I have a T-shirt that I like to wear; it is a T-shirt for disciples. On the back are these words: “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room!” Jesus lived his 33 years as far out on the edge as it is possible to get. And he calls each of us to follow him out there. “Normal” people do not want to get close to the edge. It is not safe there, and it certainly is not comfortable. But “normal” people don’t change things. They stay in the middle of the crowd, and they get pushed in whatever direction the crowd happens to be moving. They don’t have much impact on the world. Jesus had impact wherever he went, and his disciples do, too. That is what happens out on the edge. Jesus always has an incredible effect on the crowd when it stops long enough to listen to him. In Mark 4:1, Jesus drew the people to the edge of the water to hear him and be changed by him.
Aren’t you thankful to be out of the crowd and out on the edge? Aren’t you thankful to be in the Kingdom of God? Aren’t you glad that you are not “normal” by the world’s standards any
more? A few weeks ago Gloria and I, together with Bob and Pat Gempel, leaders of HOPE worldwide, were in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We were there to celebrate the first anniversary of the King
Sihanouk HOPE Hospital and to preach to the incredible Phnom Penh Church of Christ. It probably had the most personal impact of any trip we have ever taken. Cambodia is a beautiful country with beautiful people. But every citizen there has lived through unfathomable suffering. Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army tortured, starved and killed nearly three million people, one third of the population, in the late 1970s.
The world spotlight has shined on the lives of women – two in particular – with the tragic, untimely death of Princess Diana and a short time later, the passing of Mother Teresa. The obvious impact these women had on the world was poignantly displayed as huge crowds came with flowers, notes and tears to express their grief and admiration. Each in her own way, they exemplified what one woman can do for the poor and hurting people in the world.
We all need role models – heroes to call us higher. This issue of LA Story gives many real-life examples of courageous women in God’s Kingdom whose lives will inspire you to use the talents, situations and circumstances of your life to fulfill God’s purpose. What one woman with God can do is evidenced in the individual accounts and comments from sisters around the world. For me personally, the women World Sector Leaders have long been some of the most influential in shaping my life and ministry. In the first few years of the Movement, God used Elena Garcia-McKean and Pat Gempel as a powerful team to train these women and to lay the foundation for an ever-growing women’s ministry. Elena’s leadership of the women in the Kingdom is characterized by her strong compassion and depth of conviction for the women to be their best for God. God has used Pat’s “make it happen” mindset and her heart for people to help the poor and care for the sick and orphans through HOPE worldwide. I am inspired by Lynne Green learning Cantonese and giving her heart so completely to the women of China. I am encouraged to overcome as I see Donna Lamb and Erica Kim rising above health problems and hardships. Space limits my mentioning each of these special women, but read their comments in this issue and be called higher. No matter the occupation or role – one woman makes a difference!
Life does not end after 50, or 60, or 70, or... So much of age is in the mind and heart. I have been through the black balloons and graveyard humor of my 40th birthday and of my 50th. But I don’t feel much older than I did at my 20th or 30th. Last week one of the evangelists here in LA referred to all of us over the age of 55 as the “elderly.” At 56, I definitely do not feel “elderly.” And I told him so! In this issue of LA Story, called “FEARLESS,” I actually get to write about people who are older than I am, disciples who are over 65 years of age.
In our American society, people plan for retirement at 65. Retirement is designed to be a time of leisure – golf, fishing, travel – or whatever else appeals to you once you are beyond your “productive” years. To most, retirement is the state of no longer doing anything that is useful. Somewhere I read that the average person who retires at age 65 will be dead in 18 months if he/she does not have a dream to keep them going.
Whether we are old or young, sick or healthy, married or single, poor or rich, uneducated or educated, God wants all that we have and are.
Things are so different in God’s Kingdom! We don’t live by the world’s timetable. Our usefulness is not age-dependent. Caleb is a role model of what disciples ought to be. After spending 40 years wandering in the wilderness that killed off all of the unfaithful Israelites, he was ready at age 85 to drive out the giants of the land and claim God’s inheritance. As has been humorously stated from time to time, disciples don’t retire, they just retread and keep on rolling.
