Leadership Thought: Who's Your Daddy?

Dear Friends,

I had just returned from the awards ceremony at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale where I was the athletic director, and even to this day I still remember my amazement over the award that was given to a student in our school.  He had won the “most improved” award. What surprised me about the award was that this young man had been one of the greatest teaching challenges in the school. Often unruly, and possessing an uncompliant attitude, he was almost impossible to teach. 

I was particularly interested in how this student who had earned such a bad reputation could have earned this award, and as coincidence would have it, one of his teachers was standing right next to me, so I asked him, “What brought about this remarkable transformation?"

The teacher began by telling me, “I just determined to love on him.” He told me that every opportunity he had, he found something to praise and affirm him for. He said, “It wasn’t always easy, and there were times when I wasn’t sure my efforts were paying off, but I kept at it and kept at it.”

I’ve long forgotten the student’s name and the teacher who told me the story, but what I do remember is how one man’s words had changed a young person’s life.

Not long after this incident I came across a story that has always been one of my favorites. It powerfully expresses the power of words to impact one’s life. It was told by a well-known pastor named Fred Craddock, and the story has made its rounds on the internet, so you may have read it or heard it preached. According to Snopes, and I checked it this morning, it is true.  

One morning Dr. Craddock was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. They were eating breakfast at a little restaurant hoping to enjoy a quiet family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn’t come over here.” But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. “Where are you folks from?” he asked in a friendly voice.

 Oklahoma,” they answered. “Great to have you here in Tennessee,” the stranger said.

“What do you do for a living?”

 “I teach at a seminary,“ he replied.

 “Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a great story for you.” And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, “Great……Just what I need- another preacher story.” The man started, “See that mountain over there pointing out the restaurant window. Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, ‘Hey boy, Who’s your daddy?” “Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’

He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so badly. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always come in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.

Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘Son, who’s your daddy?’ The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ‘Who’s your daddy.’ This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy.

“’Wait a minute!’ he said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God. With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’” With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again.

Whenever anybody asked him, ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ he’d just tell them, ‘I’m a Child of God’” The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, “Isn’t that a great story?”

The professor responded that it really was a great story.

As the man turned to leave, he said, “You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!” And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, “Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?”

The waitress grinned and said, l “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!”

Maybe someone in your life today needs a reminder that they’re one of God’s children!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom