Dumb Luck or Divine Guidance: My 31 Years with the Council of Churches of the Ozarks

In a folksy, easy-to-read style and a deeply personal account, Dorsey Levell recalls his thirty-one years as founding executive director of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks, Springfield, Missouri.

He takes readers through his successes and his failures; from his early and tentative days with the Council when he was ready to quit because there was no office, no staff and no budget, to an annual budget of twelve million dollars. From the heady days of seemingly unstoppable growth of the Council, to a fear he would cause its downfall in his despair over the unexpected death from cancer of his closest friend and co-worker.

Dorsey speaks candidly of the reasons for his divorce after forty-two years of marriage, being diagnosed with degenerative arthritis, battling prostate cancer, undergoing five-way heart bypass surgery, his nearly three decades as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve, and his love for the outdoors, especially fishing.

During his tenure the Council created fifteen human service agencies, grew to 120 paid staff and more than one thousand volunteers, and was recognized throughout the United States as a model of effective outreach ministries.

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