Below is Pastor Don’s blog, where Pastor Don shares his thoughts on Scripture, current events, and more. Make sure to check back here frequently to read more about topics we may even discuss when we meet!
What will you make of 2014? 2013 is wrapping up and we can reflect on this past year, but the next year is a blank book waiting to be written. And so with only a couple of weeks left to plan your strategy, let me encourage you to make this next year a year of…
My heart is broken today. Last night one of the members of our church called and left a voicemail on my phone as he made the rounds, trying to reach one of us pastors. By his voice, I knew it might be one of those calls that no one wants to receive. I called him…
Cue up the Christian slogans, another Christmas is here. “Put the Christ back in X-mas!” “Jesus is the reason for the Season!” “It’s pronounced ‘Merry Christmas’, NOT ‘Happy Holidays!'” Actually, I made that last one up, but I wouldn’t be surprised to get it back on a Facebook post pretty soon. As a Christian who…
In honor of pastor appreciation month, I want to say how I appreciate the one and only, Donald Filcek. Seriously, I do. Don is an incredibly smart individual with a sincere passion for Christ and a driving desire to build a gospel-centered, people-loving church in our community. He’s a guy who loves his wife, cherishes…
The Word growth is a funny word. If I tell you, “I have a growth on my chin,” it is something completely different than if I tell you I have noticed growth in ReCAST church. But to tell you I have noticed growth in ReCAST church is still not very clear. What kind of growth…
If you’ve been around ReCAST for awhile, you may have observed a few places where random, hopefully amusing, phrases pop up. I do this because I think it’s fun and if we don’t have to be serious (and we must on occasion), let’s loosen up. One place I attempt this smile-cracking is the eCAST subject…
Last week I was out at a week long conference called The Journey. It is a program run by Open Hearts Ministry in Kalamazoo, Michigan and it is a counseling training/ group experience that started as help for those who have gone through abuse, and it has been opened up to all who want to…
Nikki (my amazing wife) is away for the week. She had the opportunity to attend The Journey in Muskegon. I had the privilege of attending the week long retreat last year and had a powerful experience so I’m happy that she could go. But of course, if she’s gone for a week, that leaves me…
I’m not an animal lover. I like the idea of a dog, I guess––having a trusty companion who always accepts you, waiting for you at the door when you get home with wagging tail. Car commercials with a man and his best friend packing up the camping gear on a mountain top at sunset looks…
Every season brings a certain amount of joy to me. I enjoy all four and that makes Michigan a great home for me. I talk with many people who complain about winter and I wonder to myself why anyone would live in Michigan that hates the winter. But I also have identified a selfish streak…
A few of the counseling relationships I’m privileged to be a part of here at ReCAST have come about due to the challenges of sin. Typically, a crisis drives these individuals to seek pastoral counsel and part of working with them involves confronting the dysfunctional or devious behavior that caused or helped cause the crisis.…
I like the light. I associate walking in the darkness with stepping on Legos with my bare feet and ramming my shin into the end table. The disciple John writes in 1 John 1 about walking in the darkness and walking in the light. And, in context, walking in the light is not merely doing…
