Today, my friend, my colleague in ministry, and a mentor in life, faith, and ministry celebrates a birthday. Dr. Larry Guido is someone who knows the importance and value of investing in the next generation of ministry leaders. He has always made time for a phone call or an office visit from me. He never fails to challenge me in my thinking and in my faith.
I'm sure there are many who can identify with having someone like Larry Guido invest in them through the years. I am humbled by the opportunities to serve in ministry that Larry has afforded me. I am grateful that even when I have stumbled and made a mess of those opportunities he has demonstrated the patience of Job, not easy for an Italian. Larry knows that ultimately God is bigger than our valiant attempts, successes, or failures.
I pray daily to be the kind of leader who invests in others. A leader who pours into them the hope of Jesus and his gospel, then steps back and let's them find their own voice to proclaim the Good News! I pray that as a husband and father I give my wife and kids the support and encouragement they need to do as William Carey once did, "Attempt great things for God." What made Carey a success was not his attempts at greatness for God, but his realization that it was a great God he served. May we as leaders (read husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, businessmen, farmers, truck drivers, and yes even ministers) always keep in mind that it is the Great God working in and through us that makes all the difference in the world.
What kind of leader are you? Are you investing in others? Do you keep your passion for God and insight into life bottled up for yourself or do you pour it out into the people around you?
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