Further Along

 August 8, 2023

On my way in to our local pastors’ prayer group this morning, I was listening to a podcast by Andy Stanley. At one point, he mentioned his father, Charles Stanley, who at the time was 86. He told of his dad calling him up one day to ask if he knew of anyone “further along.” Andy said, “Dad, at your age, there’s not many people further along than you.” 

He went on to say that even at that advanced age, his father was looking for someone who was better, more experienced, from whom he could learn and grow. It got me to thinking, “Have I stopped looking for someone with more experience, a better understanding, a deeper walk with Christ? Have I settled for coasting along in life, satisfied with what I already know, content with whatever I’ve accomplished? Have I gotten to the place where instead of wrestling with Scripture, I’m OK with merely recycling old sermons and Bible studies?”

During my last trip to Cuba, I lost my backpack with all my teaching notes for leadership, family life, sermon preparation, and Bible study. This was many years’ worth of work gone in a moment. Of all the things I lost, this was the most difficult to take, but perhaps it was another blessing in disguise, for it is forcing me to get back to work, to do the research and put the effort into developing new material. I no longer have the luxury of coasting, of mental and spiritual laziness. 

I once stated that I believed there are many preachers who preach to save their own souls. I still believe that. Many of us would have fallen by the wayside if we hadn’t needed to face a congregation every Sunday with something new and fresh from God’s Word. It’s too easy to be complacent, and sadly, too easy to get away with it.

I want to be like Charles Stanley, who kept looking for someone who knew more than him, who could mentor him so he could keep growing. The alternative is to stagnate, to die while refusing to be buried. That’s not the life I want, so I am choosing to learn, to reach, to grow.