lessons i learned from bjd

this past week, my pastor (pastor billy joe daughtery) passed away.  i had the privileged of being a part of his congregation from 1978-1989.  my dad was his right hand man for the first 12 years of the church.  our families were close.  he baptized me.  he was a mentor.   he was way to young to die and he will be greatly missed.

i wanted to share a few lessons i learned from him:

#1  integrity - “the integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.”  proverbs 11:3 (msg)

bjd was a man of rock-solid character and was full of integrity.  no wonder God trusted him a congregation of 15,000 and with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of resources.  i also love the fact that he was entirely faithful to his wife and family.  he never was involved in anything shady or immoral - his integrity kept him on the narrow path.

#2  contentment - “not that i was ever in need, for i have learned how to be content with whatever i have.”  philippians 4:11 (nlt)

bjd did not live in a huge crib, drive a benz, or sport designer clothes and bling.  he knew he was just a pilgrim and he traveled light.  in a day when ministers are rocking 7,000+ square foot homes (in gated communities), rolling in a $100,00 ride, and draping themselves in prada, gucci, louis vuitton and armani - bjd would simply wear a decent suit, drive a buick, and he lived in a very average house (in fact for years he lived right around the corner from our house in a very average middle-class neighborhood (at 47th and harvard).  trust me, i’m not knocking living a prosperous life and i do believe God wants us blessed… but i am against excess, greed and lust!  thank God for a man of God that lived simple and kept his focus on eternal things.

#3  encouragement - “so encourage each other and build each other up.”  1 thessalonians 5:11 (nlt)

bjd always encouraged me - even when i fell flat on my face.  at his funeral, one of his sons shared how his dad always gave him “two thumbs up” even when he was failing miserably.  thinking back, bjd gave me the encouraging two thumbs up several times.  during a time in my life where i was involved in immoral and illegal stuff - i remember bjd telling me “scooter, it’s not as important where you have been, but it is important where you are going - God’s grace has already covered those mistakes.”  countless times, he would verbally lift me out of the discouragement and heaviness that surrounded me.  bjd understood ministry… he knew it was all about listening to, loving on, and lifting others.  he was one of the two most encouraging people i have ever know (the other one is ulf ekman).  romans 12:8a says, “if your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.”  he had the most amazing gift of encouragement.

there are so many other lessons that i learned from him…. faith, miracles, the power of the Holy Spirit, the need to just be yourself, living debt free, being merciful, believing in others, the power of joy, and the list goes on and on and on.

my life is so much richer because of bjd.  this world is a way better place because of bjd.  most importantly, multitudes will be in heaven because of bjd.