Famous Dave

Famous Dave comes to Hayward Wesleyan Church almost every Sunday.

Yes, it's the "Real" Famous Dave -- with the best BBQ chain in America.

Although his home is in the Twin Cities (three hours away), he finds his way to Hayward nearly every weekend -- and I'm blessed to see him in church.

Dave is one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. He stretches my vision.

Whenever I ask him how he's doing, he always responds, "Ribalicious!"

One night at about 11:00 p.m., I was awakened by a phone call. Dave was on the line. "Mark! Quick! Turn to the Food Network! You have the Food Network, don't you?"

I mumbled, "I don't think so" -- but after hanging up, I surfed the channels and found out we actually do!

Dave was being interviewed about his world class BBQ ribs, and he ended up turning the conversation around and talking about matters of life and faith. I was really proud of him.

I recall once giving Dave one of John Maxwell's Injoy Life tapes. He listened to it a dozen times, and then called Injoy and ordered almost all of the resources they carried! He had a whole garage full!

Later, he and John connected up personally -- John featured Dave in his outstanding book Failing Forward, and agreed to speak for Dave's management team in the Twin Cities. I'll never forget that wonderful day, as Dave introduced his leaders to John Maxwell, and John introduced them to Jesus.

Randy, an outstanding leader who lives in Hayward, opened his life to Christ that day -- and is now a faithful servant of the Lord.

One day, recently, Dave was asked to speak to a huge gathering of business leaders. Guess what he told them! "Get your kids into Sunday School!"

He had a brief stint last year as the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (but Dave's a visionary leader, not a beueaucrat.)

Now, he's developing a Lifeskills program to shape and inspire young people to reach their potential (with a target on Native American kids.)

Now, that's Ribalicious!