No, it's finding someone who has a character, talent, or history that would be
important (or fascinating) to learn. Doing this has led me to sit at the table with a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, a man who was buried alive, parents whose life and love was in the loving adoption of international babies, a personal bodyguard to the great General MacArthur, the pastor of a miniscule South Dakota church who adored his people... the list goes on.I just like to get to know these people.
This take me back to my Boy Scout days. My brothers Bruce and Brent were Scouts in leadership in good ol' Troop 65 of Hershey PA, one of the great troops in BSA history. There are so many stories I could share of hiking through the Appalachians, camping in subzero weather, getting caught in a downpour in Gettysburg... but I want you to know why I loved the troop so much. Why all of us - boys and parents - loved the troop so much.
It was the Scoutmaster, Don Stevens.
The man was a father figure and yet a willing fall guy for a prank. He would discipline fairly and yet he would encourage guys like nobody else I'd seen. After my dad left our family, I saw Mr. Stevens as a caring and fair leader who kept us post-divorce boys in good spirits and in hard training.
Once, in a misunderstanding, he shouted at me in front of the entire troop, chastising me for something of which I was completely innocent. As a new Scout and a green Tenderfoot, i went back to my tent and sobbed in solitude. Within minutes, as soon as he had been told the truth, Mr. Stevens came in and sincerely apologized. "Boy, did I mess this up," he said. "Would you forgiveme, brad?" I was stunned. A man of his stature, asking me for forgiveness? I wasn't even 12 years old! I, of course, accepted the apology, and then he did something I will always remember: he took me in front of the troop and reasoning that "since he made the shouting public, he'd make the apology public," He addressed all the boys.
I don't know if Mr. Stevens is alive today. I hav searched and cannot locate him in pennsylvania. What I do know is that this Christian man did more than talk the way of Christ - he showed it in fair and caring leadership.
I wanted to get to know this fine man at each and every campout or Scout meeting.
In Phillippians 3:10 I see the same desire by Paul:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Just as much as I loved the troop and the camping, firebuilding and merit badge-earning, my biggest kick was in getting to be under the tutelage and care of a great man. I learned principles in leadership that I still use as a teacher today. Paul is in the same mindset. He loves the people of the church and the organization of the ecclesia, but the whole foundation is to know Jesus. That's Paul's obsession. And int eh Chrsitian walk, it's mine as well.
The excellent Bible resource of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown says "To know HIM is more than merely to know a doctrine about Him." In other words, it is Jesus we want to know, not the trappings of the church. My goal is to read the Bible through by Easter break. In it, I want to see Jesus from the first words of the Scripture all the way through to the Apocalypse. That's my goal.
