Many of you will know
that Dean Moore was the Director of Fresh
Start’s Southeast Region from July
1999 until his untimely death on April
9, 2004. Dean was an unusual man, one
who walked tall, spoke with a gentle yet
firm voice, and had an air of peace and
tranquility about him. He was stricken
with multiple brain tumors last year and
maintained a strong sense of God’s
sovereignty and the fact that he was always
held lovingly in God’s hands. I
recall when he told me last Fall that
he was anxiously looking forward to what
God was going to teach him through this
illness. Fully aware of the seriousness
of his condition, he was most excited
about how it would draw him close to the
Father.
I first met Dean when
he attended a Fresh Start seminar where
I was the speaker. He told me that he
had been divorced for many years and had,
in fact, been remarried for over fifteen
years. Dean was a Licensed Professional
Counselor and had seen many people who
struggled with divorce, as he himself
had in his past. Someone had recommended
Fresh Start to one of his clients and
he wanted to see first hand what it had
to offer before he sent anyone to a seminar.
If you knew Dean, you will know that he
was cautious like that, not just taking
someone else’s opinion, but wanting
to know for sure if it was as valuable
as it had been billed.
Over many months I learned
that Dean Moore was a complex man, a stream
that ran deep, but with clear convictions
and a vision for helping hurting people.
He was an elder at Mt. Paran Church of
God in Atlanta and was respected as a
man who thought through issues before
speaking his mind, yet a man who spoke
with strong conviction and elicited respectful
responses when he did so.
Dean sang in the choir
along with his wife, Debbie, for many
years, and drew great satisfaction from
that form of worship. It was not about
performing for Dean, it was in essence
his truest form of worship of the God
who sustained him throughout his life.
Dean was also very active in the Tres
Deis movement, serving on the board for
a number of years as well as leading many
weekends in the role of Rector.
Dean led the ministry
of Fresh Start in the Southeast for almost
five years and left a mark on many hundreds
of people’s lives. I had the privilege
of doing many seminars along side Dean
and was able to watch as God used him
to minister to hurting people in such
a tender way. As a member of Fresh Start’s
Board of Directors, he brought a quiet
yet strong presence to our Board meetings,
often putting a unique perspective on
something that we struggled with. One
of his greatest attributes was that he
never took himself too seriously. He could
laugh easily, often at himself. Dean was
mostly all about compassion and hope,
but always directed at someone else, not
himself.
We will miss Dean
Moore, yet we will carry him always in
our hearts. All of us at Fresh Start send
our love and prayers to his wife, Debbie,
and son Christopher. At Dean’s home
going celebration, and that is what it
really was, Debbie asked that people who
wished to honor Dean send donations to
Fresh Start in his memory. What better,
more fitting tribute could we make to
this man who lived his life in service
to others?
