Singing Oaks Church of Christ

My Christmas Resolution

By Dan Cooke, Campus Minister | January 6, 2012

How many people made New Year’s Resolutions this year? The promises of losing weight, having greater financial discipline, and spending more time with the family are among the typical resolutions that people express. I have expressed all three of these myself in times past. But, like you, I have also expressed a shrug of defeat and a sigh of frustration when those resolutions did not materialize in my life.

Even Superman Had to Learn to Fly

By Dan Cooke, Campus Minister | September 23, 2011

As I think through some of the more memorable moments in super-hero comic history (yes, I am one of those special super-hero nerds), I find myself drawn to one of the greatest. It was early in the Superman comics when, Jonathan and Martha Kent, were teaching him to use powers. He was learning to fly, but he resembled more a bird leaving the nest for the first time. He was not a plane streaking through the sky, he was an awkward jumper. Soon the jump became a leap, and finally…he soared.

Yahweh, the Wild

By Dan Cooke, Campus Minister | June 24, 2011

I have had numerous conversations lately with people who talk as if they have an inside scoop as to who God is and what he would do in every given situation. It’s remarkable to me how many times we all seem to take that position. Inadvertently, I say things sometimes that confirm that I feel the same way, things that put God in a box. I have heard, and sometimes made, statements like: “He doesn’t do that anymore,” “My God would never…,” and “He’s different than he was in the Old Testament.” All of these statements assume a great deal of the God we serve. In fact, it seems that many times the predominant view of God is he has had a personality change over time: a strict military father swift with punishment in the Old Testament, who, after much angst, has changed to be a loving grandfather quick to forgive in the New Testament. The Old Testament God is standing on the front porch with a shotgun while the New Testament God is the one we picture in a rocking chair petting a baby lamb.

Resurrection Within

By Dan Cooke, Campus Minister | April 22, 2011

Easter is here! This is a time we look forward to all year long, a time to focus on the saving work of Jesus and the fact that the tomb was empty. It is a time to think and reflect upon the resurrection. I have been thinking about the resurrection a lot this last week and the work God has done in my life. It made me want to write an autobiography because of the massive amount of work God has done in my life (I had/have a lot of work to be done).

The Notebook or the Good Book?

By Dan Cooke, Campus Minister | February 18, 2011

Recently, I saw about 10 minutes (the last 10 minutes…and, no, I don’t need to see the rest of it) of a movie called The Notebook. The movie’s tag-line: “With every great love comes a great story.” The movie is about a couple who has experienced tremendous obstacles in their relationship including poor health, a disapproving relative, and several years apart and yet their love remained incredibly strong. As I was sitting there watching I started thinking about God and the love he has shown us, and then I began to wonder if anyone in Hollywood would ever make a movie about Hosea. I mean, talk about your crazy love stories…Hosea has it all: suspense, romance, and a complicated family life.