Building Men

As one of the educators for the brain injury program at the hospital I work for, I present inservices and also have some of our staff write up presentations on assigned topics. The other day I sat down with one of our better employees after she turned in her paper. I asked her how she would utilize the the information she learned in completing the assignment particularly how she would take it from the written page and convey it to others. I explained to her how she is the type of employee we want more of and it was my desire to see her reproduce herself. I wasn't expecting her response. She explained she had been learning from me over the years whether it was when I worked as a nurse on the unit or when I was working in my role as an educator and anything she was showing others was what she had learned from me.

This secular example caused me to pause and think about the spiritual commandment to make disciples and what Paul wrote to Timothy in II Timothy 2:2 "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

A little while back, I posted about my appreciation for Maurice Broaddus and what a privilege it has been to be a part of his life. God gave me a burden for Maurice when he was but a boy and I am thankful I was able to provide some positive influence on him. He has told me I am his spiritual father. It has been a pleasure watching him grow in Christ and his outreach has far exceeded any I have had. Praise God.

There are others however who have had a great impact on my life and without their leadership and taking an interest in me I might not have reached out to Maurice. These are my mentors.

My Dad has to be mentioned first. Dad never really led me spiritually in word. In fact, my knowledge of the scriptures exceeded his quickly after I became a Christian. My Dad led by example. Throughout his life, Dad was a man who sacrificed for everyone in need. Anyone who had a problem with their furnace or an appliance, Dad would be there to fix them up. Of course he sacrificed for my sisters and me. He would stop and help anybody. Another thing I learned was faithfulness, not only in how we conduct ourselves but in faithfulness to God. I'll never forget how after he rededicated himself to the Lord and when my mother died shortly afterwards, Dad was in church to worship the Sunday after she died. His example instilled in me the importance of faithfulness to God no matter what the circumstances.

Dad
I had known Jack Crawford for quite some time before I became a Christian. He is the father of one of my closest friends growing up. I didn't give him much thought as a kid. He was Gary's Dad and he helped us have a good time by either having a pingpong table or a dart board set up for us in his garage. He also made cokes available to us out of a coke machine. When Jack learned I had asked Christ into my life, he made a point of meeting with me regularly and supplying me with doctrinal books from his library. Jack helped me understand more about Bible prophecy as I had shown a keen interest in it and it was an interest of his own. What Jack was really doing was nurturing me, a new born babe in Christ, making sure I was being nourished with the word of God.

The third man who entered my life is the one who helped me apply the truths of scripture to practical application in my life. Eldon Kibbey was my Sunday School teacher in our new believer's class after I became a Christian. It wasn't in this class though where his mentorship took hold. I went to work for him later that year. He owned a janitorial franchise and asked me to come and manage part of the operations. During my five years working for Environment Control, Eldon led myself and his other managers in the purpose of his company-- Building Men. Eldon applied 2 Timothy 2:2 to every aspect of his business. Eldon's words of wisdom and sound teaching and the way he conducted his life inspired me to be more like him and to be more Christ like. Eldon was building me and he knew the chief cornerstone of my life had to be Jesus. And Eldon was cognizant of the need for Christ's supremacy in his life so he could, like Paul the Apostle, say "Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions and sufferings... I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me."II Tim 3:10-11

Bible instruction was only one part of Eldon's impact on the lives of his managers. He took interest in our lives. We prayed together and lifted one another up during difficult times and Eldon made sure it wasn't just business. He was also my friend. He had me and other managers over to house for get togethers. We shared interests other than business and God. He made himself an important figure in my life in all aspects. He shared in my victories and my defeats. He was my councilor, cheerleader and advocate. I could count on him.

Eldon is still a great example for me. I don't have as many opportunities to meet with him but when I do have a chance to speak with him, I still find myself learning. Building Men continues to be Eldon's purpose. He does this through his work with the Christian Business Men's Committee and he has mentored many men and continues to do so. Recently, he has reached out to my oldest son.

Eldon has his spiritual mentor also. I remember him quoting Colonel Nimrod MacNair to make many a point. Looking again at 2 Timothy 2:2 we see the principle beginning with Colonol MacNair's influence on Eldon's maturation and how it continued on to others. (The things Eldon heard from Col. MacNair--Eldon entrusted to me--So I would be able to pass on to people like Maurice. And Maurice is investing these things to others) It started with one man reproducing himself in another and then that man doing the same and so on down the line.

This is a characature we, the managers of Environment Control, had made for Eldon. It depicts Eldon(with the whip) The Master Builder (1Corinthians 3:10-11). I'm the guy on the upper left.