Leadership Thought: Do You Have a Friend Who Calls You Buddy?

Dear Friends,

I have a friend with whom I served in ministry at Calvary Chapel, Old Bridge, who used to call me "bud," short for buddy. I like knowing I am his "buddy" and that my friend sees me as someone he can count on. No matter where you are or whatever obstacles you face, you need a "buddy" you can count on to help you through whatever challenges your face.

When a Navy Seal parachutes into hostile territory, there are three questions he must ask, "where am I, where is my enemy, and where is my buddy?” It is your buddy who can help you discover where you are, and it is your buddy who can help you identify your enemy and fight your way out. Without a buddy, you are in a heap of trouble. 

Seals know the critical importance of being a buddy and always being there for one another. And like Seals who are trained to recognize the critical value of "another," we too must recognize the value of having a buddy we can count on. The more buddies we have the better off our lives will be. 

The church is to be a place where "buddies" are found, and where such connections will ultimately serve as reinforcements for those times when things are just too tough for us to handle by ourselves.

Wherever I have pastored I have always tried to foster a buddy system on staff where each staff member is always there for each other, and where we function as family. My hope is that the same kind of buddy system exists within the church. We really do need a buddy or buddies in our lives, and what better place to find our buddy than in the church.  We need to be united with one another. The late saint Corrie Ten Boom was fond of saying, "A wall with loose bricks is not good. The bricks must be cemented together," and so what is true of a wall is true of church. We too must be cemented together in fellowship.

I recently received a note from Pat Killorin, a former high school friend who is now involved as a hospice volunteer. As such, he is always seeking to make new friends, "buddies" if you will, with those dealing with life threatening illnesses. He reminded me that “friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”

Do you have one of those special “buddies” for whom you are especially thankful, one who has helped lift you to your feet when you needed someone to help you fly. Why not drop them a “thanksgiving” note, or better yet pick up the phone and give them a call and thank them for being one of your buddies.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. Just a reminder, "A Friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17).