Dear Friends,
If someone were to ask me if I were to start
my ministry all over again, what would I do differently, one thing I know I
would say is that I would teach more on encouragement. Why? Because so many
people today are carrying heavy loads, and they need Godly encouragement to
help see them through.
An encourager is someone who puts
"courage" into another.
There are high spots in all of our lives and
most of them have come about through encouragement.
As I reflect on my life and remember people
who have influenced and impacted my life, most all of them have done so through
words of encouragement.
It was Dick Armstrong, a seminary vice
president whom I had come to know through the ministry of the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, who encouraged me to explore an inter-racial inner-city
church in Philadelphia. At the time I was coaching and teaching at a military
prep school while serving a small country church outside of Syracuse,
N.Y.
Dick was the interim pastor of the church,
and he encouraged me to consider applying for the position as pastor. Dick was
far more convinced than I was about my abilities to lead that kind of church. I
had no real training in urban ministry, let alone inter racial ministry, but
that made no difference to Dick, for he saw in me something that I didn't see
in myself.
Every month for six months he called me and
each time he would reiterate the same message: "Tom, I think you are the
one to lead this church."
Only a few years out of seminary, and with no
training for urban, let alone inter racial ministry, I felt totally inadequate
to accept such a challenge, and for six months I continued to say no.
I'll never forget one of our conversations in
which he asked me if I had prayed about it, and embarrassingly I had to say no,
and then he asked if I would at least pray about it, and what could I
say-"No, I won't pray."
And as I began to pray about the situation, I
suddenly found a peace and a confidence that I had never experienced, and I
knew in my heart that as unprepared as I was for such a ministry, God would
equip me to accomplish the challenge.
Only a few months later, I accepted the call,
and my yes ultimately led me to one of the most exciting seven years of any
ministry I have ever experienced.
This all happened because one man believed in
me and encouraged me to do something that I felt unprepared to do.
Yes, there are high spots in our life, and
most of them have come about through the encouragement of someone else.
When Sir Walter Scott was a boy, he was not
considered very bright, and as a result, most folks ignored him. When he was
twelve, he went to a social gathering where a number of literary figures were
present. Robert Burns, the famous Scottish poet, was admiring a painting under
which was written a couplet of poetry. He asked about the author, but nobody
knew who had written the lines. That was when Scott very shyly quoted the rest
of the poem and gave the author's name. Burns placed his hand on the young boy's
head and said, “Son, you will be a great man in Scotland someday."
Years later, Scott acknowledged it was Burn's
remarks that encouraged him to pursue what turned out to be a famous literary
career.
One never knows the importance of an
encouraging word.
As one coach used to say, "A pat on the
back is only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants but what a
difference those few inches make."
My challenge for you today is to become a
member of the compliment club. The only requirement for membership is that you
eagerly look for those opportunities to say something positive and encouraging
to someone else.
The Apostle Paul knew something about the
importance of encouragement, for he writes, “Do not let any unwholesome talk
come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up
according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians
4:29)
Yours in
faith and friendship,
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