My call? Well, I wanted to be like that man

I spent some time  last week with my old friend, Pastor Fred.  He’s a retired Baptist minister, 91 years old.  I visit him from time to time, especially when I need stories infused with faith, hope, and perseverance.

“When did you know you wanted to be a pastor?”  I asked. 

“I wasn’t called all at once.  My awareness came gradually. There was, however, one experience that stands out.    

He grew up in a mill town in Georgia.  Both his parents worked in the nearby textile mill.  His dad worked the evening shift, his mom the morning shift.  That way, someone would be home to take care of him.  

Textile factories in the 30’s and 40’s were tough places to work, physically demanding, hot, loud, and dusty. His dad was a doffer.   A “doffer” is someone who removes doffs, the bobbers or spindles that receive the spun fiber from a spinning frame.  

For the 6:00 PM break, his mom would make a modest dinner, put it in a brown paper bag, and dispatch Fred to bring it to his dad at the mill.  Fred would walk across the factory floor to the machine his dad was tending.  When breaktime came, the workers would sit on a box or a crate and eat their dinner in silence, gazing grimly at the dust and haze across the factory floor.  

Fred, a twelve-year-old boy, studied the laboring men. He was astute enough to notice their concerns for their family, health, and finances. 

One evening, the pastor of Dixie Methodist Church visited.  He went from one man to the next.  He would display his care, share a word of encouragement, and interject a little humor.  Fred then noticed how the men’s spirits lifted.  Their burdens no longer seemed as suffocating.    

It made an impression.  Fred thought to himself at that time, “I want to be like that man.”  I want to be the one who brings a message of hope to a weary people bent over with worry and pain.  

God planted the seed in Fred’s heart to be like that man.  After a tour of duty in the Army, he spent the rest of his life joyfully answering his call by pastoring people with care, encouragement, and a touch of humor. 

In a way, Jesus calls all of us to the same ministry – to bring a message of light and hope to a world darkend by sin and despair.   In other words, to be like Him.

As I look to Jesus in the gospels, especially his compassion for the downtrodden and marginalized, I need to continue repeating the same mantra, “I want to be like that man.”