Top 33 Lessons learned from my brotha from anotha motha

by Michael Burgess on April 10, 2012

Things I learned and Fosterisms that are forever woven into me

1)     Poor Bubba & Bubbette

2)     Sista from another Mista

3)     Checkup from the neck up

4)     We are meant to be Thinking, Acting, Feeling people if you get this out of order you are in deep weeds

5)     Toxic people should not be allowed to wreak havoc in your life

6)     Parents sometimes want relationships with their adult children that they didn’t cultivate as children. Don’t feel guilty setting necessary boundaries

7)     Pray big hairy bodacious prayers

8)     Jesus is a renegade, comedian, and rowdy.

9)      One savior one lifetime and you ain’t it.. Aren’t you glad

10)  I never ever got tired of Pastor Dave telling the story of David and Goliath…. Pimple-faced cheesy bread delivery boy.

11)  “That’s in the Greek”

12)  As a motorcycle guy I loved how he would talk about flicking the sign to fellow motorcycle guys. Just spot on.

13)  I will never settle for anything but complete authenticity from a pastor ever again. I refuse to go to church to listen and watch a persona or a song and dance. Thank you Dave!

14)  He taught me what it looks like to be a good husband and dad.

15)  He helped me avoid so many common pitfalls of life. Or at least when I was in the pit I had a good idea why that was.

16)  Why not me?

17)  He revealed to me that God almost exclusively used royally screwed up messy people to achieve anything of worth in the Bible. What an awesome message of hope for all of us.

18)  Christian county is wet and Bourbon county is dry

19) Smoking is a spiritual gift inKentucky

20)  He always made it ok to question God.. doubt is ok..

21)  It’s about a relationship

22)  Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable

23)  It was at BCC that I experienced the shear joy of tithing faithfully. Awesome.

24)  You won’t hear that at the (fill in the blank) Church down the street.

25)  Don’t you just want to smack those people… in the name of Jeeeesaahzz?

26)  How are you? I’m fine… liar liar liar pants on fire… F.I.N.E à feelings in need of expression.

27)  If you’re not a reader please keep it to yourself

28) 6 and 1, 6 and 1… God’s divine rhythm to life

29) You don’t want a JOB (joyless obligation box) you want to find your FIT.. Does it Fulfill a need, Inspire you, and do you have the Talent?

30) Love God, Love what he Loves and do what he’s blessing… do the next right thing

31) Going to BCC was truly the highlight of my week.

32) Trying to convince my wife to give up her cow patty hairdo.

33) Don’t drink, smoke, or chew or run with the women who do.

 

What a legacy…

 

David Foster radically changed my life. Briefly, I became a Christ follower at age 10 in a Southern Baptist church inMichigan. Strayed away in College and was 6 mos into my marriage with our one year old son Jonah when my wife and I found BCC in 2002.

I was hooked from the first visit. My Pharisee antennae perked up when I noticed there was no “invitation” at the end of service. In a subsequent service pastor Dave explained that he wasn’t interested in selling tickets to heaven. He challenged everyone to work out their own salvation. This was a radical concept when I heard it the first time.

We followed Dave and Paula to Red Caboose park and to the hotel and to The Gathering before moving to Georgia. I listen to all of Dave’s podcasts and still considered him my pastor and mentor. David made me consider writing a book of my own some day. I am now a reader because of him. I have an infinitely more real and confident faith than I did some ten years ago.

Regretfully, I only ever let pastor Dave know once how much he meant to me via email (and he responded by the way with a question of “do you think Clarksville, TN is ready for a church like BCC?). I don’t know how many times I thought “I am going to email Dave” after listening to him speak. Matter of fact I had that very thought on the last podcast I had listened to as he told the story of how he never gets tired of hearing it.

There was moment between Pastor Dave and I that used to give me that momentary pang of embarrassment when I thought of it. On that day at the Red Caboose park in Bellevue as he was leaving I ran up to him (I think I was crying) and gave him a hug and let him know how much we all loved him. I used to think how silly I was in that moment and maybe I was, but now I’m anything but embarrassed of it.

I can’t imagine the pain Paula and the girls are going through. I feel selfish for even whining about I how I feel. I am a bit lost and scared I must admit. What I am going to do without his constant feed of encouragement and wisdom? I gotta grow up I suppose and get off the bottle. I can’t explain or articulate it well, but I feel like now I have to do something. I have to be a mentor, a leader, and a dreamer. I can’t live vicariously through Dave anymore.

You will be sorely missed my brotha from anotha motha.

One comment

Paul and I miss you terribly. No one like you.
We wish you were here.
You are forever and ever in our hearts.

Thank you for every single word you have shared and the
The love you expressed .

Today Tomorrow and Always
Paul & Lorrie Sapka♥️♥️🙏

by Lorrie Sapka on December 1, 2022 at 4:10 pm. Reply #

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