Leadership Thought: Two Letters from Readers I Will Never Forget.

Dear Friends,

One of my greatest joys and one of the reasons I look forward to getting up early each morning is to be able to communicate some thought or idea that I hope might be a source of encouragement to you. You see I was born to be an encourager. Throughout my life I have been blessed to have had many friends whose encouragement has made a significant difference in my life. The people’s name on that list are far too many to name, but their love, support and encouragement have blessed my life in ways beyond my ability to measure.

Whether it was my mom, or coaches, or teachers, or pastors and church members, or ministry associates, or friends like you on my Leadership Thought e-mail list, you have been a refuge of encouragement, and I want to say thanks. It is largely because of encouragers like you that I harbor such a deep longing to encourage others and why I write a daily Leadership Thought.

I have never personally met some of you receiving this e-mail.  We became friends because someone passed along one of my Leadership Thoughts to you, and you took the time to express your thanks, and you asked if I would add you to my mailing list. Some of you I have known for a long time. You may have been a member of one of the seven churches I have served.  You may have been a high school or college friend I’ve known since the 60’s. But whoever you are, I thank you for taking the time to not only read these messages, but to respond with some form of thanks or encouragement. I often say to people like you, “If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.”

I carry with me some of your kind words in response these daily Leadership Thoughts. Some of them are tucked away in the front of my bible where I can readily access them on those days when I need heavy doses of encouragement.

Just last week I received the following e-mail from a former church member who was responding to a recent message I shared on the power of the encouraging hug.

She writes, "In 1988, late November, or most likely December, it was one Sunday morning after our worship service. You had just come down from the pulpit, and I was enveloped in a strong hug while crying through the trauma of the trial. Oh, how much that hug meant to me. No one in my life was hugging me at that time. It was like I was a leper. You were Jesus’ Surrogate in that moment. It meant so much to me.”

Who would have ever thought that a hug would be remembered from the late 80’s?

Just last week I received an e-mail from a member of another church I pastored who was responding to my challenge to get outside our comfort zones and do some Kingdom service.

“Thank you, Tom, for a reminder to call people.  We are snowed in today so will spend the day calling folks we haven't contacted in a while.”

And a few days later I received a follow up message indicating they had spent the afternoon contacting 8 senior saints who were on the church shut in list.

These are the kind of responses that keep me writing and keep me ever grateful for knowing that in some small way I am making a difference in people’s lives, and for that I continue to be thankful.

I’d love to hear from you, and if I do, I promise I will always try to respond in a timely fashion.

Thanks for your friendship,

Tom