The Power of One Man Caring

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Today’s Blog Post


The Power of One Man Caring

On October 1st I wrote of my friend John and how ill he was. He was not expected to live much longer than 4 days.

I received this email in two days ago… and my heart was sad yet relieved when I read the contents…
Dear Friends of John Miller

With sadness we share with you the home going of our husband and father this day, Tuesday October 12, 2010 at 11:25 AM at Oakville Trafalgar Hospital.

John passed away peacefully and quietly, now he is in Jesus arms free from pain and struggles.  John is temporarily separated from his loving family, his wife Joyce, children Alan, Barbara, Susan and Sharon.

John leaves his brothers and sisters, Betty, Walter, William and Louise.

The viewing will be on October 14, 2010 at 2PM to 4PM and again at 7PM to 9PM.
Located at the Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home, 64 Lakeshore Rd. Oakville Ontario.

The service will be on October 15, 2010 at 11AM at Evangel Pentecostal Church, 1450 Rebecca Street, Oakville, Ontario.

Tomorrow I will be sharing some words to encourage the family and friends of John Miller. Now what do I say?

In 1969 I first walked into the Evangel Pentecostal Church in Oakville, Ontario. I was a turned off and below the surface, an angry former church attendee. I had walked away from the church that I knew as a boy and a young man totally disgusted with the people that attended church – specially Pentecostal Churches.

At that point with my wife Alida and a new baby girl we had just moved into the city from the Maritimes, from Quebec before that and from Toronto, Regina before that… we were meeting new people again. I am not really sure why we went there, except that it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

I had braced myself because I just knew that there would be religious whackos in this church too, just like all the rest had been. ‘These people would probably be just like the ones that I had run from so long ago…’ was one of my thoughts as I entered the building that day in March 1969.

One of the first people to greet me was John Miller. Formerly a Maritimer, now living in Ontario. He was kind of jack-of-all trades from my quick guess as we talked. He was an employee of the Ford Motor factory… but had served as a Milk Man, and numerous other things on his journey to the place that I met him.

John was always friendly and happy. His wife Joyce was quiet and kind… always welcoming. These two were kind of representative to the people that gathered in that church… down to earth and real people… not putting anyone down. They just loved us the way we were… and specially me – the way that I was.. turned off, cussing, addicted to bad stuff, angry inside, disgusted with church people… kind of like a Porcupine just waiting for some one to touch me… then watch out!

It was the fall of 1969 when all that loving made the final difference. I found that I was being changed from inside out – and I finally gave my life to Christ. I had a major religious happening and committed my life to the Christian experience. Simply I asked God into my life.

John and Joyce continued to show their love for us and we became close friends as time went on.

It was not so much what John said that made a difference in me as what he did as a faithful father and husband. He was an example. He was steady and faithful. And all of what he was impacted my life.

It was the Power of One Man caring for me that made a difference.

What should I say about a man that was faithful locally and never stopped being just a good man. He never went very far in school. He did not have a great list of degrees and accomplishments to brag about… nor could I brag that way about him that way.

What John did was touch one man. That man was me… then the rest is now history.

I need to mention here that John was there when I made a decision to complete my work as a Business Machine/Computer Tech and Programmer… and move into the church work that would become my life ministry.

Yesterday…
I started doing some very simple Math. I added up the number of people that my life has impacted in some way or other as a Pastor or the churches we have served.

Completing the Pastoral/Leadership Career in 2008 I have had about 262,560 people that I have directly influenced. Yes that is Two hundred and sixty two thousand, five hundred and sixty people. You read that right.

How can it be? Well that was the total of the average number of people in all our groups that I was responsible for over 35 years of ministry.

From a simple study of the ministry of other pastors that I know, the total seems to be about 1000 people in a pastor’s life and ministry. When you add up the numbers in the churches that he or she have pastured it is easy to get to over 1000 each! Some are way more than that.

From my ministry there has been dozens of young adults that have gone on to lead churches and ministries all over the world.

As I made a list of the ones that I could remember I was bowled over.

One small church in Walkerton, our first, had four young adults go into church work as pastors. From these three they have touched about 5000 to 10,000 people! And another one of the young adults became one of the top translators for Wycliffe Bible Translators, even to the point of meeting the President of the United States, for the amazing work he has done over 40 years of ministry. There is no possible way that I can estimate how many people he has touched with his ability!!

As I added the numbers up and tried to get a handle on what had taken place through the young adults that I had worked with the numbers are staggering to say the least.

With some conservative numbers it is easy to reach over to reach into the MILLIONS from that level alone… from just one generation of leadership that I have reached out to.

I gulped as I wrote down another number… how can it be? Is the number correct or even close?

While in Hong Kong I worked closely with Asian Outreach. It was a dynamic partnership and very unique between their organization and the one that I worked for.

Working with Asian Outreach I did some very unusual things that other Ministers couldn’t or wouldn’t or shouldn’t do…. like playing Santa Claus for about 7000 kids and adults in a huge stadium!

Because of my voice and ability with English they invited me to take part in a new Radio program that they were producing. I became “John”, an Editor of a Newspaper in a Small Town in the USA. My own daughters were involved too as “John’s” daughters in the Radio program.

For the Christian world now it was like “Adventures in Odyssey” Radio programming… only that it was in 1980 through to 1985 before Odyssey!

When the Radio Broadcast went out, the goal was to help teach English and at the same time demonstrate what Christianity was like in the community. It dealt with all kinds of situations and human relationships.

At first I was involved only as a voice. Then I became involved as a voice and a writer… and producer.. then I became involved as an artist and illustrator for the magazine that was transported to the listeners all over Asia.

It didn’t seem like much just talking into a Microphone each week… but then I was stunned when the directors told us that the Far East Broadcasting Corporation had stated that the numbers they were getting blew them away. It was the highest rated program they were putting out. Through their electronic abilities they had estimated that over, “300,000 million were listening each week. PLEASE Don’t stop what you are doing!”

I was sitting in the Mall yesterday at the table I have to demonstrate Tatting and Wood Carving. I was adding up the numbers that I had written down… and I started to cry. I had big tears in my eyes and had to go to the bathroom as it was penetrating by deepest part.

AMAZING THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN MY LIFETIME. The numbers may well be over 300,262,560 people that I have touched with my voice and what I do… that is the first level. Then when I added all that my second level, the young adults and adults that I have influenced… it is way more than that – way – way – way more!

Now where did it all start?

John Miller, the ordinary, down to earth, factory worker stuck out his hand to a turned off and angry young man, and said, “Hi my name is John Miller, what’s yours?” Then with his hand he reached into my life and supported me with his life.

I am going to miss John big time! Oh Boy! And you have just read some of what I will say tomorrow to remember my friend John and say thank you to his family.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/