As a rule, we don’t plan to fail – we fail to plan. I am reminded of the letter written by the man who failed to plan:
Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In Block Number 3 of the accident reporting form, I put, “POOR PLANNING,” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient:
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a ten-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry them down by hand, I decided to lower them to the ground in a barrel by using a pulley which, fortunately, was attached to the side of the building at the tenth floor.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the roof, loaded the 500 pounds of brick, then went back down to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. (You will note in Block 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 pounds.) Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the fifth floor, I met the barrel coming down….this explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone. I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.
Fortunately, by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground….and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 30 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in Block Number 11 of the accident reporting form. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the fifth floor, I met that barrel coming up again! This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations of my legs and lower body. The second encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks and, fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks, in pain and unable to stand…..watching the barrel ten stories above me……I again lost my presence of mind…..I let go of the rope……………
As I lead the MAC, I readily identify one of our greatest needs – future leaders. The leadership positions may be filled for the present, but what about the future? When a church has a pulpit vacancy, needs teachers, elders, deacons – leaders who make the church work – where do we turn? When we have a pulpit open, I call my fellow superintendents and ask for a list of potential pastors. There is a dead silence and then they inform me of all the pulpits open in their conference and ask me to send them pastors. I have learned we have lots of preachers with a license, but “pastors are few.” We must reverse this trend. Everywhere I go I “call” God’s people to ministry -- some as pastors. I know the Lord gives the final call, but we must encourage our people to seek the Lord for His will in their lives, and that just may include ministry as a pastor. Every pastor should find his “Timothy” – our work is not done until we do.
We must not depend on others to meet our leadership needs. To do so would be poor planning indeed.