For two years, Dan found a rare sense of peace within those church walls. Attending every Sunday, he felt a profound connection to the church of his childhood—a feeling of finally being “home.” He was deeply grateful for the pastor’s teachings, which provided a spiritual foundation for his new path. But that sense of comfort ended abruptly on the morning his mother passed away.
Devastated, Dan attended the service and waited afterward, hoping for a few words of consolation from the man who had become his mentor. Instead, he witnessed something heart-wrenching: the pastor saw him waiting, turned, and slipped out the back door. After their initial encounter in the basement, the pastor had grown increasingly distant. Whether he felt threatened by Dan’s calling or realized that the DIFY Blueprints challenged his own traditional beliefs, he chose to avoid him. That Sunday was the last time Dan ever set foot in that church.
From Hurt to Healing
Years later, Dan’s perspective has shifted from resentment to empathy. He had recently watched a few of the sermons online. The pastor spoke of the church’s struggles during the pandemic, as the congregation’s numbers had declined and didn’t recover. Dan could also see that the many entertaining musical guests who performed before and after the sermon were now reduced to a single group led by the pastor’s wife. The pastor also told of his own personal trials, one of which included a direct attack on his life while he was inside the church.
Today, Dan bears no ill will. The abandonment, though painful, served a purpose: it forced him out of the comfort of the pews and into the world to fulfill his role as the Architect of DIFY. He has moved past the slights of the past, focusing entirely on the global mission ahead.