Who has influenced your life
in a positive way?
Who has helped you to become the person that you
are?
If they had not taken time
for you, would your life have been the same?
Fred Rogers, of the children's television program, “Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood “, was
giving a speech at the White House and he asked the audience a similar
question. He had the people assembled there to spend a minute
in silence. He invited them to remember someone who had made a
difference in the person that each of them had become.
After wards a young military guard that was
present thanked Mr. Rogers. He explained
that he hadn't thought about his
grandpa's brother in years, but he is the one who gave him his favorite
fishing rod. He realized that's why he
liked to fish so much now, and why he
liked to show neighborhood kids how to fish. He was grateful to Mr. Rogers for
affirming that memory in his heart.
Have you thought of
someone? In my life, there have been
many people
Who have mentored me along the way. I would like to share with
you about two of them. When I was eight years old my grandmother died and I
missed her very much. There was a woman in our community ,Granny Scott , who
had many grandchildren, and there were usually several grandchildren living
with her . She invited me to come to her house and I would stop after
school. Around her large kitchen table, we would sit with cake warm from the
oven and there would be kids coming and going
and laughter and chaos and lots of love. I learned that she accepted
everyone who sat at her table.
When I was in fourth grade , our
pastor was Rev. George Smith and he was a reserved man who always wore a
starched shirt and suit. He even mowed his lawn in his suit, minus his jacket!
Even though there was a formality about him, he was accessible, and he listened
to my questions. Most importantly he let me borrow books from his church study.
He was an avid reader and had a full library. I especially liked the ones about
Dr. Albert Schweitzer who was a medical missionary to west Africa.. I would pour over the photos
of the people of Gabon and the clinic that Dr. Schweitzer operated. I learned there are people in trouble in this world and God
may call us to go and help them. God might even be calling me...
We are influencing people all
the time. Your actions make an impression on someone else. It is not “whether”
we will influence someone but “how.” It
has been estimated that we could influence 10,000 people in a lifetime (which comes to about three people a week.)
We are looking at Elijah
again this morning. This is our fourth Sunday to study him and we'll do a quick
review of his life. He is considered one
of the greatest Hebrew prophets. He spoke out against the wrongs that he saw in
his society. He won a showdown against the prophets of Baal and then had them
killed. Consequently, he was on the 'most wanted list' of the king/queen. Elijah ran away depressed and afraid. In the midst of a storm, Elijah sensed God's
presence in the silence. Whenever he was
in danger or in need, God provided for him. His faith in God never wavered, and
he wanted the people of Israel to trust
God as he did. Elijah is a person who could teach you about fear and
courage.
He became a teacher and a
mentor for a young man named Elisha.
Elisha was a farmer out in the field plowing and Elijah invited him to come and be his assistant, his servant. Elisha watches and listens to Elijah as Elijah lives out his faith . He hears Elijah speak the truth even to the
king. We have little details of their time together. We have the story of how they met and the
story of how their relationship ended (which was our O.T. reading for today).
Walking along together, the
two come to Jordan river. Elijah touches the river with his cloak (mantle)and the river parts so that they can
cross. (Reminds us of Moses and the Red Sea )
The mantle symbolizes that Elijah has authority and power from God.
Elisha realizes that his
teacher's mission is ending. Elisha wants to be a man of God as Elijah has
been. He wants to have the presence and
power of God with him as Elijah has had.
The Scriptures describe a fantastic goodbye
scene between the two.A chariot of fire and horses swoops down and Elijah is
spirited away to the heavens Elisha cries out to Elijah in sadness; he has been like a
father to him!
As Elijah disappears, his
mantle drifts to the ground. Elisha
picks it up , puts it on,and begins his ministry. The mantle has been passed
on. He has learned and been encouraged from Elijah and now it is his turn to
lead.
Elisha will also have a long life of being God's spokesperson . Even though he has
dealings with kings and a military commander,
Elisha 's main focus is on helping people in his local community. The
Scriptures record 18 encounters where he restores life in some way to his
neighbors. He has taken Elijah's place
and does it in his own style.
A mentor is an encourager, a motivator, a
supporter, one who inspires. A mentor can be older or younger or a peer.
Tony Dungy, football coach
and sports commentator, has written a book about mentoring (The Mentor Leader) . In the
book, he describes persons who influenced his life. When he was a scrawny kid of 13
there was a guy in his neighborhood who was 18, Allen Truman.
Allen had been his Little League
coach. He would play basketball with him, took him to
college basketball games, encouraged him to make good choices, hang out with
wise people. Allen told him that he could do great things and that he believed
in him. Tony's teen years were greatly
affected by Allen Truman, his hero. We see the the power of an eighteen year
old's guidance!
It amazed Tony that Allen took the time to befriend him. Many years later their friendship
continues.
Where is your arena of
influence? Your neighborhood, at
work,home, here at church? What can you
share with someone else? It ias as
simple as giving yourself: sharing your knowledge, your wisdom, your values, your experiences,your
faith in Christ.
A key factor is our willingness to help develop people, to make it a priority.
Mom Burghur and her husband
owned a restaurant in Bloomington,
Indiana, home of Indiana University. The grill was a place for good food,
and a place where students were noticed, listened to, and their
dreams were encouraged. The Burghur home was filled with photos of all the
students they had befriended for over 50 years. Mom Burghur had great satisfaction in seeing someone grow and blossom.
Besides cooking, to develop people was tops on her list.
Who are you passing the
mantle to? Who can you encourage to do
what you are doing? It is exciting to know that you are making
disciples for the kingdom, that the baton will be passed, that ministries will
continue!
Old Elijah asks Elisha “What can I do for you?” That is a question that we can also ask. How
can I support the people around me? Do I
need to write a note, send a text, make
a call, invite someone to meet for coffee where they can talk about their
lives? Do I need to invite someone to join me in a ministry that I love?
What do we leave behind
us? Our greatest legacy is people.
People with gifts and talents
and purpose who are prepared and will take our places.
James Earl Jones is known for
the beautiful rich bass tones of his
voice. He has used that voice in
theater, movies, television, voice
overs. ( The “this is CNN” guy) When he
was a child, he stuttered to such a degree that he would not talk . In high school, his English teacher, Mr.
Crouch discovered that James Earl had a gift for writing poetry. He insisted
that James Earl recite a poem everyday
in class. When he recited his poems,
he would not stutter. His teacher helped him to find his voice,
his life, his vocation!
Who can you help find their
voice?
What will you do with the
influence that you have?
I'll close with these words
from Coach Dungy:
“There is always someone
whose life you can affect for good.
Do it! It's not about us,
it's about everything that God can do through us for others.
At the end of it all, if
even one life is better because we
lived, our lives have significance.”
The Mentor Leader by
Tony Dungy, p. 203.
**********************************************************************************************************
Resources on Mentoring:
The Person Who Changed My
Life
ed. by Matilda Cuomo, 2012
The Difference You Make : Changing Your World Through the Impact of Your
Influence by Pat Williams, 2013
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