Always room for one more

I am sitting on a flight from Johannesburg to Harare. For a while I thought we were not going to be able to take off. Everyone was seated on the packed South African Air flight except a family of six. They continued to stand in the aisle, refusing to sit down because the flight attendant told them that there was no more room in the overhead bins for their carry-on bags.

 The flight attendant told them to take their valuables out of their carry-on bags and they would be gate checked. Gate checking is a common practice, granted, but the flight attendant made it sound risky by asking them to take their valuables out of their bags. The father of the family said that everything in their carry-on bags was valuable--that is why they brought the bags on board.

 The crew was ready for the plane to be pushed back from the gate. I kept waiting for one of the three flight attendants staring the family down to take some action. The best solution was to rearrange some bags in the bins to make room for their carry-on bags. But no one was doing anything to help. I could not stand it any longer. I stood up and rearranged some bags and made room for their carry-ons. It was a very simple solution, but no one was willing to make the move.

 As I sat down I said to some new Zimbabwean friends: " This is Africa. There's always room for one more!" Everyone had a good laugh. At least everyone who is from the continent did, because the general feeling in Africa is that no taxi or bush lorry or bus or even a passenger vehicle is ever TOO FULL. There is always room for one more.

 When our family was living in the bush of Burkina Faso, villagers would find out that our family was going to Ouagadougou and say, "I am going with you." It was not a question; it was a statement of fact. I would tell them that there was no room for them; our vehicle was already full. Their response was consistent--- "There is always room for one more."

 Obviously I have given this statement a lot of thought as it rolled off my tongue just a few minutes ago. Africans have taught me a lot through the years. They pushed me to think differently and they challenged me to do more with less. We were in their land to introduce them to the teachings of Jesus, but often they reminded me of teachings of Jesus that I have not practiced as my own.

 Jesus said, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" There's always room for more in my Father's house. Those are our marching orders as followers of Jesus.

Buddy

The Upper Volta Tennessee Hunger Project was the first of many state partnerships that focused on development and church planting through the Foreign Mission Board (now IMB). Cheryl and I were privileged to lead this project for nearly five years. During those years there were 700 volunteers who all came to serve for a minimum of 30 days. That was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding periods of our lives as we invested in the lives of these volunteers. At times they were a real pain, but it was such a joy to see their worldview changed through their encounters with village people.

There are so many stories that I could share as 55 of those volunteers went on to become long-term missionaries overseas. But, I want you know about my friend Buddy.

 Buddy was a former Marine who had never been married. He was a union welder and struggled with an alcohol problem until he met Jesus. At his church he heard about the request for a welder in Upper Volta. He did not even know where this country was, but he felt that God wanted him to go for a month to this far-away place and serve through his gift of welding.

 Buddy not only welded during his month in the bush of West Africa, but he began to teach some nationals how to weld. Everyone loved Buddy because of his congenial spirit and willingness to do anything to help anyone.

 We had ordered a well-drilling rig and were looking for the right person to lead this project. Buddy was the right person. He returned early the next year to work through the remainder of the dry season (October – May), and then he went back to Tennessee to weld for a few months and returned to Upper Volta to begin a new season of well-drilling with the national team that he had trained.

Buddy continued this pattern of working in West Africa—as an unpaid volunteer—for nine months and going back to Tennessee for three months to weld to pay for the basics of keeping a home in eastern Tennessee. He became a part of our mission family over the next several year.  Our family fell in love with Buddy and our children grew up calling him Uncle Buddy.

Buddy is a quiet man who speaks little unless addressed. He is witty and loves a good laugh. He effortlessly draws people to him because of his gentle demeanor and easygoing spirit. Buddy is one of those friends who would literally give his right arm to help me if he knew I needed his help.

 On Buddy’s 50^th birthday, I was his best man in his wedding. Buddy and his family live in east Tennessee where Buddy raises cattle and stays busy with his wife and son—and he is still engaged in overseas mission projects.

 Buddy is a Proverbs 18:24 type of friend. I am thankful that Buddy has been a part of my life. The world would be a much better place if there were more  Buddys.

Face Time

I have been participating in The Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek in Chicago. 
Last night at a pre-conference dinner, the program was primarily on Willow Creek's international leadership development work. With the exception of Bill Hybels, the speakers were all from other countries except one. This gentleman is a business analyst of some renown who is frequently on the major news network making financial projections. I wish I could report a good economic forecast, but at least he predicted a 1-3% growth for the coming year--maybe that is good after all!

Nevertheless, the best part of his speech was when Bill asked him to share something about his walk with Jesus. His whole demeanor changed from exuding self-confidence to a more humble spirit as he shared a discovery that he made recently. In May he lost his job with a leading finance company, and he hit the bottom. He was so focused on making money and being successful that he forgot about the most important things in life--relationships.

WinShape International teaches the business principles of Chick-fil-A to audiences around the world and one thing is consistent. The fourth principle in the acronym SERVE is the hardest for our audiences in any country to capture in their hearts. That principle is "Value Results and Relationships." Every business person values results because at the end of the day it is about results in your business. If you don't make enough money to pay the bills, then your business has a very limited life expectancy.

The key work in that principle is "and." It is about results AND relationships. I have been leading groups to teach this principle for years, and I still have to work hard every day to remind myself of the importance of relationships. Those of us who are results-oriented have to be slapped on the head from time to time to practice the art of valuing relationships.

I just pray that the generation coming after mine isn't so involved in social media and whatever impersonal mode of relating to one another that comes along to remember that the best way of relating to people is to spend time with them. Technology helps us maintain friendships but nothing replaces face time for building friendships--and that is not face time on the smart phone either!!