A Preacher’s Prayer

Darel Boston

Description

Through a collection of stories and poetry, this spirituality book offers keen insight into the life of a minister and his family.
Preaching, at its best, is God inspired and directed to and through a preacher. That preacher keeps feeling his need, keeps studying God’s word, and stays open to the spirit. In A Preacher’s Prayer, author Darel Boston shares the stories of his life—before he became a minister, during his long tenure, and the insights and lessons he gained throughout his many and varied experiences both in the United States and abroad.
Beginning with his birth in 1936, Boston chronicles his journey, through his childhood and high school years, his college and seminary time, and ministries in Indianapolis, Norton and Junction City, KS.
A Preacher’s Prayer offers keen insight into the unique life of a minister and a minister’s family. Boston’s life, ministry, and poetry show an enduring relationship with God that serves to inspire and encourage others in their Christian lives.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Preaching
• Missions
• Christian Living
• Inspirational
• Philosophie et théologie
• Prayer
• Faithful
• Family
• Church
• Spirit

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 18 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664299207
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

A PREACHER’S PRAYER
DAREL BOSTON


Copyright © 2023 Darel Boston.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. (Public Domain)
 
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9921-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9922-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9920-7 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023908135
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 07/17/2023
CONTENTS
Foreword
Preface
Part 1:Stories from My Life
1.Birth and Boyhood (1936–1954)
2.College Years (1954–1958)
3.Indianapolis Years (1958–1967)
4.First Norton (1967-1986)
5.Junction City (1986–2009)
6.Second Norton (2009–)
Part 2:Confessions of a Grateful Preacher
Part 3:Poetry

 
 
 
 
 
I dedicate this book to Jo Ann Boston, our son Dean, and our daughter Diana. I have been continually blessed by them and wonderfully encouraged to complete this project.
Jo Ann left before I got it done but was key to getting it started! Diana listened to my many woes about each failure, and there were many, but kept urging me on.
Dean responded to more questions that had already been answered than any internet tech should endure! But his patience endured, and “impossible” has been erased! PTL
Love you and yours … much.
—Dad
FOREWORD
We were singing at a special event the college was hosting. Our role was to uplift the alumni and donors in the room and inspire them. As we sang, I made eye contact with those in the room; and as I scanned the room, my eyes connected with a face in the crowd that began to inspire me more than I could ever inspire him. He was smiling from ear to ear, and I could tell he was honestly enjoying every second of our singing.
After the event was over, I had the privilege of meeting that inspiring person. I discovered he was a pastor in western Kansas who was not only an alum of MCC but also served on the MCC board. I quickly realized he was a man I wanted and needed in my life. That first meeting changed my life, and I am so grateful to say that the forty plus years I have known Darel Boston have proven that what I saw in his eyes years ago is only more real in person.
Darel is the consummate pastor, a great preacher, and a creative poet. He is an encourager, a prayer warrior, a godly servant, and an evangelist in every sense of the word.
As you read this book, know that the person who wrote it is the real deal. He writes from the experience of decades of successful ministry as well as the foundation of an immense love for God and His people.
My prayer for you is that the words Darel has written will inspire you just as much as knowing Darel Boston in person has inspired me. Darel’s prayer for you is that you will be a faithful servant of God, seeking His will, sharing His words, and loving His people!
With deep appreciation and love,
Kevin Ingram
President, Manhattan Christian College
PREFACE
Writing this book has become my idea, but not before others suggested it. Occasionally I would read a poem and some listener would ask whether I was ever going to get the poems published. As we got older, Jo Ann would suggest that we write down some experiences and events we had shared so our grandchildren and great-grandchildren could read of them. I considered writing something about ministry that might be helpful to other preachers, especially those just getting started.
When Jo Ann died, I was still in “probably sometime” mode: yes, I wanted to do a book, and “probably sometime” I would. She would have been wonderfully helpful had I written while she was with me. But her passing opened time I never seemed to have before. The book has been an off-and-on project for more than two years.
I have vacillated between free flow and desert, easy times and difficult. But I have enjoyed most of the enterprise and am looking forward to editing and completing this work. I hope many will read and enjoy it, but my prayer is that also it will offer nurture for the soul.
To God be the Glory,
Darel Boston
10/25/2022
Part 1
STORIES FROM MY LIFE
Chapter 1
BIRTH AND BOYHOOD (1936–1954)
ON THE FARM
I STARTED LIFE ON A FARM near Washington, Kansas. Wanda was my three-and-a-half-year-old sister who always took good care of her little brother. Our parents were Clyde and Mildred Boston. My sister and I were always loved, and we knew how proud our parents are of us. We sang for school and church events. Mom played piano for us and later regretted that she gave piano lessons only to Wanda.
Mom would say things like “You were really cute when you were little,” and I would chide her for implying I turned out ugly later. Folks called our neighborhood the Dewey Community, with Pleasant View School and a Methodist church also called Dewey. I never learned who Dewey was, but his name lingered on.
I am indebted to my mother for writing some details of my birth and first years. We lived on a rented farm nine miles northwest of Washington when I was born, and we moved when I was two and a half to a farm Dad bought (complete with mortgage) only a couple of miles southwest of there. When I started school at age six (no kindergarten), my teacher was Phyllis Benne, and next came Edna Perkins for second grade. She was sister to my uncle Olin Bennett, who had married my mother’s sister Irene. (I doubt that it influenced the grades she gave me, and if so, who can say whether it was a positive or negative influence?)
I remember some good times on the farm. Wanda and I rode with some neighbor kids to a birthday party after a rain, and the horse and carriage took us where a car could not have gone. We rode Dimples, our Shetland pony, to get the cows from the pasture for milking. I rode behind and held on tight. Note the picture of Dimples with three passengers. We look happy, but not so sure about the pony.

Dimples, with Cousin Sharon Bennett, Wanda, and Darel.
Dad was fixing the fence and needed the oil can from the shop way across the field. I went and got it and noticed the thumb-pusher would let me shoot oil at every fence post along the way. The can was dry by the time it got to Dad. He was not too happy about that.
I was about six when I rode Dimples to the mailbox, which was a quarter mile away, and leaned over to get the mail. Dimples stepped aside, and I fell off. I hurt my arm but was angry at the pony. Across the road was a gate I could climb, so I managed to get back on the pony and ride home. I ended up with a cast on a broken arm.
Our dog’s name was Happy; we called him Hap. I seemed to be his exception to friendship and dreaded his low, deep-throated growl when I wanted to walk past him to get into the house. I did not shed any tears when we moved to town and had to leave him behind. He may have qualified as man’s best friend, but not mine.
Our grandparents, Frank and Carrie Gassert, lived in Morrowville, some six miles southwest from us. We went there often, attended church, shopped, got haircuts, and went to the outdoor movie (Gene Autry and Roy Rogers come to mind). Granddad Frank Gassert and Lloyd Bonar were the farm implement dealers there (McCormick Deering-Farmall), but in 1944, Granddad and Grandma, plus our family, moved to Washington. Dad and Granddad G. became Gassert Implement Company, the Allis-Chalmers dealership in Washington.
THE MOVE TO WASHINGTON
I remember some fears as I moved from a country school with very few students to a school where my third-grade class had thirty-two! I entered with fear and trembling. The fears did not last. I soon had friends and enjoyed my years with them. My grades were As, Bs, and Cs; my mother kept report cards, and I have enjoyed reviewing them in recent years.
My dad bought a three-story house with a spiral staircase and a full basement. It was centered on two city lots, giving plenty of yard and garden space. What a fun place to grow up! The neighbors next door also ran an implement business and had children.

Boston family home.
My best memory of the lady next door was the day she shouted across both yards to my mother, “The war is over!” What terrific news! The end of World War II meant something very personal for everybody, and for this young kid, it meant