Thursday, April 23, 2009

Into all the World?





I wish you could meet Tahn. (that is not how it is spelled but is how it sounds) His roots are Vietnamese and he lives in Oregon and I count him as a friend. He is an incredible fisherman who takes time of work every time I go to Oregon to go fishing with me. How would a Arizona preacher hook up with an avid fisherman from Oregon? That's a simple but interesting story. It began with some counsel from a older preachers kid that saw my loneliness of life in ministry. He advised me to find another preacher I could really relate to and talk with, a :peer" he called it. How does one do that? I had already been ostracized by my denominations leaders for asking questions no one wanted to answer or admit there was even a problem. (I warned them we would collapse as a denomination if we did not address the issues immediately. They didn't address and they did collapse. I had already left). Finding a peer that could relate to me seemed impossible. I'm thinking I am not a typical preacher, but how would I know? Daniel came home from college one day talking of a professor that offered him a free homework pass in exchange for a guided dove hunt. This man was fluent in Greek, Hebrew, had studied abroad and was, according to the accrediting boards, a teacher's teacher. I encouraged Dan to take him up on it. They did go hunting together and began a friendship. When duck season rolled around Dan asked if I would take this professor hunting with us. At the time I did not realize he was 15 years my junior but I agreed. When I first saw him he was in a plaid wool shirt and full chest waders and a floppy camo hat. Now this guy I could relate to. We soon became fast friends. All to soon, the Lord relocated my friend, Dr. Stanley to a wonderful church in Oregon. I went with him when he candidated and knew these people would flourish under his leadership. In Oregon I met Lon, a church member. Lon is a christian man's man. When Steve moved to Oregon Lon and I drove one of the Uhaul trucks. By the time we reached Oregon we were on the path of life long friendship. I began to fly to Oregon once a year to visit and fish. Lon came down to Arizona every January on business and we all keep in touch weekly by phone. Than was a co-worker of Lon. On my first fishing trip to Oregon Lon introduced me to Than. He has been a part of every trip since. Between Than and Lon, they can teach anyone to fish. On my last trip Than took 3 days off work to go with Lon and I to Washington Chum salmon fishing. It was a shorter than usual trip because I knew the guys couldn't take off that much time to take me fishing...but they did. Tahn would have taken the week off if I could have stayed. Than has become a friend. I wish you could go fishing with us, you'd like him too. This all came to mind while pondering the Great Commission,"Go ye into all the world and make disciple.". Did Jesus mean to build buildings, raise money and send professionals out to preach to the pagans or does he want all of us to love those he puts us into contact with?

1 comment:

heidi jo said...

love love love :) i love the way the Lord networks. :)