Before After : A Father To The Fatherless (Full Experience)

Fellowship Church, how we doing this morning? Are y'all ready to worship the Lord with all you've got? Come on. There's no other name higher, no other name stronger than the name of Jesus. We're here to lift up that name today. So let's sing this out together. Come on. ♪ I know a name ♪ ♪ That can silence roaring waves ♪ ♪ I know a name ♪ ♪ That can empty out a grave ♪ ♪ I know a name ♪ ♪ It's the only name that saves ♪ ♪ And it's worthy of all praise, come on ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ Healer, risen and reigning in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of that grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of that grave, hey ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, lift it up ♪ ♪ I have a king with dominion over death ♪ ♪ He holds the keys in his holiness' caught hands ♪ ♪ He is the healing that has crushed the serpent's head ♪ ♪ Our resurrected great I am, I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ Risen and reigning in power, something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time, every time I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you savior ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you savior, worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave, every single time ♪

♪ Every time I call your name, chains, chains break ♪ Has any chains broken up in you? Come on, sing this song. ♪ Every time I call your name, gates of hell, gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Oh, hell shake, every time I call your name, chains break ♪ ♪ Brains drop on the way, every time I call your name, gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Oh, hell shake, every time I call your name, gates of hell shake ♪ Anybody need the name of Jesus this morning? That name works every single time. Oh, listen. ♪ Well, oh, death is now your sting ♪ ♪ And well, oh, grave, your victory, you now win ♪ ♪ And well, oh, death, where is your sting? And well, oh, grave, you lost your victory ♪ ♪ And well, oh, where, oh where, death, death no longer has a sting ♪ ♪ Oh, where, oh, where, where, death, death is now your sting ♪ ♪ Death no longer has a sting, when you call on the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ And where, oh, where, oh where, grave, your victory, you now win, you now win ♪ ♪ And well oh, where, oh where, where, death, death nothing's come alive, comes alive, Jesus. ♪ ♪ Nothing's come alive, death is come alive, in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Death things come alive, come alive, death things come alive, ♪ ♪ death things come alive, in the name of Jesus. Death things come alive ♪ ♪ Death things come alive, in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Do there days come alive, death things come alive, death things come alive tonight. ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer, risen and reigning in power, something comes out of no grave. ♪ Every time I call your name, Jesus, I call you, I call you Savior, worthy of glory forever. When something comes out of that grave, every time I call your name, change is great. Every time I call your name, Jesus, gates of hell shall not prevail. Gates of hell shake every time I call your name. Death is come alive, death is come alive, death is come alive in the name of Jesus. Death is come alive, death is come alive, death is come alive in the name of Jesus.

He's worthy of our worship today. Worthy of our praise. He's seated on the throne of heaven. His name is Jesus. He's worthy of everything. We praise him today. I want to be close, close to your side, so heaven is real and death is a lie. I want to hear voices of angels above, singing as one. Come on, we sing this together. Hallelujah, you're holy, holy. You're God almighty, the great I Am. Who is worthy? Fix your eyes on him. Beside thee, you're God almighty, the great I Am. I want to be near, near to your heart. Loving the world and hating the dark. I want to see tribals living again, singing as one. Hallelujah, you're holy, holy. You're God almighty, the great I Am. Who is worthy? There's none beside me. God almighty, the great I Am. The great I Am. God, you're the great I Am. You're worthy of praise today. The great I Am. The mountains shake before you. The demons run and flee. Oh, at the mention of the name, King of Majesty. There is no power in hell, nor any who can stand.

Before the power and the presence of the great I Am. You're the great I Am. The great I Am. He's worthy of your praise today. The great I Am. The great I Am. The great I Am. Hallelujah, you're holy, holy. You're God almighty, the great I Am. He's worthy. Who is worthy? There's none beside me. You're God almighty, the great I Am. He's the great I Am. The great I Am. The great I Am. The mountains shake before you. The demons run and flee. Oh, at the mention of the name, King of Majesty. There is no power in hell, nor any who can stand. ♪ Stand before the power and the praise of the great I am ♪ ♪ The great I am, the great I am ♪ ♪ You are the great I am, the great I am, the great I am ♪ So with one voice we sing to heaven tonight. ♪ Hallelujah, holy, holy, God Almighty, the great I am ♪ ♪ Who is worthy, come and decide me, God Almighty, the great I am ♪ Your Father and your King, He's worthy of it all. ♪ Oh, hallelujah, you're holy, holy, you're God Almighty, you're the great I am ♪ ♪ And who is worthy, there's none beside thee, you're God Almighty, you're the great I am ♪ ♪ Yeah, you're the great I am, oh God, you're the great I am, you're the great I am, yeah. ♪

We've grown you, King Jesus, you're worthy of praise today. It's a beautiful Father's Day Sunday. Anybody thankful for the great I am? Come on. Hey, I want you to take a moment right now. I want you to find some dads around you, tell them, happy Father's Day, and then go ahead and find your seats. Well, good morning and good morning. Welcome to Fellowship Church. I want to definitely take a moment, once again, happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads and father figures in the room. Once again, thank you so much for being here today at Fellowship Church. My name is JC, I'm one of our pastors on staff, and on behalf of our pastors, Ed and Lisa Young, you've chosen the best place to be on a beautiful Father's Day Sunday. And if you're watching online, thank you so much for joining us as well. You know, the heartbeat here at Fellowship Church is we care so much about you finding community because the reality is life is meant to be done together. And a great way that we're able to do that is if you fill out the Connect Card in the seat back in front of you. This gives you the opportunity to drop this in our offering, fill out some basic information about yourself. And if there's anything that we could be praying for you on,

make sure to fill this out. And if you're tech savvy, you could even use your phone and tap the seat back in front of you as well. One of our pastors will reach out to you first thing this week, and we're gonna ensure that you find your community within a matter of days. And you know, something that we just came off the cusp of is what God is doing at Elaso Ranch. For nearly 20 years, we are seeing life change continue to take place, and we have just concluded our FC Kids Camp for the last two weeks. And let me tell you, children found Jesus and went public with their faith through baptism. They found their best friends, and we're seeing God continue to move. This is why I love as we step into a time of generosity, a continuation, and a posture of worship, we are giving into life change. I recently heard a story of a child from our Fort Worth campus whose family has never stepped foot in the doors of Fellowship Church. They were invited by a friend who was going to camp. They decided to sign up, go with them, and that child made the decision to profess Jesus as Lord, got baptized,

and their family went to church last Sunday. This is why I love that when we give, yes, we are impacting that one life, but you never know what God will do through that one life, through that one child, because then it impacts the family as well. And so, church, I wanna thank you for your generosity. It's why we're so passionate about what God is doing through the Anchor Center, this amazing, state-of-the-art youth center for young people to be able to come, reach their friends, and be able to grow in their faith like never before. And it's gonna take all of us to go above and beyond our regular tithes and offerings. And let me be the first to say, if you're a guest here today, feel no pressure to participate, but for those of us who call. who call Fellowship Church home, we get to give. We are blessed to give, and we're gonna continue to build God's house with everything we've got, amen? Come on. And so, there's so many different ways to give. You can give through the generosity envelope in the seat back in front of you. Again, tap the seat back in front of you. And once the offering passes, you may go ahead and drop it in there. But we hope that you join us in partnering

with what God is doing through the Anchor Center. And again, we've got a wonderful Sunday morning planned for every single one of you. We're kicking off a brand new series called Before and After, and our pastor, over the next several weeks, is gonna be having some amazing interviews. And there's gonna be some people sharing some stories that genuinely only Jesus could write. But before we move forward, we wanna take a moment to pray over today. Will you join me, church? Jesus, right now, we simply thank you for who you are. The fact that you are our Heavenly Father. The fact that you chose to come down to Earth. Lord, I pray for any individual in this room. Maybe their earthly father has been absent. Maybe they've passed. Wherever we find ourselves today, may we fix our eyes on you, our good, good Father. We love you, and we praise you. It's in Jesus' name, amen. Let's be seated. Let's remain seated as the offering passes. ♪ I've heard a thousand stories of what they think your life ♪ ♪ But I've heard a tender whisper of love in the dead of night ♪ ♪ And you tell me that you're pleased and that I'm never alone ♪ ♪ You're a good, good father, it's who you are, it's who you are ♪ ♪ It's who you are and I'm loved by you, it's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am, it's who I am ♪

♪ I've seen many searching for answers far and wide ♪ ♪ But I know that we're all searching for answers ♪ ♪ And your answers only you provide ♪ ♪ Cause you know just what we need before we go ♪ Come on, let's stand to our feet and lift it up together. ♪ You're a good, good father, it's who you are, it's who you are ♪ We sing to our heavenly father today. ♪ It's who you are and I'm loved by you, it's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am ♪ ♪ You're a good, good father, it's who you are, it's who you are ♪ Come on, receive this love today, lean into it. ♪ And I'm loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am ♪ This love is perfect. ♪ You are perfect in all of your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of your ways ♪ Yes, you are. ♪ You are perfect in all of your ways to us ♪ Heavenly father you're perfect. We sing. ♪ You're perfect in all of your ways, ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of your ways, ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of your ways to us ♪ Come on with all our gratitude. ♪ You're a good, good father, it's who you are, ♪ ♪ It's who you are, it's who you are, ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am, ♪ ♪ It's who I am, it's who I am. ♪ ♪ You're a good, good father, it's who you are, ♪ ♪ It's who you are, it's who you are, ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am, ♪

♪ It's who I am. ♪ Come on let's give our heavenly father praise today for his love and who he is. Remain standing, you know, today is Father's Day, what a great day, I want to say a big welcome to all of our different locations, I'm talking about Dallas, let's give Dallas a round of applause, I'm sure they're clapping right now, also in beautiful Fort Worth, and then in Frisco, Grapevine, and last but not least, our beautiful church at Elaso Ranch, and our prison campuses, and our online campus, which during the summer, a lot of us participate online, thank you for being here. Well today, we do begin a brand new series on Father's Day, but I really do love this title, because our world is about this, before and after, before and after, here's someone before, you know, and then after, and we're like, oh I, I like the after, well we're going to look at people's lives in a deep, deep way, we're going to look at what happened before Christ, how they processed their decision to become followers of Christ, and then what happened in their spiritual journey, the ups and the downs, because I tell people all the time, if you could graph my spiritual pilgrimage, since I became a believer as a kid, it's not going to go like that, I don't, I don't want to disappoint anyone, but it's not like that, the, the overall trajectory is up, but there are some ups and downs, it's part of our fallenness, it's part of the human condition, so I'm telling you, this is going to be a highly emotional and riveting series, and I'm so glad that you're here, so let's introduce today's topic, before and after, with this compelling interview. So, the Bible says that God is a father to the fatherless, and while I absolutely believe that, if I were honest, there were times when I just wanted my dad. My name is Derek Donnelly, and I've had the privilege of serving on staff at Fellowship Church for over 16 years. During that time, I've worn a lot of different hats, from serving in our kids ministry and student ministry, to now leading our communications team and helping prepare messages for our weekend services, but that's just part of the story. Growing up, we lived in a small town in North Carolina. I had an older brother, he's two years older than me. My parents got divorced when I was three years old, and my dad, he was an alcoholic. Three years old was really the last time that I had any contact with my father. My mom got

remarried when I was five years old to my stepdad, Bob, and they had two additional children who became my brother and sister. Bob was the one who was there, he was the man that was in our lives. He was the one who filled the seat at the table, he filled the seat at the stadiums and in the He filled the seat at the stadiums and in the sporting events, he was the one who showed up. While he was awesome, a large part of me yearned for that relationship with my biological father. I was in the sixth grade when my biological father was arrested for not paying child support. He was transported to North Carolina, where we were living. I had an opportunity, if I wanted to, to go and see him, visit him. I really thought about him. I guess I just didn't want my first real memory of him to see him behind bars and in jail. In the seventh grade, my friend Sean invited me to church. He invited me to fill a seat next to him in a Sunday school class, and for the first time I heard about who Jesus was, how he loved me, how in spite of the mess that I have made, the sin and junk in my life, he died on a cross for me, he rose again, he defeated death so that I could experience new life. In that moment, in seventh grade, I remember vividly walking down front to give my life to Christ. God filled a seat in my heart that nobody else could. We started attending the church together as a family on Sundays. My brother ultimately gave his life to Christ. My parents did as well, and we were all baptized together in 1997. No doubt, that was the most important decision that I ever made in my life.

You know, when you give your life to Jesus, he gives you everything that you need, but not necessarily everything that you want. You hear the verse, you know, God is a father to the fatherless, which is absolutely true. But if I were honest, a lot of times I was like, man, I'd love to have my biological father. I definitely wrestled with that a lot, of God, why do I still feel an emptiness or a yearning for that relationship with my biological father? About a year later, my biological dad got out of prison, and so he moves in with my grandmother in New York. And while we knew where he was, there was still no contact, no relationship, no phone calls. I was 19 years old, and my brother and I decided, hey, let's go visit our grandma up in New York. This was going to be the first time in 15 years that we saw or talked to our biological dad. We got into New York late at night, he walked in, and the first thing he said was, all right, who's Derek and who's Travis? It wasn't like this big, like, reconciliation, and man, the relationship's restored, and we have this great relationship now. We saw him after 15 years. No, it was just like, it was just a quick trip, and that was it. I remember driving home from that trip

and just really not knowing what to do with what just took place. It wasn't like, man, I'm angry at this man. It was like, I genuinely felt bad for him. Like, I genuinely, like, wanted to see him well. I mean, I knew that God had forgiven me of all the things that I've done wrong in my life, and I don't know if I would've been able to, like, see him for the first time if I hadn't have forgiven him. So probably because of that, obviously the best way for him to be healed and be well was a relationship with Jesus, so I sent him this book, Case for Christ. Wrote a note on the inside, said, hey, I hope you read this, because I genuinely, like, wanted him, like, to find peace. After that trip, I started dating my now-wife, Candice. I'm Candice Donnelly, and Derek and I met my senior year of high school actually at a church camp, and I spotted Derek with a cowboy hat on and his big, bright smile and just this joy, and I was like, divs. We dated for four years, and posted Candice in December of 2006. I was talking to my biological father. I invited him to the wedding. I'll never forget what he said. He said, if I come to the wedding,

do I have to come to the divorce? And I kind of laughed, and I was like, I don't know, like, you know, I just don't know what to do. Got it, we'll be there. And I was like, okay, I'll just go with it. Got it. Candace and I were married in August of 2007. About a year later, we found out we were expecting our very first child. Our oldest son, Connor, was born. I remember holding him for the first time and looking down and just wondering how could any parent not want to have a relationship with their child? Candace and I were living in Florida, attending a church, and I remember just feeling like this call into ministry. So in 2010, we came to C3 Conference, which is a conference we have here at Fellowship Church for pastors and leaders. This is actually where I met Pastor Red for the first time. While at C3, I was absolutely blown away. And it was funny, I called my wife and I said, jokingly, hey, if they offer me a job, we're moving. Fast forward a couple months later, my wife and I and our six-month-old baby at the time moved halfway across the country to come on staff here at Fellowship Church. For the next 10 years, we raised our family here.

And during that time, there was hardly any communication between me and my biological father, definitely not a relationship. And then in 2021, he called me, letting me know that my grandmother, his mother, has passed away. My brother and I, we go up to New York. The house was a complete disaster. Empty alcohol bottles, dishes stacked, trash everywhere. My father didn't really have anybody else. So my brother and I just kinda just jumped in and helped where it was needed. I could not believe what they were doing for this man, who ultimately had done nothing for them. I remember telling him, I'm like, you're being the hands and feet of Jesus to this man that you haven't had a relationship with your whole life. I was really taken back at the lengths that they went to take care of him. One of the last nights that we were there, we'd never really talked about what happened or why he left. I definitely think he realized what he missed out on. With me and my brother, there's a moment in the living room where he just kinda hung his head and just said, I'm sorry for the way things were. Kinda just brush it off like, it's fine because I had forgiven him years ago. Doesn't mean that the pain went away or the hurt went away.

Forgiveness is not a one-time event. It's a continual process of recognizing and understanding that God's forgiven me. So who am I to not forgive this guy who wasn't a part of my life for decades, that my brother and I are now taking care of, even though he never took care of us. My brother and I were the only ones who could fill the seat that he needed during that time. I called him on Father's Day and didn't hear from him, and a few days later, one of the people who went to check on him periodically gave me a call and they just said, Derek, Golanus died. Up until that point, I had really talked to him more in that past year and a half than my entire life combined. Like, it would've been easier to have no relationship. Do I regret it? No, not at all. I don't do it again in a heartbeat. I think my brother and I were able to show him the love of Christ in a way that can only be explained because we have a relationship with Jesus. My hope and prayer is that after one of our talks, a late night by himself, he made a decision to follow Christ. And in the midst of all of that, my mom calls me, lets me know that my stepdad Bob has stage four pancreatic cancer. Six months later, Bob passed away. So the span of really six months, I lose my biological father who wasn't there, but had started to get to know and build more relationship with, and I lose my stepfather, the one who was there, the one who did step up, the one who did love us, and the one who did provide for us.

It really didn't seem fair. The great thing is that God's big enough to handle our questions. While I may not understand, I know that God was with me, and looking back throughout my life, I see that my heavenly father has been guiding me, has been there for me, has been putting the right people around me. My heavenly father has helped me to be a great husband and to be a great father. This was going to be the breaking of a generational downfall from my father, who's an alcoholic, to his father, who's an alcoholic. Because of who Jesus is and what he's done in my life, I can say with confidence, this is the start of a new generational direction of people who are going to live for God. This foundation in Jesus and our foundation that we decided for our family is the only way that I can sit here today and say that we're doing it. We're doing things differently. I'm so grateful for the seat that Fellowship Church has played in our lives, getting to be surrounded by so many godly men who are leading their families strong. My boys have grown up here, from FC Kids to The Mix to Elaso Ranch. They're constantly around the right people and hearing about how God loves them and has plans for their lives and wants great things for them. And just as someone invited me to fill a seat at church, now my sons are inviting their friends to fill seats. I remember seeing my dad help other people who've never been in church give their life to Christ. I was like, I want to be like him. I invited all my friends, and now we have a carpool. We all go every Wednesday. One person after another person after another person. People have given their lives to Christ. Those few years back to back, Eric experienced so much loss, and I kept thinking, how much can one person take? And I kept thinking, this is so unfair.

But to see him still show up every day, and he had really not an example of how to be an amazing dad, and he is an amazing dad. And in the middle of navigating his own grief, not missing a practice, not missing a game, he just kept showing up, and he keeps showing up. And that can only be Jesus. Like in our humanity, there's no way. Because of Jesus, the boy who grew up looking at an empty seat became the man who will never leave one empty for his own family. Wow. You never know what someone is walking through and I and Ed and I have both had the privilege of knowing Candace and Derek for many many years. Derek has stood on this stage and presented the gospel, preached messages from God's Word and nobody really knew the backstory and so I'm so thankful that we got to get a glimpse into that and we want to welcome to the stage Candace and Derek Donnelly. That's right, a standing ovation would be very appropriate. Take a seat and let's lighten it up a little bit. Yeah, I'm not a huge crier. Yeah, me either. Man, that was riveting, Derek. I want to ask a question, sort of a follow-up question of what you said and it has to do with forgiveness. What you said was brilliant about it. How have both of you walked through, and I emphasize this word, the process of forgiveness because so many of us are in situations like that and we've been hurt, we've been betrayed. Forgiveness is not a one-time thing. How do you, how do you do that? You know, it's a, it's a unique thing, you know, different people have different people in their lives that they need to forgive and I would say that we've learned so much from you guys and Pastor, your teaching as well. And you know, one of the things you said is that so often forgiveness is more for the person who needs to forgive than it is for the actual person. And so I think, I think for us it was a way for, I know, for me not to become bitter and not to really carry the weight of somebody else's decisions and somebody else's mistakes on my own. So I think for me that was, that was something that I

actively had to do and like you said, it's a, it's a daily basis type thing. And Candice, on that note, being the spouse, I mean you came into the picture later on, but being the spouse and seeing your husband and knowing that he was experiencing pain and stuff, there's a forgiveness level on your part for his dad. I think it was actually harder for me to walk in forgiveness than even for Derek and that was inspiring to me because I was wrestling with how can he forgive him and just be okay with it. But because Derek was always in process of forgiving, they were able to step into that relationship really with no bitterness. And I think it was just really hard for me because I just knew what his dad was missing out on. Our boys and Derek and they're actually very similar in their humor and so I really struggled with forgiveness. I was a little behind where he was leading the way. And Derek, you did something really funny the first, well the first time you saw your dad in years and years and years, you know when he walked through the door and said, okay which one is which? Tell us a little bit about what you guys did. Yeah, humor is a great way to I think process pain and hide pain as well. So I don't know why but we came up with this idea that we were gonna give my dad a t-shirt and so we screen printed a t-shirt with me and my brother's photo on it that said world's greatest dad. And so when he walked through and said you know who's Derek and who's Travis, it made it a little easier. Actually we have a shirt for you as well. But you know he laughed and he had a great sense of humor. He was really funny too. I think also though as a spouse seeing Derek process pain with humor was also an adjustment because it was something that would make me want to cry and he's joking about it. I was like oh so this is what we do. Like we're gonna joke about this. Yeah. So that's kind of what we did. Yeah. Yeah some of my best jokes were dad jokes for sure. But I do believe that's how we process pain in a lot of ways is through humor because it just takes our heart to a little bit lighter level. I mean, even the statement I made when we got up here, let's lighten things up a bit.

Nobody wants to just sit in the reality of pain. And speaking of that, you know, there is this reality of your background. How do you talk and process to your children about what you experienced as a child? And even maybe that they missed out on a granddad in that way. Yeah, I think that we were very careful in what we communicated to our boys, even growing up. Something my mom said, she made it very clear. You know, my dad, obviously, he was an alcoholic. And so that was kind of her stance of, you know, Derek, he's sick, he's sick. And so I think we used that same kind of verbiage with our boys as well. And they have other, you know, grandparents on Candace's side who are really great, great grandfathers. So the way I explained it to them, I think was more like, you know, this is my dad who lives in New York. And yeah, we just don't have that much of a relationship. He's missing out on a lot. So I think we did a pretty good job in even protecting them as they were even getting older. How though have you and Candace handled the issue of alcohol? Because people ask Lisa and I that question a good bit. How would you? How would you say? Well, first of all, I knew that we really needed

to seek biblical counseling. That was not something that we did before we got married. And Derek was really excited to sit down with a counselor and talk about his feelings, but I just. Oh yeah, I'm sure. It's such a delight. As excited as Ed is to sit down with a counselor. I look forward to those moments. I tell people that going to see a therapist or a counselor is like going to the dentist. You dread it up until the point. And then when you walk out of the office, when you go to the dentist, you feel the clean teeth and you go, oh, that wasn't so bad. Well, that's kind of how I look at therapy. We just didn't know a ton about alcoholism and being an adult child of an alcoholic. So we knew we needed professional guidance. And so we did that and we kept the communication open of what that would look like in our home and the boundaries that we would have to have in place. And as our boys have gotten older to communicate, this is in our family history and it's something we're gonna have to be really careful and talk about. And just keeping that communication open, I think has been really important. That's great. That's a great, great, great answer. How about, Lisa, we were talking

as we were discussing this interview and watching this video. We were discussing the role of the church and both of you have done such a fantastic job of leaning into the church. Unpack that, like people say, lean into the church or you have maybe a family history that's difficult or whatever and you're trying to break that curse. Okay, how do you lean into the church? Even bring it back even to when you were a child. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. When I gave my life to Christ in seventh grade, really, I can look back now and see that the church put the right people around me in my life. They put the right friends around me. They put the right leaders around me as well and filling a lot of gaps that I think I was missing in my life that would have been way larger had I not been really a part of it. And so that was just showing up. I think a lot of times we think it's some big ornate thing of you have to do this, this, this, and this. So many times it's just showing up. That's right. Just being consistent time after time again. And the reality is that you're not gonna always feel like it. You're not always gonna wanna show up.

Sometimes there are Sundays even when our boys are like, do we have to go to church? Yes, we're going. This is what we do. There are many Sundays I don't wanna show up either. Absolutely, absolutely. And so for us, I think it was even from an early age we saw the benefit of showing up. And once your mom and Bob accepted Christ and got involved in the church, were they big on seeing that value in your life? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we made church really a priority for us on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights as well with our student program we had at the church and really just kind of building our life around the church starting from seventh, eighth grade. And you can see the effects of it in my life, my brothers and sisters, and my mom as well. That's awesome. I think about, you know, Derek, my family, I mean, I grew up, my mom struggled with depression and there were times, I remember vividly when I was like in the third grade, my dad had a very serious heart condition and they were just going through a lot of stuff. And looking back on that, I know that if it hadn't. had not have been for our involvement in the church, the support for our family, my mom actually having some sense of a moral compass,

a biblical worldview, how that we survived because of that. And so the church indeed is a hospital. It's a place for us to come and receive help. It's a cafeteria where we get nourishment. It's a home where we feel love and comfort. And more than anything, it's a place where we encounter God. And I'm just so thankful that we didn't have to do our parenting alone, that you don't have to do your parenting alone. I'm sure your boys maybe present some challenges at times. I don't know. They're so easy. It was really important for me that our boys heard outside voices, but that we're saying the same things that we were saying at home. And there have been times they would come home and say, you would never believe what they talked about at church. I'm like, no way. So I think partnering with the church, you're speaking the same language. And it means it carries more weight when it's not coming from mom or dad. And so I'm so incredibly thankful for the leaders who have poured into our boys and just raising them how we want them to be raised in the church. And Derek, here's a question for you. Sorry, honey. I had several.

But you could easily have a victim mentality. Like, look at my situation where I come and have somewhat of a chip on your shoulder. But just from our experience, just knowing you guys and also working with you, there have been times that you've been challenged with authority. Like, for example, Derek, you need to do, let's think about this. How could you correct this? And you receive authority very well, which is not typical of someone who grew up as you did. What do you think is that, what's the secret? What's the linchpin of that? Yeah, that's a great question. I think for me, it's recognizing and just understanding that ultimately God is my authority and he's gonna place the right people in my life and as my authority here on earth, that I trust him. And so ultimately, I'm gonna trust the leaders that he's put over my life. And I think it's a humility thing as well, where I know that I don't have it all figured out, that I'm still learning, still in process. I still mess up and make mistakes even to this day. And so I think it's seeing the grace that God has given to me and what he's done in my life when I've followed him and when I've said, all right, God, I trust you with the authority that you've placed over me

and the great things that have happened because of that. I think that's why it's been easier for me to continue to do that. I think too many people just really bail before the breakthrough. They get a little pushback and they say, all right, I'm out of here, I'm leaving. But when you really see that this is something that God has called you to and where God has brought you, you trust what he's doing in the process that you're going through. You know what's so amazing too, Lisa, is both Candace and Derek come from, you could call them broken homes. So it's interesting that both of you came from that background, yet you have said, okay, I've learned from the good, the bad, the ugly, and only by God's grace am I here. But what are some things you would tell us to do? Because so many of us come from broken homes. I would say more than 50% of people here come from situations like that. What are some take-homes you would give us? Well, Derek's really competitive, so he was like, we're staying married. You know what? I love a good challenge. Both of you, both of you. Whatever it takes. We're gonna show them.

But you know, both of you are very good athletes, just to do a sidebar. Derek's a great athlete. Candace was a power lifter. It's true, it's true. Power lifter. Of things I thought would not come up after that was. It's a couple college athletes up here. Just a couple college athletes up here. That's funny, Derek. It's really funny. Yeah. Go back to that question. Yeah, I think competitiveness, yeah, I think it is. I love a good challenge. I think it's also, we see the hurt that comes from a broken family, and the pain that's caused by that, and also the commitment to saying, hey, we're doing things differently. We are beginning something new, a new process moving forward, a new generational direction for the Donnelly family moving forward. And so I think for us, it's been something that we've continued to fight for. And what would you say, knowing that there are a lot of people, there may be some students here who they're having a hard time with Father's Day because they maybe don't respect the character of their dad or the position, or I don't know, they may not have respect. How do you reconcile or give them advice on behavior?

How do they need to behave? Yeah, for my own boys, Connor and Crew, just kidding. I think there's a difference between respect and honor. I think you don't necessarily have to respect somebody in order to honor them. I think the honor that you show somebody is really because of who God is. And so because this is what God's word says, that I'm to honor my mother and my father, regardless of what I think of their character even or what I think of their decisions, I can still honor them and show honor in how I talk to them and how I communicate and the things that I do. Obviously, you know, make sure it aligns with morally and biblically what God wants. But I think the honor side is something that God gives us to show from just a verbal standpoint, from a facial standpoint, and ultimately an action standpoint as well. That's beautiful. I wonder if we could bring up- Connor and Crew. Cove is in the- Connor, Crew, Cove is a little, maybe a little young to be up here right now. Is he here? Not one to bring Cove in here. He's in the Great FC Kids. Okay. Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. What's up, guys? How are y'all doing? Great. Great. Great. Great. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, just hang out by your mom and dad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're cool. Yeah. Very, very cool. Yeah, we're cool, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay, Candace, just pass that on to Connor. Connor, you just watched a film of your dad's life and your mom. What's your reaction? I was kind of surprised. I wasn't expecting it to go as in-depth as it was, but it really made me understand how hard it was for my dad, but also how he was able to bounce back

and really make our lives better and really just flip the generation where we can do, we're not just gonna be worrying about what my grandfather did. We're just gonna go better and move forward and make sure that my kids are gonna do good and my kids are gonna be here. Wow. And we're gonna do great. I love it. Wow. Do you, hey, do you wanna preach next Sunday? Sure. Come on. Oh my goodness. Okay, crew, you just say whatever you want. Well, no, don't say that. Oh, yeah. That was dangerous. Crew, you're a handsome young guy. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. So what were your feelings? I was actually really emotional about it. Like when I first watched it, I just kind of broke into tears because I just felt bad for my dad. Oh. But you have hope now because you see the difference. Yes, ma'am.

That's so good. Y'all, this is a family that has lived the life victoriously. And continues. And I mean, I'm just standing here looking at, you know, Derek and Candace, y'all are awesome, but you just wait till these three boys just start living, you know, and leading. Well, they're already leading. I mean, Connor, how many kids do you bring to students? Like, I mean, what's your record? What's your record number? So Unite Night, I think like a year and a half ago, we brought nine people or 10 people, and like eight of them got baptized that night. Unbelievable. You know, you know what I thought, yeah. I'm sorry, I just loved the correlation between, because I knew how Connor is such an inviter to the student, to the mix and everything, and their whole family, but when Derek made mention of the friend who invited him to church to fill a seat in that church in North Carolina, I couldn't help but think about how now Connor is doing that very same thing, and Cru, and I know Kovolt, too. It was really cool. Cru got to see Connor do it, and when we were living it out with Connor,

we're like, oh, maybe this is just something special, just like a one-time thing. And then Crew, it was almost like the torch was passed. They all drive now, so they can drive themselves to the mix. But now Crew is bringing friends. He saw it modeled, and so it's been really cool to see the ripple effect. And now he's bringing friends. So when Cove comes through, y'all can chaperone Cove, as he says. That's right, that's right. Well, you know, Lisa, what I thought about doing is I was thinking about a standing ovation. And we love to give standing ovations at sporting events, concerts. We give standing ovations when really, I mean, we shouldn't. This is a time, church. This is a time to give a standing ovation for the Donleys, come on now, at all of our campuses. Everybody. Come on. Because God can do this. Yes. Oh, there he is. There he is. We can do better than that. Come on. Okay. Awesome. Oh my God. Thank you guys so much.

Yes, thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you to the Donleys. So the next time you see the Donleys, please be seated. You'll know the story behind the glory of God. That's right. I just want to tell you, the next few weeks are going to be absolutely incredible. You won't believe the before and the after. It's going to, if you think today rocked your world, just wait. It's going to be amazing. You wait till next Sunday. I can't wait. But you realize this is all possible because a young man in the seventh grade said yes to Jesus. And that's what we're about here at Fellowship Church. It's presenting Jesus to every single person so that they too can find peace. Exactly. They too can find hope. They too can break generational bondage. And so we want to give you that opportunity. Maybe you're sitting here and this story has resonated with you. Maybe you're harboring some unforgiveness for your father, for someone in authority in your life, whatever it might be. And maybe you're wrestling with a sin of addiction and it's tough, it's tough,

but Jesus can change everything. So I'm going to invite you to pray a prayer. And this prayer is a cataclysmic prayer. It's a game changing prayer. It is to give your life to Jesus as a follower of Christ. It's a decision followed by a process. But first we have to make that decision. So if you've made that decision, I want you to pray for so many who need to make that decision today at all of our different locations. So would you bow your heads with me, whether you find yourself in Fort Worth or Dallas, whether you find yourself in Frisco or at Lasso Ranch or online, or at one of our prison locations. If you've never prayed this prayer, just pray this prayer along with me because this is a prayer that I prayed and that Lisa prayed in our lives years ago. Just say, God, to the best of my ability, I believe that you are my heavenly father. I want to admit to you, just say that, what you already know, which means to confess, doesn't it? I admit to you that I have sinned, that I've messed up. I believe, God, that you arranged the wrongdoings of the world, my sin, my shame, to be transferred to the shoulders of Jesus as he died on the cross for my sins. And I believe three days from now,

he rose again. So God, I admit to you who I am, a sinner. I turn from my sins and I receive your gift of forgiveness, of grace, of mercy. I give you everything that I am. By faith, I make this decision. So I give you everything I am and everything I am. So I give you everything I am and everything I'll ever be. Thank you, God. Thank you for rescuing me. And thank you for giving me a purpose, a plan, and a home in heaven. I look forward to seeing, heavenly father, what you're going to do through these decisions that were made today. We ask all these things in Christ's name, amen. If you made that, that's right, if you made that decision, if you prayed that prayer with me, make sure to take your phone and tap, see the little, yeah, QR code? Just, bing, tap that, and we will get back with you. And if you need to, or want to talk to someone right now, if you're like, man, I need prayer, I would like to just find out a little bit more about, Ed, what you were talking about. You know, Ed, I'm not quite there to make that decision. We have these beautiful tables with beautiful people here, the balcony. We have them at all of our different locations. Just walk up and go, hey, I've got a question,

or hey, I need a Bible, and we will hook you up. How about that, how about that? All right, JC, JC, those cowboy boots, man. I'm telling you what. Thank you, Pastor, great to see you. Come on, can we give it up for Pastor, and thank Derek for just sharing his story. You know, just as Pastor mentioned, you know, the reality is that Christianity is not a solo sport. We want to come alongside you and help you grow in your faith, so make sure, stop on by, meet some of these amazing people. We would love to personally help you with your next steps, and we want to be sure that you're joining us next Sunday as we're continuing this series. We're tackling a question that every single one of us, we've wrestled with, and it's why do bad things happen to good people? And I can tell you this, the story that we will be hearing will be genuinely inspiring, and only one that Jesus himself could write. And then the following week after that, we're celebrating 250 years as a country. We're celebrating being Americans. It's our freedom experience happening July 5th. And what's so cool is,

I know there are people in this room, you're probably looking for a Father's Day gift. Well, we've got something for you. Pastor Ed has designed this limited edition, God Bless America shirt. Make sure to pick one up, bring it to that father figure or that dad in your life, and make sure you mark your calendars for July 5th. And what's also cool, it's not just this, but we've even got more gifts available for you, a Father's Day bundle that you can pick up in the source right after this, with some brand new merch designed by Pastor Ed. And what's so cool is the fact that every single one of these things that are sold, all of the proceeds go right back into the ministry of Fellowship Church. So we hope that you are joining us and continuing to be a part of what's gonna take place. Before we head out, would you stand to your feet? We wanna declare this over our lives, and I better hear all the dads in the room say it with me. Here we go, here we go. Jesus, thank you that in you, I am loved, forgiven, and blessed. For you, I will reach up and worship, reach out to share my faith, and reach in to become more like you. And because of you, I know the best is yet to come. Happy Father's Day.

We'll see you next weekend. ♪ I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ Risen and reigning in power ♪