George teaches me what actually matters

I was reminded today of a lesson I first learned in my first six months of ministry with Fusion.

Have you ever met someone fresh out of bible college? They are usually full of right ideas and full of themselves.

As I look back, thats certainly what I was like in 1992. A fellow graduate and I stood on the bow of the boat taking us down to our placements in Tasmania and engaged in a serious discussion about what we would do in three years time, after we had transformed Tasmania. Needless to say we both quickly discovered that life is more complicated that you can ever fully grasp in a classroom.

A few days after arriving in Hobart I met George.

I prided myself in my grand plans and was reading all I could about being an effective leader. George came into the office and didn’t say much, he just gave me a hug. I was dumbstruck.

George, I found out soon later, was a regular visitor to different churches and Christian organisations where he did the same thing.

He asked me what my plans were, and after I told him I was going to change Tasmania he smiled and told me that God gave him the ministry of loving people and giving them hugs.

I saw George regularly over the next years, and as my plans gradually unravelled, my appreciation for George increased.

George saw lots of enthusiastic people come into ministries in Hobart, and many disillusioned ones leave. He loved them all.

At times when I felt I no longer had any answers, George would often turn up with remarkable timing and offer to pray for me.

He gradually taught me what ministry was actually about.

Later in my life as I again wrestled with the nature of ministry, God took me to Matthew chapter 10 , and showed me what actually matters:

This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing. (Matthew 10:41-42)

I lived with the chapter for 6 months and ended up writing a number of reflections about the wrestle.

Today I met George again.

The first thing he did was give me a big hug, and then wanted to know how I was. He listened deeply and then came back to me a couple more times through the day to share what he thought God might be saying for me.

George was in Poatina with Crossroads, a special fellowship for disabled people in Tasmania.

Each year they come and we put on a party for them, and each year our community is left much richer for the experience.

Today I was reminded again how easy it is to get full of my own plans, and how simple the life God is calling me to actually is. George is one of the best teachers I have ever had.