Pan Dulce

Moving To A New Site

Don’t let the headline fool you. Physically, I’m not going anywhere, but my blog—formerly known as Pan Dulce—is migrating to a new location, new format and new name—BucknerPrez.

I’ll continue to keep you up with the latest ministry happenings of Buckner International, as we work to transform lives through hands-on ministry, serving the most vulnerable from the beginning to the ending of life. 

I’m well into my second year as CEO and President of Buckner, and every morning I have to pinch myself and realize that God has given me the opportunity to lead this 135-year-old ministry. I am truly blessed by the Lord!

In recent weeks, I’ve been on the road, leading meetings of our Buckner employees. I leave every employee meeting convinced once again that we have some of the most dedicated and most passionate employees of any organization anywhere. Buckner is blessed by the quality of servant-leader employees that it has.

As I update you through my blog on what’s happening with Buckner, I pray that you will find a way to join us on this incredible journey we’re on to serve the most vulnerable.Whether it’s sponsoring a shoe drive through our Shoes for Orphan Souls ministry, or going on a mission trip with us, or giving of your resources, I’m sure that your life will be blessed.

Are you marked?

Sasha was adopted through the ministry of Buckner inter-country adoptions. Wow! I just saw her video and was amazed by her story. For over 135 years Buckner has been a place that shines hope in to the lives of vulnerable children, orphans, seniors, and their families. We believe that a healthy family is the best place for a child to grow, thrive, and succeed in life. Our heritage and history reveals a consistent pattern of serving the least of these and pointing the way to a redeemed life.

I suspect we all seek this kind of a life. A life redeemed from the harm, the hurt, the neglect, and a feeling that our lives don’t matter. The best life we can live is a life redeemed for an eternal purpose that can be experienced now and in the future, forever.

Buckner is about redemptive transformation. It all starts by being marked. Check out Sasha’s story about being marked.

If you want to learn more about our work at Buckner, check us out at www.buckner.org; if you want to engage with us to serve vulnerable children, check out www.itsyourmission.org; or if you simple want to bless a child with a new pair of shoes through a shoe drive, look us up at www.shoesfororphansouls.com. Choose an act of kindness to shine light into the life of a vulnerable child.

The Heart of Business: Wisdom for Success in Any Economy

For many years I have relied on a cycle of reading through the Proverbs, a collection of the Wisdom of Solomon, one of the wisest kings in the history of the planet. Since there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, I find it easy to match up a daily chapter reading with the date of each day for a pattern of reading and reflection.

I find that if I do this on a somewhat regular schedule, I cycle through the Proverbs multiple times in a year. The next result is that I become very familiar with principles of wisdom from King Solomon. These daily readings become increasingly familiar and the Wisdom of Solomon begins to penetrate and shape my way of thinking. My way of thinking begins to shape my actions and principles for living and working. So, by now you’ve guessed it: I am a big fan of the Proverbs of Solomon.

Then, something very exciting happened. A close friend recently shared with me that he had written a book on the Proverbs of Solomon and integrated wisdom principles with the story of his business. In his book The Heart of Business: Wisdom for Success in Any Economy, Raymond Harris, explains how the Wisdom of Solomon can be applied to work, more specifically to running a business. I just finished the book and would recommend it highly to anyone seriously interested in mining wisdom principles for life and work.

It is one of the most practical books I have read in quite some time. Fair warning, though: you may have to rethink some of your habits and business practices after you read this book.

People have often asked: Is Buckner a business or a ministry? I usually respond by saying, “Yes.” We are in the business of shining hope in the lives of vulnerable children and their families and by offering dignity and purposeful living for those at the end of life. Our business is ministry, serving others.

I might recommend this book to you because Raymond has become “…a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24)” to me. I might recommend the book to you because Raymond tells a fascinating story of the growth of his business. But the truth is, this book is a unique combination of wisdom principles and practical, real world experience told in the first person. This kind of practical and applied wisdom in the form of counsel is hard to find.

I hope you will consider taking a look at this powerful book. I am certain you will find wisdom for life.

Buckner Day at the Rangers 2014

One of the greatest joys I have leading Buckner is working with such a creative group of leaders in our Communications Group to share the Buckner story. Scott Collins, VP for Communications at Buckner, and his team did an outstanding job helping us host Buckner Day at the Rangers. The Rangers won the game over the Astros by 1-0 but the biggest news was all the activity that took place before and after the game.

The Rangers organization collaborated with us to make this a special day by hosting Mercy Me after the game for a concert. Hats off to Jay Miller, Executive Vice President for Rangers Enterprises, for facilitating such an enjoyable evening. I am so impressed with Texas Rangers, a world class organization, because they were willing to work with Buckner to host a Christian contemporary concert right after the game. I am also grateful for the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation for donating tickets for children to attend a Major League Baseball game.

The star of the night was Elijah, an 11 year old boy, who had the thrill of throwing out the first pitch. This was his night and he did a great job getting the game started. Mercy Me did an outstanding job singing the National Anthem and later presented a top notch concert.

The Rangers vs. Astros game drew a crowd of about 38,000 and the Mercy Me concert drew a crowd of about 20,000 to 25,000. Part of the pre-concert promotion was a video on the big board about launching Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls and our 2014 campaign to raise 3 million pairs of shoes for children all around the world to coincide our 15^th anniversary for this ministry.

Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, Mercy Me, and friends….Can it get any better than that?

It can only get better if you decide to join us in 2014 to conduct a Shoe Drive for Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls. You might want to conduct a shoe drive, collect shoes on your birthday rather than gifts, come to Dallas and sort shoes; or go on a shoe trip with us to put shoes on the children selected to participate. Go to www.shoesfororphansouls.com to help us reach 3 million pairs of shoes by the end of this year.

Blinded by the Light

Today I had the privilege of preaching at our home church, Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Our Sr. Pastor, Dr. Jeff Warren, invited me to preach in two worship services in the sanctuary. I consider this opportunity a high privilege and honor as a way to serve in our church. Dr. Warren preached in the Great Hall and Sam Silva preached in the Bilingual Service all under the same theme. I served with Worship Pastors Miller Cunningham in the early service and Stephen Carrell in the second service. Both of these servants do an outstanding job leading in worship. This was an exceptional day at Park Cities. Friends from Buckner came to hear me preach and my sons and wife were in one of the services as well. I anticipate great things at Park Cities during the upcoming Easter season.

You can find the podcast of the message at www.pcbc.org under sermons this week. Here are some of the main points of the message I preached today:

1. God’s saving grace can rescue anyone.

2. Jesus, the risen Lord, is on a mission to rescue you and me. (Acts 9:1-9)

3. Jesus, the risen Lord, is on a mission to rescue us on purpose (Acts 9:10-19)

4. Jesus, the risen Lord, rescues me for a personal mission (Acts 9:20-31)

Some of the sound-bites from today’s message are:

• Religious people can be really mean.

• Rescue from religion often times means confrontation.

• The Lord loves you so much he is willing to knock you off your high horse to get your attention and draw you through his love and grace.

• The Lord is not trying to pay you back, he is trying to bring you back.

• The Lord, who is on mission to rescue us, will often use agents of redemption, like Ananias, to help reach others.

• The Lord chooses you before you choose him.

• There is no hardship, no struggle, no pain, no loss, no darkness, no difficulty that is beyond the Redeemer’s reach to bring you to your kingdom purpose.

• What is your specific mission assignment? Life is too short to miss it.

• When you do your assignment, you will bless your church.

As I reflect on this message, I think of the work that Buckner is doing in Texas, across the USA, and in seven countries around the world. We work with churches like Park Cities to collaborate with the Lord as he rescues vulnerable children, orphans, and their families from a life without hope. That is why we say Hope Shines Here! Everyday, we point children and families to hope. Join us at www.buckner.org to learn how you can engage with us to strengthen families to serve them and redeem their Kingdom purpose.