I taught one of our “summer-nary” classes last Sunday, and I finally got the teaching right. I not only prayed for, but really believed, that God would speak and that those who heard me would not hear my words but whatever God wanted to teach them.

I got quite a bit of praise for God’s work, and I admit I liked and that I need such attention. I hope I elevate the work of others, even the young men who quickly volunteer to put out or stack chairs at our events because they can do it 3 times as fast as this little old man can.

I was attending Wednesday morning Bible study for a while that included some young men, but also 2 retired pastors and an almost 70-year-old pastor who still speaks around the world. The 2 retired pastors transformed–that’s not too strong a word–my attitude toward theology and what’s important. Sometimes they would get on a roll and drone on, and I would recoil at some of their opinions that are just tradition, not Scripture.

But more and more I came to admire their focus. They were droning on about the power of God to transform men, laughing at their own failures, exhorting to holiness nonetheless. More and more I would just stop and marvel at humble men fiercely fighting for the honor of God and stirring others to serve and honor him too. They had done it so long that they could not give up the battle even in their retirement.

The almost-70 still working pastor is more theological, like me. He easily shucks off tradition and ventures into unpopular waters easily. He, too, is never off mission, He has not only refused retirement literally, he refuses to get his eyes off the mission at any time.

The end. It is always hard to know how to end a post that is mostly about an emotion like admiration, so I just quit so that I don’t drone on forever, LOL.