MEN OF INFLUENCE

MEN OF INFLUENCE

God has placed in my life over the years men who have greatly influenced
and impacted my life. One of the greatest things we can do as men is to
find an older mentor who can come alongside of us to guide us through
the challenges of life. There is incredible value in developing this
kind of relationship with a man who has lived life from God's
perspective - one who has faced the challenges of life, and is willing
to share what God has taught him through the trials of life.

I want to honor and remember two men who in the past ten years had a
profound impact on my life. Today would have been, if my memory serves
me right, Dave Shoppy's 70th birthday. He is celebrating his birthday
today in heaven. Dave went home very suddenly to be with the Lord this
summer, but the impact of his life continues. Each time we have a
conference folks share with me how much Dave's life meant to them.
Recently I talked with a man who had graduated from the Colony of Mercy.
He shared with me that each month Dave would call and thank him for his
financial gift and would take the time to encourage him and pray with
him. He really misses those calls. Dave was an man of encouragement in a
day when the world is starved for encouragement. We need more Dave
Shoppy's in this world.

The other man I want to honor and remember is Ken Brown, who served at
America's KESWICK as Director of Maintenance for over 25 years. Ken was
a faithful servant who loved the Lord, His Word, his family and loved
people. Ken had many gifts, but of his major gifts was his love and
concern for people. Ken saw himself as a task-driven person - but all of
his peers saw him as a people-driven person. I remember the day our
leadership team were working on understanding our personalities and how
God had designed us. Ken said very boldly that he was driven my tasks
and was not a "social" person. I can still see the puzzled look on his
face when his peers finally convinced him that he was really a
people-person who loved tasks. Everyone knew Ken. And his life has
impacted thousands of people. It is almost hard to believe that it will
be a year tomorrow that Ken went home to be with Jesus.

Both men are greatly missed by their families and friends from America's
KESWICK. But the legacy of their lives continues! How about you? Are you
building a legacy for the future? Have you been investing your life in
serving God and others? You can do it today! If you are an "older" man -
find a young man that you can pour your life into. It is a worthwhile
investment! If you are a young man, you can learn volumes from coming
alongside an older man. Think about it!

Thanks, Lord, for the legacy of Dave Shoppy and Ken Brown.

Great quote: We often make our duties harder by thinking them hard. We
dwell on the things we do not like till they grow before our eyes, and,
at last, perhaps shut out heaven itself. But this is not following our
Master, and He, we may be sure, will value little the obedience of a
discontented heart. The moment we see that anything to be done is a
plain duty, we must resolutely trample out every rising impulse of
discontent. We must not merely prevent our discontent from interfering
with the duty itself; we must not merely prevent it from breaking out
into murmuring; we must get rid of the discontent itself. Cheerfulness
in the service of Christ is one of the first requisites to make that
service Christian. Frederick Temple