Unconventional Christian Pastor Preaches Acceptance

PASTOR PROFILE

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The proverbial doors at Springdale Christian Church are always open. Inside, worshipers find a man with a long beard, camouflage Cabella’s stocking cap, a Carhartt shirt, jeans and hiking boots. He is Daniel Dickard, the church pastor.

The comparisons to the men of “Duck Dynasty” come naturally. Dickard even talks about his and his sons’ beards - all three have one.

Dickard handles similarities well.

“I love Phil Robertson,” Dickard said. “He’s an awesome man. But I didn’t pattern my life after him.”

The Daniel Dickard people see is the real Daniel Dickard, he said - the one who enjoys being out in the woods and hunting with his family. A deer skin (tanned by hiswife, Debbie) hangs over his desk; trophy heads line the walls along with the minister’s collection of books; and everything is covered in camo - even his Bible.

“I just want to be real,” Dickard said. “In our culture we have gotten used to looking for gimmicks. I’m not going to sell you a bill of goods.

“It’s the opposite of phony,” he continued. “Allowing people to see who you are and trustingthem to accept you. God knows who we are. We don’t have to be afraid and change our outward appearance.”

Dickard grew up in Johnson, then ran his own welding shop in Hogeye. He got his call to ministry when he was 19.

“I was just working as a welder, and I knew this is what I was supposed to do.”

He attended the Preston Rhodes School of Preaching in Texas. Then served his home congregation, Johnson Church of Christ. His current congregation keeps no ties other than Christianity.

“When I was in school, they told me to shave and clean up and that I talked like an Arkansas hillbilly,” Dickard said. “So I played the religion game for a few years. I wore a coat and tie.

“But that’s not the real me,” he continued. “The real Daniel wanted out. So he came out in 1992. I celebrated ‘No Shave November.’ And I try to be the best Daniel I can for Jesus.”

Dickard is never out of uniform. The same clothes he wears during the week, the same clothes he wears in the woods, he wears when preaching Sunday morning.

“My congregation probably wonders how many Carhartt T-shirts I have,” he said. “It’s 25.

“They tell you that, if you want to feel the presence of Jesus, go to church - but clean up fi rst,” Dickard continues. “But it should always be about Jesus - always about Jesus, not the way you’re dressed.”

“Jesus had a beard and wore sandals,” member Bobby Chambers pointed out.

“Jesus accepts you where you are, even if he fi nds you in a T-shirt and boots,” Dickard said. “If we want to live for him, we should accept a person for where they are, who they are.”

COMFORTS OF HOME

Dickard’s acceptance built his congregation to be what he lovingly called the “Island of Misfi t Toys.”

“But they are the most loving bunch,” he said. “They some how put up with me. They’re real, and they let me be real.”

Included in the 80 people who worshiped there on a recent Sunday morning were policemen, school bus drivers, teachers, truck drivers, security guards ... those of the working middle class and poor, he said

Dickard shared his “biscuit analogy” about his congregation. When his wife makes homemade biscuits, she uses a round cutter to make perfect circles out of the dough. When she’s got the last of the dough, she pats it in her hands and places it on the cooking sheet.

“Nobody takes that biscuit,” Dickard said. “But it’s bigger, holds jelly better and tastes just as good. This person is just as good as one of those biscuit cutter people.”

His lessons along those lines led the church to openthe Christians United Pantry to help those in the bigger community who need it.

“I have never felt so comfortable and loved as I do at the church,” said member Angie Basset. “And 90 percent of that comes from Daniel. He makes me want to do more for my community and family.”

“(Daniel is) always welcoming to me when I attend service and doesn’t treat me any different than the other members,” said Basset’s daughter Kasey Hodges. Hodges attends Hendrix College in Conway and lives in a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy.

The 10 a.m. Sunday service at Springdale Christian Church reflects Dickard’s emphasis on acceptance. Wearing his T-shirt, jeans and boots, Dickard walks as he speaks.

His roaming makes some people nervous, he admitted. “I think they’re afraid to go to sleep.”

Members, too, dress comfortably. They carry in coffee and doughnuts from the 9:40 a.m. fellowship, and one guy even gets up to refi ll his cup before Dickard starts his sermon.

“I guess he really is scared he’ll go to sleep,” Dickard laughed, which happens often in a talk or a service.

“(Dickard) puts a great deal of thought into his messages and relates everything from the Bible to our day to day lives,” Basset said. “He’s funny, witty and really down to earth.”

Dickard also leads a men’s Bible study in his home called “Burgers, Beer and Bible.”

“Some nights it might be brisket or hot dogs,” he said. “We do drink beer, but nobody gets drunk.

“We’re human, we make mistakes,” he said. “Jesus liked to hang out with sinners.”

Dickard said people in his church still struggle with “Will people really love me the way I am?”

“But I see it every day,” he said “The church really loves the real person.”

“I never feel like I’m being judged,” Basset said, “but we all have so much to learn.” TRUE LOVE

Members spoke of Dickard’s commitment.

“He is my spiritual and marital adviser,” Basset said. “He really cares about his family as a second family. He is like the uncle I never had.”

Chambers’ wife, Beth, who is diabetic, passed out one morning, and Chambers couldn’t get her up.

“He was there in a heartbeat to help me,” Chambers said.

“He will talk with you about a problem until the problem is gone,” Chambers continued. “He’s just that type of guy.”

Chambers and his wife knew to join the church after Chambers’ six-hour surgery. Dickard was visiting a member in the hospital, and recognized Beth from another job. Although they weren’t members, Dickard stayed with Beth for the entire six hours. Then, he visited and prayed with Bobby twice a day.

Recently, doctors diagnosed Dickard with an aortic aneurysm. “It’s not a death sentence,” he said. “But I feel like I’ve got a ticking time bomb.

“It has made me face my own mortality,” he continued. “Life is truly short. I don’t need to waste a minute of the time I’m given.

“I’ve gotten to know and sense the power and wonder of God. I know death is just the beginning,” he said.

Dickard’s hospitalization allowed him to experience the love his members share.

“Suddenly, people were coming to the hospital to visit me for the first time ever, saying ‘We’ve come to pray with you,’” Dickard said.

“They touched my heart and made me feel I was loved. I didn’t expect that,” he continued.

“The main thing you’ve got to have is love,” Chambers said. “Love is what it’s all about.”

Religion, Pages 10 on 04/06/2013