Making up for lost time: The Rev. Daniel Lee Morton wasn't raised as a Christian

The Rev. Daniel Lee Morton waited until he was 23 to declare a love for Jesus Christ. Since then, he spent time in seminary, earning the knowledge and credentials that brought him to the St. John the Theologian Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Cape Girardeau. He preaches here twice a month. Though he preaches from a comfortable building now, Morton has endured hardships and still sacrifices luxury to spread the word of the Lord. "I spent my summers on the mission fields smuggling Bibles and other Christian literature behind the Iron Curtain," Morton said. "I've gone several times to Rosarito, Mexico, to build houses for the poorest of the poor."

How long have you been involved with a church? I wasn't raised as a Christian. Maybe because of that I feel like I need to make up for some lost time. I've been involved in the church now for most of my adult life. It started out at Biola University and then seminary. I have a heart for ministry and expanding the kingdom of God. ... Of late it seems that our Lord is calling me into church planting. St. John the Theologian is the second church I've been involved in planting. About two years ago we moved to our current location at 353 Christine St. right across the street from Orscheln Hardware. Our website is www.stjohnsorthodoxchurch.com.

How long have you been a member of your faith? I wasn't born as an Orthodox Christian, or any kind of Christian, for that matter. I trusted in Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was 23 years old. After that, I was actively involved in the evangelical wing of the Protestant world for about the next 19 years. Later on, a series of circumstances brought my wife and I to the steps of an Orthodox church. Truth be told, we feel we backed up to it, really. But the more we investigated the more we came to realize that we'd stumbled upon a treasure. We'd found "the pearl of great price." The main thing that compelled us and drew us was the deep, deep tradition of prayer and spiritual life -- the living, ongoing experience of life in the holy trinity unbroken from the time of the Apostles to the present day. We'd finally found what we were looking for. We wanted what the church had. So we converted. We've been Orthodox now for about 19 years.

What drew you to serve the church in a leadership role? Ultimately, it was the grace and mercy of God. It just took me a while to discern whether the call of God on my life was in fact from heaven or driven by my own ego and pride. It wasn't easy for me to do. It was kind of like peeling back the layers of an onion, only the layers were the frailties of my own human personality. But our God is patience and kind. He meets us right where we are. In His mercy and love for mankind He takes us to where we need to be. I do know this. The love of Christ compels me.

What education/background/studies did you go through to become a pastor? I finished up at Biola University in December 1979 with a bachelor of arts in biblical studies. I graduated in 1984 from the International School of Theology (Campus Crusade for Christ) with a master of divinity. We have to know what we believe. But more than that, we must identify with the people of God. By far the greatest teacher of them all was my involuntarily enrollment in the school of suffering. A grueling year of daily chemotherapy has a way of teaching you about putting on Christian virtues of patience, courage and endurance in a way that a seminary education simply cannot do. The truth is that the world beats us up. To whom do we turn? The church is a hospital. We come to church bloodied and bruised by the evil one. We want the church to apply to balm of God's grace, to bind our wound, and restore us to spiritual health. To heal us, that's precisely why the church is here.

How many years have you served as a pastor? It's an odd thing. I've know since I was about 26 years old that I wanted to be ordained. I felt the call of God on my life for a very long time. Yet I've been a priest now only about three years. I was a deacon for a year before that. What can I say? Some of us take a while longer. Some of us bloom later in life. But as a friend pointed out to me, it's better to blossom later in life than to rot on the vine. Glory to God! The Lord is loving and kind. He rewards the servant who comes at the eleventh hour the same as the servant who labors in the vineyard all day.

When did you become the pastor at your church? About a year ago, his grace, Bishop Mark of the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest (Antiochian Archdiocese of North America) officially assigned me to the holy altar at St. John the Theologian. I'd been serving the parish before that for about a year and a half. We're still a new mission. We have two Divine Liturgies a month. Typically, we have divine services on the first and third weekend of the month. However, during the week we also have Reader's Services on Wednesdays. We offer classes for anyone interested in learning more about the Orthodox Church. Those take place on Wednesdays as well. On the Sundays I'm not here, we have Reader's Orthros and Typika.

Where are you from and when/why did you move to Cape Girardeau/Jackson area? I was born in St. Louis on the edge of "The Hill." In fact, the grade school I attended is still there. We lived there until I was 8 years old. Then we moved to Southern California where I grew up. In January 1994, right after we'd been received into the Orthodox Church, I landed a job with a company in Creve Coeur, Mo., and we moved back to St. Louis, where we still live. It was like coming home for me. I have lots of relatives in the St. Louis area. My wife and I drive to Cape Girardeau twice a month for services at St. John the Theologian.

Were you involved with your church before becoming the pastor? Yes, I was involved in founding the mission from the very beginning. Early on in summer 2008, we began traveling to Cape Girardeau to explore the possibility of launching an Orthodox mission. The need certainly is there. We started by contacting some of the Orthodox in the area and offering Vespers (the evening prayer service). We determined that there was sufficient interest and commitment among the faithful. Later that year, Bishop Mark assigned me to oversee the new mission and help it grow. That's where we are today.

What do you think makes this church special? Truth doesn't change. This is where you'll find the faith once and for all delivered to the Apostles. This is where you'll find the same holy faith that the martyrs were willing to die for. This is where you'll find the same holy faith received by all peoples, at all times, across all generations, in every place, from the beginning of the church down to the present day. We are rooted firmly in that holy tradition. St. John the Theologian Orthodox Church is where you will find the very same Apostolic faith which transforms your life today; builds community; and prepares you to serve the world around you.

What's your favorite verse and why? The message of the Bible is really very simple. John 3:16 sums it up. "For God so love the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not parish but have everlasting life." At the end of the day, it's all about the love of God the father for you and me. It doesn't matter what I've done or left undone. Sure, that's a problem. But we come to Jesus right where we are, just as we are. He's God almighty. He loves you and me. He's in the business of receiving broken lives into His pure and blameless hands and transforming us by his grace, no matter how far we've fallen. Only the Holy Trinity can do that. You can be a living and walking miracle. My fall complicates things. That's for sure. Each one of us can know God the father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. What we're talking about a personal relationship. It's all about life and love, you and me, and the God who loves us. It's comforting to remember that. It's even better when you find a place where you can experience it. But it's not enough to know these things. You have to respond. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

What programs have you done with your church that you are proud of and why? The weekend of July 31 to Aug. 1 we had the great privilege of welcoming his grace, Bishop Mark, for an arch-pastoral visit to St. John the Theologian. He spent the entire weekend with us: Great Vespers on Saturday evening, divine services on Sunday morning. Then he stayed well into the afternoon talking with his flock. It marked the first time ever that an Orthodox bishop had visited Cape Girardeau on an official visit.

What's your favorite day of the week and why? From the beginning of the Christian era, Sunday has always held a special place in the life of the church. It is the Lord's Day. Theologically speaking, it's the first day of the new creation. The Lord rose from the dead on a Sunday. He shattered the gates of Hades and destroyed death by death. In the Divine Liturgy we celebrate all that has come to pass for us: the cross, the grave, the resurrection, the ascension into heaven, the session at the right hand of the father, and the second and glorious coming. But most of all, during the Divine Liturgy we partake of the precious and all-holy body and blood of our lord God and savior Jesus Christ, that we who are dead in sin may live.

What's your favorite part of being a pastor? There isn't an Orthodox church anywhere near Cape Girardeau. For many of the faithful it was like a dream come true when we started the mission. They couldn't believe it. Even two years later, some of them still can't believe it. No longer do they have to drive two hours or more to get to church. Instead, the church came to them. It's a great joy to serve people who are so grateful to have an Orthodox church in their own back yard. Also it's a joy to see the grace of God changing people and to see them orienting their lives around "the things that are above."

What hobbies do you have? I'm a cyclist. I ride four to five times a week minimum between 10 and 12 miles. I build into the route all the hills I can. It takes around 50 minutes to an hour. I hammer it. I ride as fast as I can. It's a great cardio workout. I especially like to ride during the heat of summer when the temperatures hit triple digits with high humidity. It doesn't matter. The hotter it is, the better. You sweat buckets. I like it. Sometimes on the weekends my wife and I ride together. It's something we look forward to and enjoy. Other than that, I enjoy reading the Bible, the lives of saints, other spiritual books, and the holy fathers.

What else do you do besides serve as pastor? In addition to being a priest I have a full-time job. By day I work for a company in St. Louis called Thomson Reuters. I've worked in the software industry for about 19 years. I manage technical writers. It's my job to make complex ideas easy to understand. The target audience for everything I do is the customer. I have quite a bit of background in personnel management, project oversight and delivery. I also have lots of experience with tool sets related to designing, editing and producing user-friendly documentation whether written or online.

Do you have a prayer, psalm or verse you would like to give our readers for the day? That's a tough question. We have lots of prayers in the Orthodox Church that we all find deeply meaningful for different circumstances. Here's a prayer that I say every morning as I start my day at the office, and at other times, too. Perhaps it may be of practical benefit to you as well:

"Almighty God, my help and my refuge, fountain of wisdom and tower of strength, You know that I can do nothing apart from You. Assist me I pray. Guide and direct me in divine wisdom and understanding so that I may accomplish this task faithfully and diligently, and all that I set out to do, so that it may be profitable to me, to those around me, and to the glory of Your all-honor and majestic Name. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."