Called of God
| "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." -Eph. 2:8 |
| Moore Street Tabernacle "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." -Matt. 5:16 |
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| Called of God The Testimony of Pastor Danny Pancake |
I am the seventh child in a family of nine: four brothers
and four sisters. My salvation story really begins in the
fall of 1960. I was five years old when, after a time of
sickness, my dad went to church one evening and
came home a different, (saved) person. From that day
all I ever wanted to be was a Christian. It was the day
my family began to have a real home life. Before that
time dad was a drinker and was intoxicated often.
After that experience life became somewhat normal for
a few years.
Even with this life changing event my parents were not
committed Christians. They attended church
sporadically at best. In February 1968 my dad had a
massive heart attack and died four days later. He was
and four sisters. My salvation story really begins in the
fall of 1960. I was five years old when, after a time of
sickness, my dad went to church one evening and
came home a different, (saved) person. From that day
all I ever wanted to be was a Christian. It was the day
my family began to have a real home life. Before that
time dad was a drinker and was intoxicated often.
After that experience life became somewhat normal for
a few years.
Even with this life changing event my parents were not
committed Christians. They attended church
sporadically at best. In February 1968 my dad had a
massive heart attack and died four days later. He was
you could predict what would happen next.
In spite of this, I don’t remember a single day that God didn’t remind me I should be
saved: I had no idea how to go about being saved. When I was old enough to drive I used
to spend time in some local bars playing pool, hanging out with my older brothers, but I
always had the sense that this was not where I belonged. I used to drive by those same
bars on my way to and from school; every time I passed them the Lord would speak to my
heart and say this is not my will for you. This is strange since I had no idea how to be saved
or really what His will even meant.
I graduated form high school in May 1973. Having no idea what I wanted to do in life, I
took a little job working for my cousin in a car-hop restaurant he had opened. That’s when
God really turned up the heat. Everyday an odd fellow would show up to eat lunch or
dinner (seemed like he timed it so I would be there). I worked inside so he would come in
and sit at the counter to eat. Before he would eat he would always say a prayer; that had
an impact on me. He would try to witness to me but I would brush it off and act like I wasn’
t listening. He said Dan I’m going to pray that you won’t eat or sleep well until you get
saved. I dismissed it, of course, but it so happened (by God’s grace) I was already having
trouble eating or sleeping because of my lost condition. I was so scared to die knowing I
would go straight to hell even though I didn’t really understand what all that meant.
On August 20th 1973 I went to church with that odd fellow and went forward to pray at
the alter. I didn’t find the peace I thought I would so he asked me to come to his house
after church and talk. There, while listening to gospel music, I asked the Lord to come into
my heart and to my surprise He did. He let me know without doubt He had saved my soul.
I’ve never been able to explain what happened in me but I have never gotten over the
effect of that one moment in my life. It changed me forever.
Later I drifted from church for a while. I had a biblical difference of opinion with the leader
of the church, not an argument just that I felt they were not interpreting the word of God
correctly. I should have sought another place to worship but did not. So I drifted away
from church altogether for about three years. While in this backslidden condition I met my
wife who was at the time catholic. We were soon married in her church and about eighteen
months later we welcomed our first child, Amy.
The evening she was born I was playing country music with my brother and a group of
friends at a bar. When we finished our first set I walked up to the bar to get a drink. Before
I could order a voice spoke to me from the inside and said what are you doing here? I
recognized that voice; I had never heard anything like it before but I knew it was God and I
knew what He meant. The message wasn’t loving and tender it was forceful and corrective.
It literally scared me until I was shaking and I knew I must obey or there would be
consequences. I told the guys I’ll never be back, and I never did. Following this event I
was waiting for someone to invite me to church (I’m sure there are some people waiting
like that even now). In January 1978 a friend of mine was wonderfully saved and invited
me to come to church with him so I went and within a few days recommitted my life to the
Lord.
We were allowed to witness the beginning of the greatest God-sent revival I’ve ever seen.
In the following weeks hundreds of people were saved or rededicated to the Lord. People
were coming from everywhere to get right with God. Some we had never dreamed would
even be interested were being saved. One of those was my wife. Just weeks later she
was saved and God changed our home forever for the better. In August of the same year I
began preaching the gospel. Less than a year later we welcomed our second child
Amanda. She has never known a day in the house of unsaved or uncommitted parents;
God is so good to us.
I’d like to say I have never had any sinful tendency since then but that is not true. I’ve
wrestled with one thing and then another all of my life, like everyone else. I’ve had battles
without and within but God has never given up on me. My worst enemy is and always has
been me. I’d say that I, like many others, am living proof that God saves sinners and once
saved God keeps His children through all phases of life. He used every sinful tendency,
every wrong decision and every mistake to teach me right from wrong and to prove how
much He loves me. He never tires of working on my character and attitudes; I never seem
to learn anything the easy way. I’m never bored because the Christian life has many turns
and I am confident that He is orchestrating every one. My goals from here in life are simple:
Serve God with all my heart for what is left of my life, be a faithful and loving husband to
my wife, be a consistent godly model to my children, be a great papa for my grandchildren
be a faithful, prayerful, committed pastor to our congregation. This also is the correct order:
if I don’t love and honor God, or if I don’t love my family I am disqualified from the
ministry of serving Him.
More than anything in the world I want to be what God wants me to be, and if He is
gracious to me, I want to see one more real awakening in my lifetime, a wave of saving
grace, from God the Holy Spirit. I have nothing to brag about except that God loves me
and saved me. As I look at my life objectively most anyone would say I should have done
it differently, because I should have. I am not jealous of any other human being or what
they have achieved. No one else has any position or possession I would like to call mine. I
am also not holding onto anything other than God and my family because, if I’ve learned
anything, I’ve learned I really own nothing. But oh, if I could just once more catch a
glimpse of His glory as He breathes life upon His church, with such power and divine
presence in saving souls and cleansing lives, that would be a tremendous added joy to my
life.
This is the only time I’ve ever written my testimony and this doesn’t really tell the story very
well. There are details known only to God, only a few of which I understand, that make my
life what it is. Mine, like yours, is not a story of works that I have done but it is a story of
His love and grace, of His mercy and forgiveness. If these were my last words, I’d simply
say, to God be the glory. To know God what can any person want more? By His Grace I
know Him: better He knows me. I will soon go to heaven, when I go I want to leave
behind a family that will miss me like crazy and a church that says he’ll be difficult to
replace. That's all. Praise God!
In spite of this, I don’t remember a single day that God didn’t remind me I should be
saved: I had no idea how to go about being saved. When I was old enough to drive I used
to spend time in some local bars playing pool, hanging out with my older brothers, but I
always had the sense that this was not where I belonged. I used to drive by those same
bars on my way to and from school; every time I passed them the Lord would speak to my
heart and say this is not my will for you. This is strange since I had no idea how to be saved
or really what His will even meant.
I graduated form high school in May 1973. Having no idea what I wanted to do in life, I
took a little job working for my cousin in a car-hop restaurant he had opened. That’s when
God really turned up the heat. Everyday an odd fellow would show up to eat lunch or
dinner (seemed like he timed it so I would be there). I worked inside so he would come in
and sit at the counter to eat. Before he would eat he would always say a prayer; that had
an impact on me. He would try to witness to me but I would brush it off and act like I wasn’
t listening. He said Dan I’m going to pray that you won’t eat or sleep well until you get
saved. I dismissed it, of course, but it so happened (by God’s grace) I was already having
trouble eating or sleeping because of my lost condition. I was so scared to die knowing I
would go straight to hell even though I didn’t really understand what all that meant.
On August 20th 1973 I went to church with that odd fellow and went forward to pray at
the alter. I didn’t find the peace I thought I would so he asked me to come to his house
after church and talk. There, while listening to gospel music, I asked the Lord to come into
my heart and to my surprise He did. He let me know without doubt He had saved my soul.
I’ve never been able to explain what happened in me but I have never gotten over the
effect of that one moment in my life. It changed me forever.
Later I drifted from church for a while. I had a biblical difference of opinion with the leader
of the church, not an argument just that I felt they were not interpreting the word of God
correctly. I should have sought another place to worship but did not. So I drifted away
from church altogether for about three years. While in this backslidden condition I met my
wife who was at the time catholic. We were soon married in her church and about eighteen
months later we welcomed our first child, Amy.
The evening she was born I was playing country music with my brother and a group of
friends at a bar. When we finished our first set I walked up to the bar to get a drink. Before
I could order a voice spoke to me from the inside and said what are you doing here? I
recognized that voice; I had never heard anything like it before but I knew it was God and I
knew what He meant. The message wasn’t loving and tender it was forceful and corrective.
It literally scared me until I was shaking and I knew I must obey or there would be
consequences. I told the guys I’ll never be back, and I never did. Following this event I
was waiting for someone to invite me to church (I’m sure there are some people waiting
like that even now). In January 1978 a friend of mine was wonderfully saved and invited
me to come to church with him so I went and within a few days recommitted my life to the
Lord.
We were allowed to witness the beginning of the greatest God-sent revival I’ve ever seen.
In the following weeks hundreds of people were saved or rededicated to the Lord. People
were coming from everywhere to get right with God. Some we had never dreamed would
even be interested were being saved. One of those was my wife. Just weeks later she
was saved and God changed our home forever for the better. In August of the same year I
began preaching the gospel. Less than a year later we welcomed our second child
Amanda. She has never known a day in the house of unsaved or uncommitted parents;
God is so good to us.
I’d like to say I have never had any sinful tendency since then but that is not true. I’ve
wrestled with one thing and then another all of my life, like everyone else. I’ve had battles
without and within but God has never given up on me. My worst enemy is and always has
been me. I’d say that I, like many others, am living proof that God saves sinners and once
saved God keeps His children through all phases of life. He used every sinful tendency,
every wrong decision and every mistake to teach me right from wrong and to prove how
much He loves me. He never tires of working on my character and attitudes; I never seem
to learn anything the easy way. I’m never bored because the Christian life has many turns
and I am confident that He is orchestrating every one. My goals from here in life are simple:
Serve God with all my heart for what is left of my life, be a faithful and loving husband to
my wife, be a consistent godly model to my children, be a great papa for my grandchildren
be a faithful, prayerful, committed pastor to our congregation. This also is the correct order:
if I don’t love and honor God, or if I don’t love my family I am disqualified from the
ministry of serving Him.
More than anything in the world I want to be what God wants me to be, and if He is
gracious to me, I want to see one more real awakening in my lifetime, a wave of saving
grace, from God the Holy Spirit. I have nothing to brag about except that God loves me
and saved me. As I look at my life objectively most anyone would say I should have done
it differently, because I should have. I am not jealous of any other human being or what
they have achieved. No one else has any position or possession I would like to call mine. I
am also not holding onto anything other than God and my family because, if I’ve learned
anything, I’ve learned I really own nothing. But oh, if I could just once more catch a
glimpse of His glory as He breathes life upon His church, with such power and divine
presence in saving souls and cleansing lives, that would be a tremendous added joy to my
life.
This is the only time I’ve ever written my testimony and this doesn’t really tell the story very
well. There are details known only to God, only a few of which I understand, that make my
life what it is. Mine, like yours, is not a story of works that I have done but it is a story of
His love and grace, of His mercy and forgiveness. If these were my last words, I’d simply
say, to God be the glory. To know God what can any person want more? By His Grace I
know Him: better He knows me. I will soon go to heaven, when I go I want to leave
behind a family that will miss me like crazy and a church that says he’ll be difficult to
replace. That's all. Praise God!
