Editor’s note: People of Faith is a recurring question-and-answer feature highlighting leaders and others from the area’s multiple faiths and houses of worship.
When dreams truly take off, they spread their wings.
The Rev. David Bosley of Columbus understands this as well as anyone. He remembers seeing aircraft acrobatics such as the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds streak overhead as a youngster, and finding his head in the clouds and finding his then-wispy dreams in the plumes of smoke.
Soon enough, he knew that someday he would work on airplanes.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“From where I sit, a dream has a certain motivation of its own. It gnaws on you,” said Bosley, 59, sitting in the lobby of Dayspring Church of God Apostolic, where he serves as pastor of the church at 2127 Doctors Park Drive in Columbus.
“And, it is very much like a muscle. It weakens if you don’t use it,” he added.
Bosley and the Rev. Frank Griffin of Columbus and Seymour Bishop Wendell Chinn Sr. will lead a workshop at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 8 on “Dreams, Visions and Missions” at Dayspring. A $10 fee includes lunch. The last such gathering attracted more than 50 people and lit a flame of hope for some, Bosley said.
Part of the four-hour event will highlight what Bosley calls people’s “five smooth stones” — weapons for felling obstacles and enemies and assuring success. He takes the concept from the biblical story of David and Goliath, which also is part of the focus of his forthcoming new book, “Five Smooth Stones.” That book will become reality via his own publishing house of Dayspring Touch Press that currently handles nearly 10 authors, he said.
He mentioned that the ease and affordability the publishing house provides is significant because it help others with their dream of writing books. But he was careful to indicate there can plenty other obstacles to keep a dream alive.
“Often the 9-to-5 life tends to take so much time in many people’s life, they throw away the dream,” Bosley said.
The recently retired Cummins Inc. engineer chatted recently about that and more, including his company called Aeroflux LLC to license inventions, including his own called the Ventilator that cools car interiors when the vehicles is parked in the sun. Fittingly, as he spoke, a model airplane — one representing the Wright brothers’ first successful aircraft — sat on a table next to him.
Ironically, though, the first time he climbed aboard an airplane, he severely hyperventilated.
You seem to radiate such confidence when you speak to groups or preach.
In many respects, I am really an introvert. I was voted shyest in my senior class (in high school in Cincinnati).
What do you want to see participants come away with from the workshop?
Ideally, I want them to walk away with their dream placed somewhere in their workbook (from the workshop). And I want to them to see they can start working toward their dream today, and begin considering what type of effort needs to be done right now.
The people who participated in this before? They left here with a plan. I like to think we lit a fire for them.
You have used journals to record your ideas, dreams and inventions since at least the 1980s. Why?
Because the palest ink is better than the strongest memory. Even though I have an iPad, I still use ink as much as I can.
Why do people sometimes avoid seminars focusing on their dream?
Because they often think, “Oh, he probably won’t say anything that addresses my concerns. (Bosley then detailed a range of common concerns, from fear to time limitations to discouragement to fatigue).
You did end up, while working for General Electric, troubleshooting aircraft engine controls for planes ranging from the F16 fighter jet to the B1 bomber?
Yes, because it was in me. And when I was doing it, I knew that I was living my dream.
You believe everyone has the seeds of a dream they are meant to pursue?
It’s probably been there a while. And it may have even gotten you into trouble. For instance, if you believe you have that book within you, then it’s there to do something with — not to just be put on your tombstone.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Bosley file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Who: Rev. David Bosley
Age: 59.
From: North Fairmount section of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Current role: Pastor of Dayspring Church of God Apostolic in Columbus, poet, writer, songwriter, book publisher and inventor.
Family: Wife Charlene, married 32 years. Two children.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in electronic technology from the University of Dayton’s school of engineering.
Recently retired: From Cummins Inc., where he was a program manager.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
