NO. 1153 -- A MILLION DOLLARS OR DEATH!
No. 1153
Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN
A MILLION DOLLARS OR DEATH!
Several weeks ago I received a letter from Col. Mike Miller, senior pastor of Family Day Ministries in Shepherdsville, Ky. Col. Miller is truly a unique individual. He is a retired police officer, with more than 22 years of experience as a street cop and 28 years in the ministry. He is also the founder of two non-profit ministries that have reached thousands of families.
He was writing me in regards to my column titled, “Your Decisions Will Affect Your Family” that had just run in their local newspaper. He went on to share with me that 10 years ago he wrote a book titled, “Family Day, A Day That America Needs Again.” And after reading his book of only 80 pages, I totally agree.
In his book he explains many concepts that have tremendous merit in helping our nation get back on the right track of rebuilding our families. He said, “When my wife Melissa and I started to preach about this, it was not well received in the church because it had always been preached, God, Church and Family.” He in turn, preached God, Family and then the Church, because without the family, you don’t have a church. If you will think about this a moment, I believe you will agree that he is right.
Mike goes on to say that here, years later, preachers began to catch on to his message of God, Family and Church. His book has gone across America, thousands of families are being led back to a committed relationship with Jesus Christ, and their families are being restored. He said, “Last year one preacher bought 3,000 copies of my book and sent them to every one of his supporters, not only in America, but around the world.” He tells me, and I know he is sincere, that he is not trying to promote his book but rather he is thanking me for “telling the truth” with regards to my column, “Your Decisions Will Affect Your Family.”
What I have just shared with you is the backdrop for an important decision that Mike and Melissa made in relation to their own family. They were both so caught up in their jobs and ministry -- sometimes over 80 hours a week -- that they were not spending quality time with each other and with their two teenaged children. After some time of soul-searching and praying about this matter, they made a decision to begin to have a “Family Day” each week, to do things together, and not let anything take precedence on this special day.
At this time they were involved in a ministry they had started in Louisville, Ky., called “River City Love Squad,” where they met the needs of the homeless and needy people on the streets of downtown Louisville. It reached a point they had 40 churches of all backgrounds coming together to feed the poor every Monday night at an outside camp meeting service. This ministry has been in just about every newspaper in the area, and has been the top story on every local news channel in Louisville many times. They also had the privilege of being invited to speak about the ministry on Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Christian TV network in the world.
When the Millers started their “Family Day,” they made a commitment that only a million dollar gift to their ministry or death of a family or staff member would disrupt their quality time together. Any informed person knows that the breakdown of the family has caused most of America’s social problems, and Col. Mike’s “Family Day” concept could make a real difference.
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(Editor’s Note: THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY – Begin your day on a positive note – 365 days for $12. This will benefit the Bookcase for Every Child project. Go to www.apositivemomentwithjim.com to subscribe.)
