My dad has never been much of a communicator. In fact, I can’t think of one time in my life where I heard him address an audience. He was a deacon in the church I grew up in, and the tradition was that the deacons would rotate each service, walking up that long center aisle to stand at the microphone in front of the large wooden pulpit and say the offering prayer. That was what all the deacons did. Except my dad. He was highly respected, just not one to speak publicly. So, you can imagine my great surprise when he stood up at my wedding reception with a microphone in his hand to speak.

People say no one remembers their wedding day. They are wrong! I remember that moment and just become emotional all over again, as if it just happened. Dad pulled out a letter from his coat pocket and began to read. He recounted many of the adventures we had together hunting and fishing. We were avid outdoorsmen and I loved those times. He shared how I had been his only son, so it had always been just him and me going far and wide to find “the big one,” which meant the trophy buck. But then Dad transitioned and, looking right at me, said: “All those years of hunting for the big one, of going after the trophy, and I realized I had it with me right there all along. Robert, you are that trophy.”

Wow. I just melted. What more does a son want to hear from his father? You see I knew hunting had been one of my dad’s greatest loves since childhood. He chose his college largely because there was good hunting nearby, and he had an entire closet in our house devoted to all things hunting. We had hunting magazines, hunting videos, and went on a ton of hunting trips. Of course I knew that I meant more than hunting did to my dad, but at that moment, in front of all our friends and family, for him to look at me and say that I was the greatest prize, his trophy, the big one that he had pursued all his life, I felt like my heart would explode. To know that I was more exciting to him, that time with me was more fulfilling, and that having me in his life was more rewarding than the thing he was so devoted to made me feel loved and cherished beyond comprehension.

Why do I tell this story? I want you to know that this is just a small picture of how God feels about you and me. Your heavenly Father loves you far more than any earthly father can. I believe if your spiritual eyes were opened, you’d see God standing there at the biggest gathering of your life, in front of all your friends and family, looking you in the eyes and saying: “My son, my daughter, you are my prize. You are the one I love and cherish.”

Friend, I don’t want you to miss the whole point of this little book. The five Ds are not a checklist for you to cross off so you can feel good about yourself or measure up to someone’s religious standard. They are a road map that will lead you on a lifelong journey right into the presence and arms of God. My desire as your move through these five — Decision, Dunked, Discipled, Delivered, Deployed — is that you will fall in love with the beauty and wonder of Jesus, who walks with you step by step, and discover that you are cherished by your Heavenly Father as you draw closer to Him than you ever imagined possible.