The Word Was Made Flesh, And Lived Among Us

Potter & Clay

During the first month or so after I was hired at Gospel Publishing House, I was invited along with other new hires to have breakfast with the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Dr. George O. Wood.  I felt very honored and privileged to meet, talk, and eat with the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God.  Unrelated to that first meeting, some weeks later I had the opportunity again to go eat and fellowship with Dr. Wood, this time for lunch, and this time it would just be him and I.  Prior to that luncheon I wondered what we would talk about, what I would say, and how nervous I would be around the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God.  Within two months of that luncheon I was able to go and have dinner with him, his wife, and my family.  Two months after that I had the privilege of interpreting for Dr. Wood as he spoke at a Conference of the Midwest Latin American District churches from the whole state of Missouri.  I am extremely honored and blessed to have had those opportunities; to have been in the company of such an influential leader and a great man of God. 

What I haven’t shared yet is how the conversations went as we ate, and how much my ideas of how things would go, truly went.  As we ate breakfast with Dr. Wood, he shared personal information about himself, about his life, and how he got to serve in the office of General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God.  He wanted to know about us, where we came from, and how we got to work at the Assemblies of God Headquarters.  As we ate lunch he shared about his own family; he shared about his parents and his children, his new-born grandson, and he asked me about my family and my upbringing.  See, going into those meetings with him, I was nervous and felt that maybe there wouldn’t be much that we could talk about.  But in reality, we both enjoyed the conversation, the food, and became friends because of it. 

As we deal with intentional mentoring relationships, we sometimes think that mentoring relationships with people in offices of great influence and leadership cannot take place because of the distance between the high importance that we place on their position and the low value that we place on ours.  In reality, that is where some of the best mentoring takes place.  We don’t doubt their leadership skills, their experience, their maturity, and their influence and it makes it easier to see them as someone who we can learn from.  There are so many examples in Scripture where people of great influence became just that to those who were willing to follow them and learn from them.  I think of the Prophet Elijah and the great influence that he became to Elisha, Moses to Joshua, Eli to Samuel, Naomi to Ruth, Jesus to his apostles, Paul to Timothy and so many others.  John 1:14 states “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”  The creator living among his creation.  All powerful and omnipotent God became approachable to his own creation out of love for us. 

Along with the great men of God who he has brought into my life to help mold and shape me, is the Gulf Latin American District Superintendent Rev. Gary Jones.  Rev. Gary Jones was a missionary to Nicaragua and Costa Rica for ten years, he pastored in Waxahachie and San Antonio Texas, and has served as District Vice Superintendent and District Superintendent for over eight years.  Rev. Jones learned the importance of intentional mentoring relationships from a very young age through his pastor, and he continually pursues those kinds of relationships through his positions as pastor, as missionary, and as a district officer.  Again I come back to how people of great influence and leadership are the best for those mentoring relationships, Rev. Jones makes himself accessible, and like Dr. Wood, he is down to earth and approachable.  I have called Rev. Jones during some very difficult times in my life and the first thing out of his mouth was encouragement and he assured me that he would pray with me and be at my side, and always gave me great advice and wisdom.  He has been to my house to eat and he knows my wife and family.  I can share things with him that I couldn’t share with others, I trust him, I learn from him, he is my mentor and great friend.  Whether by phone, text messages, or emails he will give me words of encouragement and share passages of Scripture that have challenged him and he hopes that they will encourage and challenge me. 

Jesus Christ was and is the best mentor of all time, the greatest and most influential leader, and he was approachable by all including the leprous, the blind, and the poor.  I challenge you to make yourself available to anyone and don’t be afraid to seek out men and women of God of great leadership and influence, after all, you will follow them as they follow Christ.  Seek someone who can mentor you, and someone who you can become a mentor to today.

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~ by hisstoryinmystory on August 31, 2010.