The Journey Never Ends
BUT ONE THING I DO:
FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND
AND STRAINING TOWARD WHAT IS AHEAD,
I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL TO WIN THE PRIZE
FOR WHICH GOD HAS CALLED ME HEAVENWARD IN CHRIST JESUS.
the Apostle Paul, Philippians 3:13-14
Even during the long months of producing this manuscript, I felt God was at work in my life as I reflected back upon my sometimes tumultuous, sometimes placid voyage with my Captain, Savior, and Friend. In retrospect it does seem I've struggled more in the foamy white water and violent waves than taken silent refuge in quiet harbors of ministry. The entire experience of my life as a servant leader has been a venture and an adventure.
At UC-Berkeley my faith started out as a question mark, to grow into ultimate certainty with an acquaintance who became a Friend, and who then became my Captain. For me the most powerful awareness was that the more I got to know him, the more I desired to serve him. I had always wanted a real friend, and that is exactly what Jesus became — and continues to be to me today.
For today's Christian leaders, who are forced to meet unbelievably difficult situations as they move into the twenty-first century, I covet this same deep relationship with Jesus Christ. Nonstop activity for the Lord
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can be devastating if there is not the counterbalance of quiet solace — taking time to be with one's Friend and Captain. I learned this lesson the hard way, and while I suppose it's true that we all have to learn our own life lessons, I trust my experiences as related in this book will at least send up a caution signal to those who are gifted in the aggressive side of ministry but perhaps less aware of the crucial importance of spending time alone with the Captain.
I am eternally grateful for the many teachers, professors, mentors and parishioners who have helped me study the message, learn it and appreciate its ramifications. These friends helped me learn to navigate the rough rapids and take the trial runs in my vocation as player-coach.
To the many stalwarts of the faith whose paths I crossed I also owe a debt of gratitude for teaching me the three great themes of ministry: the importance of prayer, the vitality of evangelism and the absolute essential of mission. Once I began to grasp the importance of this tripod of ministry, each became constantly validated in real-life situations. The principles worked for me, are still working for me and will also work for you. That is why I hope that you see them as certainties rather than possibilities. When you do, you will be more than fit for your own journey. Not that you will no longer experience doubts, fears or temptations, but you will now know beyond the shadow of a doubt that your Captain and Friend will always be at your side, not judging or carping, but tenderly, graciously loving you because that is his nature.
The thing I think I've learned most confidently in my years of sharing the gospel is that I was not so much entrusted with leadership as I was with servanthood. A true leader is a servant. A real leader leads from below — lifting, encouraging, speaking words of comfort and challenge. During my ten years at Fuller Seminary I was grateful for the opportunities God gave me to do my best to be a servant leader. While I may have been instrumental in bringing people to faith, commitment and maturing throughout my early ministry, it was those years at Fuller where it all seemed to come together.
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And it carried on even after I retired from Fuller and ventured to the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, where I served as one of the associate pastors for seven years. There the supremacy of love was the dominant theme. It was a ministry that called for love, love and more love — and I thanked God daily that he had given me the opportunity to explore the full range of those possibilities. The guidelines I'd learned on my long journey still worked.
God's guidelines always work. The various areas of practical ministry I participated in at Moody and Princeton were still what people wanted and craved. But now I was older, hopefully wiser, and even more able to reach out to feel and appreciate the needs of others. Now I know for certain that the journey never ends. I'm still learning so much, and God continually gives me fresh new insights. In retirement, the pace has become slower and more voluntary, but nevertheless real. My commitment to my Captain and Friend has not wavered.
As I realize that I've lived many lives in one lifetime, I am learning the importance of unceasing praise to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says it best: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." For this journey that never ends I am grateful beyond measure. And I will be forever grateful for my helpmeet, Edie, to whom I am so indebted for all she has done and continues to do for me. With my Captain and Friend and with Edie, what more could this preacher want, anyway!
God bless you, dear reader, and may our Savior and Lord become your Captain and Friend from now throughout eternity, as you experience your own journey that never ends.
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