course, the kids have to finish school and Julie has another big move to organize for the second time in a year.  I plan on going full-time sometime after the end of school and before the next school year starts.  Megan will be transferring as a Senior to Dade Christian School and is already looking at Palm Beach Atlantic University in our old home town for continuing her education. 

I won’t pretend that we are looking forward to leaving Charlotte.  We have loved living there and we are not relishing the thought of leaving our many friends, the Queen City and the Carolinas.  But more than anything else, we want to be where the Lord has led us and at this time, it is apparently back to South Florida.  Too many times we waste personal energy and spiritual focus by looking at the past.  As tempting as that has been for us, we are choosing instead to look to the future knowing that nothing ever catches Him by surprise even if it catches us by surprise. 

Those who know me are probably snickering with memories of me pontificating about “never going back to South Florida” and so on.  That’s OK….I deserve it.  I can tell you this — while you are shoveling snow, enduring weeks of overcast skies and wondering if Spring will ever come, I’ll be enjoying an ocean breeze or walking along the beach.

More seriously, I am looking forward to ministering in a church that has over 70 different ethnic groups and nations worshipping on a typical Sunday.  Miami is the gateway to South America, Central America and the Carribean.  If you love missions, there’s no better place to live!  The mission field is right here and it is ripe unto harvest.  The people in our church are some of the warmest, most energized, most caring and genuine people you could ever want to meet. 

The traffic isn’t as bad as I remembered it, the food is better than I remembered it and yes, I’m going to try and conquer Spanish yet again.  We’re still a few months away from the actual transition, but I wanted to let the folks who have been praying for us these last nine months or so know what is happening.  I’ll keep everyone posted via this blog, so stay tuned.

In two weeks, I’ll be heading back for the fourth time to Cuba.  It is not possible for me to give a lot of details about all that we are doing there, but I can tell you that there are great projects that are under way and the Lord is blessing in unique circumstances.  We are training several young national pastors who are planting home-based churches, we are working with established churches, we are evangelizing in several cities where there is no Gospel witness in more remote areas of the nation.

I wish I could share some of the wonderful stories and introduce you to some of the wonderful pastors and their families, but discretion is necessary for security reasons.

I have recently obtained a license from the United States government that allows me to legally bring funds for our projects into the country.  We are organized under a 501c3 status and our accountability standards are conscientiously followed in the USA and in Cuba.  Right now, I am raising funds for several important projects:

• Family Support for a National Pastor and his family for one year -$300  (Seventeen needed)
• Church Support for a new church plant — $2,000 (Allows a new local church to be established)
• Portable CD players and Plugs for each church — $100 (They use these for their music ministry)
• Cymbals for a Haitian/Cuban Church — $100 (They are currently using 1/4 of an old cymbal)
• Roof Repair for a Pastor’s Home — $500
• Transportation Need — $5,000
• Tuition money for training of one national pastor entering the ministry (Seminary) — $1,000
• Funds for books for National Pastors - $20 per book
• Clothing and food needs (special) for National Pastors - $50 per family (24 families needed)
• Seminary Expansion Project $10,000
• Relocation Costs for a National Pastor starting a new church — $1,500

If you could help for any of these projects — from a book to a CD Player to one of the building or major projects, I’ll send you photos of what we are able to do with your help at your request.  My wife and I have underwritten the costs for several of these projects to date, but due to a change in our personal situation, we know that it won’t be able to continue much longer at the level we currently support.  Some of you have helped in the past or expressed an interest for helping on my next trip.  I’ll be leaving in two weeks, so any help you can send now will be in use immediately.  (FYI, I am covering all my own travel and personal expenses on this trip.)

If you want to help, please send your gifts to one of these two places:

Missions-Connect
PO Box 210716
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421

or

Grace Baptist Church
Cuban Mission Fund
533 E. Rollins Street
Moberly, MO 65270

Please note on your gift that it is for “Cuban Missions” and mention my name.  Thank you in advance for any help that you can give toward helping these wonderful servants of the Lord who minister under very difficult situations.  I’ll provide an update when I return.

 It’s been a while since I’ve posted a rant, so here goes.  (For those new to this experience, this is a brief peak into how the mind of an ADD guy looks.)

Peggy Noonan has to be the best writer of her kind I’ve ever read.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why people get on the moving sidewalks at airports and then refuse to walk.  Most people who just use them for a “ride” really need the walk.  Meanwhile, they are slowing the rest of us down who use them to get to the next terminal twice as fast.

Have you ever noticed that people on a diet become totally obsessed with their diet and then become like Jehovah’s Witnesses about their diet trying to convince themselves and others that this is the best diet of all time?  Oh, btw, I’m on a diet.

I should be ashamed of myself for the perverse pleasure I am getting from watching Hillary and Barak beating each other’s brains out in the Democrat primaries.

I’m not quite sure how the “Emergent Church” got its name, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t because it is “emerging” out of sound doctrine.

I generally hate all teams from New York on principle, but it was a delight to see the Giants trim the New England Cheaters…er, a…Patriots and let the ’72 Dolphin’s perfect season remain intact.

My diet allows me to eat yogurt.  I have long considered yogurt to be “girlie” food, a fact that was validated by a student last week who caught me eating yogurt and exclaimed, “Dr. B!  You’re eating estrogen in a cup!”  However, unless you’ve tried Yoplait’s (even the NAME sounds girlie) Yogurt Whips, you haven’t lived.  If eating my Key Lime Yogurt Whip makes me a Nancy Pants, I can live with the shame.

Count me as one person who will be sorry that the Hollywood Writer’s strike is ending.  I think our national IQ has risen somewhat since they started walking the picket lines.

I wonder if Al Gore has been in Minnesota or Wisconsin this winter speaking on the topic of global warming?

Personally, I think the Church Growth Movement isn’t.

People who think that giving away shot glasses with a church’s name on them will draw sinners to salvation apparently emptied the shot glasses themselves before handing them to the friends at the bar.

I’ve noticed that when someone is  poking along on I-95 in front of me, I  wish they’d get their crazy fool self off the road and then a I buzz around them like a bat out of hades.  Then when someone buzzes around me the next moment like a bat out of hades, I secretly pray that there’s a cop around the bend waiting with his radar gun on.  But isn’t that how most of us view grace?  We want it for ourselves, but not for other people.  We want judgment for them.

If I ever get a chance, I’m going to look Al Sharpton right in the eye and say, “Would you PLEASE just shut up?”

When it comes time to pick the candidate for whom I’m about to vote, the very last person in the whole wide world I’m going to use to shape my opinion will be someone who makes their living pretending to be someone who never existed.  George Clooney, Jack Nicholson, Chuck Norris and Oprah, are you listening?

Why is it that when Uncle Sam writes checks from an overdrawn account to give to people to score political points it is “smart” and “proactive”, but when real people do it by writing a check on one overdrawn account to buy a few days on another overdrawn account it, is called “check kiting” and they’ll throw you in jail for it? 

I’ve given up red meat for the last month and if a slow moving steer crosses my path in the near future, I may very well gnaw his leg right off.

The thing I miss most about being a pastor is getting to preach the Word of God three times a week.  Everything else I used to do as pastor was simply the price that I had to pay to do what I really loved to do – Preach the Word.

People who spend a lot of time talking about how awful teenagers are probably don’t know any teenagers.  The more I spend time around teenagers, the more I don’t like adults.  I love my high school Ironworks mentoring group.  These are the best teenage guys around.

Dollar for dollar, Rockport shoes are the most comfortable shoes that money can buy.

Frankly, I think they misnamed “Crocs”.  They should have named them “Just for Geeks”.

Brixx Pizza in Charlotte has the best oven-fired pizza in the city.

If you haven’t played on a Wii, you’ve missed a lot of fun.  Even middle-aged uncool guys can play it.

I secretly enjoy Celebrity Apprentice.  That makes me very ashamed.

I just received an autographed copy of Justice Clarence Thomas’s book, “My Grandfather’s Son” with a personal inscription.  No, you can’t borrow it.  But you really should read it.

And that’s all for now….until next time……Rant Closed.

Most folks know that last Wednesday was national signing day for High School prep athletes who will play for college teams next year.  Dade Christian School, where I serve as part-time Headmaster, saw two of it’s Seniors sign full-ride scholarships to two great college football programs.

Chris Cunningham (left) was courted by Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky, but ended up going with EKU.

Shawn Abuhoff was heavily recruited by Liberty University, but ended up receiving a full-ride to Dartmouth University — an Ivy League school where tuition is in the $60K per year range.

Not only are these two men good athletes, but they are good students.  Not only are these two men good students, but they have great testimonies at Dade Christian School — a fact that our high school principal, Susan Robinson noted for those present at the signing.  On a personal level, every interaction I’ve had with these two guys has been marked with character qualities that we want to see our students, sons and alumni possess.

Watching the signing from left to right is Head Football Coach Mike Sonneborn, School Chancellor, Dr. Dino Pedrone and yours truly.

Congrats to Chris and Shawn.  We look forward to hearing how they flourish on and off the field in the years to come.

Scripture warns us that Satan literally has a “strategy” for our defeat.  Sadly, many times we reduce the person and reality of the devil to a caricature.  A cartoonish character replete with pitchfork and horns who is one-dimensional and predictable.  But Satan is far more intelligent and creative than we could ever imagine.  We should never forget that we, as the sons and daughters of God, are squarely in his crosshairs on a daily basis.  He wants to make us impotent.  He can’t have our souls, but he sure wants us ineffective.

Here are some quick thoughts that might remind you how diabolical his subtle plans for us can be.

ü  If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll try to make you busy.  Charles Stanley shared that statement with me at breakfast one morning and I’ve never forgotten it.  Busyness and business can be great threats to our personal time with the Lord and that daily communication with Him we need and which we should crave. 

ü  If he cannot make you fail, he’ll try to make you frustrated.  So much of ministry can be frustrating.  We want faster results.  Circumstances slow us down.  Frustration wears on an individual until eventually we feel like we’re about to explode.  In causing frustration, Satan feeds everything from pride (I don’t deserve this) to anger (this is not fair!).  Satan couldn’t stop Elijah on Mount Carmel, but he certainly turned him into a depressed messed through the attacks of Jezebel. 

ü  If he can’t impact your actions, he’ll go after your attitude.   So many times I’ve watch ministers of Christ simply “going through the motions” of ministry because their attitude has been soiled.  They do the right actions, but their spirit is inconsistent with the character and nature of Christ.  It becomes a begrudging form of services that blesses neither the recipient or the servant.   Remember the last time we see Jonah in Scripture?  He’s just been used of God to spark the greatest revival in civilization to that time and yet, he’s sitting in the hot desert sun whining, complaining and joyless.  Sometimes, we miss the blessing of what God is doing because we are demanding things of God that are not ours to demand and then we let it impact our attitude.  (It is no small irony to note that we never hear of Jonah again from that point.) ü  If he can’t steal your job, he’ll try to steal your joy. 

There is a difference between joy and happiness.   Happiness relies on circumstances and things.  Joy is internal and relies on relationships and truths.  What a pity to go through life doing a perfunctory job without knowing spiritual joy.  Paul reminds us that he found it possible to have joy and to rejoice and to be contented in ALL circumstances as God rules everywhere and at all times.

Let’s not give Satan any victories at all in our life.  Beware!  He’s got a plan for all of us and it isn’t good.