Dear Friends,
One of the joys of my ministry has been working with those struggling
with addiction. While pastoring in Fort Lauderdale, Jean and I would host a
weekly dinner for addicts who were living in our church’s addiction
facility. It was always amazing to hear their stories and to learn how their
lives had changed since entering the yearlong program.
Now at New Monmouth, I am involved weekly in another
addiction program, U Turn for Christ, a live-in program similar to the one in
Fort Lauderdale. We spend an hour having lunch together, sharing a devotional,
and getting to listen and hear one another's stories.
It is a time when I try and ask a lot of questions, and then be a
good listener, so I can hear the addict’s story as he battles with
addiction. Like many rehabilitation programs there are successes and failures.
There is sadness when one walks away from the program, but there is joy
when someone “gets it” and comes to know Jesus personally and you witness
the life change that evolves.
As I spend time with these guys, I often think back to a quote I
saved while I was a classroom teacher. “One of the most effective ways to draw
students to us and our teaching is to recognize and encourage their gifts and
talents. The truth is that each student who enters our classroom brings unique
potential, even though sometimes it may be difficult to discover. Yet, one of
the most important roles is to be a talent scout with our students. When we
take the time to look for, uncover, and nurture what even students themselves
may not realize is present, we can spark a relationship with us and a new
interest in what happens in our classroom. We may even change a life”(The
Master Teacher, volume 33).
Whether we are teachers, pastors, parents, employees, or
employers, I believe there is a lesson for all of us in the above passage God has
called us to be talent scouts for Jesus. He has called us to help
uncover the gifts and abilities of whomever we encounter. And yes, this
includes some addicts sitting around a luncheon table whom many might have
rejected and written off as hopeless.
To be a successful talent scout means that we first must
believe in the other person. We must help them see their unrecognized
potential. And once we do that, we must make every effort to encourage them to
develop and deploy that potential.
Like Barnabas, one of the early disciples, we must be discerning
as we look for those individuals with special abilities. It was Barnabas who
saw the potential in the apostle Paul when the Jerusalem elders were afraid to
welcome him, fearing that his conversion was not genuine, and he was nothing
more than a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Barnabas recognized the potential in Paul. He believed in him,
encouraged him, and introduced him to the church leaders, ignoring his dreadful
past history of persecuting Christians. Barnabas was a talent scout for
Jesus, and because he was, Paul got started in a new life of missionary
service. But if Barnabas had not recognized the potential in Paul, he might
have become a ‘spiritual dropout.’ And if this had happened, the New Testament would
be minus 13 letters that Paul wrote to different individuals and churches he
had known and visited.
Many people have never discovered their potential because they've
not been fortunate to have someone like Barnabas who believed in them and who
was willing to invest in them.
This reminds me of a story about Hamilton College’s celebration of
its Centennial. One of the most famous alumni, Alexander Wolcott, was asked to
give a major address. Horace Fenton Jr., remembers that Wolcott opened his
speech in this way: “I send my greetings today to all my fellow alumni of
Hamilton College, scattered all over the world. Some of you are successes, and
some of you are failures- only God knows which are which.”
It is true that we don't always know successful people when we
first see them. As a result, we need to be careful that we don't make incorrect
assumptions about them. If we are a talent scout for Jesus, we will
be about the business of believing the best about the other person and helping
them to believe the best about themselves. So, let’s start our talent
scouting today.
Yours in faith and friendship,
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