“Even though you have ten thousand teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” 1:Cor 4:15 Paul is hitting on a truth that might be the greatest need in the body of Christ! There are thousands of teachers, some good, some bad, that we will encounter over our lifetime. How rare and how needed is the loving hand of a father, willing to invest spiritually, emotionally in the life of another believer! We are all in such a rush! Ten step programs that leave believers more frustrated than ever, all based on goals and performance. Whew!

When I accepted Christ, I was only 18. I was raised in a nominal Christian home but with no knowledge of the Bible or what it meant to follow Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Looking back, some men began to influence me by their walk. I did’t know how to be a husband, to be a father, to be an all-in disciple. I was clueless! But I watched. I went to Bible studies. One of the first people to impact me was Albert Hayhoe. We were newlyweds and he came and stayed with us for several days! Awesome! I could see Jesus being modeled in him. Later on, I saw the same kinds of things in Dan Spence, my greatest friend and mentor. Compassion, help for wounded people, love for the lost! THIS was what I wanted to live! I loved him and wanted to be like him. Later in my life…over the past 55 years, God has always brought along just the needed father for me; men like Hal Denney of the Navigator’s, who always shares with me as friend to friend. Men like Paul Sapp who The Lord brought into my life at just the right time in 1990 when we needed to grow in grace. In the past several years, it has been Jerry Harding, who helps lead Operation Barnabus International for needy, isolated and discouraged pastors in remote parts of the world. I love Jerry’s passion, sense of humor and dedication. It rubs off. We are good friends.

Their influence has not been in sermons; I can hear sermons every day. They have invested in my life, listened, counseled, wept, guided, loved, cared relentlessly. They are fathers! Oh how we need fathers to grow us up unto God! I have watched their lives. They were not perfect…3 of the 5 are with The Lord now. Their influence lingers on and I seek to pass it on as long as I am able. Brethren, we stand on the shoulders of all that have gone before. “Greater love has no man than THIS, that a man will lay down his life for his friend” John 12

I recently asked a group of men at a retreat how many of them had a godly role model for a father. It was less than 5% and yet we are told that a father’s influence is the greatest single impact on why a child will follow God. Be a father in the flock!

Terry