TGC’s Ordinary Pastors Project seeks to find wisdom and honor in faithfulness, demonstrated in varied contexts. Learn more from the introduction by Matt B. Redmond. If you’d like to honor and encourage the ordinary pastor who shaped you, tell us about him in about 500 words and include a photo, or record a video testimonial of five minutes or less and send the link to [email protected]. This submission comes from Bryan Catherman.
Every so often, a pastor faithfully injects himself into a life, putting fire to fuse, igniting the cannon that sends that life sailing on mission toward a far-off target. Pastor Danny Braga (pictured at right) is just such a pastor, and my life is just such a cannon ball. I met Dan when he introduced himself the day I was moving into the duplex next to him. He was seven months out from launching to Seattle to plant a church. I, on the other hand, was a struggling veteran of the Iraq war and jaded by my 1980s and 1990s Christian upbringing. It wasn’t long before my family and his were regularly sharing dinners and discussing theology. He was extremely patient with me and yet did not shy away from challenging me to bring the dark things of my life into the light. Before long, my wife and I were ready to plant a church with Dan’s family. But God had other plans and called my wife and me to Salt Lake City. We are now active and happy in our local church community, and I am headed into my last year of seminary. I am prayerfully considering applying for a PhD in theology and apologetics.
Pastor Danny was instrumental in launching me on my trajectory of God’s calling. Neither he nor I could see the target, but he faithfully lit the fuse. His passion for good doctrinal teaching is infectious, and his desire to bring theology into practical application is an outstanding example for any pastor. He loves God, which is easily observable in the way he loves people. The most surprising aspect of Dan is his understanding that when he ignites the fuses of other people’s cannons, there is a high probability that they will be launched on mission far away from him. We are now separated by many miles, as are so many other people that encounter Braga. Pastor Danny has no desire to build a megachurch under him; instead, he longs to faithfully be a part of the construction project of Christ’s church throughout the entire world. His encouragement for me then and for those around him today is simply this: “Live sent.”
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
